2018 was a great year for Odunsi (The Engine). A couple of years before, he’d slowly made a name for himself as an enigmatic singer who paired the nostalgic flair of early 2000s R&B music with a discernible local influence. rare., his remarkable debut, however, moved him from a promising act to a cult hero who operated and championed a creative renaissance — the then nascent alte community — in the country’s musical scene. The bigwigs acknowledged his brilliance while he also quickly became a source of inspiration for his peers. He crowned the year with a sold-out show in his home city; a coronation of some sort which was incredibly befitting for the dark prince of afropop. 

Five years on and Odunsi returned to the city that initially embraced his sound, putting together ‘The Delivery’, his second headline show in Lagos. It was scheduled for midday on the 7th of April, promising thrilling performances from Odunsi (The Engine) and a couple of his friends and peers. The promise, and the show entirely, was initially in danger of being a let down as technical issues delayed an early start. But after sundown, the show kicked off and it was up from there. Silent Noise set the mood with a hypnotic set while opening acts like Sober Tapes, Makama and Adhnok gave a good account of themselves with decent enough performances. 

 

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Odunsi (The Engine) stepped on stage a couple minutes before 10pm, performing the Tems-assisted “I Decided” to riotous applause. He proceeded to perform a medley of hits and deep cuts, taking requests from the crowd and engaging them in a heartwarming manner. He later brought on other acts like Wavy The Creator, Zamir, Brazy, SOLIS, Cruel Santino and others, rolling back the years with a couple of friends who have been pivotal in his come up as much as he’s been in theirs. The night climaxed when Teni The Entertainer, the pop stalwart who looks to be undergoing a notable transition, grabbed the mic minutes before midnight. She debuted the Genio-produced “No Days Off” which spurred a swirly mosh pit on two separate occasions. All the while, when Odunsi (The Engine) wasn’t onstage, he was on the sidelines, carefully curating proceedings while also spinning alternative versions of familiar records.

The Delivery was a near perfect night that reinforces Odunsi’s appeal, his pull, and his role as a tastemaker and a voice of an ever increasing demography who seek the very ethos that made the young star standout from the jump: uniqueness.