‘BlownBoy Ru’: Ruger can do it all, but he needs to do it well [Album review]

The ability to effortlessly shapeshift across genre lines is Ruger’s most potent weapon and on his sophomore album, he deploys this weapon as he sets out on a new chapter.

Ruger’s sophomore album had to be a big statement of his ability to do it on his own. After walking away from Jonzing World, the onus was on him to show that he could do it alone.

He first tested the waters with a joint project with foe-turned-friend BNXN, which did what it was meant to do for both artists. With a strong digital presence, a plethora of female fans, and his brand consolidated, Ruger simply needed to deliver the music that matched his ambitions.

With ‘BlownBoy Ru,’ Ruger flexes his versatility, which at this point is indisputable. He, however, struggles to convey this range as a compelling sonically achieved unit.

With the album being the start of something new, he felt the need to reintroduce himself, and he did this on the chest-thumping album opener, where the dancehall flows and the speaker-rattling kicks tell listeners to expect the classic Ruger.

A star who is at his most boastful, an unrepentant playboy as the album cover clearly communicates, and a superstar who doesn’t shy away from confrontation.

A man whose artistry is defined by his dancehall leanings, which he interprets through sticky melodies, witty writing, and swaggering delivery, Ruger navigated multiple genres but ultimately failed to settle for one.

This might have been the goal. To show versatility. However, it came at the expense of an anchor needed to steady the project and provide experiential listening.

On ‘Muah (Sometimes),’ a slow-burning dancehall rhythm combines with R&B melodies as he plays the romantic.

What could have followed might have been a collection of mid-tempo R&B melodies fitted into Afrobeats, Swing, and Dancehall. However, Ruger opted for a free-form album that lacked identity until the 8th track.

On the Drill-infused track 3 ‘Giveaway’, Ruger’s versatile melodies shine next to hitmaking rapper Zlatan who is equally skilled in making swashbuckling records. On track 4 ‘Jay Jay,’ he switches to the street famous Dancehall Ragga style to reiterate his status as an unrepentant playboy.

While these four opening records are individually accomplished, they lack the sonic balance required to give the album a sonic identity.

Even when Ruger followed up the Ragga style on ‘Jay Jay,’ with a similar Galala bounce on the steamy ‘Dudu’ featuring Kramium, the waist swirling fire the song ignites is quickly doused by the mid-tempo long drum punctuated ‘Rub Minds,’ where he attempts to sing his way into a tryst.

When his hit record ‘Toma Toma’ featuring Tiwa Savage came on, the folk drums that shaped their celebration as hitmakers and sex icons still failed to give the album any sonic identity.

Like the six songs before it, this was another fine record that’s loosely connected to provide an experience.

The experience, while late, still came in the last half of the album where his rich R&B melodies and impressive vocals defines the album.

This song is another emphatic display from an artist whose ability to mold melodies would give many R&B stars from this side of the world a run for their money.