EP Review: Taves Wants Your Attention on Are You Listening?
The Nigerian act serenades with memorable Afropop.
Last year, Nigerian singer BNXN unveiled Taves as the first signee to his music label T.Y.E. (To Your Eyes). Taves, real name Toluwani Ayomide Aluko, christened his unveiling with “Eleyele,” a romantic number and a tribute to his roots in Ibadan, Oyo State. Taves isn’t a newcomer per se (he began his career professionally at 16), but signing under a recognised artist as BNXN is a significant boost, which would come with its pressures and expectations. Taves’ 2023 closed with a guest appearance on “Realize” off BNXN’s debut album Sincerely, Benson, and he opened this year with “Folake” and “Bodija” (another love tune and tribute to Ibadan), each release an attempt to showcase his talent and enter the consciousness of the larger listening public.
Taves’ new EP Are You Listening? isn’t his debut; there have been 2019’s The Nest: First Day Out, 2020’s 17, and 2021’s 18, but in the grand scheme of things, so many expectations weigh on this project. “Folake” appears on the EP; the Disco-influenced track is arguably Taves’ finest display of elite songwriting. “I’ve been talking to Folake she know me now/The conversations going to quite phenomenal/She gat me feeling like there’s nothing impossible/Oh when she moves is like the ocean rhythm, oh,” he starts on the song, before revealing down the line that there’s a bittersweet taste to his relationship with Folake. Intro track “Bad Romance” also carries this sweet-and-sour tang as Taves acknowledges the doomed nature of a prospective connection but still insists it’s what he wants, singing, “Baby it’s a bad bad romance o/Know we couldn’t ever be /And I know we don’t stand a chance o/But still na you I wan see.”
On “CWT,” Taves and BNXN delight on the Phantom and Sonzi-produced song as they produce melody after melody while filling in listeners on the trappings of fame. On “Economy,” Taves laments that a woman is only interested in him “for the money”; yet, he obliges her with his attention, singing, “You fit call me whenever you dey lonely.” Taves’ sound is heavily influenced by R&B and Soul, with the cover image for Are You Listening? showing him sitting amid vinyl records of his projects and those of Nigerian act Aṣa and Nigerian-British singer Sade Adu. He pours those influences into his brand of Afropop, culminating in soulful, heartfelt music.
On the Semz-produced “Enchanté,” Taves airs his romantic intentions for a significant other, with his harmonies and those of Semzi’s production making for a delightful listen. The same can be said of P.Priime-produced “A Million Things,” where Trap meets Pop as Taves becomes unapologetic lover boy, singing, “I dey so I no fit come form/I hope you know get like a million/Get like a million things I fit do if you gimme something(Oh Sade)/No carry me go long thing/Na love o/I say make I come find for your gate.”
With his boyish charm and incredible talent, Taves seems primed to become one of the fastest-rising Nigerian music acts, in the same lane as Azanti and Qing Madi. He heightens the starry-eyed sentiments on “In The City,” where, amongst guitar licks and background vocals, he encourages his romantic partner to join him in an escape into the comfort of love. On EP closer, “Apology” (the closest rival to “Folake” in strong songwriting), Taves pleads for forgiveness after wronging an ex-lover, singing, “Whenever I call it’s telling me say e no go/I just wan explain and tell you everything you no know/No fit find my rest I’m pressed/I’m far from feeling normal/I don’t have nobody I can call/I just dey on solo.”
Taves’ EP title craves the listener’s indulgence. If, before listening to Are You Listening?, the listener wasn’t paying attention to Taves, they sure will do after the EP reaches the end. Taves is a talent to watch – now and in the future.
Go HERE to stream Are You Listening?
Read More
Album Review: Stubborn is Victony's Manifesto Against Life’s Troubles
EP Review: Winny Explores Love & Self on Debut Project
Album Review: Simi Rediscovers Herself on Lost and Found
Album Review: DOTTi The Deity’s Madam Dearest Pt. 1 Celebrates Love