Bukola Bekes – Singles
Bukola Bekes – Singles Review
Alrighty folks…we’ve got the first three songs from an album more than two decades old by Bukola Bekes in review here today, which includes “Verily Verily,” “I Will Dominate” and the title/opening track from her record, Iam Tired Of The Valley. The latter tune had me interested before I even pushed play, simply as a person that deals with words all day long…I checked out this album in a variety of spots to see if it was a typo, but nope, somehow ‘Iam’ appears to be the way it’s written out everywhere I could find it, though the cover of her album looks like it’s separated into two words. Anyhow. Just an observation. You never know what’s going to grab my attention when it comes right down to it; and everything is valid commentary in my world. Plus, think about it this way – I’ve looked at just about every page that Bekes has out there online in order to solve this mystery – ultimately, that’s not a bad way to generate traffic.
Lemme tell ya though, this amazing lady is one seriously sensational singer! When I finally did push past the mystery of whether or not ‘Iam’ was intended to be one word or two, and pushed play instead, hearing her voice was a genuine revelation. From what I can see online, she gets her experience from being a music minister at the RCCG City of David Parish. RCCG, for those of you that don’t know like I didn’t know, stands for the ‘Redeemed Christian Church of God’ – of which there is apparently one that’s about a five minute drive from where I’m sitting right now, and I’d imagine that’s the case for many of you out there reading as well. A lot of people tend to wonder why or how I end up reviewing faith-based music when I’m not a religious person myself, but the answer is simple when you hear such a remarkable voice like Bukola has – I’m here to listen to talent regardless of what’s being sung about. If you heard some of the mundane things artists/bands tend to sing about and how devoid of passion they can tend to be, you’d understand. At the very least, the faith-based community believes in every word of what they’re singing about, which generally-speaking, tends to directly translate into some truly stellar performances. Listening to “Iam Tired Of The Valley” was a perfect example of how accurate that statement is – Bukola is singing her heart out, and she sounds absolutely fantastic doing it. Do you think she’d be able to achieve the same level of awesomeness if she were just singing about her grocery list? Probably not – and that’s the point. I have no problem listening to faith-based music because I’m always interested to hear how interested the people I’m listening to are – make sense? You feel the soul and the passion that Bekes has in every syllable she’s singing, along with the joy and love she gets from her religion, and I’ve got nothing but love for that. I was blown away by how great her voice is on “Iam Tired Of The Valley” and how she doesn’t sound tired at all! Bukola sounds immaculately inspired, and when you combine that high level of interest she has with the talent she’s got, you get incredible results like this. If your mind is open to listening, you’ll find one of the better performances you’ll hear this year in “Iam Tired Of The Valley” – I’m nothing but impressed by the way that Bukola sings & the notes she hits. This is definitely a justified title-worthy tune that sounds like the centerpiece for her to have built around conceptually, but also makes for a brilliant first impression as the record’s opening track as well. I’ve got nothing but positive things to say about how this song came out overall.
As a ‘Nigerian Gospel singer and songwriter,’ you can hear how she makes infusing culture into her sound a genuine priority. I feel like you get a bit of that on “Iam Tired Of The Valley,” but you’ll likely find it coming through even more through the percussion-heavy “Verily Verily” afterwards. There is a LOT of drums on this tune when it comes right down to it…and to be honest with ya, it was a whole lot more than I think I was expecting! Ultimately I was never sure that this element really worked for or against the song itself…I had moments where I’d listen to “Verily Verily” and feel like the drumming provided a tangible uniqueness to this second tune, but I also had a few listens where when I was concentrating on them specifically, felt like they might be a bit on the distracting side for the average everyday listeners out there too – simply because there are THAT many beats goin’ on in this song. So, that could be a possibility…but…I’d reckon it’s practically impossible to take your ears off the main star of the show anyhow – Bukola is so remarkable as a singer that you can’t help but listen to her voice as the main element of what you hear in a song like “Verily Verily.” Given that this song has a bar or two at the start where the drums lead the way in, you notice them at first – but once her voice takes over, that’s going to be what you notice most, because she’s got a larger-than-life personality on the mic. Whether she’s singing out smooth and melodic tones with a lower-key energy, or going for the biggest notes in her register, you’ll rarely hear a singer as gifted and into the moment as Bukola Bekes truly is. When the faith-based community refers to someone having the spirit y’all, this is what it sounds like. I really enjoyed the way the backing vocals are threaded into “Verily Verily” as well, in addition to the other elements you’ll find supporting the drums in the music – but everything plays a secondary role to Bukola’s vocals. She was born to spread her joy and faith through her voice, and she embraces that responsibility with open arms. “Verily Verily” is a perfect representation of what she’s capable of, 100%.
The celebratory sound of “I Will Dominate” was enticing and inviting right from the start. I was again interested in this song before I’d even pushed play…domination isn’t the usual gear that I associate the faith-based community with, you know what I mean? No reason it couldn’t be the case of course – you can go out and slay in a variety of ways, and metaphorically is certainly one of them – you don’t have to necessarily link domination to oppression or feel like it implies some kind of physical battle – maybe you’re out there dominating your goals and dreams every day instead. Maybe it’s a positive and empowering thing when you look at the word from another angle, and I feel like that’s what we get out of listening to “I Will Dominate” through Bukola’s perspective. So that was unique, and I enjoyed that. The combination of sounds and style remains fairly similar from track to track, though admittedly the drums aren’t as prevalent on this final track I’ve got here. Arguably the music has more of a presence in this last song when it comes to the mix and what we hear, but it’s still going to follow the recipe of playing a supporting role to the melody and backing vocals, which in turn play a supporting role to Bukola’s outstanding voice. That’s just smart design though y’all. We talk here all the time about making the right decisions for your music and doing what the material is calling out for…so while it’s fair to point out that you get a bit more character and color in the music surrounding Bekes on this third tune, it’s equally fair to point out that she remains right in the center of the spotlight, because she’s got a voice that truly wouldn’t belong anywhere else. I know, I know, I know…she’s going to call that her God-given talents – I’m not here to dispute what she believes – I’m just here to tell ya what sounds good to me. So whether you feel like her award-worthy voice is a God-given talent or a natural one, I think we’re still all coming to the same conclusion at the end of the day – Bukola sounds absolutely fantastic. Her music is entirely uplifting, and she’s been nothing but a pure joy to listen to from start to finish. If these three songs are an accurate representation of the full album overall, which I’m quite certain they are, then there’s a whole lot more for you to enjoy in the set-list of Iam Tired Of The Valley.
Find music by Bukola Bekes at her official page at Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/gb/artist/bukola-bekes/1237893346
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