British-Nigerian rapper, $tevoxcv released a new EP, “Nights in Gidi” earlier this year. Sounds on this EP include ‘Grinding’, ‘Ready or Not’, ‘After Party’, ‘Running’, ‘Jungle Fever’, ‘Stubborn’, ‘Trust Issues’, and ‘Destiny’. In this EP, he has features from EBII and David Meli.
The cover art of this EP is very interesting as it has a blown-up artwork of him in the middle, with two women in smaller graphics underneath. Then you can see a plane flying across the sky and high rises. At the corner, there is a sign that says ‘Enjoy Lagos’.
In this review, I will discuss ‘Ready or Not’, ‘Stubborn’, and ‘Destiny’.
To begin, ‘Ready or Not’ is a really intriguing song that begins by talking about sex and women in a decorative way however, it all changes and he starts talking about his work ethic. $tevoxcv says, “Every little thing that I touch. Putting in work. No fit consider I no fit dey dull. Is you ready or not. Ball in your court”. Through these lyrics, it is evident that $tevoxcv is raving about how he puts work into everything he touches. In pidgin, a language widely spoken in Nigeria, he says, “No fit consider I no fit dey dull”. This means that he cannot fail or be average. This adds to how he is talking so proudly about himself. In this song, he seamlessly transitions between rap and singing on an incredible beat that captures the attention of the audience.
Contrary to that somewhat inspirational song, ‘Stubborn’ does the opposite. Throughout this song, $tevoxcv mostly talks about women as an object which is disheartening to hear. He says, “Girl in my top three but she ain’t second or third”. Initially hearing the title of this song, that was not what I expected to hear. Moreover, he casually mentions, “Mans in London now but I’m Lagos bred”. With this, we see how he is very proud to be Nigerian, and like his EP title, he is using this song to speak about his identity as a Nigerian man.
On a lighter note, ‘Destiny’ is an incredible work of heart where he talks about being a child of destiny, his religion, and yet again instills confidence in himself. This is completely different from his other songs where he brought down women. He begins by saying, “Stevo you are a child of destiny. Always put God first. I love you”. His ending with the phrase ‘I love you’ statement is very powerful and shows how through this album he is also uplifting himself. It is remarkable to start the song with these lyrics and does its job of capturing the attention of the audience. His chorus sings, “Say no boy dem fit to run my race”. This is also in pidgin and indirectly means that nobody can compare to him.
These three songs, among many on his EP, are incredible works of art and speak volumes about his life as a young Nigerian man living in London.
