‘Abu Dhabi’ is the exemplification of Ruger. On an incredible Afro-swing/Reggae-Fusion production with Trapsoul fusion, Ruger announces himself and his talent. His team made a grave mistake by mixing his supposed first single, ‘One Shirt’ with Rema and their label boss, D’Prince. 

They inadvertently made brands overlap and Rema’s overshadowed Ruger’s - expectedly. But by ‘Ruger,’ which is also the intro to his debut EP, Ruger truly arrived. If ‘Abu Dhabi’ was the exemplification of his incredible delivery, ‘Ruger’ was his true introduction. 

Delivery sets superstars apart from also-rans and Ruger has that superstar delivery. If he doesn’t crack it at Jonzing/Sony UK, it would definitely not be due to talent or a lack thereof. 

By formation, Ruger is like a hybrid Reggae-Fusion-Afro-pop artist. He has the attitude, tongue and dexterous delivery of a Reggae-Fusion act like Prince Swanny.

On his EP, ‘Ruger,’ ‘Bow,’ ‘Abu Dhabi’ and ‘Bounce’ sound like records that Koffee or Prince Swanny could have made. In fact, 'Abu Dhabi' shares a similar percussion with Koffee's Lassana-produced 'Rapture.'

He also retains the essential lamba of an Afro-pop artist. Who else can deliver lines “Whine Tsunami” and “Lodanida” with conviction and panache that comes with astute lyricism like an artist who is confident is his or her lamba?

As if those weren’t enough, he sings, “Make I deplete come your ozone layer, give you tungba tungba…” on ‘Monalisa.’ 

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this writer believes “Ozone layer” is a metaphor for vagina. We move...

ALSO READ: Ruger joins D'Prince's Jonzing

His proficiency at off-the-top delivery also comes off as a strength. He doesn’t mistime words on delivery. This is exemplified by the way he delivers “Oh God” on ‘Abu Dhabi.’ That delivery is so on beat, it’s almost scary. 

It’s just sad that after ‘One Shirt’ and ‘Ruger’ both failed to truly crack it - despite being good songs. It's also sad that an incredibly beautiful record like ‘Abu Dhabi’ would be a risky single in Nigeria. ‘Monalisa’ feels like single but it might not be good enough. Thus, Jonzing needs to get better at singles for this super-talented young man. 

He effortlessly documents love and sex with smoothness. On records like ‘Ruger’ and ‘Yekpa,’ he engages in self-adulation and braggadocio with smooth effortlessness. While ‘Ruger’ is more about his personal confidence and ‘Yekpa’ is more sexual, what ties the fundamental themes of self-adulation on both records is Ruger’s ability to ‘sell it.’ 

Superstars are also impeccable at make-believe. Jonzing/Sony impeccable chose ‘renegade brand’ for Ruger, complete with the pirate-esque eye-patch, now they must find better singles. They have proved that Ruger is a top talent, a hit single must now back it up. 

Ratings: /10

• 0-1.9: Flop

• 2.0-3.9: Near fall

• 4.0-5.9: Average

• 6.0-7.9: Victory

• 8.0-10: Champion

Pulse Rating: /10

7.9 - Victory