Jah Prayzah, Davido collabo gets mixed reactions

‘My Lilly’ is available on Spotify and iTunes, among other online music platforms. It comes two months after the ‘Watora Mari’ hitmaker joined forces with South African duo Mafikizolo on the song ‘Sendekera’. Prayzah is no doubt eying the crème de la crème of his African colleagues, hence the duet with Davido.

Produced and shot in South Africa by South Africa-based Nigerian producer Godfather, ‘My Lilly’ is a love song in which both artists express their love for the women in their lives. Written by Prayzah and Davido, the song preceding the video release was produced by Zimbabwean producer DJ Tamuka of Military Touch Movement (MTM) – a recording stable owned by Prayzah.

Prayzah took to Facebook to announce the news to his fans. “The 'My Lilly’ video featuring Davido is now online masoja (soldiers),” he wrote. “Please visit and share the link. Thank you masoja for the patience, chimbo ndoziva ndechenyu (this is your song).”

Music In Africa spoke to Prayzah about the collaboration. Responding to why he chose Davido for his latest song, Prayzah said: “I have always been a huge fan of him (Davido) and having the opportunity to work with him was awesome. We will still work with more artists in and out of West Africa but unfortunately we can only do one project at a time.”

Prayzah features on an impressive list of collaborations with artists from outside his home country, including Diamond Platnumz (Tanzania), Mafikizolo (South Africa) and Charma Gal (Botswana). In June, he was among the three African musicians who teamed up with Jason Derulo on a remix of the US artist’s 2010 hit ‘In My Head’ for Coke Studio Africa.

Asked which other artist he is eying for his next collaboration, Prayzah said: “I will definitely let you know when something comes up. But my main motive is to spread my music to every corner of Africa and overseas.”

Since its release last week, ‘My Lilly’ has already caused a great deal of commotion on social media. Plot Mhako, a Zimbabwean journalist and music critic based in Germany, wrote on Facebook: “I may not be convinced by Jah Prayzah’s latest collaboration but I am certain he is going somewhere and in the process writing our musical history on a global level.”

Fans also took to social media to share their opinions. “Are the Jah Prayzah international collabos giving us better music?” one fan wrote. Another said: “Handisi kuona (I don’t see) anything wrong with the Jah Prayzah & Davido's ‘My Lilly’. It's a beautiful love song and I like it.”

Zimbabwean blogger Robert Mukondiwa spoke to Music In Africa about the ‘My Lilly’ video, saying Prayzah could have done better on this particular collaboration. “He did a respectable thing in the collaboration but it's hardly a great song,” Mukondiwa said. “It’s just another track on an album or playlist but not the best piece of work. Perhaps when he works with big names again he should take more time to ensure he totally utilises their contribution and their big names.”

Zimbabwean blogger Larry Kwirirayi had a different view. “This is probably one of the most important music collaborations involving a Zimbabwean artist,” he wrote. “If you are mainstream Jah Prayzah critic then this song is not for you. If you are someone with expectations then you might get a little upset. But if you are about art, music and letting people tell their stories, you will enjoy this little number. A dope production.”

Zimbabwean musician Thomas Chizhanje echoed Kwirirai’s opinion. “Well done Jah Prayzah on your new song with Davido. Dude you are moving mountains, you are a barrier breaker,” Chizhanje wrote on Facebook.

Comedian Carl Ncube said: “What I love about Jah Prayzah is that he is the ultimate famous celebrity that the comedy industry needs. Someone successful and so famous, we can make fun of him outside Zimbabwe and people will get the jokes because he is that big.”

Meanwhile, Davido, who sings in Shona on ‘My Lilly’, hasn’t posted anything online about the collaboration with Jah Prayzah. To make things worse for the Zimbabwean singer, a number of Nigerian media outlets and critics have concluded that the video and its music would have a tough time to appeal to West African audiences.

Perhaps the most lucid comment since last week has come from Zimbabwean journalist and blogger Jonathan Mbiriyamveka, who said Prayzah wouldn't be reading too much into social media comments. "I think at the end of the day it’s about the numbers,” he said. “Jah Prayzah is not worried about what fans think. Good or bad, he knows he's going to get paid from YouTube views. That’s where the money is. He knows Davido has the numbers to push his views so it makes sense to earn from whatever he puts out there – good or bad."