Over the last 24 months, Seyi Vibez has gone from being a promising, aspirational singer to a staunch street-hop ambassador who can lay serious claims to being the current face of the genre. The talented, Ikorodu-born singer, who has a pretty mundane name that reads like it was generated by an online tool that creates stage names, is anything but regular. While his autotuned vocals aren’t exactly standout, it’s his exhilarating, staggered flows that has endeared him to many, at least in recent times. 

In 2020, his breakout year, it is his balmy, motivational anthems that chronicles the struggles and experiences of the characters dwelling in the forgotten underbellies of society that earned him a loyal following. Singles like “God Sent”, “C Major” and “12:07” helped promulgate Seyi’s gospel and eventually, he cultivated a dedicated fan base who constantly rode hard for him. His renown would, however, skyrocket at the tail-end of last year after the release of his debut album Billion Dollar Baby. “Chance (Na Ham)”, the album’s thrilling centerpiece proved to be the adequate force he needed to knock down the gates of the mainstream. His unique, rapid fire flow — which sharply alternates between slow and fast like it’s being powered by a V8 engine — is what mainly propels the track and makes it almost irresistible. 

In hopes of quickly cashing in on his newfound fame, the singer released a surprise EP last week titled Memory Card. The 5-tracker, which comes less than a month after the release of Billion Dollar Baby Deluxe, is mainly held together by the same scatter-gun flows that’s helped elevate his status. Though a couple of the tracks here sound like throwaways, “Alaska”, the project’s median track, manages to stand out. It’s fun, sometimes nonsensical, and unpredictable. One minute he’s rapidly spitting word salads like a loaded M2 Browning, the next, he breaks into a slow flow, singing: “Baby, lo simto / Puerto Rico / O f’owo ra dildo” (which doesn’t particularly translate to anything meaningful in any language). But that’s his current appeal. He can say just about anything on a record, but the manner with which he delivers is what’s earning him new converts and keeps bringing many back for more.