Ashley CKS is His Own Muse on Five-Track Romance Rife Debut, ‘Ashley’ | LISTEN

A stellar and appealing identity is one of the Nigerian music industry’s most attractive selling points these days.

A gold mine of talent, it has become increasingly hard for every recruit to stand tall among their contemporaries but with special features that speak to their audience, especially with the younger demographic, certain mannerisms, fashion choices, writing styles, and even signature sounds has empowered the best of the best to stand out among their colleagues.

Bred in Nigeria’s Southern hustle central, Delta State, The Plug’s newest, Ashley CKS has clocked this approach and, on his debut, the five-track self-titled ‘Ashley’, he runs with his charming persona, shows off an armoury of unending sweet words, an understanding of the sounds that make the people tick and an intermediary mastery of the lover boy’s pen, all traits of a superstar on the rise.

Ashley CKS has a deep respect for the heart of Afrobeats and he shows this off from start to finish of ‘Ashley’. He sticks to the romance-themed blueprint which leverages Nigerians' affinity for love stories and in turn love songs, but he also attempts to stand out with a vocabulary that’s more extensive than the usual, one that serves as the drawing board for lines like:

“for your love, I go be your defender Rudiger the matta no man come closer”

One of the selling points of the EP’s opener, ‘I Love You’, is also a play on words that both speaks to Ashley’s love for football and penchant for metaphors. While ‘I Love You’ is an “old spice” (in Ashley’s words) that previously featured a heavier bass, its refinement on the EP, a mellower base that serves as the perfect accompaniment to his lulling delivery indicates that the singer-songwriter now leans towards the hit-making elements in the industry and means business.

Despite Ashley not following the self-gratifying route most musicians follow in their debuts, this doesn’t stop him from drawing strength from raw romantic experiences that will most definitely touch his listeners. Following the bass-driven confessional: ‘I Love You', he carries on with the romance theme, diving deeper into his heart on ‘Broken’, the only track on the EP with a music video. Less confident and running on quicker rhythms in contrast to the opener, Ashley does away with the subtle arrogance of a self-assured lover that drives the previous track and opts for meekness and humility as he attempts to win his lover back. As if in an attempt to run faster than his clearly ‘broken’ emotions, he tries to capture the attention of his muse and listeners with this quicker beat.

On ‘Commando’, Ashley panders to mainstream dictates with a nod to Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s brand of jazzy Afrobeat, a sound that has scored Grammy nominations for the genre's current stalwarts. Not only does he attempt to swoon his muse with lavish promises powered by the usual designer name-calling, but he also moves to win the public over with the Saxophone led instrumental that steals the show on the EP’s middle track.

Ashley isn’t short of enticing promises on the self-titled EP. His personality is that of a typical Nigerian loverboy and he sticks with it to the end. On ‘Our Love’, he unloads more choice lines, only this time, he’s a bit more brazen as evidenced in his use of sexual innuendoes, a real market seller that has put the likes of Ruger at the top of his game. Although the sound and story remain the same, Ashley makes sure to spruce things up with expansive lyricism.

‘Ashley’ ends on a very danceable note on ‘Sade’, a song that pays homage to one of the singer’s influences, Adekunle Gold. An acknowledgment of the victory lap that is the entire EP for him, he dances out and makes sure to pull his listeners along with him while still in his lover-boy character.

While the five-track EP does possess all the makings of a debut, casting Ashley in the light of a bright-eyed rookie, the confidence evidenced in his penmanship and his refusal to switch themes speaks to the kind of doggedness that takes people far in the industry. According to him,

“There is so much to give but let's just start with this”

LISTEN TO THE EP HERE

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