Album Review: Duncan Mighty participates actively on The Certificate

Duncan Mighty has earned the right to be called Port Harcourt’s first son. Indeed no other citizen- government official or private person,-  has worked harder than him at bringing the essence of the garden city to mainstream consciousness.

Thanks to hit songs like Port Harcourt Boy and benefactors like former Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, international jeweller Chris Aire and presently Nyesom Wike, he has been successful at it. He mixes dispatches from his favourite city with a healthy dose of praise singing of wealthy patrons. With such a formula intact, Wene Mighty is hardly likely to go out of season.

On The Certificate, his fifth studio album, Duncan Mighty does a blend of both, and more. He flips the script and gives the Port Harcourt Girl her own platform to shine but shows no interest in his sisters beyond wanting to wife them for their booty whining skills. Thus the end result holds no candle to his classic Port Harcourt Boy. On Killing Me Softly, Duncan Mighty is in love, but also environmentally conscious as he dishes to a lady love, If I break your heart it’s like oil spillage, keeping the travails of his home state on the front burner even when recording silly love songs.

One of the pleasures of listening to Duncan Mighty is his voice; his plaintive wail, capable of penetrating the hardest of hearts sits side by side with that of Timaya, his fellow south-south brother. Speaking of, the two go at it on the missed opportunity for greatness that is Owu. Fast paced and concerned with showing off their new found wealth instead of their vocal kills, Owu, lifeless and uninspired as it is, is no fit for their respective talents.

It is important to Duncan Mighty to belong in the right company. His origins may be humble but he’s since left them behind and embraced the praise singing art form that has helped him rub shoulders with the high and mighty.

After opening with piano strings and a soulful cry of welcome, the disc goes straight to business, preaching prosperity on Mama Born Dem and comparing his case to moneybags like Lionel Messi and Nyesom Wike. His angle appears to be that if these guys, born of females, can make it big in life, why not him? Duncan Mighty also reserves a full song for the Jagaban of Bourdillon himself in which he declares his wishes to get paper like Tinubu. This should keep Duncan Mighty in the Lagos circles for a while.

The themes are generously spiritual as Duncan Mighty wears his faith proudly, thanking God on moody tracks such as All Belongs To You and the highlife-like buzz of Give Him Praise. Duncan Mighty has no patience for the haters and blesses them with some form of madness on the overly simplistic Hataz. He refuses to let them dictate terms of his life and pushes back on Na Lie.

The Certificate is made from a formula, and it is the same one that has guided Duncan Mighty to success on previous records; from Koliwater to Legacy. The songs are catchy, beats are danceable, lyrics are plain and arrangements are simple and melodies are mostly pleasant. Onyinye is cut from the same cloth as previous Duncan Mighty hits such as Obianuju and Ahamefuna in that it is as danceable and inescapable as its predecessors.

Duds like DJs Anthem and Kpalele 4 Me crowd out the disc’s last third but Mr Mighty has already made enough of an impression at this point. No matter, the fans will love this one wholeheartedly. Everyone else? It’s probably going to be hit and miss. More hits though.

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