Bella Shmurda is cooking up something special. Since the start of 2022, the Dangbana Republik musician has teased the coming of his forthcoming debut album, ‘Hypertension’. Early last month, he released “New Born Fela”, a sizzling record which indicated that the musician was evolving from the purist Street Hop perspective he’s previously explored, moving into wider spaces in pop music.

 

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Today, Bella Shmurda premieres his latest record “Philo” with friend and colleague Omah Lay. Produced by Krizbeatz, the beat has very brazen percussions and a stirring base line, providing a soundscape as exciting as the situations being described by the musicians.

“Philo” is every bit of a love record, packed with energetic lyricism which peels into the intricacies of the romantic affair. “Nothing wey I no go do for my Philo, rest on me like pillow,” Bella Shmurda sings in the hook, flexing his wordplay with that piercing lilt of a voice he possesses so well. As his verse progresses, he’s even more fluid with his delivery, cashing off a number of internal rhymes and staying on course of the song’s direction.

In his verse, Omah Lay adopts a reserved cool blending into sensually suggestive lyrics, with a mention of Arnold Schwarzenegger bringing his humorous tendency to light. “Nothing wey I no go do for my Philo,” he sings in his own rendition, “my personal olosho, for the days I’m on the low”.

A very simple premise, brought into life with unique textures, “Philo” is a revealing record in the run-up to ‘Hypertension’. As Bella Shmurda told The NATIVE when he premiered his last single, you should expect a brand new expression of his art. And while it’s not much of an experiment, the Omah Lay feature is probably odd but it surely works. A definite slapper that should lit up your weekend and beyond.

SOUNDS FROM THIS SIDE: STREET POP