The vicious KLINTT is brewing something special
By Mutiat Alli
It has only been a few years since we first heard burgeoning Afro-pop act, Klintt, as he burst onto the underground music scene with his riveting debut ‘Swagtown Boy’.
The first four bars on the song, which talk about struggle and the challenge of trying to make it in ‘Gidi’, set the tone for what was to come.
Despite the obviously compelling lyrics, it is his great delivery that really caught the eye.
The doubletime flow on those four bars was followed by a completely different flow in the following four.
In fact, the first sixteen bars of the song saw him switch between four different flows seamlessly.
From that point on, it became obvious that Klintt’s versatility would be his strongest weapon.
Swagtown Boy was followed by the calm, foggy Joana, which surprised a lot of people who were probably expecting more of the same from Klintt.
But that is the thing about him, he is far too versatile to be that predictable. If Swagtown Boy was Klintt’s feisty entry through the door, Joana was his calm reminder that he is not here to compete with anyone but rather, forge his own unique lane.
He is not prepared to take the same path as anyone or mirror anything. As has been noted via interviews he has given, he does not even like comparisons with anyone.
In fact, whenever it is even hinted that he sounds like any other artist, he recoils to rework things.
He is an artist driven by the quest for unmistakable originality. In the time since his debut track down to his latest release, Bambiyaa, Klintt has moulded a sound that is not only unique but compelling as well.
Tracks like Problem, Murder Case, Shayo and Willing are proof. More importantly, his growth is apparent.
He has gone from a guy with a pretty raw sound, who was focused on being seen as ‘swaggy’ at the point of his debut, to the artist who strives to make timeless music that would delight both old and young, in the present and in a decade.
As he has said before, “the music must be built to last”. One thing Klintt has successfully done is emphasize a range of delivery unique to him.
He has developed a signature, near-feminine croon, one through which he has delivered some pretty memorable vocal performances.
There’s also patois/dancehall Klintt, the AfroBeat Klintt and a lot of other Klintt. Perhaps, his most surprising side is the one that has garnered him the most plaudits so far.
His Naija Refix cover of ‘Begging’ by Norwegian Electropop duo, Madcon, is his most popular track yet, garnering a plethora of rave reviews.
If there was ever a question about his versatility, hard as that may be to even imagine, this track effectively closed the debate.
The Nigerian music scene is witnessing a new generation of artists pushing frontiers and raising the bar to dizzying levels.
You have the obvious leaders, then the followers, and then you have The Vicious Klintt, an artist doing it his own way no matter what.
In many ways, he’s a musical rebel who will not conform.
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Rebels usually come in stereotypes, but he defies all of it by just being himself. Simply put, Klintt is the rebel with a very calm, unassuming personality.
But when the lights come on, and the microphone is waiting for him to breathe life into it, his musical stage alter-ego comes right out.
Sasha Fierce is that side of Beyoncé. For Klintt, it is The Vicious.
