There’s a mixture of something in Ajebutter22’s music that’s hard to put a finger on. It’s both fleeting and omnipresent, hitting you hard, while also eluding your attempts at definition, or understanding.
It’s in the dark and lazy bounce of his voice, the lackadaisical effort at recording, the smoothness of the final product that neither inspires you to grant it repeated listens, but does just enough to make you linger on it.
That style, which I would call ‘lazy pop’ is not just reflected in his recording. On stage, he carries it with himself, performing with the least expending of energy, yet still doing enough to carry through with the process, and entertaining people along the way.
This measured effort, this snail-like creation of art, is carried through into his career. There has never been one huge push by Ajebutter22 to get his material out there. There’s no aggression to his strategy. He doesn’t attack your timeline, or generates conversations around himself, by going through the Lagos media interview circuit.
Everything is at his serpentine pace. He sings when he wants. He records when the time feels right. And he will damn well release it in the space and manner that he chooses. As for interviews, well, good luck with that.
But he achieves moderate success with that. While we are stuck in an industry which perpetuates the idea that being the hottest artiste in the country is the goal for every musician, it is not always the case. Not everyone wants that Wizkid money. Not everyone wants to be the king of every show as much as Davido. Some people just want to create art, and breathe.
Ajebutter22 is one of those. Music is not the be all and end all of his life. Music is a form of expression for him, and he does that, capturing his world as he goes. Some of his songs have pushed through the culture to become sleeper hits. There’s the immersive ‘Omo Pastor’, the relatable ‘Bad gang’, and of course, ‘Serenre’. And he has an album “Anytime Soon”, to his name.
Not bad at all.
He is currently working on a new one too, which is titled ‘Lagos Big Boy’. Over instrumentals by Studio Magic, Ajebutter creates a song drawn from the circles of Lagos Island and the perceived realities of living an elite bachelorhood in the moneyed city. Once again, that’s a circle that he operates in.
This might turn out to be a hit. It might not be a hit. But for Ajebutter, releasing music is already a victory for him. Based on industry standards, this is ‘Lazy’. But in that laziness, there’s a lesson for us all: Life in the music industry can be lived at whatever pace you chose.