Paul Play Returns, Remakes Angel of My Life
RnB singer/songwriter/producer, Paul Babatunde ‘I.K’ Dairo, aka Paul Play, features Runtown, in the remake of his mega hit song, Angel of My Life. Ferdinand Ekechukwu reports
Paul I.K Dairo, aka Paul Play, whose prominent days in the formative years of the Nigerian afro hip-pop, saw him releasing great songs like the re-creation of the classic, Mo So Ri Re, a resurrected version of his father’s classic, makes a wonderful return with the remake of his mega hit song, Angel of My Life. The RnB singer/songwriter and producer who made a mark during his reign in the music scene with this love song, features Douglas Jack Agu, popularly known as Runtown, in this remake.
The Mad Over You crooner and Soundgod Music star, Runtown is famous for making good songs like Mad Over You and Gallardo and featuring in other great songs by other artistes, including Nasty C’s hit song, Said. The new hit Angel of My Life, which has Afrobeats flavor, was released on March 13, 2020. It is believed that while people who grew in the 2000s will like the original version, the remix is not a bad project at all.
One takes it that this remake of the veteran singer’s alluring number from a 2007 album is a whole vibe with new melody tipped to surely bring Paul Play back for the new decade. This is not the first time the smooth singer will make a comeback after a period of disappearance, as he was found missing in action some years ago, following an ill health that sent him out of the music scene for a long time.
In an interview he granted then, Paul Play admitted his disappearance; blaming it rightly on an illness that almost wiped his name clean off the slate of music or perhaps this very world. That was in 2009 when he fell ill in South Africa while shooting some music videos for his album and had to be rushed to a hospital.
Paul Play’s late father, IK Dairo, was a legendary Juju artiste, who ruled the airwaves for years. And then suddenly, his father quit music before he passed on and passed on his shoes to him (Paul Play).
Paul Play is a mechanical engineer by training, who has warmed the hearts of many, with his love and incurably romantic songs. His creative mix of R&B, rap, traditional highlife and juju music, account for his uniqueness in the Nigerian music scene. Paul started singing at the age of 11. At 19, he made his first entrance into the music industry as a producer and songwriter, producing radio jingles for various advertising agencies. He’s known to have produced a lot of Nigerian artistes in the 80s and 90s, riding on his father’s goodwill and success.
In 1999, after being signed to Kennis Music, Paul Play released his first album with the hit song Mo So Ori Re, a remix of his father’s original and other great songs to his credit. Under the same record label, he released the second album with big songs like Mo Wa Dupe and Lead Me On. Paul eventually left Kennis Music on the expiration of his contract in 2002 and set up his own record label, Playground Entertainment.
Although critics constantly argued that Paul Play was riding on the success of his father’s musical glory, but when he released his first album, Hitsvile, comprising nine tracks under Playground Entertainment, he shocked critics and music marketers, being the only Nigerian successful R & B album without a local language.
The success of the Hitsvile album expanded Paul’s fan base to other African countries. Interestingly, in the album was the hit song, Angel of My Life.