There was no song quite as ubiquitous throughout the 2023 installation of Detty December as “Cast”–the unmissable late year hit by Shallipopi and Odumodublvck–that got fans amped up from event to event as they tried to keep pace with every word of the song’s salacious lyrics.  Between the Benin-born star’s warped, syrupy flow and Odumodublvck’s acerbic verse, the pair managed to engineer a song that had audiences enraptured and underlined the unique skill sets– unpredictability, insouciance, and charisma–that made them 2023’s undeniable breakthrough acts. 

Just as “Cast” divided audiences upon its release, Shallipopi and Odumodublvk have polarized opinions since breaking out; and their notoriety has made them perfect candidates for infamy within Afropop.  The weight of their individual successes and the popularity of “Cast” always meant that they would get on the road to meet with fans at some point in 2024 and, in a novel attempt at galvanizing their fanbases, they are touring together as a musical superduo dubbed Nigeria’s Most Wanted. 

The Odumodublvck and Shallipopi joint tour was announced early in March with a short film directed by Nigerian filmmaker Dare Olaitan (Ojukokoro: Greed and Knockout Blessing). Providing the visual accompaniment to the tour announcement required a specific treatment that referenced the notoriety of the subjects in relation to their home country and how much their points of view are shaped by the Nigerian living experience  as well. “So the concept we followed was from a TV show back in the day called America’s Most Wanted,” Olaitan says. “I flipped it and tried to imagine what certain things would look like if they were happening in Nigeria, and I just approached it from that angle.”

To better understand all that was happening in the short film announcement for the Nigeria’s Most Wanted tour, we spoke to Dare Olaitan about coming onboard the project, his influences, and what it was like working with Odumodublvck and Shallipoi. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by EZIOKWU (@odumodublvck)

Our conversation has been edited for clarity. 

NATIVE: When did you first hear about the Nigeria’s Most Wanted Tour?

Dare Olaitan: I heard about it a week before we shot the video. It was last minute. I am good friends with Kuluspy, who works with NATIVE Records and Odumodublvck. We go way back. She reached out to me and asked if I was interested in working on the project and I told her that I was. I thought it was a great, workable idea and we made it work. 

How did the conversation proceed when you were informed about shooting the tour announcement video video?

The NATIVE Records team sent me the treatment and I saw that it was something for a short film. It was within my area of comfort and I was going to be working with one of my close friends, Dafe [Oboro]. So, I knew everybody involved with the project and that made it very easy to come onboard and make it work. 

Did you make any changes when you came on-board?

At the time I came onboard, the script was just a treatment. I turned it into an actual script. So, all the lines and dialogue that made the film were written by me. 

When was the decision to cast Layi Wasabi made?

That decision was made from the get-go. Seni has decided to do that. He had imagined that and had an idea on what it was going to look like. I just came on to help refine and polish the script and vision. 

What do you think he brought to the production?

With casting actors sometimes, you want someone that would enable the audience to have a feeling from just seeing the character and Layi is associated with humour. Seeing him in that role made it easy for people to accept him because it’s something that he already does in his daily life. It was a good choice for him to have the role because it’s something that the Nigerian audience is already familiar with. 

What was it like shooting the short?

It was fun. We shot it in one day and smashed it. We had about three scenes, and in Nollywood, we shoot an average of about 10 scenes a day. So, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary to make this work. Everyone had a great time and before we realised it, we were done. 

What was the creative direction for the short?

So the concept we followed was from a TV show back in the day called America’s Most Wanted. Everything in our film is informed in some way by that show. When the idea was shared with me, I just took it and tried to make a Nigerian version of it. I flipped it and tried to imagine what certain things would look like if they were happening in Nigeria, and I just approached it from that angle. 

What are some of the elements you included to make it a truly Nigerian depiction?

Every element in the montage is a replacement one way or the other. If you compare the montage for the original America’s Most Wanted with what we ended with, you’ll see that it’s a very different thing. From the people inside the building smoking to Layi making his entrance, it’s just a bunch of things I found funny from TV shows I found funny when I was growing up. 

The end scene is Odumodublvck and Shallipopi preparing to go on a ride, is there a different meaning?

No, it’s just what it means. They’re going on tour so they’re headed to the airport. There’s very little subtext to it, it’s very on-the-nose. It’s basically a PSA for their tour so we tried not to complicate it. It was nice working with the team, NATIVE Records, Anti World Gangstars, and  Dvpper. They were super professional, everyone came on time, and I have no complaints. 

[Featured Image Credits/DareOlaitan]

Words by Wale Oloworekende