Space Fuji is Temmie Ovwasa's self-produced third album. As a fan of their previous works, I couldn't wait for this album to come out. I started fantasizing and imagining things since I heard about it early this year but nothing prepared me for what hit me on Monday.
The first real shock is the style, which is different from their other works. In those works, the music was more of playing with R&B, soul, and singer/songwriter genres, until Space Fuji which can be classified under the alternative genre. I shouldn't have been shocked by this shift in style in itself, because it was not unexpected. They had already hinted at this in a tweet weeks before the album release. I guess the shock is at the radicality of this shift in style.
After I got over my mind being blown by Temmie's new style I settled down to really listen to the long-awaited album. It is quite difficult to describe what experiencing Space Fuji was like for me because each track in the album has a lot going on in it: from the lo-fi beats, to the blend of genres, to varieties of languages, to familiar and unfamiliar sounds in the background, to mad vocals now and then. It just cannot be limited to one thing. When I first listened to the album, I felt like I had been invited into the deepest parts of Temmie Ovwasa's soul.
The best way I can summarize the experience is that it's like being in space. It's like being in that nothingness that the Bible describes in the first chapter of Genesis. Your spirit is just hovering around that energy. Sometimes it feels like you're falling deep into space and other times, it feels like you're rising high into space. When I'm in there, I am no longer in control of my consciousness. I just let the music lead the way. I let it stir up emotions in me and carry me to different places.
Vocal Range
One thing that Temmie Ovwasa was able to do in Space Fuji is play with their voice. Their vocal range is fully explored in each track. In "Lucid Wet Dreams", I am reminded that they are the Temmie Ovwasa that sang "Afefe". The backup and harmonies are in perfect sync to give you that feeling of levitating. It's one of the few tracks in the album that has actual singing as opposed to chanting or just making sounds.
"Omolayanfe" is another track in which Temmie explores different sounds with their voice. It is a love song that massages the soul. The soft humming in the background of this song helps me follow the progression of its lyrics and beats. When it comes to the profession of love, Temmie Ovwasa is a GOAT. This song is a personal favorite. When it comes on, I just close my eyes and pretend it's me they're singing to.
Feelings and Emotions
Another thing about Space Fuji is that it evokes specific feelings and emotions in the listener. Temmie Ovwasa has left pieces of themself for listeners to pick up in each track.
For example, when I play "I Took Some Shrooms in Ibadan", I feel a deep connection with the spirit of the song. The use of different voice effects transfers the listener to another realm. It's like getting high.
With "420", Temmie Ovwasa sends a message of hope to people who smoke weed: there is light at the end of every lit joint. This song is my second favorite on the album. It gives me a feeling of calmness. It helps me reflect on the good things life has to offer.
Also, the perfect blend and combination of the voices of Temmie Ovwasa and Henni with the sounds in the background of "Spirit Party" always takes me back to a particular memory.
Themes and Styles
Temmie Ovwasa explores various topics and styles in each track of the album. In "Rainbow Sheep" and "Your House is not a Home for Me", with a blend of spoken words poetry and music, they talk about being queer in Nigeria, being constantly let down by one's parents, having a complicated relationship with family, the poor economic state of the country, the problems caused by religious institutions and leaders, and feeling disconnected from society. These two tracks are evidence that Temmie knows how to command language.
In tracks like "Lucid Wet Dreams", "Sinner's Prayer", "Labake" and "Wanderlust", we are taken on a journey of sexual euphoria. Temmie Ovwasa has proven to be a legend in singing about sex in their previous works like "Osunwemimo", "37 Times" and "Girl Come Through". But in this album, they take it up a notch. With the sounds in the background and the descriptive lyrics, it is not just singing about sex. It is like pornography.
"Lucid Wet Dreams" is a very sensual song. It's like levitating around in the memory of the best sex you've ever had.
"Wanderlust" is about getting so lost in exploring someone's body that you just keep going. It gives "I go die there" vibes.
"Sinner's Prayer" is a song about body worship and sexual pleasing. The repetition of "Kí ìjọba rẹ dé, ìfẹ́ tìrẹ ni ká ṣe l'áyé o" in the song depicts one of the recurring themes in the album – a reference to Christianity.
"You Can't Pray the Gay Away" mocks the Christian belief that prayers can fix all your problems, including removing the gay from queer children. The recurring line, "Àdúrà ló le ṣé é", samples the Yoruba gospel music classic by Lanre Teriba - "Atorise, Bami Gberu Mi Baba"
Since everything that makes up the production of Space Fuji was directed by Temmie Ovwasa themself, every single part of the album comes together to create the experience. The album cover describes the songs perfectly. At first glance, nothing in the picture is clearly defined, everything is just a blend of shapes and colors. But once you settle into that space and look again, you start to recognize things. The same goes for the songs too. There are a lot of sounds going on but now and then, you recognize something.
A highly spiritual experience you cannot find elsewhere. Space Fuji is an album I recommend to lovers of great music.
Will be forever grateful that Temmie Ovwasa left YBNL to do music their own way.
Nobody does music like Temmie!😭. Love this!