Defayo 'Orange Heart' is a comprehensive curriculum of the Believers journey.
Orange color is most associated with warmth, care and sunshine.
Defayo 'Defaya' wears multiple hats; artiste, producer, mixing engineer. His sound is an ecstatic blend of Hip-Hop, RnB & Afrobeats.
Orange Heart the EP is his debut body of work.
THE STARTER
Defayo account of 'Orange Heart' opens up with 'Orange Theory', and it is an almost breathless recountal of the fall of man from the Book of Genesis linked to the story of redemption through Christ death, burial and resurrection and the endless possibilities it entails.
As the Nigerian anthem goes with the national pledge, the believers anthem without a pledge.
On production with the traditional call and response and crowd vocals, Defayo on 'Blvrs Anthem' details the life of a sinner synonymous with deceit and manipulation inspired by the devil and then he rightly transitions into a transformed life of the believer. A life that boasts of God's ample forgiveness, and no more gullibility to the devil's gimmicks.
Featured artiste, Oreoluwa Macualy recites the Believers pledge with fine oratorical command.
'Light' (Remix) is refreshing because It debunks the narrative that creatives who make faith-based music are not intentional about building an expansive soundscape.
On EDM production with Sal Xy and Jo Deep as collaborators. 'Light' can make a setlist for an electronic music festival.The type of track a DJ spins within a dark room of cheering fans, with laser beams as the only form of illumination.
'Light' is from the perspective of believers who are called forth to shine their light, believers who are armed with the realisation that they have the light of Christ capable of serving as a compass.
It is noteworthy to state that Light has crossover potential especially in this less travelled road of House music /EDM.
'SOTÉ' is an abbreviation of the Matthew 5:13 term 'Salt Of The Earth'
Limoblaze and Tunmise's presence influences the Hip-Hop essence of the track. Together they all reinforce the motion of persecution that believers would experience and have to overcome because they are the salt of the earth.
'Never let a man down' with Elisa M is the ultimate salvation story.
At first listen, it's a struggle to know if it's the case of a believer who relapsed into sin or the story of the man perpetually living a life of sin and shame, but with conclusive writing like 'Now I'm born again' implies the latter is the case.
This is the unrelenting love of a shepherd who left 99 sheeps in the pursuit of one and how the heavens rejoice at the salvation of just one soul.
'Testimony' is arguably the best production on this project, with the instrumentation architecture leaning towards dancehall and characteristic Afrobeats trumpets.
'Testimony' pretty explanatory is the narrative of a man who has never been let down. Favour,divine provision, healing, unrequited love and open doors are some of what spurs Defayo's testimony.
FINAL LAP
The consecutive narrative to Orange Heart follows thus: The story of the fall of man and his imminent rescue in 'Orange Theory', to the posture taken only by believers in 'BLVRS Anthem', to becoming believers with light in them in 'Light' which effectively aids their transitions to becoming salt of the earth in 'SOTÉ'.
The penultimate track is a story of a rescue mission and the curtain closer is on a thanksgiving note. Taken out of the context of a project and as singles, 'Never let a man down' and 'Testimony' have perfect sequencing and continuity.
But when it is returned to its original context of an EP, the storytelling turns out to be fractured.
One of Defayo strengths lies in genre defiance. His artistry relies on attacking a song with a different subject matter and very convincing flows.
But to appreciate this in Defayo, it is important that he has room to shine and that he is not overly reliant on features.
Once again, Defayo 'Orange Heart' is a comprehensive curriculum of the believers journey.
You can listen to Defayo Orange Heart here
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