I must confess that I know next to nothing about J. Martins and so my opinions of him are strictly what I can muster from his music. There is no real background history, nor expectations for me to measure him against. Apart from his hit single Good or Bad, he is practically an unknown entity to me. Maybe I missed it all but I’ve heard damn near nothing about him on radio, tv and the web. It’s almost like he is some kind of ghost entity. I managed to find one interview he did pretty recently where he claims his album sold 3 million copies and also drops this gem: “…when you make a great beat, you know. Like one of my friends, Peter of P-Square will say : If you’ve got the beat right, the next thing is the lyrics. And once you’ve got a good hook, you’ve got it all.” Hmm very confident words and something I believe is true most of the time. That said, lets get cracking!
Good Or Bad (Oway) ft. Timaya
This song consistently put a smile on my face every time I heard it in a club (which is damn near every time I’m in one). I consider it a good song not because of any insightful or “deep” lyrical content nor because it’s very well produced. It’s a good song because its one of those songs that is helping to create a very distinct Nigerian pop sound and it does that effortlessly. Between J. Martins and Timaya, the chemistry is very interesting and I’d really love to hear more from these two cats.
Swagger Dance
Ah He just had to go back to the classic imitation sound (Snap Ya Fingers). But! It’s done in a very interesting way. I honestly just wish our musicians will stop the unbelievable wackness with the “phoneh”. It is not necessary. Keep the “phoneh” for interviews if you must but on your songs I think it has the opposite (and very negative) effect of reducing both your credibility and chances of acceptance outside Nigeria. If J. Martins wants to be a local champion, no problem but I think he wants more. By the way the lyrics don’t exactly rock my world, the beat is a typical dime-a-dozen clone and the hook is at best amusing.
Cool Temper
Sounds so P Square. I never thought I’d say something like that but that’s the best way to describe this song. I think I understand why I’m starting to like J. Martins. This song, obviously influenced by Lagbaja’s Coolu Temper (duh!), provides brief glimpses of the sort of depth and talent he has. The lyrics are the typical cheese but they are delivered well and for what the song is, they work quite well. Except for where he goes something like “if your wife is cheating around sleeping with your friends…” yeah… cool temper? right… There’s a time and place for everything, and I think right about that kind of time is when every man got a license to get gully and whoop that cheating ass trick and your mans…
Stay With Me
This is a very weak attempt at Boys II Men. It’s not painfully bad though. Just not there… Some will love it though but ballads are not J Martins strong point. This is where proper (read: the intended) use of autotune would have worked wonders. Next!
Money Good ft. 9ice & ID Cabasa
A decent collabo. Not ground breaking on any level with a mildly interesting execution of an overused concept.
U Say Ur Love (Remix) ft. P Square
A great remix of P Square’s song. Dare I say its better than the original? It’s better than the original. Pretty sick beat and while J. Martins strong point is not his vocal strength, he definitely understood how to ride the beat. The synergy between his singing and the beat got me thinking he might have been slightly disappointed with P Square’s original use of his beat and decided to show them how it should have been done. I approve 
Get The Vibe ft. Wajeh
Wajeh can sing no doubt and girl got a strong voice but I think even she couldn’t pull off that weak Spiderman hook. Could have been great, that hook just dropped it down to decent.
So Fly
R. Kelly meets Young Joc kinda sound. I love the beat and the hook is sick. Yes boss! you sound tech! Respect. The track makes me want to start kicking a freestyle.
Think Twice ft. Busta & Ester
Who’s that rapping like Jim Iyke learned how to? J.Martins? lol Not bad sha. Just don’t do it again lol! Busta got a nice flow but if that was Ester with the adlibs through out she made the track for me. Those little tid bits here and there really lifted this song from run of the mill to decent.
Good Loving
Too much going on. Next!
Am Real ft. Sugar Boy (Bonus Track)
Makes sense as a bonus track. Nuff said.
Swagger Dance Remix ft. Sugar Boy and Spaceman
Well the song got the swagger but unfortunately I don’t think either of these cats featured could bring it. Apart from a few flashes here and there very flat lyrics and unimpressive flows from these MCs.
FINAL WORDS
Get Serious is a good effort from J. Martins which has all the expected goodness from a producer turned performer in addition to all the typical shortcomings; like simply not having the vocal strength fully power the tracks nor dexterity and range necessary to propel the songs far beyond the “above average”. The production across the album though is a very different story entirely. J. Martins brings his “A” game to the table with solid work across the entire album. I think J. Martins has a lot more to offer Nigeria and Nigerians if this album truly represents his creativity.
I was pleasantly and consistently surprised through out much of this album and found myself cheering him on. The creative harmony evident through out the albums beats and vocals is only possible from someone who truly understands music and it leaves me wanting more. I think he has a bright future ahead of him and I’m hoping he gets signed by Storm Records (according to rumors), I think then he’ll definitely get the media attention and hype that matches his talent and skills.
ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS
Hmm in this case I’ll say skip the bonus tracks (except the instrumentals).
PS: When I started listening to this album, I knew nothing about J Martins. Halfway through I had to make a couple of calls and found out that he was responsible for the beats on most of P Square’s last album. Which also helps explain why I thought he sounded like P Square (its more like P Square sound like him lol!)
