Mercy Chinwo’s ‘The Cross: My Gaze’ celebrates gospel and highlife music

Since its release on 20 February 2018, the album has produced at least one song, 'Excess Love', that features prominently in Nigerian church music.

This is probably because the album helps the believer worship her maker, but along with its celebration of God, the album is also a celebration of highlife music, a genre originally created in Ghana but with different manifestations in Yoruba and Igbo cultures.

On Chinwo's album, the highlife tracks, 'Bor Ekom', 'Regular', 'Imenem', 'Correct', 'I am' and 'Inhedinma' use jazzy horns, an even jazzier baseline, lead guitars, sonorous acapella infusions, a flavour of calypso and congas that echo on. Elements of South African vocalising by way of scatting make Chinwo's expression of highlife even more unique.

Below are brief notes on some of the album's tracks.

Bor Ekom

This is a highlife masterpiece, with a stamp of Chinwo's magnificent growl reciting adlibs. Chinwo scats and enacts a recurrent Zulu drawl. 'Bor Ekom' is a fine highlife track influenced by jazz and South African music.

My Responsibility

Chinwo reminds listeners that believers have a responsibility to tell the world about God. She delightfully sings the words, "You never change…You won't start now" and applies some intensity when she sings the line, "How excellent is your name". 'My Responsibility' is the perfect recipe for new levels of worship.

Incredible God

The harmonies in the lines, "You're seated in heaven / You made the earth your footstool / Incredible God" are enjoyable. This song gives has a Kirk Franklin vibe.

Receive It

With a more modern rhythm and blues influence, Chinwo sings about the spiritual principles of open doors, confessions and receiving from God.

Excess Love

This track is the eternal love song from God to mankind, using Ms Chinwo. It is much loved by believers and the Nigerian church. No surprise as you will definitely have this track on replay for many weeks.

Omekannaya

This soulful acoustic ballad has a Zulu acapella feel that is divine. Chinwo explores the depths of her vocals on this track, which explains how she cannot live without God.

With All My Heart

Chinwo's vocals go pianissimo here, slathered with violins and sonorous back-ups, with super clear harmonies.

Igwe

Chinwo starts raspy against the piano playing softly on this ballad fit for a musical. She then becomes soft, along with the backups and slightly soft digital trumpet. Her voice becomes slightly animated as the digital instrumentation does a pizzicato number. It's almost like a whole orchestra comes in at "Oh, what a father I have in you", immediately creating imagery of heaven's armies coming to the rescue when you choose God over anyone else. This is the album's most classical piece.

Regular ft. Fiokee

This track is proper highlife, as well as calypso-eque, with its throbbing percussion and repetitive melodic syllables.

Imenem

The intro here recalls Kenny Kore's 'Hallelujah' ever so slightly. This song is such a proper African track, recalling Nigerian sitcom New Masquerade, especially with the parallel harmonies of the backups.

Correct

This track is more modern and more calypso than it is highlife. In a call-and-response fashion, loaded with creole and pidgin, 'Correct' is an easy paddle.

I Am

The ogene on this track is striking.

Inhedinma

This song is mostly about its instrumentation. Chinwo utters a few call-and-response words, which carry the same spirit as the previous tracks.

Last notes

In the coming years, Chinwo’s The Cross: My Gaze will become a snapshot of Nigerian gospel music in 2018. It would be a decent picture going by the quality of this album.

Artist: Mercy Chinwo
Album: The Cross: My Gaze
Label, Year: EeZee Concepts, 2018

Buy Mercy Chinwo's The Cross: My Gaze.