Certain music genres can keep you in the limelight longer than your peers.
I think that’s what’s working for Timaya.
Because when you look at it, he seems to be the only artiste from the 2000s era that remains relevant today.
While acts like D’banj, 2face, P-Square, 9ice are already in the senior citizens club respectfully, it’s almost as if Timaya has some more years left.
Unlike his peers, he hasn’t lost momentum despite the coming of the new cats.
And I think it’s his unique brand of dancehall-reggae music.
Most 2000s artistes who jumped on the Afrobeats/Afropop party banger wave, their songs aged badly.
Listen to Timaya’s ‘Gift And Grace’ album and D’banj’s ‘The Entertainer’ album released the same year, 2008.
You’ll think D’banj’s was released 5 years before Timaya’s.
Those Mo Gbono Feli Feli, Suddenly, Olorun Maje beats are very dated compared to the dancehall beats on Plantain Boy, I Don Blow, Dem Mama Anthem.
Although Timaya dabbles in other genres occasionally, he has remained consistent with the dancehall sound that launched his career.
With hits after hits from the mid 2000s ‘If To Say’, to the 2010s ‘Sanko’ ‘Bom Bom’, to the 2020s ‘Gra Gra’ ‘Sweet Us’.
And he still has the same effect on a new generation of fans today.
In a nutshell, the dancehall genre has kept him around this long.
The sound has a greater staying power than others. He also makes dancehall exciting.
BTV reporting
