Blow time’s Charles Chibueze Chukwu, stage name Crayon, is a fairly new voice on the mainstream music scene. His most notable work is a feature in Mavin’s Overdose featuring industry heavyweights Ayra Starr, Ladipoe, Magixx, Don Baba J himself and Boy Spyce.
While Crayon has had his fair share of struggles making it to mainstream, with his music journey beginning as far back as 2008, he knew to keep pushing after meeting powerhouse producer Ozedikus, who has most notably produced tracks for Phyno. Crayon was finally spotted by Baby Fresh, an eagle eyed producer at Mavin who signed him under his label Blowtime records, an imprint of Mavin.
Crayon had his first EP Cray out with very little buzz surrounding it but managed to amass a cult following of loyal fans who saw big things in the musician’s future.
Crayon – Ijo (Laba Laba) official video. Credit: Crayon|YouTube
The 21-year old might be a newcomer on the scene but this in no way means that he is without talent, because he is quite talented. Ijo might have come out a while ago, but it is just gaining traction and for good reason. It is the dance and forget your worries trope, laced with smooth amapiano beats. It is a fun, easy to dance song with a simple, easily copied dance step that everyone can do. We know how much Afrobeats and the Nigerian public at large love a choreographed dance they can do to a song.
On Ijo, Crayon wonders why not dance all your troubles away? After all, he reasons with the listener, you’ve worked hard for most of the week, you’re stressed. Why not just relax and dance away the troubles plaguing you? Such a simple message that obviously resonates with people across board, especially since Crayon himself has admitted that the song was inspired by the shoulder dance move he did in the Overdose video. It is a certain playfulness combined with stellar vocals and familiar stripped down percussions reminiscent of smash hits like Ke Star’s Focalistic. A perfect backdrop to the shoulder twisting dance move.
The lyrics of Ijo are light-hearted, fun and often nonsensical rhymes that lend a sense of whimsy to the song. There’s no underlying message that Crayon very desperately wants to share. There’s no looking for symbolism or an attempt to brag about his pen game or lyrical prowess. A fact that actually contributes to the widespread appeal of the song. It is what it is. No airs. Where it might seem like a lot of the new comers on the scene are butting heads trying out excellence for size in a weird competition, Crayon is creating pure, unadulterated fun in his own lane. That is the appeal of Ijo.
It’s perfect for a weekend of partying or dancing in your sitting room. With easy lyrics and danceable beats, Ijo is growing to become the full blown party jam it was always meant to be.
Crayon is definitely one of the new voices to watch.
- Didi Dan-Asisah is an art enthusiast and critic. She lives in Lagos.
Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.
