Barry Jhay – Al Jannah

Barry Jhay steps into deeply spiritual territory on Al Jannah, a Nigerian record that draws from Islamic faith and the concept of paradise to create something that feels more personal than most of what he has released before.

Al Jannah carries a reverent mood over a production that is softer and more considered than his more uptempo work, giving the vocals space to communicate something that feels genuinely heartfelt rather than just well executed. The record sits in a reflective zone that is not common for artists in his space and that willingness to go there is exactly what makes it stand out from the rest of his recent output.

Barry Jhay has been showing through releases like Eko, Let’s Go and Uwese that he is an artist with more range than a single sound or mood, and Al Jannah is the most clear evidence yet that he is not afraid to follow the music wherever it honestly needs to go. That kind of creative courage tends to deepen an audience’s connection with an artist in ways that crowd-pleasing records alone never fully manage to do.

This one asks a little more of the listener than a typical Afrobeats record and gives back considerably more in return, the kind of song that you carry with you after it ends without quite being able to explain why.

Listen and Enjoy!

Barry Jhay