By Henry Akubuiro
Colourful green and red trees and flowers, with sparkling lights, are everywhere you go, ushering in the Christmas season.
Jingle bell anthems echo in the streets and crannies far away. Of course, the Christmas canon has always been dominated by old school vibes, with greatest generational artists of pre-80s accustomed to many ears across the globe, making it hard for newcomers to break into the fold.
Tosin Bee’s Ding Dong, a medley of “new” Christmas songs, makes an endearing proposition. Commonalities of Christmas songs include celebrating Mary’s son, Jesus, whose birth in Bethlehem centuries ago, is the overriding reason the world unites to celebrate the season, coming at the end of the year, with the choruses teeming with jubilant refrains.
Tosin Bee’s Ding Dong contains exciting songs. The piano and guitar wails of the opening track, with honey-dipped vocals, celebrate Jesus in a reskinning of an old classic: “All come, let’s adore Him”, and chords that ascend to a mercurial climax.
One of the unique things about Ding Dong repertoire is the fluidity Tosin Bee transits from piano and brassy ballads to mid-tempo uptown beats. The pre-chorus rendering of “Do you know your baby boy has come to make your life new?” projects a joy-centric sonic you cannot but help put on repeat, without loose ends. It comes, too, as a preachy, altar tone, with “Alleluia” choruses adding to the feel.
Ding Dong is an eclectic blend of Western, soulful vibes and local Naija dance-odes.
Fuji and juju influences can be heard in the third track that lends to the title of the album, with a lyrical mix of “hosanna in the highest”, “come, let’s adore Him’, and “I wanna wish you a happy Christmas”.
This track, with its pulsating talking drums and improvised bleats, instantly takes you to the floor. There is also a sprinkling of Yoruba lyrics aimed at domesticating the audiences in a fitting “owambe” synth that enhances its commercial appeal. As it winds up, praise songs in honour of the Most High God resonate. Some are regular Naija church songs but transformed sonically.
Ding Dong, Tosin Bee’s entry into holiday canon, is meant to occupy a special place on your holiday playlist. Yes, ‘I got joy in my life,” sings the artist. If given a moment, this Christmas medley is bound to colonise your holiday joyfully. What else do we need for the season aside champagne and chicken? Try this holiday medley. You won’t regret you did!