''Son of Mercy'' is the debut extended play by Nigerian singer

Davido David Adedeji Adeleke (born November 21, 1992), known professionally as Davido, is a Nigerian American, Nigerian-American singer, songwriter and record producer. Davido was born in Atlanta, U.S, and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. He made his mus ...

. It was released by

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

on October 21, 2016. The EP comprises five tracks and was produced by

Shizzi Oluwaseyi Akerele, popularly known as Shizzi, is a Nigerian platinum record producer, disc jockey and songwriter. Music career 2009–2015: Early life and career Shizzi started out as a drummer in church. He achieved recognition for his work on ...

, Kiddominant and Spellz. It features guest appearances from

Nasty C Nsikayesizwe David Junior Ngcobo (born 11 February 1997), known professionally as Nasty C, is a South African rapper, songwriter, and record producer. After releasing three mixtapes, and two Extended play, EPs, Ngcobo released his debut album ' ...

, Simi and

Tinashe Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe ( ; born February 6, 1993), known mononymously as Tinashe, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Tinashe moved to Pasadena, California, as a child, where she pursued w ...

. ''Son of Mercy'' tackles themes of love and combines elements of

Afropop African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop, Afro pop or African pop) can be defined as any African music, regardless of genre, that uses Western pop musical instruments, such as the guitar, piano, trumpet, etc.Olabode, O. (2023, J ...

, trap,

ragga Raggamuffin music (or simply ragga) is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music with heavy use of sampling. Wayne Smith's " Under Mi Sleng Teng", produced by King Jammy in 1985 on a ...

highlife Highlife is a Ghanaian music genre that originated along the coastal cities of present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its Gold Coast (region), history as a colony of the British and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It encompasse ...

and

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

. It was supported by the singles "Gbagbe Oshi", "How Long" and "Coolest Kid in Africa".

Background and promotion

Davido first announced plans to release ''Son of Mercy'' in September 2016, revealing its title and saying it would be released on October 21. Davido recorded majority of the EP's songs in the United States. ''Son of Mercy'' was produced by

, Kiddominant and Spellz. It features collaborations with

, Simi and

. In an interview with ''

The Native ''The Native'' (stylized in all caps) is a Nigerian-based music magazine publishing in Lagos. Founded in 2016, ''The Native'' focuses primarily on music, style, and art, championing the sounds and culture of tomorrow, today. History ''The Na ...

'' magazine, Davido criticized ''Son of Mercy'' and said he did not select the songs that appeared on it. The lead single, "Gbagbe Oshi" (Yoruba: "Kill the Drama" or "Leave the Matter"), was released on October 3, 2016. The song was produced by Shizzi and released nearly 10 months after Davido signed a recording contract with RCA Records and Sony Music. The accompanying music video for "Gbagbe Oshi" premiered on October 1, in honor of Nigeria's 56th annual

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

. The Tinashe-assisted track "How Long" was released on October 13, 2016, as the second single. The song fuses South African house music with Yoruba lyrics and R&B elements. Davido told ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'' he recorded "How Long" the previous year and agreed to put Tinashe on the record after being asked by a label executive to do so. Sabo Kpade commended Davido and Tinashe's sound and said "How Long" was a "smooth ride of a song". The video for "How Long", which was filmed in Malibu, features scenes of Davido arriving to the beach on a motorcycle and Tinashe on a white horse. The Nasty C-assisted track "Coolest Kid in Africa" was released on November 18, 2016, as the third single. The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Sesan Ogunro.

Composition

The Shizzi-produced track "Gbagbe Oshi" contains lyrics recorded in

Nigerian Pidgin Nigerian Pidgin, also known simply as Pidgin or as Naijá in scholarship, is an English-based creole language spoken as a ''lingua franca'' across Nigeria. The language is sometimes referred to as ''Pijin'' or ''Vernacular''. Coming into existe ...

, Yoruba and

patois ''Patois'' (, same or ) is speech or language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. As such, ''patois'' can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects or vernaculars, but not commonly to jargon or sl ...

. From a production standpoint, the song is composed of a muscular beat with two significant drum breaks. The contemporary

track "Maga 2 Mugu" features guest vocals by Simi; Chiagoziem of Filter Free Nigeria praised Simi for bringing "calm and sappiness to Davido's hyperactivity and directness". The Spellz-produced track "How Long" contains elements of

and soulful

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

. In the

Afrobeats Afrobeats, not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing, is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Ghana, Nigeria, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a st ...

-infused trap song "Coolest Kid in Africa", Davido exchanges bars with rapper Nasty C and boasts about not knowing how to save money. The highlife track "Return" focuses on themes of love and begins with an earnest admission about Davido's relationship with an unnamed woman.

Critical reception

''Son of Mercy'' received generally mixed reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

. Chiagoziem of Filter Free Nigeria said listeners who see the EP as a "collection of strategically-placed songs" would appreciate it more than those who see Davido as "one of a few African artists that record labels are telling the world could become the future of music". A writer for ''Pulse Nigeria'' awarded ''Son of Mercy'' 3.5 stars out of 5, describing it as a balanced project that is "somewhere between experimental and familiar, but weirdly satisfying".

OkayAfrica OkayAfrica (stylized as okayafrica) is a digital media platform dedicated to African culture, music and politics. Founded in 2011 by Vanessa Wruble and Ginny Suss as a sister site to The Roots frontman Questlove's Okayplayer, the site has become ...

's Sabo Kpade said Simi's voice on "Maga 2 Mugu" is void of "presence despite being pleasant", and criticized "Return" for lacking "a clean thematic consistency".

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References

{{Davido 2016 debut EPs Davido albums Albums produced by Shizzi Albums produced by Kiddominant Albums produced by Spellz Davido Music Worldwide albums