Toxic Lyrikali showcases versatility with new single Bud Flowers, surprising everyone by keeping his signature sound while perfoming the love song. The 20-year-old Kayole native first lit up the scene with his hit Thugnificent (5.3m YouTube views) and followed it with Cartman (1.2 views.) These set the stage for his November 2024 breakout Chinje, a gritty track that amassed over 8 million views and held the 19th spot on Kenya’s YouTube charts for about 9 months.
Following those, he released Sick (4.9m views), Hood (2.5m views) and Backbencher (3.3M views), the latter of which topped Spotify and Apple Music while reaching #8 on YouTube’s trending list. He has also had numerous collaborations such as Get Busy with Dyna Cods (3.4m views) which is currently #34 on Youtube Charts and Chanua Ma Namblei with Master Vk, showing his buzz in the industry.
By blending Kenyan trap and dancehall, Toxic Lyrikali showcases versatility with new single Bud Flowers. He achieves this through his raw storytelling, inventive flows, sharp beat selection, unique delivery and consistency in releasing new music. He has quickly won over Kenyans’ hearts and positioned himself as a promising international artist. On this song, the usual street vibe is switched to a romantic one, which was unexpected but did not dissapoint.
Toxic Lyrikali Showcases Versatility With New Single Bud Flowers
Dressed to kill in a blue suit, he kicks off the song with a slick double entendre and alliteration: “Very bad, labda flowers nikupatie za bud.” Vivid imagery and a surprising emotional vulnerability soon follow: “macho ni battery low, na nikikuona nafeel glad, nakuprotect ka blunts, roho yako na plus, teacher, napenda vile ukona class.” The final line wraps it up with clever wordplay, praising his woman’s undeniable class as a “teacher”. Next comes the infectious chorus, catchy and memorable for its rhyme scheme: “Kila saa mi nakubembeleza, ju unanipendeza, ghetto ni 1 girl, mpaka kwa jeneza…kila saa kunishuku misaa natembeza, ghetto ni 1 girl, mpaka kwa jeneza.”
Toxic Lyrikali showcases versatility with new single Bud Flowers, by flaunting his chains through another clever double entendre in the first verse: “Navuka bumps na speed njo niskie sauti ya manyororo.” I love how effortlessly he weaves vivid imagery i.e literally riding a motorcycle in the music video, into his lyricism. The beat is a remix from hAtikvah but was originally created by Dre Skull. It is a soft 2-step beat with soothing periodic synths, that enrich it with an R&B vibe. The mixing was also on point courtesy of vlmightysos. Last but not least, J Blessing absolutely delivered with the cinematography with the colours popping in high definition.
He continues the verse by proclaiming that she’s the woman of his dreams, “Vulai na bado ye njo dem wangu wa ndoto,” but wonders why she’s upset over a photograph, especially since it was just a fan who wanted a picture: “Cold na unakulia nani moto ju ya mboto, na uyo alikuanga fan.” Still, he reassures her with honesty, promising she’ll always be his woman and should never doubt it: “Utabaki kuwa mama, usikawai doubt, kwa macho yangu we kifaa.” He says he knows other women want him, but he’d rather die than choose anyone but her: “Najua wananidai, heri ni dedi, ka si wewe nakataa!”
He closes out the verse by promising that whenever she calls, he’ll come running. He also calls out the haters who try to tarnish his name whenever he’s not with her. The last verse has humorous lines such as Toxic depicting how he’ll send her ‘lames’ running with one shoe like Cinderella, “Marezi wako nawarudisha home, running na one shoe kwangu wakijifanya Cinderella.” Another double entendre follows once more in the line, “Lamba glucose, vumilia, siezi taka kuona machozi na natoka Kulia,” rounding off the romantic song.
Conclusion
Overall the single was a success and is currently at #3 on the Kenyan Youtube Charts. From the visuals, to the audio, attention to detail was evident. A successful statement from Toxic, he delivered a strong message of love which I’m sure surprised fans. However, this will gain him a wider fan base, a strategic move from him and his team. The way he kept his delivery and lyricism while still experimenting with his sound shows he has unlimited potential. A solid 9/10 for this single on my scorecard. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Follow his Instagram and read another article here.
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