Durella Laughs Last

September 28, 2010 0:00 am 

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Even though they might be insecure enough to think otherwise, the truth is that there are only a handful of indigenous artistes popular enough to be consistently 'hated' on by the Fourth Estate, printing ink costs money these days, and fortunately/unfortunately for him, Durella is one of them.



Unlike many of his overexposed colleagues however, Durella gets a flogging for misgivings in his professional rather than his personal life; uncanny similarities with an equally animated, sunglasses-clad, torso-revealing singer (D'Banj), add that to his overtly sexual lyrics and an (ineffectual) NBC ban on his music to match, and it's not hard to see why it's been an uneasy ride for the King of the Zanga, but on his second go-around Durella hits out at his detractors, going for the jugular. Soon after its release, My Life (a.k.a H'enemies) became the theme song for anyone who's ever felt 'hated' on before and the Zangalist's career was finally facing the direction of the rising sun. He who laughs last
Reconfigurated is Durella's first full body of work since releasing (and re-releasing) his debut album King of the Zanga. One thing that characterized the KotZ album was its intensity and on the uniquely titled Reconfigurated, Durella retains that same vigour, but it's the application of that energy that is far more measured this time around, the results a little more deliberate.

Durella took a gamble by handing little-known Sam Klef a sizable portion of the album's production duties, but it's a risk that paid off as the young producer steered Durella's sound in a different direction. The invigorating Boom Boom gives Durella ample space to just wild out, the bass is heavy, the pace is relentless and the self-crowned Oba carries on without any particular skill or vocal expertise, just bucket loads of charisma. It's that charisma that Durella infuses into the absolutely monstrous My Life, giving Klef's banging drums a life of their own, sadly though the CD version of the hit song is wretched in quality.

The other producer with a large footprint on Reconfigurated is K. Solo, and with the exception of the painfully mundane Baba God, the ace producer is able to make his client sound nothing like Timaya for once.

The biggest surprise in K.Solo's kitty is the dance floor-ready Don't Go Funny featuring the aforementioned Timaya where K.Solo takes a break from his trademark kpalongo style to deliver an edgy beat which Durella is perfectly at home with. That song gave birth to the popular phrase  'Is that why we're here' as the Mushin-bred artiste once again influences urban culture with his infectious lingua. Reconfigurated does go 'funny' once in a while though, like when Durella makes the ill-advised decision to ruin Hustle with 16 bars, and then there's that abysmal remix for My Life with Terry G.

After all is said and done, Durella and TC Records contrived to smuggle a good album into stores when Reconfigurated had everything it needed to land with a bang! With the momentum his well-received singles helped him generate, you can't help but wonder whether Durella just squandered a wonderful opportunity to launch his career into orbit.

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