( Yoruba: ''King of Music'') is the third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by Nigerian singer

Jaywon Oluwajuwonlo Iledare (born 6 June 1986), professionally known as Jaywon, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, performer, producer and actor (army of the thieves). Following his departure from Kennis Music, he founded the Next World Music record l ...

. It was released on 5 April 2016 by Next World Music. The album features

guest appearances The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

from Seriki,

May D May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May in the Southern Hemisphere is the ...

, Sojay, Stormrex,

Olamide Olamide Gbenga Adedeji (born 15 March 1989) is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He is regarded as one of the most influential artists in Nigeria and Africa and has been crucial to the creative and commercial succe ...

, Obesere, Reekado Banks, Kefchild, Kris D'razor, Eddy Kaddie, Reminisce, Mode 9,

9ice Akande Abolore Adegbola Alexander Ajifolajifaola (born Abolore Adegbola Akande), better known as 9ice (pronounced nice; born 17 January 1980), is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and dancer. He is known for his powerful use of the Yoruba language ...

Tiwa Savage Tiwatope Omolara Savage (born 5 February 1980), known professionally as Tiwa Savage (), is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress. Savage sings in English, Nigerian Pidgin and Yoruba; her music is a blend of afrobeats, R&B, afropop, p ...

, FMG,

Vector Vector most often refers to: * Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction * Disease vector, an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematics a ...

Phyno Chibuzo Nelson Azubuike (; born 9 October 1986), who is known professionally as Phyno, is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Phyno was born and raised in Enugu State but is a native of Anambra State. He started his musi ...

, Small Doctor, Cayana, YQ, and

Oritse Femi Oritsefemi Majemite Ekele (born 5 January 1985) popularly known by his first name Oritse Femi, is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and performer. He is best known for his remake of Fela Kuti's "Double Wahala" song. His rendition of the song earned h ...

. Jaywon enlisted production from Mr Ejor, Ben Jossy, Blaq Jerzee, TMode,

Young Jonn John Saviours Udomboso (born 16 February 1995), known professionally as Young Jonn, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer, currently signed to Chocolate City Music. He is also known for his hit singles Dada and the remix with David ...

, Metro on D Beat, Weird One, Psalm Jazzy, and Luminary Beat. ''Oba Orin'' serves as a follow-up to ''Meet Jaywon Reloaded'' (2011).

Background

Following the expiration of his contract with

Kennis Music Kennis Music is a record label, specializing in Afrobeats, R&B, pop and hip hop music, founded by Nigerian radio DJ Kenny Ogungbe in the late 1990s. The company's slogan is "Africa's No 1 Record Label". The current CEOs are Kehinde "Keke" Og ...

, Jaywon parted ways with the label in 2013 and established his own imprint, Next World Music. The split followed reports of a dispute, with Jaywon reportedly offering to buy out his contract, prompting Kennis Music to urge broadcasters to stop airing his songs until the matter was resolved. Although Jaywon declined to disclose full details, he emphasized his preference to avoid controversy and affirmed that there were no legal issues after the separation. He took creative control under his new label, releasing music independently in the lead-up to ''Oba Orin''.

Singles

The album's lead single is the remix to Jaywon's hit single "Madantin" which features

, and

. Produced by Blaq Jerzee, the song was released on 4 April 2014. The music video for "Madantin"'s remix was released on 4 December 2014, and features cameo appearances from Young John and Minjin. Olamide's verse was removed for an unknown reason. The

-assisted "Back to Sender" was released as the album's second single. It was produced by Blaq Jerzee, and its music video was directed by

Clarence Peters Clarence Abiodun Peters (born 20 December 1983) is a Nigerian music video director, filmmaker and cinematographer. He is the founder and CEO of Capital Dream Pictures, a production company that specializes in performing arts, film and video. H ...

and features guest appearances from various legendary musicians from the '70s to '90s. The third single "Okun United" features Next World Music act Kefchild and was released on 10 October 2015. Jaywon hails from the Okun tribe in

Kogi State Kogi State is a States of Nigeria, state in the North Central Nigeria, North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti State, Ekiti and Kwara State, Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, Fe ...

, located in Nigeria’s central region, which is the reason behind "Okun United". "Gbawo" featuring YQ was released as the fourth single on 19 October 2015. It was produced by Young Jonn. The fifth single off the album, "Jolly Muke" featuring

, was released on 24 February 2016. Its music video was directed by Unlimited L.A and was released on 29 March 2016. "Kule Lori" featuring Reminisce and Seriki was released on 7 April 2016 as ''Oba Orin'' sixth single. It was produced by Young Jonn. The Metro on D Beat-produced seventh and final single "Champion (Akogun)" was released on 22 April 2016.

Critical reception

Wilfred Okiche of ''360nobs'' praised ''Oba Orin'' as a bold, versatile album that shows off Jaywon’s strong vocals and deep roots in indigenous sounds. He called it “a fine collection of sounds that reflects Jaywon’s superior talent and the state of pop music.” ''Pulse Nigeria'' Joey Akan rated ''Oba Orin'' a 3/5, applauding the album as a deeply personal and refreshingly honest album where Jaywon blends Yoruba pop with life lessons and heartfelt storytelling. He called it “personal and insightful,” concluding that “it’s like Jaywon performed personally for you, in a crowded local venue.”

Track listing

Notes *"—" denotes a skit

Personnel

''Credits adapted from back cover.'' *Mr Ejor — production (tracks 1, 13, 16), mixing (tracks 1, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17) *Benjossy — production (tracks 2, 14, 19), mixing (track 2, 19) *Blaq Jerzee — production (tracks 3, 21) *T-Mode — production (tracks 4, 9, 12) * Young John — production (tracks 5, 8, 20) *Metro On D Beat — production (tracks 7, 11) *Weird One — production (track 10) *Psalm Jazzy — production (track 17), mixing (track 2) *Luminary Beats — production (track 18) *One Plus — mixing (track 3) *Indomix — mixing (tracks 4, 8, 9, 14, 18), mastering (all tracks) *Brain on the Mix — mixing (tracks 20, 21)

Release history

References

{{reflist 2016 albums Yoruba-language albums Afrobeats albums Highlife albums by Nigerian artists Albums produced by Young John (producer) Albums produced by Blaq Jerzee