It was through the platform of a particular reality star and singer that I first came across Ykb. Then, Ykb stuck with his full name- Yusuf Kanbai.
Honestly, via Laycon’s 2020 E.P, ‘Who Is Laycon‘, Yusuf Kanbai struck me as promising yet lacking a certain X-factor to his entire disposition- a disposition that his new persona “YKB” now homes expeditiously.
After an underwhelming couple of years that saw him experiment sonically to little or no avail, Yusuf Kanbai and his team returned to the drawing board, sieving the wheat from the chaff- refining the singer’s pop charm in the process; hence Ykb.
To test the brand intervention, Ykb released the 2022 single, ‘San Siro’. Almost instantaneously, Ykb had gained both old and new ears with San Siro (including mine). San Siro became a statement for the fast-rising act; one that revealed his songwriting knack(at least to new listeners).
As if naysayers needed more convincing, Ykb followed up with a more touchy-feely “Bo Card (Things I Need)“. Bo Card was soft, sweet, amorous, and witty- a nail in the coffin of those who had dared tag him as unrefined or uncouth due to his previous use of excessive indigenous languages.
Although he still used indigenous languages on Bo Card (Things I Need), there was a level of poise and class to his delivery this time. He brings this side to life once more on another song, Traffic”.
The singer’s sophomore Extended play features five songs, three of which have been aforementioned. With ‘Yusful Music’, Ykb hints at his present mental state and his transcendence from Boy to Man due to the crippling yet defining weight of responsibility. Yusful music is a brief, yet inclusive glimpse into Ykb’s dynamic world.
