On ‘Prayer’, her previous song, Nigerian singer Queendalyne introduced a sound called Afro roots-reggae, which blends sounds from her country with Rastafarian rhythms. For ‘Bad Gyal’, her new single, she went for a dancehall feel.
Like ‘Prayer’, ‘Bad Gyal’ is produced by Tuffgig Music Empire, a Nigerian company with offices in New York City. Queendalyne said she wanted to show her versatility on ‘Bad Gyal’.
“I will say that I have a variety of musical packages within me and that’s because of my ability to digress to different genres. However, I write songs based on how I feel, depending how the fans want it or based on the season,” she explained. “For instance, if it’s a dance season I’m up for it, so that’s basically how it goes. I’m not a one sound artist. It’s versatility for me.”
With ‘Bad Gyal’, Queendalyne mixed traditional Nigerian beats with dancehall to give the song a cosmopolitan feel. It is a formula, top Jamaican producers and artists, like Sean Paul and Tarrus Riley have experimented with.
‘Prayer’ was a change in direction for Queendalyne. Most of her early songs were pop-oriented, similar to Rihanna, Beyonce and Nicki Minaj, her biggest musical influences.
She is pleased with response to Afro roots-reggae. “I was pretty satisfied, knowing it’s my first with my record label, Tuffgig Music Empire. So, I received a lot of responses from people abroad, people within, it was overwhelming and quite positive,” said Queendalyne.
