By Patrick Ezema
There are always some feelings that vocals or speeches don’t need to express, but only movement, dance, and rhythms have the charm and grace. This is what “Bonita” by Kayoden represents. Released on the 2nd of December, 2025, it swirls its listeners, first by catching their souls, and later topples their legs, making them feel from inwards to outwards.
Kayode Charles Olonijaye, popularly known as Kayoden, is a Nigerian composer, producer, and sound Medusa whose skillful showcase of diverse uses of sounds appeals to human emotions and at times propels their feelings. Kayoden has not only been that introspection that fuels movements but also a creative force that is sought after by those who know value.
“Bonita” is a synthesized electronic dance beat whose effect on the listener feels organic and natural. On first contact, especially listening to the shakers, metallic gong, and other African percussion, you feel a leap in the soul that awakens a story untold.
It all starts with drums, shakers, and other percussion. This intro waxes from the beginning up to the 0.47 mark of the beat. The swift transition to the full instrumental is marked by an African-like sound. Then the snare layer gets thickened, and the piano starts to play. The short-lived vocal sample around the 1:19 mark adds a soulful depth to the beat.
The space at some points in the sound gives some moments of reflection. After these brief moments come a buildup that leads to some bits of addition to the sounds. This is evident at the 1:46 to 1:54 mark of the beat, which later adds a heart-thumping bass to the piano. This is different from the bass at the initial play of the beat. This is more rhythmic.
At some intervals around the 2:30s, 2:40s, and 2:50s of the beat, there comes again the sampled vocals like that of the spirit Ariel’s voice on an island, whispering to the soul of the listener. This becomes more consistent in other marks of the beat.
Very close to the 3:00 mark, again, the snare gets layered. It is not only the snare this time around, but the hi-hats also join the layering. The beat becomes deafening, kind of, but it serves its essence, which is for the grooves and ecstatic movement. Kayoden brings his A-game to this beat, even though he may tend to confuse non-music literate a bit here.
At around the 3:12 mark, instrumentals wax down, but a few, leaving the beat some space and the dancefloor some rest. At around the 3:30 mark, there’s a clanging sound that gives the beat this metallic feel. But then, this is not an ordinary feeling. It is a reminder that energy is still alive on the dance floor and should not be “slept on.”
The 3:46 mark introduces heavy clappers, scattered hi-hats, constantly thumping piano keys, rhythmically beaten snare, and incessant slashing of the cymbals up, and the equalized “gbas gbos” till the transition at the 4:00 mark. The beat comes back to normal, yet with more evident sampled vocals and the addition of strings till the 5:07 mark.
Kayden’s “Bonita” continues with repetitive styles, spaces, and feelings up till the end at 6:40. “Bonita” itself is a Spanish word that means beautiful, and the beat, “Bonita,” is a beat that shows us the beauty of sounds and the beauty of ourselves when our emotions are let out and expressed, not concealed
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