Fire of Zamani

Background, release, album cover

Ice Prince first announced the title and release timeframe of his second studio album during an interview with Toolz on NdaniTV's The Juice. He said: "I'm working on an album for 2013. I can't announce the date yet but later on in the year, there will be an album called the Fire of Zamani. One of the stories I'm trying to tell is that criticism brings out the beast and fire in you. Often being criticized from my first album, I'm working on the next album like I've never worked on anything in my life before. It's going to be awesome, I can guarantee you that. It's going to be great." Furthermore, he said he heard the phrase Fire of Zamani while listening to 2face's The Unstoppable album. Fire of Zamani was initially scheduled for release on September 9, 2013 in order to commemorate the victims of a 2001 Jos crisis.

On October 17, 2013, Ice Prince revealed the album's artwork as a collage consisting of small posters. On October 21, 2013, Ice Prince released the track listing for Fire of Zamani. The album is available on the Spinlet platform, a digital media library application similar to iTunes.

Promotion and listening session

To celebrate the release of Fire of Zamani, Ice Prince and Chocolate City held an album launch on November 23, 2013, at the Expo Hall of the Eko Hotels and Suites. The concert featured performances from Chip, M.I Abaga, Don Jazzy, Olamide, Burna Boy, Sunny Neji, Yung L, Ruby, Morell, Jeremiah Gyang, DJ Caise and DJ Edu.

In December 2013, Ice Prince held an album listening session at the Hilton Sandton in Johannesburg. He gave a detailed account of each song on the album and signed autograph copies of the album for each guest. The event was hosted by South African rapper Da L.E.S.

Singles

On August 28, 2012, Ice Prince and Chocolate City released the first single titled "Aboki". According to Nigerian Sounds, "Aboki" means friend in Hausa; the song celebrates some of the most successful individuals hailing from Northern Nigeria. The song was produced by Chopstix. Commenting on the single, Ice Prince said: "I’m absolutely excited about my new project; I feel it shows my fans a different side to me. My whole approach to the music, the delivery, my thought process is different from how it was last year." The music video for "Aboki" was directed by Phil Lee in Los Angeles.

On August 28, 2012, Ice Prince and Chocolate City also released the second single titled "More". The music video for "More" was shot and directed in London by Moe Musa. It stars Lola Rae, a British Nigerian recording artist known for her single, "Watch My Ting Go". On April 24, 2013, Ice Prince released the third single "Gimme Dat" featuring Yung L, Burna Boy, and Olamide. The song was also produced by Chopstix. An alternative version of the song featuring Wande Coal surfaced on the internet after the release of the official version. On September 9, 2013, the Chocolate City rapper released the fourth single "I Swear" featuring French Montana and Shaydee. The music video for the single was directed by J R Saint in the U.S.

Other releases

On February 20, 2014, Ice Prince premiered the music video for "Jambo" which was directed by Sesan Ogunro. On May 28, 2014, he released the music video for "Whiskey" starring Sunny Nneji and DJ Caise. The video ran for 4 minutes and 59 seconds, and was directed by Aje Filmworks. During an April 2014 interview with MTV UK, Ice Prince said that he would release the music video for "Mercy", a song which features British rapper Chip. On August 6, 2014, Ice Prince released a video for the remix to the Don Jazzy produced track, "N Word", which features AKA; the remix is not on the album.

Critical response

Ovie O of NotJustOk said: "Fire of Zamani is not that regular just-for-the-sake-of-it kind of album nor is it a follow-up to the timeless debut album, “Everyone Loves Ice Prince (E.L.I)”. Fans can expect a lot more music in the fusion of melodies and harmonies. This album takes us back to Church where Ice Prince started, and is a perfect balance between hip-hop and pure music." Onos O of BellaNaija added: "With a truck load of features and production credits from the likes of Don Jazzy, Chopstix and Sammy Gyang, this is definitely an album to look forward to."

Critical reception

Fire of Zamani was met with mixed reviews from music critics. Tayo Ayomide of Nigerian Entertainment Today gave the album 2.5 out of 5 stars, adding: "The lack of a solid theme running through the LP makes the whole project sound all over the place. Instead Fire of Zamani is glued with glossy beats, catchy hooks and over simple writing."

Toye Trill of 9jaNinja gave the album a 4.8 out of 10, adding that "there were so much reggae infusion into Ice' verses, that lyrically only few songs didn't have evidence of Ice Prince's inner rasta man, for a supposed rap album, it got annoying at a point."

Mackson Okotie gave the album 7 out of 10 stars, stating: "His lyrical prowess speaks volume of his passion, sweat and efforts in a bid to deliver as promised. #FOZ is a follow-up to his incredibly lauded debut – Everybody Loves Iceprince [E.L.I]. He tried to cover all genres of Nigerian music. Featuring the new school artistes and the oldies too. A big credit to him for that."

Wilfred Okiche, a writer for YNaija, said: "'Fire of Zamani’ burns as bright as he wants it to, with Ice carefully dousing the flames anytime they threaten to spread beyond his control zone. The songs glide by easily and go down smoothly. Easily accessible and ridiculously catchy, ‘FOZ’ has Ice Prince tuned to his audience as he glides between the good stuff and the bad, the songs of fire and those of ice."

Accolades

Fire of Zamani was nominated for Rap Album of the Year at the 2014 City People Entertainment Awards.

Track listing