Tolü Makay - Being [EP Review]
In her soulful and uplifting debut album, ‘Being’, Irish-Nigerian singer Tolü Makay offers warmth and words of wisdom that encourage us to follow her footsteps in practicing self-love and embracing our truest selves.
We nearly lost Tolü Makay’s talent to Google. After realising just last year that working for the tech giant wasn’t for her, Dublin local Makay left her job to make a go of the uncertain but exciting life of an artist. Following the transition, the Tullamore born singer-songwriter has this year created a colourful record full of brightness and charm - A seven track whirlwind of positivity that chronicles Makay’s journey of pursuing her dreams, that encourages listeners to follow the same liberating path of pursuing theirs.
Being a part of the Pentecostal Christian community during childhood and attending church from a young age, Makay instils a strong sense of spirituality into her music. While tracks like the soothing, piano tune ‘Hello Are You Awake’ and heart-warming, slow building ‘Don’t Let Go’ - which cover the importance of maintaining your faith, being strong and not giving up convictions - hint at religiosity, Makay has since called her religious upbringing into question. Nevertheless, she still credits her religious childhood for her love of singing, her morality and her respect for herself and others - qualities that can be found all over the encouraging and loving songs on ‘Being’. You can also hear Makays’ ample gospel choir experience in her swooping, emphatic vocals and joyous, soul-bearing melodies almost instantly. Makay channels the unified, celebratory presence of gospel singing into her music with ease, crafting songs that often build to a joyous crescendo and end with Makay joined backed up by a choir of soulful voices.
Fusing these classic soul sounds with eclectic modern instrumentals and production, Makay has created music that reflects her own journey from feeling boxed in to becoming the proud, confident artist she is now, by embracing her true self and her love of music. Funky, up-tempo song ‘Wild Thang’ captures this transition wonderfully. Makay channels a feeling of freedom and joy melding shining melodies, zestful electronic keys and big beats, expressing how she learnt to embrace her identity as an Afro-Irish woman. To give this context, Makay was the only black girl at her school and was called Elizabeth by her teachers, since the name Tolü was apparently too difficult to get the hang of. She refers to orders given to, “do this, do that, put your hair back”, referring to the strictures placed upon black hair, especially at school, as if it should adhere to the same rules as hair on white people. But here, she’s triumphant: “You’re a wild, wild, wild thing!” She sings happily - proudly celebrating her difference for all to hear.
Makay rounds off ‘Being’ with the anthemic, ‘You Are Enough’, a rallying cry for us to unshackle ourselves from all that’s holding us down and to go out and live the life we want. “You are enough! Love yourself more!” she urges amidst rocky, church filling instrumentals. The song’s powerfully cathartic, with Makay’s raw vocals soaring as she commands us to absorb her mantra “You are enough, you are enough!” over crashing drums, in a section that’s begging to be played to a stadium sized audience and could just as easily be found in a Beyoncé album.
‘Being’ is a glorious album that stands as the soundtrack to Tolü Makay’s journey to becoming the main character in her own story. The beauty of it is that the project encourages us to join her in victory and become the centre of ours.