Flaunt Weeekly
Perhaps no artist in Nigerian music is currently embracing their roots like Port Harcourt musician Wizard Chan.
His moniker The Masquerade is derived not only from the sombre coloured flowing trousers he favours but also from the otherworldly melodies of his music that’s heavily shaped by Ijaw Indigenous music.
When he captured mainstream attention in 2023 with his thought-provoking single ‘Earth Song’, he presented himself as an artist embracing the philosophical musings of Reggae music and the cultural richness of Indigenous Nigerian music. It’s with these dual influences that he explores existentialism through music that offers sobriety, delight, and musicality that holds up his artistry as a musician walking a path many will later come to follow.
His latest project ‘Time Traveller’ is a trip back to his Ijaw roots in which he drenches himself, soaking its folk wisdom, highlife melodies, and gyration energy he combines with Reggae and mainstream elements for a stellar project.
A desire to showcase his cultural roots is the cornerstone of Wizard Chan‘s artistry. He makes this clear on the opening record ‘Big Masquerade’ where he deploys highlife melodies and folk gyration that shapes ijaw Indigenous music as he embraces the identity of being a cultural flagbearer.
On ‘Koo Koo’ featuring Boma NameWizard Chan restates the universal desire for freedom and ease in the captivating soulful Reggae melodies of some of the genre’s greatest flagbearers like Bob Marley and Lucky Dube. The infusion of Ijaw folk melodies points points listeners to his roots which he wishes to spotlight.
The Big Masquerade plays on word with ‘Highlife’ where he coins infectious highlife melodies to create a rastaman blues that pays homage to Reggae’s symbolic plant which for centuries has taken away pains and turned men into sages. Although he brilliantly domesticates the message by using the Nigerian pidgin nomenclature “Cana (an abbreviation for the Canadian loud cannabis strain”this song is a universal anthem that unites Rastamen across the globe just like their symbolic dreadlocks.
He introspects on ‘Time Traveller’ where he recalls paternal lessons and blessings while contending with the reality of human mortality and the pain of inevitable loss. The hymnal melodies of ‘Timeless’ deliver the sobriety that transports listeners to the realm of consciousness where Wizard Chan’s highlife rhythms on ‘Remember Me’ echo the timelessness of his art.
At a time when the Nigerian mainstream is calling for diversity, Wizard Chan is an artist showcasing the depth that abounds in Nigerian indigenous music.
Songwriting, Themes, and Delivery: 1.7/2
Enjoyability and Satisfaction: 1.5/2
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