Finally, we were all blessed with the release of Wande's debut album Exit. Prior to its release, there had been multiple singles and featured performances by the artist, and in each of them, we could sense that this girl is actually something special in the hip-hop scene. After all, wasn't she the first ever female artist signed to Reach Records?
First of, the sequence of the album was just fitting with the whole story being told. Starting with Be Yourself, and then ending it with Be The Light was especially significant. Exit was simply the story of God working through Wande from the start of her life till now. You know, there aren't really enough big female names in the hip-hop industry, and even less in the christian hip-hop genre. Because of that, I feel like it would be very easy for an upcoming female star to try to copy a big name, and then lose yourself in that light. Like she said in Be Yourself;
"Don't be a clone, you were made too unique, yeah
Got some dreams, but you too 'fraid to speak yeah."
And ending the whole thing with Be The Light? That was a stroke of genius. Like, right now, after everything is said and done, our primary purpose is to be THE light. We're supposed to;
"waste no time, yo, we got souls that need saving
I gotta be on it, yeah
Tryna go and save the nation, uh"
I really appreciate the fact that she recognized her Nigerian roots in No Further and WAKANDE where she spoke the Yoruba language and Pidgin English. It really meant so much to me to hear her do that as a Nigerian and African. And I learnt cool Yoruba phrases too.
I guess there were several themes from the album. Apart from the story of her "Naija things"
At '96, when she crossed that ocean, hit that Texas scene, just so she could get a better future, there were mentions of fake friends and betrayals on A Million Ways where she said;
"Yeah
I had some homies, but yeah, they switched up on me
I gave 'em love and my trust
In exchange, they gave me deceit
I keep it chill when I'm living
But still they wanna impose
But I'm not one to expose
Because the Lord, yeah, He knows
Yeah
Friends for life or a season, yeah
People switched up and changed on me
Fam became just a stranger
See, I tried to sympathize, and now they spreading lies
And now I'm cutting ties right before my eyelids
Crazy life got some big surprises"
I personally enjoyed the way she referred to those fake friends in Be The Light. She went like;
"Got some people on the slight diss
Call 'em Judas with the side kiss"
Then there was that theme. That theme of how material things never satisfy and joy doesn't rely on them at all as seen in Nice Things and Happy.
And don't you just love that beautiful prayer in the final part of ICONIC and the song More To Me?
Finally, as I heard the intro of More To Me and the No Further song, I couldn't help but wonder; did Wande have issues with her image? Did she have issues with the way she looked? Did she have to overcome self hate?
I personally enjoyed the featured artists. From Taylor Hill (who I must say is an absolute genius) to WHATUPRG and nobigdyl who she featured on Been Up. Once again, we were introduced to the lyrical genius of nobigdyl, and his supernatural ability to totally murder a beat and his flows that are totally out of this world. Too bad 1K Phew was not a part of this project. There are a few teams I like to see, and the team of Wande and 1K Phew, they're just breath taking. I totally lose it when I see both of them together on a track.
If I was to describe Exit in a sentence, I'll say something like Exit was Wande's entrance into the hall of CHH legendary status. This album had everything. Passion, a compelling story, a good message, everything. You could feel the passion of Wande engulfing each track. Her love for God and prayer was clearly expressed, and I can't wait for Wande's next step on her way to greatness.
LISTEN AND DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE ALBUM HERE
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