{"id":41850,"date":"2019-04-04T18:30:56","date_gmt":"2019-04-04T17:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/love-is-contagious-and-so-is-wurlds-music-2\/"},"modified":"2020-09-28T11:28:41","modified_gmt":"2020-09-28T09:28:41","slug":"love-is-contagious-wurld","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/love-is-contagious-wurld\/","title":{"rendered":"Love Is Contagious, and so is WurlD&#8217;s music"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<h4 class=\"pam-featured-content\"><b class=\"pam-featured-content\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23350 pam-featured-content\" src=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Wurld-Love-is-Contagious.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"958\" height=\"685\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Wurld-Love-is-Contagious.jpg 958w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Wurld-Love-is-Contagious-759x543.jpg 759w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Wurld-Love-is-Contagious-661x473.jpg 661w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Wurld-Love-is-Contagious-465x332.jpg 465w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Wurld-Love-is-Contagious-375x268.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(min-width:1010px) 759px,100vw\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/b><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #f2994a;\">WurlD manages to find common place in his music. Luckily, he is no longer the inaccessible foreign-influenced kid as detractors would have liked to tag him.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WurlD\u2019s music has been encompassing since the first day. A child of a duo of cultures, how does one marry the cool of a James Brown to the electricity of Fela ? King Sunny Ade to Michael Jackson ?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understandably, WurlD\u2019s sound has been described \u2013 by many publications and the man himself \u2013 as \u2018electro fusion\u2019, a genre bending form which blends the regular EDM with other forms to create music which is at once &#8220;soothing, electrifying and unpredictable&#8221; according to WurlD&#8217;s interview with Vibe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Born Sadiq Onifade, the act, signed onto&nbsp;<\/span>Universal Musical Group<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;in 2018, breathed his first in the air of Lagos. When schooling (like many new school acts) in Atlanta, he began recording songs. Recognizably, there\u2019s a Western edge of expressiveness to his art but even when he is Alt\u00e9, the box is too small to fit WurlD in as he confronts the complexities of African music.&nbsp;<br style=\"clear: both;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0HU-PucgMJo\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br style=\"clear: both;\">In May 2016 \u2013 three years after the release of his debut EP,&nbsp;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Evolution<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;and in-between a couple of hit songs and important collaborations of which includes a writing stint on R&#8217;n&#8217;B icon Mario\u2019s album \u2013 WurlD released &#8220;Show You Off&#8221;, a song he attributes significant success to. It did great things for him in Africa and the Caribbean. In an interview with Joey Akan for Okay Africa, he says \u201c \u2018Show You Off\u2019 created the foundation for my vision\u2026 I started thinking about fusion.\u201d &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ever since, he\u2019s stuck to his musical decision, managing to keep his expansive fan base happy but also himself. In reference to the earlier mentioned interview, WurlD\u2019s core nature is that of a giver. He has actively been participant in charity and it is this happiness in sharing which also serves as the core of his sophomore EP<\/span>&nbsp;<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Love is Contagious.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The EP begins with the previously released &#8220;Show You Off&#8221;, an instrumental-heavy song. Alongside his serenading vocals, the drums, the bass percussions and occasional trumpet vivifies the song, placing it as the perfect song to open a project titled&nbsp;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Love is Contagious<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The song which the project gets its name from is featured next, a flurry of drums setting a mid tempo party groove. The sound is Fuji but with the artiste\u2019s verses and a bridge rendered in Yoruba, the vision to make local content which spreads its arms around other cultures is met. The next duo of songs follow this template of drums and ethereal sounding instruments creating the perfect world around WurlD\u2019s singing. It brings to mind his collaborative efforts with Sarz, the set of songs with which he consolidated on the achievement of &#8220;Show You Off&#8221;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.&nbsp;<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With a song like &#8220;Trobul&#8221;, he was affirming his \u2018Nigerianess\u2019.<br \/>\n<br style=\"clear: both;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AsWYR4e0ubo\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n&#8220;Wishes and Butterflies&#8221; presents perhaps the most poignant songwriting on the project. Over a stuttering bass line, the blue haired act sings:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cButterflies out my window<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keeps me wishes<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I know I fell on the crossroads<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yet you won\u2019t forsake me\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There\u2019s a hum before the barrage of neo funk production which provokes a Michael Jacksonesque sensation in the listener. WurlD\u2019s singing floats above, neither competing nor distorting, but serving the lucidity of the song. In just over two minutes, he pulls off an ultimate artiste prank with the track, reaffirming what he\u2019s said already \u2013 his music is unpredictable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Feel Right&#8221;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;finds&nbsp;the artiste in R&#8217;n\u2019B form, singing about making his lover \u2018feel right\u2019 in elegant verses and a carefully crafted hook, probably to catch his\/her ears. The song flows into the next (&#8220;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Candy&#8221;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), with the ease of soft waters. Over stripped production, WurlD serenades, soothes and sings with soul and the sublime. An early favorite, this, with the previous. As a pair, they accomplish so much for the general theme than the others combined. &#8220;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Drown&#8221;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;fits into what could be termed a trilogy \u2013 it completes the trio of songs which is not frustratingly close in sound but amplifiers of a theme, pursuers of a style which at its core, is made to serenade.<br \/>\n<br style=\"clear: both;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4u0uHLcs4Go\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><br style=\"clear: both;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The final song of&nbsp;<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Love is Contagious<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;(&#8220;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So Good<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) is a sunny song. Its melody draws heavy influence from the Western guitar solo and a happy voice singing. WurlD is infectiously loved, and it feels so good, he sings. With his &#8216;oous&#8217; and voiced mimicking of a piano, he taps into a musical style which, pulled off well, is certified for critical acclaim. There\u2019s a bass heavy hum which takes over at the end, reaching back four tracks to bear fine semblance to &#8220;Wishes and Butterflies&#8221;. Like a master short story writer,&nbsp;he makes the compilation of his individual songs connect in some way you might not get at first listen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a second timer in the business of EPs, WurlD manages to find common place in his music. Luckily, he is no longer the inaccessible foreign-influenced kid as detractors would have liked to tag him. His music is aware and beautiful. Protestant: in this time when Nigerians export the nights of Nigeria via the Afro Pop sound, WurlD, as he as rightfully sings, is neither exporting or importing. He\u2019s a throwback to a time when love could actually be sung about and not cringed at. He\u2019s also an artiste of his time and his artistry blooms on this.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Love is Contagious<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;is a fine attempt, an obvious upgrade on his first&nbsp;<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Evolution<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Even when differing musical movements will seek to claim WurlD for themselves, the music is driven on the wheels of love \u2013 surely universal. By singing out his truest self over production he feels comfortable with, he comes in between the politics which threatens the fluidity of his art. And he knocks it down.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Stream&nbsp;<em>Love is Contagious&nbsp;<\/em><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><a style=\"color: #333333;\" href=\"https:\/\/umgafrica.lnk.to\/LoveisContagious\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #f2994a;\"><strong>Read Next :&nbsp;<a style=\"color: #f2994a;\" href=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/del-b-aphrodisiac\/\">Del B\u2019s Aphrodisiac is a collection of vibey songs<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WurlD manages to find common place in his music. Luckily, he is no longer the inaccessible foreign-influenced kid as detractors would have liked to tag him. WurlD\u2019s music has been encompassing since the first day. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":23350,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7833,9373],"tags":[23804],"location":[8172],"yst_prominent_words":[23870,23856,23862,23869,23855,23864,23858,23859,23861,23805,23857,23867,23853,23860,23865,23868,23854,23863,23866,23852],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41850"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41850"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=41850"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=41850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}