"Loni Ni" / "Safarawe" / "Atamatase" Released: 12 February 2010
"All The Way" Released: 9 November 2010
"Health is Wealth" Released: 6 March 2011
"Insanity" Released: 30 October 2011
Versus, also known by the longer title Versus: The Battle Line Is Drawn, is the fifth studio album by Nigerian indigenous artist 9ice. It was released on 7 December 2011 by Alapomeji Ancestral Records simultaneously alongside Bashorun Gaa. The album features a blend of Afrobeat and hip hop. The album was titled Versus because many artists are featured on the album, in which, 9ice is "versing" them, when, really, he's featuring them on his songs. Notable artists were featured on the album, including 2Face Idibia, Banky W., Duncan Mighty, Seriki, Mode 9, V.I.P, Tiwa Savage, Wizkid, Dagrin, M.I, Ajayi Brovas, Kwaw Kese, Timaya, Kwam 1, and Wizboyy. The producers that worked on the album include ID Cabasa, Puffy Tee, Tee-Y Mix, Cheepho, Spellz, Duncan Mighty, E.L, and D'Tunes. The fifth track off the album, Iya Alariya, was supposed to feature veteran musician King Sunny Adé, but the label failed to make time to get Adé and 9ice in the studio.[1]Versus was nominated for Best R&B/Pop Album at The Headies 2012.[2]
The album's initial singles, "Loni Ni", "Safarawe", and "Atamatase", were all released on 12 February 2010, with "Loni Ni" featuring a guest appearance from Dagrin, "Safarawe" featuring M.I, and "Atamatase" featuring Mode 9.[3] Following those four singles, "All The Way" featuring P-Square dropped on 9 November 2010.[4] Notably, the music video for "Loni Ni" premiered on 14 November 2011, and was directed by GINI.[5] "Health is Wealth" featuring fuji musician Kwam 1 was released on 6 March 2011 as another single off the album.[6] The final single, "Insanity" arrived on 30 October 2011, featuring Kwaw Kese.[7] The music video for the opening track, "Life Is Beautiful" featuring 2Baba, was released on 5 April 2015 and was directed by HG2 Filmworks.[8]
Composition
Versus is a conceptual album built around the idea of 9ice collaborating with and musically "going against" other prominent Nigerian artists. Each track features a different guest, including 2face Idibia, Wizkid, M.I, Tiwa Savage, Banky W, Dagrin, and KWAM 1, among others. The songs explore a variety of styles and themes, ranging from soulful introspection ("Life is Beautiful") to energetic dance tracks filled with Yoruba expressions ("On Point") and raunchy pop blends ("Tempo"). 9ice also draws from his Fuji roots on his collaboration with KWAM 1, while tracks with rappers like M.I and Dagrin bring a competitive edge, with lyrics that touch on rivalry and street credibility. While the album highlights 9ice’s versatility and ability to hold his own across genres, some critics noted that it occasionally feels more like a collection of individual tracks than a fully cohesive body of work.[9]
Ayomide Tayo from Nigerian Entertainment Today rated the album a 3.5 out of 5, saying that Versus "sometimes sounds like a collection of songs and not an album." He then stated that "9ice can go toe to toe with some the best names in the land even though he isn't ready to beat some of them yet."[9] The duo from Should You Bump This, Sho and Tunde, rated the album a 2 out of 5; Sho quoting "he should just get back to making music with ID Cabasa.", and Tunde quoting "9ice fails to deliver any standout hit on this album."[10] Wilfred Okiche of YNaija said the album "can be described as a boxing arena where he books some of the biggest names in the music industry to battle with them.[12] Ayo Jaguda did a track-by-track review on the album and gave it a 7/10,[1], while a writer for TayoTV who goes by the moniker Teaponpi rated Versus a 8.5/10.[11]
1 2 "Not That 9ice". SYBTonline. 20 January 2012. Archived from the original on 6 November 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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