With John Oluwole ADEkoje’s upcoming film YE! accumulating buzz at recent film festival screenings in LA and Burkina Faso, one element of the revenge-fantasy picture that shouldn’t go overlooked is its soundtrack, which was executive produced by HOF-inductee Hank Shocklee (most well-known as a part of the Bomb Squad production crew who worked with Public Enemy in the group’s early years). As a preview of that tracklist, today we’re hearing the standout single “Element,” an original song by Atlanta-based songwriter OWO which reflects YE!’s themes of female empowerment.
Mixing Afrobeat with contemporary R&B, the track recalls at least three separate peaks of Rihanna’s career—to say nothing of its swaggering independence matching that of the Barbadian singer—while remaining firmly rooted in OWO’s own element. You can hear an early stream of the track below, as well as two previously released tracks from the soundtrack here. Additionally, to get a further sense of what the rest of the OST has in store, you can stream a playlist mix created by the film’s music supervisor Nina D. Jay to complement the official soundtrack here.
