While you must have been spending quality time on Spotify streaming what some call the album of the year by Salatiel, a lot of questions must have also been running through your mind like how did he manage to come up with the albums concept? How did he manage to rally some of Africa’s best artists on this album and how much money and resources must have been spent and put into coming up with such a mouth-watering project?
Friday February 26, 2021 will forever be a memorable day for singer, songwriter and music producer Salatiel. His debut album which many fans find worthy of a Grammy nomination next year, was released on February 26, 2021 after multiple delays due to some technical issues and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Salatiel somehow managed to pull through effectively, with his genius skills.
As they say, every disappointment is a blessing. It was a long time coming, but with all stats and content quality, the wait was worth it. The album is nothing short of excellent.
Like he sang in “Ayagayo” which was the first released song from the album, “Good times don’t come easy, but they do eventually” and it is safe to say that as it stands, the Alpha Better Records boss is sure going through a good time RN.
Since the Release of this album entitled “Africa Represented” the feedback and reviews have been quite mind blowing. We are yet to notice a negative review from this all musical album. This happens to be an album in which, he showed his versatility and dexterity, not only for his mastery in the Cameroonian sound, but the African sound entirely and even beyond.
We have been savoring the harmonies, melodies and cultural diversity of the African continent all in one album but the featuring of top singers from across the Continent in this project, doesn’t come at a low cost. However, Salatiel has revealed that he didn’t pay anyone who featured in this album a dime!
Salatiel’s relevance definitely went up a notch in 2019, when he featured in Beyonce’s Lion King album in a song called “Water” alongside Pharell and the queen Bey, but nonetheless, imagine having Haitian sensation Rutshelle, Stonebwoy , Sautisol, Soul Bangs, Teni, Aveiro Djess, Mr. Leo and Pascal Yung King all in one project? These are national treasures in their respective countries, so you can imagine the acrobatics it might havr taken to get them to feature on his album.
Surprisingly, Salatiel has revealed that he didn’t pay any of these high profiled singers any money to be in the album. Based on his chat with Fidjil while on his media tour with Sweet FM, Salatiel made this shocking revelation, confessing that all has been mutual respect for art. However, we think it’s beyond just the Passion and mutual respect for art. There is something extra about Salatiel and this should be nothing short of his mastery of human capital, his répertoire of the music business and of course, his Relevance!
As a matter of fact, one of the biggest songs from the album is “Good Girl” featuring Haitian sensation Rutshelle, is currently at 2.5 million plus YouTube views in just a month. The video had a cameo appearance from media personality and radio presenter Nabil Fongod.
While the official song was uploaded to Salatiel’s YouTube channel, the Konpa karaoke version which has over 275,000 views already, was uploaded to Rutshelle’s channel. Could that be a compensation for Rutshelle’s input to the album so far? This can only be clarified by the High Man General.
Africa Represented is worth the wait and we can’t wait to see what openings this project brings to this struggling music Industry. Without any exaggerations, Africa Represented has given most African singers a food for thought and they must hit their studios with much intent, if they must compete with Salatiel in 2021.
