Fedoras, Fine Men and Wrappers | Featured Artiste: P.I.T.A

Fedoras, Fine Men and Wrappers | Featured Artiste: P.I.T.A

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I own just two fedoras.  One is gray (like the one in the picture), and the other one is red.  Unfortunately (for me or you?) I am not about to delve into details of the places I have worn these fedoras to, and people's reactions to me (and my sister) wearing fedoras.  #TrueStory.  Does it help that we wore them with suspenders too? Move over Janet Jackson!  Neither am I  about to give you my top ten reasons for why I think every man (and woman) should own a fedora.  *wink* Rather, I shall .... Okay read on.

Towards the end of 2011, PITA has announced that he would be releasing his album, "As I Am."  Naturally, I was excited because I had heard listened to his two singles, Imela and No Evil (featuring FLO and Michael Abdul of Midnight Crew) over the previous year, and I was quite impressed with this new artiste.  


When the album finally dropped in December 2011, I had a hard time deciding which tracks were my favorite ones.  Looking closely at my iTunes playlist, I saw MmaMma Ekele "trending" within a few days of buying the album.  I knew it was just a matter of time before I would review the song.  Rather than just write a review, I decided to add my own "efizi."  Why? Because Y has a long tail and two branches *straight face* My efizi is just an idea, a little story about how I view the song, MmaMma Ekele.

I introduced my sister (yes, the only sister I have) to the song, and her reaction was to tell me about how she imagined the music video would be:  her words (paraphrased) were: "I can imagine a bunch of guys dancing to this, wearing fedoras, snapping their fingers and singing "MmaMma Ekele."  Clearly, I am not the only one with the over-active imagination.  I took it a step further though.  I decided that the men would be fine men (feel free to paint any picture of a fine man in your own mind), they would be wearing fedoras, and they would be tying wrappers (simply because the song is partly a traditional one.  That's the excuse I am sticking with).  I am still undecided about what material the wrappers will be made from: woodin, ankara, lace, brocade, chiffon, silk ... the list is not-quite-endless.  I doubt that PITA will be releasing a music video for this song, but I figured I would have fun planning his life (and never-to-be-released music video) for him.  *smiling sheepishly*

Wait a minute! Where are my manners? (Don't answer that! I know you were about to reply with a "smarty-mouth" comment like: "In Agege, of course")  I have not given you a chance to listen to the song.  My bad.  You can listen to "MmaMma Ekele" below:


I decided to also include the remix of MmaMma Ekele because I like the different angle he took to the same song.  You can listen and judge for yourself.

 


So, what would have been your idea for the music video (if there was one)?  *nodding* Yes, I really expect an answer.

And now for the review.  You didn't think I would just yarn about fine men, and what they are wearing, and not review the song, did you? *you can close your mouth now and quit acting so surprised*

THE REVIEW

PITA / ReverbNation

Likes:  The song has a calming, soothing effect, and that might be partly due to the instrumentation/style of the music, which I have deduced to be soul/jazz.  The instrumentation literally sets the mood, with the guitars (acoustic and bass) playing a major role in the "mood-setting."  The lead vocalist, PITA, keeps the song on course, interjecting adlibs where you would expect them to be.  The background vocals are strong and well-balanced and I would argue, are almost as important to this song as the lead vocalist.  Their role in this song is such a major one that I cannot imagine the song without them.  I think that is partly due to the fact that they are essentially the ones repeating the chorus constantly (i.e. MmaMma Ekele), thereby freeing PITA to work on the solos and adlibs.  In other words, the song arrangement is pretty good.  The outro was good too, and in my opinion would really work with the fedora-themed music video I mentioned above. *smiling*

Dislikes:  The one thing that makes me cringe whenever I listen to this song is that at a crucial part of the song, PITA (and whoever sings that harmony with him) go off-key.  The part I am referring to is around 3:29 and is hard to miss.  The attempted harmony was harsh, and should either have been eliminated completely or they should have picked a more comfortable key.  However, PITA (and the rest of his team) are able to steer the song back on track and keep it on track all the way to the end.  Furthermore, although the songwriting was okay, it could have been better.

Recommendations:  (1) Eliminate that section where the harmony was strained or pick a more comfortable key (2) Work on the songwriting.  There is room for improvement.  (3) Buy a Fedora and practise singing with it.  The one in the above picture can serve as inspiration.  This, is of course, OPTIONAL *grinning*

Overall:  This remains one of my favorite songs on PITA's 'As I Am' Album.

Finally, some more information on PITA:

Artiste's Stage Name: P.I.T.A (Praise In This Age)

Artiste's Real Name: Peter Linus

Connect with PITA: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Blog

Listen to more of PITA's songs: I Want Airplay | ReverbNation

Featured Song(s):  MmaMma Ekele, MmaMma Ekele Remix

Featured Album: As I Am

Buy Album: iTunes 

Oh, before I leave, I wanted to say "Happy New Month" to everyone! It looks like we're officially counting down to December.  May the second half of the year be even more fulfilling than the first half in Jesus name.  I hope you said Amen.  I did.