This song review is for “N’obi” by Nigerian Gospel artist, Miracle Paul. Miracle Paul was signed under the same record label as popular Gospel musician, Ada Ehi last year. “N’obi” is an Igbo expression which literally translates “in my heart” in English. The song was released on the 29 th of October, 2021. It has has a total play time of 210 seconds (3 minutes 30 seconds). The genre of the song is a blend of Afro pop and Contemporary Christian Music.

General Overview:

N’obi is a love song to God. It redirects the mind of the listeners (especially Christian believers) to the truth that Christ is not only their Lord, but also their lover. It’s not the the kind of song to dance to, rather it’s a song you sit back and enjoy. Due to the fact that it is calm and non-distracting, it would really do well as background music in any Christian gathering and can serve several other purposes.

Strong points:

• Great composition. The song was composed in a way that enhanced the message of the song. The choice of chords and their arrangement was good.
• Great production. It’s true that that the song was beautifully composed, but the production made the composition more appealing. The production of this song was quite good. Considering the message of the song, I must commend the choice of instruments used in this production. They enhance the emotion of the song. And they were skillfully played too. Also, the mix was good. There was clarity and balance in the mix.
• Relevant message. Like I stated at the general overview, it’s a love song to God. The song talks about the loving way in which God relates with believers and in response to that unconditional love, Miracle Paul affirms his love for God, calling Him “odim n’obi” which translates “the one in my heart” or “the one my heart yearns for”.
• Another good thing about this song is that there was dynamics. And it’s beautiful. You could play the song repeatedly and not get tired of it.

What could have been improved:

• The chant at the beginning of the song was misleading. It gives you the feeling of a very sad/ sorrowful song. Thankfully, when the instruments were introduced, it changed that feel.
• The backing vocals lacked emotions. This song is a love song and the words depicted a lot of emotions welling in the heart of the writer. But the backing vocals sounded flat with no emotion at all. They sang it like it meant nothing to them. Personally, I began to think that the song would have been better without them.
• The point where Miracle Paul spoke in tongues at the end of the song didn’t seem natural. I could argue that it was unnecessary in this song. There are other songs where it would naturally blend with the message of the song, but it didn’t quite sit well in this song.

Conclusion:

I listened to “N’obi” several times before reviewing it. It’s a beautiful song. And the melody sticks quite easily. On a scale of 1- 10, I would give this song a 7/10. You can listen to the song on Deezer. You can also read other song reviews I’ve done here.