Phyno Vibes with Olamide, Flavour

Ferdinand Ekechukwu

Prolific and deeply talented artiste, Phyno released his much anticipated fourth studio album “Something to Live For”. He made the announcement on Instagram with a caption and video snippet that reads: “My 4th studio album!!! Something to live for #stlf is out now!!! ENJOY…” The rapper had earlier dropped two singles this year, BIA and Stacks, both of which appear on the album track list.

With the first single from the 16 track album, ‘Stacks’, doing exceedingly well on digital platforms, this collection of sounds is an echo of the mantra that Africa is home, motherland to all people. On the track list for the album are two of the Phyno’s longtime collaborators and friends, Olamide and Flavour. Other notable names on the album track list include Peruzzi, The Cavemen, DSmoke, and JDess.

Other artistes featured on the album include Ghanaian duo; Pappy Kojo and Bee Pee as well as Canadian singer, Anjulie. Chillz and Eli lead the production credits on Phyno’s new body of work with three songs each while Masterkraft comes in behind with two songs. ‘Something To Live For’ is a beautiful cascade of vibes, with each song showing a different side to the Phyno sound that is known.

Known by many as a silent powerhouse and recognised for his uncanny ability to tell gripping stories through his songs, Phyno takes stock of his accomplishments, his vulnerabilities and at the same time, encouraging ambition, perseverance in the face of uncertainty and against all odds; a compendium of life’s experiences in lyrics that tastefully capture these different emotional textures in all the tracks.

Among the songs on the new album are Chizoba, Belongs to You, Ghetto, I do This, Do You Wrong, Winner, All the Smoke, Onye Nwa, No Love, Teaser, Paracetamol, and Ike Pentecost. ‘Something To Live For’ follows after Phyno’s previous albums including ‘No Guts No Glory’ (2014), ‘The Playmaker’ (2016), and ‘Deal With It’ (2019). He also released the collaboration album, ‘2 King’, with his brother and friend, Olamide.

Phyno started his music career as a producer in 2003, and is renowned for rapping in the Igbo language.