On track 10, Harmonize collaborates with DBN Records hitmaker Mayorkun on “Bumpy Ride” off his sixth studio album, “31.”
The song is one of the most instantly spirited moments from the “31” album. While tracks like “Siwezi,” featuring Rayvanny have emotional weight, and “Isondeze,” with Qing Madi maintains warm and subdued tone, “Bumpy Ride” takes the whole project into a higher gear. So the placement at track 10 – exactly in the second half of the album – strikes with great timing. By then the listener requires this kind of cheerful energy to keep the voyage going.
Harmonize’s silky Swahili-laced speech glides smoothly over Mayorkun’s signature Nigerian flow. But the chemistry works because neither artist attempts to be in the other’s lane. Harmonize remains in his Bongo Flava pocket. Mayorkun delivers his unique individuality and West African Afrobeats presence. So the record sounds like two artists doing what they do best instead of one compromising to meet the other halfway.
There’s also a certain romantic and whimsical quality to “Bumpy Ride” that makes it stand out from the other songs on the “31” track list. Harmonize touches of sadness, longing and jubilation on “Siwezi,” “Isondeze,” and elsewhere. But “Bumpy Ride” is in that fun-loving, good-time area that no other song on the album does. That variation is what makes a 14-song project feel full, not one-dimensional.
Mayorkun’s recent performance on Davido’s “B4 B4” proves he is enjoying one of his busiest collaboration years. Landing on the “31” album is proof he’s still one of the most in-demand voices for exactly this kind of cross-border Afrobeats moment.
Listen to “Bumpy Ride” and tell us—is Harmonize and Mayorkun’s the most enjoyable record on “31”?
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