Music Review: Wotabade – Lydia Jazmine

I will be the first to admit that Lydia Jazmine has somehow managed to keep herself relevant in a market place that seems to be swamped, and she has done this without any significant output.

There’s a couple of things about the release of Wotabade that imply that things are turning a corner in this regard: first, she has a concert coming up this year, if memory serves me right, and this is the sort of single that artistes often drop to up the anticipation of, and improve in terms of that sort.

She’s gone the extra mile on this one, dropping a YouTube video that has garnered about 42,000 vides in two days – the video is built around slapstick comedy, featuring two women fighting over the affections of one man.

It showcases Lydia Jazmine with no makeup, and with no skin on show, which will probably catch most of you off - guard. It is a fun video, and works well for the song.
More importantly, Wotabade is a fun song, a catchy little ditty whose cheerful hook stays with you.

It is the sort of song that will do well live, on stage, with a bad. Its afro pop groove will have folks bopping along, and offers an intriguing variety to the sort of music that Lydia has on her resume.

https://youtu.be/Gt8DVSC6Ep0?si=zca_Hx90zIJm9eXf

I have always felt like Jazmine can sing, but has struggled to find something that works for her since the Daddy Andre collaboration that resulted in You & Me. Since then, you got the feeling that she was trying too hard – on Wotabade, her vocals are a lot more sultry, and she’ s just another girl with a mic, trying to have a bit of fun, and that’s what works for the song.

Another aspect that works for Wotabade is that it is a solo outing – a lot of her recent material has featured collaborations that were obvious efforts to rediscover a spark of some sort. Wotabade is proof that she can pull it off on her own.