In contemporary Nigerian faith-based music, one thing we can always be grateful for is how intentional its artists are with their expressions.

We are also fortunate to be experiencing such a pristine era of Afrobeats, where artists can reach backwards into our old, rustic and simple drum patterns: heavily pop two-step drums, highlife-laden melodies, uncomplicated grooves and everything that makes a record feel distinctly Nigerian.

Some of that artistry has given way in recent years to more diverse, bohemian and Western-inspired forms of expression. Still, whenever Nigerian artists rehash those exciting templates from the past, it is always a beautiful delight to behold.

This is exactly the case with P.Centric’s “Amarachukwu,” a faith-based, pop-laden praise track celebrating God’s faithfulness and grandeur over one’s life.

Interestingly, the music begins with a simple, cinematic, horn-driven intro. There is a synthy rush that resembles a trumpet without quite sounding like one, its sharp echoes quickly muddled into the drums as they settle into a repetitive two-step pattern. It is groovy and intentionally simple, already assimilated within the Nigerian atmosphere as something close to a tonal language. The drums almost seem to speak in a certain dialect. That remains part of the beauty and mystery of Nigerian rhythms; percussion can establish place and feeling before a singer has properly said anything.

When P.Centric enters with that vintage 2000s and early-2010s Nigerian pop flow, especially through his cadence and the surrounding sonics, the tone is already set. “Amarachukwu” feels like both a tribute to nostalgia and an ode to modern reinventions of heritage-inspired soundscapes.

He extends that heritage and experimentation towards his core messaging, singing in a relatable style that keeps the music groovy at heart. It is dancey and jivey, pulling the listener towards it with an almost cultural familiarity. Its mesh of Igbo and English feels warm, heavily emotive, cathartic and deeply immersive.

You see, “delivery” is another thing to celebrate here. Along the verses, especially the second, P.Centric goes on an English-speaking spree before slipping between English and Igbo. His emphasis on the song’s central theme benefits from how simple the verses remain. The poetry is intentionally bare, and somehow the message becomes even more compelling for it.

“Over eight billion people / Yet, you still see me, El-Roi,” he sings. There is little lyrical ornamentation required. One listens to him and immediately senses someone speaking from a place of deep conviction. The chorus: “Amarachukwu / O bara Uba / Na ebem nno”, carries that conviction into the indigenous language at the heart of the record, allowing code-switching to become another part of its musical texture.

Inside the music, P.Centric also uses crescendos and the allure of a backing choir, especially around the chorus, to drum his messages harder into the listener. “Amarachukwu” consequently presents belief as something harmonic and communal, wrapped inside music that still reveals the relentless experimentalist at the centre of it. It remains one of P.Centric’s strongest qualities on the song.

The record packs several striking tonal shifts into its relatively straightforward framework. At certain points there is a rush of melodies. Elsewhere, the harmonies and vocals take precedence. Then everything syncs. Its movement across these different planes gives the music its fluidity, especially on a first listen. There are multiple pockets of shock value where the listener is suddenly rejigged back to attention by a crescendo, a falsetto or some subtle change in the arrangement.

In short, P.Centric has honed how to manoeuvre through his vocal ranges and sink into the instrumental and choir without overwhelming either. The music is an entirely digestible sound piece. More importantly, the music never feels forced despite its didactic nature. His messages flow freely and land softly on the consciousness while pop-driven strings and chords continue driving them home.

By the refrain and outro, his question is equally uncomplicated: “What kind of love is this?” When P.Centric eventually ends the song with his falsetto along the chorus line, he showcases one of the reasons his catalogue continues to stand out from the fray. His intentionality is only one half of the puzzle. The other side of his artistry is soulful expression. He knows the little fillers and seemingly missing blanks in a sound piece that can elevate the entire experience. That falsetto pocket towards the end alone multiplies the song’s replay value. He understands how to sing, carefully caressing the edges and textures of his vocal lines, octaves and delivery until they become deeply resonant.

Overall, “Amarachukwu” is an interesting faith-based record: inspirational, encouraging and comforting. It is cathartic without sacrificing the singer’s sonority, tonal balance or harmony. In simpler terms, there is musical clarity. One listens and understands immediately what the music is meant to feel like.

Its power does not depend entirely on deciphering every line of its code-switched lyricism. The harmonies communicate. The core phrases communicate. Those sharp pockets of immediately graspable lines register more powerfully than a thousand-word rap verse explaining God’s grandeur, help and faithfulness might have. P.Centric effectively sings a thousand words within a few sentences.

His conviction does the rest. The intricacy and delicacy of his delivery, alongside the energetic, elevating and multicultural feel of the fusion, rank “Amarachukwu” among his more intriguing releases. It also strengthens P.Centric’s position as one to watch among the connoisseurs shaping the next wave of faith-based music within Nigeria’s contemporary scene. It sits at 7.5/10.