Ruger’s sophomore album ‘Blownboy Ru’ clarifies the malaise that has plagued the artiste: an identity crisis.
Ruger moves like an Afrobeats artiste, joins in Afrobeats banter, but his discography can easily pass for that of one of our Caribbean brothers.
The artiste himself classifies his music, not as Afrobeats, but as ‘African Dancehall’. His signing to Promised Land Records, spearheading their incursion into the African landscape, lends more credence to his Caribbean leanings. Ditto the features in both of his albums.
Ruger’s Limelight Banga
Ruger, born Michael Olayinka Adebayo, burst onto the scene in 2021 with his debut EP, Pandemic. It spawned hits like ‘Bounce’ and ushered in a fresh sound in a genre undergoing reboot with new singers like Rema and Omah Lay.
From the beginning, Ruger had flirted with Patois, but his strong suit had been crafting insane melodies matched with his superb vocals, backed by production with his long-term production partner, Kukubeatz.
He followed up the success of his first project with ‘The Second Wave’ in 2022, which showed Ruger at the height of his powers with hits like ‘Dior’, ‘Snapchat’, ‘WeWe’, and ‘Girlfriend’, cementing his rising stock as a certified hit-maker.
Ruger’s Blownboy Ru
‘Blownboy Ru’ begins with ‘REintroduction’ in which Ruger chronicles his early days and how he dropped out of school, embracing his musical talent. He always knew he would be a star and threw himself at that dream.
Blownboy Ru Album Art
‘Giveaway’ featuring Zlatan is arguably the best song on the album. An anthem to financial recklessness, Ruger sings, “Wetin be savings? Omo, we don chop everything.” Zlatan dropped a stellar verse. “I suppose go for X-ray ‘cos every day I dey chest billing.” The guitar solo at the end of the song further elevates this sonic masterpiece.
In ‘Jay Jay’, Ruger sings about his antics in a manner that will put Casanova to shame. He warns the girl not to get it twisted and fall in love – he is not just any player but a famed romantic dribbler.
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‘Dudu’ features Caribbean superstar, Kranium. It was an underwhelming collaboration saved only by Kranium’s superb verse. The chorus felt like a product of lazy writing – the simplicity is equally amusing and charming. In ‘Rub Minds’, Ruger pleads with a girl while on tour to send her location so they can ‘rub minds’.
‘Toma Toma’ is the lead single of the album. Featuring Tiwa Savage, the song targets a South American audience with the words translating into ‘Take’ but also used as a sexual innuendo. Ruger brags about being “one of one, ten over ten.
” ‘Wish You Well’ sees Ruger show his R&B side over the chorus but switch into Patois in the verses, as though unable to make up his mind. This mixture of Patois and English with sprinkles of Yoruba on an R&B beat continues in ‘Toro’, another love ballad.
‘99’ is yet another mid-tempo love song and is followed by ‘Runaway’ featuring Haile.
In the song, Ruger tells a lover that she can’t choose to run away, after all she did. The song is thematically confusing; Ruger wants the toxic relationship to continue – no one runs away, while Haile suggests one person runs away. The conflicting messaging makes the song forgettable.
In ‘Hellcat’, Ruger counts his blessings and how he is in demand globally, especially among the girls. “I’ve gone far.” The album closes strongly with ‘BlownBoy Anthem’. “This year we no gree for anybody…And I denounce any loyalty to any godfather; this year is about me.” The shots seem fired at his erstwhile label boss, D’Prince. He continued, “Showed loyalty, and they still hurt me.” Ruger still sounds pained, and we wish him healing, for his career’s sake.
‘Blownboy Ru’ doubles down on the Caribbean-slant taken by Ruger’s debut album, ‘Ru The World’. This may explain the lukewarm reception of both projects among core Afrobeats listeners. That said, the album underscores Ruger’s search for a dedicated space in an already congested soundscape.
At twelve songs – an acceptable minimum for such a full-length project – the album still manages to underwhelm, most likely due to obvious filler songs. The project would have worked better as a 6-track EP, trimming the fat and giving listeners a tighter, better listening experience.
With his showing in ‘Blownboy Ru’, it is possible that Ruger is facing both pen and melody fatigue. That said, he is still incredibly gifted and stands at a beautiful intersection between Afrobeats and Caribbean sound. It is hard to tell how much towing this fine line has helped or stymied his growth, but Ruger seems determined to continue experimenting.
Leaning more towards Afrobeats gave him one of his biggest hits, 2022’s ‘Asiwaju’ – a song that shows Ruger at the height of his powers. Reinvigorating his sound is the only way Ruger can survive in today’s ultra-competitive landscape.
If there is anything we learnt from this sophomore album, it is the need for Ruger to go back to the drawing board.
5.5/10