By Dennis Asiimwe
Spice Diana continues her habit of excellent collaborations by teaming up with the artiste often considered as the apex of the music industry on Emergency.
There are several reasons why a collaboration with Jose is a good idea. First, he has had a good year. 2022 has seen him prove that he still packs a punch, musically speaking.
Second, from a technical perspective, his production style certainly suits Diana.
Chameleone’s brand of Afro-pop is the sort of thing that Diana’s vocals sit on pretty comfortably. He draws out his hooks, making the more memorable, and giving it a sing-along aspect that a singer like Spice Diana could benefit from hugely.
Finally, at this point in his career, Chameleone is a lot more nuanced than he used to be. The energy is still there, as is the charisma, but he also puts a lot more thought into his music, and is more deliberate about it.
So he will have thought out why this collaboration would be beneficial to him, and he would be more prepared to give Diana room to express herself.
That last point is particularly telling on this track. Jose’s energy carries it with his trademark ad libbing, but this is also definitely Spice Diana’s – her vocals sound like the song has been developed with her in mind, and she hits the plaintive notes that she has learnt to make her trademark, comfortably.
Jose, in the meantime, has mastered the groove that works for his particular brand of Afro-pop, and he runs with it like a pro – for him, this is just another day at the office.
While Emergency doesn’t have such a compelling melody, it has a compelling groove and arrangement, and it has Jose Chameleone… sometimes, that’s all you need.
