44. EP Review of Cupid Struck by YSN Nari

Originally published September 20th, 2024

About the Artist

YSN Nari is a rapper and a singer from Nigeria, River State. He started performing in school with friends in social gatherings, which helped to cultivate his passion for performance. Though he enjoyed performing with his friends, he didn’t see music as something he would pursue until later in life when he started writing and freestyling. Upon rediscovering his passion, he recorded and released his first record, a song called Paradise. Since then, YSN Nari has released two singles; Wild Side and With Me.

YSN Nari, or Victor Nyebuchi, says “Music is something I can’t do without. It is therapeutic for me and I find myself making music effortlessly.” So far, his passion has brought him to the recording studio but Nari plans to begin doing live performances by the end of the year. He has collaborated with Callsign and BlackBoy, an experience he really enjoyed. 

Make sure to follow YSN Nari on social media. I wish him the best of luck going into live performance. I hope he remembers his time on the schoolyard with his friends. The joy that brought him. If he does, I know he will find joy there too.

About the EP

Cupid Struck is a 5 song EP released on August 16th, 2024. It has a runtime of around 10 minutes. Musically, it features programming, sampled beats and riffs, and recorded phone conversations. Vocally, YSN Nari delivers a combination of rap and autotune-saturated spoken word, sounding similar stylistically to older Drake performances.

About the Music

Musically, the project featured a lot of samples, instrumentally. The production value is very polished, and there are supplemental accents to each song that bring unique elements to the music. In Deja Vu, I really liked the element of a synth that sounds sort of like an Arabic flute. There are also vocal samples incorporated into the background and panned to really fill the sound space. This element boasts a complex understanding of the production quality of the music.

The vocals are performed showcasing an excellent rhythmical format. YSN Nari and his featured artists provide a diverse style to each song, making each one stand on its own without losing emphasis on the overall theme of the EP.

Something interesting I find that may really help with the flow of the EP is there isn’t one song on the EP that reaches the 3 minute mark. They are short, and they transition into one another smoothly. Again, credit to the production crew on this. (Susshi and Nyebuchi, as well as Rundem and ChristianJRMusic) reference

About the Lyrics

Full Disclosure: I am going to refrain from inserting lyrical quotes in my analysis because the lyrics are very explicit in some places. It doesn’t bother me, but I want to be fair to any potential listeners. Please keep an open mind and try to understand the theme of the work. It is a very beautiful story.

Cupid Struck seems to explore different elements of the romantic experience, including love, lust, heartbreak, trust issues, insecurities, and more. There are elements where the author speaks very confidently about approaching a woman, he has an air about him as he compliments a woman’s attractiveness. Then, in the 4th track, the song features a phone conversation between a couple where the author expresses emotional insecurities and fears of ruining the relationship, seeking comfort from his partner.

How the songs are arranged is very well thought because it takes the listener through all elements a person might feel when they fall in love. YSN Nari doesn’t just give us one story. He has given us the whole story, fearlessly including the more humbling parts of the process, just as he does the more elated moments. It is honest, it is risky, and it is artistically profound.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the performance by YSN Nari is a solid one. I would love to see a live performance of this material as I think it could only further articulate what he was trying to do with Cupid Struck. 

Nari’s performance is strong, though I will say there isn’t an element that stands out in his performance. He is a gifted lyricist, he has a compelling understanding of production value, and has an ear for the musicality of what he’s producing. If I were consulted in the production process of this record, I would say there is some very good music here that sounds like a lot of other very good music that’s already out there. Give me something that is JUST YSN Nari. Give me something that is completely unique to who you are. Let that element into what you’re producing. YSN definitely has proven he can fit in with some of the best acts in the music industry today. I would love to hear what makes him stand apart from them in the future.

Cupid Struck is streaming where all music streams. Listen, comment, and follow him. He is a wonderful artist and I hope to see his performance grow in the future. I’ll be the first in line for his next project.


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