I’m certainly not alone with my choice of favorite album. In fact, Giovanni Wuyep et al’s album, Tappers Drive should be heading straight to the Headies, if not the Grammys.
I have listened to the album nearly a thousand times since its release on January 25th, 2022. I strongly want to suggest that Giovanni and the rest of the team perform the complete album live in concert to the delight of some of us die-hard fans.
A not too fast or slow-paced, foot-tapping palm-wine musical album, Tapper’s Drive lyrics nevertheless carry emotional weight. Behind the catchy guitar melodies rendered by the genius, Jordan and Pere, and the expert and gifted productional ideas of King Pablo; this bootstrapping collection is stories of the murky side of Nigerian life humorously told by master storytellers.
The tracks deal with man and his pursuit of pleasure, the struggles of hard-working ordinary people, and the bitterness and anger they feel as life doesn’t go by their expectations. The song Tappers Drive, for example, sells the philosophy of hedonism, but more lightly and humorously.
The song “Barman” is a story about what happens in a bar, after a long day and all one wants to do is drown in an endless stream of “Shayo!!”. It’s not hard to imagine that the artists are channeling real people and real-life events they know or do not know into these songs. The album will leave you in no doubt of the unique and extraordinary talent of Giovanni Wuyep, Dele, Emmortal, Jibrille, Ill Jackz, Riscoe, and King Pablo.
Unlike many other talented artists, Giovanni Wuyep and his friends are consistently still releasing chart-topping, soul-filling new music and they continue to remain at the top of their game year in year out. It doesn’t surprise me at all. These are the artists who tell us our most fundamental stories about ourselves and when you listen to Tappers Drive, those stories are as relevant today as they will continue to be for a long time from now.
Enjoy Tappers Drive:
Younglan Talyoung
2022