‘omo charlie champagne’ - simi

With an album title that’s close to heart and of personal significance, Simi’s 4th body of work (Omo Charlie Champagne) coins its name from the moniker of her late father, “Charlie Champagne”, but it’s more than just a songbook dedicated to his memory. After a conversation with a highly respected music enthusiast, here’s my brief and direct take on the highly talented songstress’ input & performance on her latest offering.

The 13-track project unsurprisingly begins with an actual tribute to Baba Simisola, which is a respectable albeit ambiguous introduction to the album. Further tracks down the line are certainly enjoyable. She knows what she’s doing with her pen. One of the best out of Nigeria in writing and making music, the album does have subtle drawbacks with its features, and it’s probably where she relinquishes creative control on some parts of the album’s direction. She dropped a few pointers on this pertaining issue in the music business on the interlude, “The Artist”, which sheds more lights on the vindictive realities that music creators face in a fast-growing music industry.

A couple features were worth it and are easily the fan favorites on this album. The tracks with Adekunle Gold & Falz once again highlight Simi’s remarkable chemistry with both artists, emphasizing just how formidable she is as a common denominator as far as both are concerned. Under the guidance of superb music producer, SESS - the problem kid, Simi goes outside her comfort zone and comes correct on Track 5 “Immortal” featuring Maleek Berry. Her pre-existing fans will be reminded of her breakout song, “Tiff”, with Track 8 “Move On”. The standout track on the album must be the grand piano-driven tune, ‘Please’, which has so much depth in its composition and was brilliantly recorded. Next best to this, is the emotionally relatable record ‘By You’ which features Adekunle Gold.

The overall performance on this album might not be as smooth as her second studio-album ‘Simisola’, which was released in 2017, but flows gradually. The album is necessary and her music growth is evident as it’s a definite shift from her last work. In a two-way tie on the review of this album, my average rating would be a solid 6.5/10.