EP Review: Ruger Gains Ground with The Second Wave
The Nigerian afro-dancehall artiste delivers good music that accentuates his talents.
Unlike labelmate Rema’s “Iron Man,” “One Shirt,” which featured Ruger, Rema and label boss D’Prince and was positioned to serve as a breakout song for Ruger, didn’t reach great heights. The record failed in its mission to announce Ruger’s talents and star-power potential. His label Jonzing World recalibrated their tactic and dished out Ruger’s debut self-titled song. “Ruger” fared better; Ruger’s charisma and energetic patois-pidgin delivery shone through but it still didn’t reach mass appeal. His debut EP Pandemic followed suit and, out of it, a hit track “Bounce” materialized.
“Bounce” was the perfect stage for Ruger’s thrilling afro-dancehall and sexual innuendo-filled lyricism. The record placed Ruger firmly in the consciousness of music lovers in Nigeria and across the world and carried him from one tour to another. Keeping in line with his COVID-19-inspired titling, the pink-haired and eye patch-wearing artiste delivers his sophomore EP The Second Wave. He continues his fruitful partnership with Nigerian music producer Kukbeatz who handled the production on the EP just as he did with Pandemic.
On The Second Wave, Ruger and his label settle for four songs, two lesser than the six-track Pandemic, which had at least two songs that didn’t slap. This turns out to be a good decision: The Second Wave is tauter and leaves no room for fillers. On “Champion,” Ruger acknowledges his status as a star. He tells listeners of the struggles in his pre-fame days and mocks the naysayers who underrated him. “For this game I be the only Ruger/Nobody fi take my place (Lemme make things clear),” he sings.
He hands over himself to a lover on “Useless” as he finds “peace in [her] violence.” The up-tempo, percussion-heavy number drips with intense sensuality. “Baby break the rules and violate me,” he sings. His pleas for domination aren’t far from masochism but it doesn’t remove from the enjoyment of the song.
He slows the pace on the pop number “Snapchat,” where he brings his R&B influence to the fore. Using the social media platform as background, Ruger plays the role of lover boy serenading his love interest with promises. But in his case, these promises are largely the sexual kind. When Ruger sings, “Me ready shoot my shots in you,” it bears close semblance to the many sexual punch lines he infused in “Bounce.”
Quality-wise, The Second Wave is a stronger project than Pandemic but if there’s one song that seems destined for the same fate as “Bounce,” it’s “Dior.” On the track, Ruger exacts appealing braggadocio, courtesy of the luxury fashion brand. Kukbeatz unleashes a bouncy beat that swaggers with drums, percussion, piano chords and guitar strings. “Fly to Maldives for a day/Then we fly back quick/Then we take a quick jet straight to Paris/You fucking with a crème de la crème,” Ruger boasts.
Throughout The Second Wave, it is clear that Ruger is an artiste who puts much thought and carefulness into his songs, especially in his lyricism. His songs are never lyrically vapid. “Some people might say my lyrics are too hard to memorize,” he tells Pan African Music, “but I can’t water down the intelligence I have. I’m the type that gives his all to music and intelligence is all that I have, so I’ll give it.” Whether he is in a bawdy mood or a boastful one, there’s no watering down on Ruger’s The Second Wave.
Go HERE to stream The Second Wave.
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