Sylars’ ‘Baba I Thank You’ radiates beauty of African gospel highlife

“I HAVE a tale to tell/ Of the goodness of the Lord/ In my life, in my home/ All the things wey you dey do,” Sylars Akhigbe’s call-and-response with a backing singer opens the captivating record. Akhigbe, professionally known as Sanctified Sylars, has on several occasions showcased his artistry as a riveting slice of contemporary progressive Nigerian Christian gospel music. And on his recent song, “Baba I Thank You”, he fuses traditional highlife guitars, with indigenous lyricism, using Ijaw, Yoruba and Igbo lyrics and accents, scaffolded with modern contemporary Christian praise sound production.

From the song’s composition, Sylars starts with a slow-burn groove with piano chords and spiraling percussion. The vocals are arranged neatly to emphasize things like dialect and note density, across the four-minute performance. The song flourishes with more groove, midway, as vintage highlife guitars native to Western Africa come into the mix. The drums are more bassy, less tensioned amid the other instruments and the overarching harmony between percussion and string pushes the song towards the triumph  of arresting attention.

As the song glides closer to the end, Sylars steals the spotlight with praise chanting, where he and a lead backup vocalist burst into Igbo, and Yoruba, praise chanting, respectively. Sylars can be heard saying, “Chineke Ndewo, Otiti diri na aghi Jesus,” while the lady cries “Oba mi to farati bi Oke,” for about 15-seconds before the outro cues in. The song’s interesting pacing, as well as technical arrangement, call-and-response, as well as rich multicultural lyricism keeps it sharp, nostalgic and still crisp for a contemporary palette.

Overall, the song is a palatial experience into the fusion of contemporary Christian Gospel praise and indigenous Nigerian highlife music. It is Sylars’ own personal experience enjoying his ingenuity, as his charismatic delivery sharpens the song’s overall feel. Minus slight rustic audio mixing issues, the entire song rings through as a groovy listen, with high replay and recall value.

Sylars Akhigbe is an African social entrepreneur connecting communities through the Universal Language of Music under the auspices of The Melody & Soul Project C.I.C. Having led contemporary choirs of about 800 singers, and performed at massive religious conventions, sometimes, spanning crowds of over 20,000 people, Sylars has dedicated his artistry to harnessing the power of music to unite and uplift key aspects of the communities (Hospitals, Schools, Religious places, Care Homes & Day Centres.

Through innovative projects, partnerships and initiatives under the auspices of The Melody & Soul Project C.I.C., he is creating platforms that use music as a tool to bring positive impact on Stress Reduction, Mood Enhancement, Cognitive Function & Physical Rehabilitation to the community.

His work not only creates empowerment opportunities for creative youths to explore their talents, develop confidence, and contribute to a greater sense of collective identity but also serves as a force for good, enhancing the well-being of the community through therapeutic musical sessions while driving positive change.