Some of the biggest films out of Nollywood in recent years have been facilitated by EbonyLife Films. With blockbusters like “The WeddingParty”, “Fifty” and “Chief Daddy” in tow, the multimedia behemoth has gained a reputation for putting out hugely successful films.
Their upcoming film, “Your Excellency”, looks set to be another huge release, serving as veteran actress and film producer, Funke Akindele-Bello’s directorial debut, featuring the type of jovial plot many Nigerians gravitate towards.
Written by Yinka Ogun, the story follows a billionaire businessman and failed presidential candidate, who then becomes a credible contender through the power of social media.
Akin Lewis plays the lead role of Chief Olalekan Ajadi, while Funke plays the co-lead role of Kemi Ajadi. Also starring in the film are popular Nollywood actors like Kunle Coker, Shaffy Bello, Emmanuel Edunjobi, Alexx Ekubo, Toni Tones, Bimbo Manuel and more.
“Your Excellency” is scheduled to make its national cinema debut this December 13.
The archetype for dance-driven Nigerian pop songs leans towards catchy melodies at the cost of substantial lyrics. However, emerging scene, street-hop seems to find artists in a comfortable middle-ground, where imparting knowledge is backed by energetic beats tailored to the groove of the Zanku dance.
BOD’s new single, “Shenk Who Shenk You”, certainly embodies this, as it finds BOD rapping in a mix of English and Yoruba over the KSS-produced beat. His lyrics, “If dem sly you, no bu sekun(don’t cry if they let you down)/ Lo gbe jumbo ko gbe senu(drink something to take the pain away)”, assure listeners that there would be justice for everyone.
Featuring on the catchy tune, is indigenous rap OG, Reminisce, who contributes a verse to emphasise the song’s message that actions have consequences. Cardoso Imagery directs the music video for “Shenk Who Shenk You” in a suburban setting that highlights the gritty street reality that informs BOD’s savage world view. Both rappers are also seen performing their verses in the company of dancers like Pokoli and artists like Terry Apala.
Watch the music video for “Shenk Who Shenk You” below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/B.O.D Official
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Senegal also selected the film as the country’s official selection for the best feature film category at the 92nd Oscars. Now, Netflix has acquired rights to the film and will be releasing it in select theatres on November 15 and later on their streaming service on November 2019.
Set in Dakar, “ATLANTICS” follows the story of a young woman, Ada (played by Mama Sané) who falls in love with a construction worker, Souleiman (played by Ibrahim Traoré). There’s a problem, however, as she is bethrothed by an arrangement made by her parents to Omar.
There are some elements of the supernatural at play in the trailer released exclusively to IndieWire as we see recurring shots of the sea, as well as clips of Ada telling everyone she’s felt Souleiman’s ghoulish presence.
For his ambitious sophomore album, ‘Wilmer’, Patoranking collaborated with an extensive list of artists, from various nationalities. He has since shared the video for titular song, “Wilmer”, featuring Georgian singer Bera, and now two months later, he’s opted to share the video for “Open Fire”, his collaboration with South African House singer Busiswa.
Set in an eccentric universe, the video for “Open Fire” is a collage of quirky, colourful outfits and energetic dance moves. Accompanied by dancers, who perform freestyle and choreographed routines to the fast-paced Sarz-produced beat, Patoranking and Busiswa mime their club-driven lyrics in an open road, while a street drummer is also seen banging his drum set, embellishing the song’s primary dance elements.
See Patoranking & Busiswa in “Open Fire” below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/Patoranking Fire
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In a bid to raise awareness around World Mental Health Day, The New Haervest Festival, a community of youth charged with creating a safe space regardless of a person’s gender, religion or sexuality, has chosen ‘Self-ish: Promoting mental and sexual self-care’ as their theme this year.
It’s very important to talk about healthy sex practices, to counteract the shame and stigma already attached to the topic. We need to become more open about sex and sexual health, and part of fostering good sexual self-care is nurturing an environment where both sexual partners are comfortable and in the mood.
So, to this effect, we decided to speak to a few young Nigerians about which artists they have on their sex playlist that they swear by, and they all had different songs that are sure to get anyone in the mood.
Recently, BET hip-hop awards added a ‘Best International Flow’ category, meant to celebrate rappers putting in work outside the U.S. The category made its debut this year, with Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie picking up the award. In winning, he beat out formidable nominees like Nigeria’s Falz, South Africa’s Nasty C, Canada’s Tory Lanez and U.K rappers, Little Simz and Ghetts.
Sarkodie also participated in one of the rap cyphers for the award show, sharing airtime with French rapper Kalash for their own segment. In a stunning freestyle that shows his rap prowess, the African rap legend opens his verse by affiring the beauty of black women—“beautiful melanin, dark skin/let me see your hands if you worship a black queen”—before closing out with a slew of intricately crafted pan-African raps.
The 2019 BET hip-hop awards held at Atlanta’s Cobb Energy Centre on October 5th, and aired yesterday, October 8th. J. Cole led the list of winners, with three wins, while Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Nas X and Travis Scott followed with two wins each.
Watch Sarkodie’s cypher and check out the full list of winners below.
Best International Flow
Sarkodie (Ghana)
Falz (Nigeria)
Ghetts (U.K.)
Kalash (France)
Lil Simz (U.K.)
Nasty C (South Africa)
Tory Lanez (Canada)
Best Hip-Hop Video
Cardi B – “Money”
21 Savage – “A Lot” Feat. J. Cole
City Girls – “Twerk” Feat. Cardi B
DaBaby – “Suge”
Meek Mill – “Going Bad” Feat. Drake
Travis Scott – “Sicko Mode” Feat. Drake
Hot Ticket Performer
Megan Thee Stallion
Cardi B
DaBaby
Drake
The Carters
Travis Scott
Album of the Year
Travis Scott – ‘Astroworld’
Meek Mill – ‘Championships’
Lizzo – ‘Cuz I Love You’
DJ Khaled – ‘Father of Asahd’
Tyler, The Creator – ‘Igor’
Dreamville – ‘Revenge of the Dreamers 3’
Video Director of the Year
Travis Scott
Benny Boom
Bruno Mars, Florent Dechard
Calmatic
Dave Meyers
Eif Rivera
Lyricist of the Year
J. Cole
2 Chainz
Drake
Meek Mill
Nipsey Hussle
YBN Cordae
MVP of the Year
Nipsey Hussle
Cardi B
DJ Khaled
Drake
J. Cole
Megan Thee Stallion
Producer of the Year
DJ Khaled
London On Da track
Metro Boomin’
Mustard
Swizz Beatz
Tay Keith
Best Collab, Duo or Group
Lil Nas X Feat. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)”
21 Savage Feat. J. Cole – “A Lot”
Cardi B & Bruno Mars – “Please Me
DJ Khaled Feat. Nipsey Hussle & John Legend – “Higher”
Lil Baby & Gunna – “Drip Too Hard”
Travis Scott Feat. Drake – “Sicko Mode”
Single of the Year
Lil Nas X Feat. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)” (Produced by YoungKio)
City Girls – “Act Up” (Produced by EarlThePearll)
Megan Thee Stallion – “Big Ole Freak” (Produced by LilJuMadeDaBeat)
Cardi B – “Money” (Produced by J. White Did It)
Travis Scott Feat. Drake – “Sicko Mode” (Produced by Rogét Chahayed, CuBeatz, OZ, Hit-Boy & Tay Keith)
DaBaby – “Suge” (Produced by Pooh Beatz & JetsonMade)
Although Tekno hasn’t come close to replicating the huge success of “Pana” in recent times, he’s remained a fixture in mainstream Afropop, due to his prolific stream of singles and videos. Deviating from sociopolitical incline of his previous song, “Better”, he returns to making music suitable for dancefloor rotation on his newest release, “Skeletun”.
Reuniting with Phantom – who also produced the Zlatan-assisted “Agege” – , the production for “Skeletun” is a great accomplice to Tekno’s pandering set. With buzz phrases like “e don tey wey we dey shayo” and lyrics admiring the physique of a love interest, the song is clearly crafted to appeal to club-hopping folks, especially with peak flexing and concert season on the horizon.
Stream “Skeletun” here.
Featured Image Credits: Getty Images
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Nollywood is evolving, where shoddy storylines with singular plots are being replaced for conceptual full-length films worthy of acclaim; both locally and internationally. This year alone, a host of home-made films have made it to film festivals around the globe, from Kachi Benson’s “Daughters of Chibok” winning the virtual reality category at the Venice Film Festival and multitalented artist, Santi going from self-directing his music videos to directing Goldlink’s “U Say” with Tyler the Creator and Jay Prince.
It’s been a great year for the Nigerian film industry and we’re truly buzzing for the upcoming movies set to release before the year runs out.
1. Elevator Baby
The Akay Mason-directed film is set for release in cinemas around Nigeria on October 11. It features a star studded cast of Toyin Abraham, Timini Egbuson, Yemi Solade and Brother Shaggi. It follows the story of an impatient businessman Dare, played by Egbuson, who finds himself stuck in an elevator with a semi-literate pregnant woman due for delivery.
2. The Lost Okoroshi
Surreal 16 director and filmmaker Abba T. Makama’s film, “The Lost Okoroshi” made its premiere debut at the Toronto International Film Festival last month before heading to Lights, Camera, Action in Lagos and now onto its London premiere. The film centers on Raymond, played by Seun Ajayi who finds himself transformed into one of the masquerades who regularly visits his dreams. We’ve seen this and can attest there are scenes that will have you laughing out loud. Spoiler alert: IPSHRR
3. The Herbert Macaulay Affair
Imoh Umoren’s biopic film on the late Herbert Macaulay, dubbed the father of Nigerian nationalism, is set for release October 25th. We can’t wait to watch this film, as it aptly relays a monumental part of Nigeria’s history back to Nigerians, who often times were not taught about their history.
4. Oloture
Ebony Life Films, Mo Abudu’s power house which has churned out other top films such as “The Wedding Party” and “Chief Daddy”, is back with yet another release titled “Oloture”. The Kenneth Gyang-directed film follows the story of a young female journalist, played by Sharon Ooja, who goes undercover to expose the world of human trafficking and becomes acquainted with a group of sex workers she lives with.
Featured image credits/Youtube
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The afropop scene is currently dominated by hip-gyrating dancehall songs, but King Perryy’s discography shows him to be adept at spinning catchy melodies designed for dance-club audiences into relatable stories. He recently celebrated the hustler lifestyle on “Work N Grind” and his latest single, “Jojo” featuring Soft and Terri, channels dancehall’s zest to capture the violent extremes love can inspire.
The accompanying David Anthony-directed video for “Jojo”, shows the artists performing their confident lyrics at different locations in Lagos. While dancers are a pleasant feature on the 2-minute long clip, there are also scenes of riot fires and mobs, adding some chaos to the visual as the artists promise that nothing will come between them and their lovers.
Watch the music video for “Jojo” by King Perryy, Soft and Terri below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/ King Perryy
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Lakin Ogunbanwo wields the power of his camera to chart the different cultural markers of ethnic groups in Nigeria. He started his “Are We Good Enough” photo series in 2012 with the aim of expanding the contemporary African visual archive by exploring individuality within Nigeria’s collective hat-wearing culture, but his latest project, “E wá wo mi”, focuses on the Nigerian bride and the culture surrounding marriage ceremonies.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwJpnIuh2fX/
Though Lakin Ogunbanwo studied Law at Babcock University, Nigeria, and Buckingham University, England, he worked as a fashion photographer. His use of vibrant flat colours and bold compositions in his photographs pay a minimalist homage to the African studio photography popular in the 1960s and ’70s.
He has been recognised by the British Journal of Photography as one of the Top 25 Photographers of 2015 in their annual ‘Ones to Watch’ list. And his works have featured in international publications like Times, New York, ID online, British GQ and Riposte Magazine. His has had exhibitions and showcases at New York, Johannesburg and Lagos, featuring at the Lagos Photo Festival and Art x Lagos in 2016.
Both photo series, “E wá wo mi” and “Are We Good Enough” will be showcased at the Niki Cryan Gallery from the 14th of October to 3rd of November.
Featured Image Credits: Lakin Ogunbanwo
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A few months ago, Coconut was simply the name of a fruit, however, these days, it doubles as a suggestive slang, after sex-related videos of ladies “spelling coconut” became a viral trend on social media. Since then, the word has been widely co-opted for this new purpose.
On his latest single, “CoConut”, Damayo runs with the pop culture jargon, embellishing the sensual connotation for a raunchy bop. Flute riffs, bouncy drums and guitar harmonies form the song’s groovy bed, while Damayo sings a set filled with direct lyrics that lay out his lust-fuelled intentions.
“C-o-c-o-n-u-t, I’m looking for a girl who can spell it”, he sings on the hook. Psycho YP and Iceberg Slim share the second verse with rapped lines, aiming to woo their love interest while also hyping their sexual prowess. It goes without saying, “CoConut” is a shoo-in for your sex playlist.
Stream “CoConut” via Apple Music here.
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/_damayo
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While fans keep vigil for the release of $pacely’s upcoming 10-track album, ‘Fine$$e or be Fine$$ed’, the La Meme Gang act continues teasing with single releases from the tape. His latest single, “Somimu” featuring Magnom and Cina Soul, is the project’s 5th pre-released single and it highlights the singer’s sultry intentions.
The song is a little soulful and completely romantic, as $pacely, Magnom and Cina Soul stumble gracefully through vocal hook after hook over an array of glistening synth samples. Teaming up to sing sweetly of their affectionate feelings for their love interests, “Sominu” sounds like a trip to a time when R&B songs were innocent, relying purely on earworm silkiness.
Stream $pacely, Magnom and Cina Soul’s “Somimu” below.
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/spacely1z
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Shane Eagle came to the notice of Nigerian music listeners after a standout turn on Santi’s defining single, “Rapid Fire”. The compelling nature of his self-assured and introspective verse is representative of his growing, stellar discography. In 2017, the South African rapper released his debut project, ‘Yellow’, then followed it up with ‘Never Grow Up.”, a 7-song EP released last December.
Last week, Shane shared the details for a new project, titled ‘Dark Moon Flower’, which is set to drop on October 16, the 23-song track list is packed with a diverse array of features. The tape will feature contributions from Nasty C, PatricKxxLee, Resarn, J-Tek, theMIND, Kota The Friend, Caleborate and Dreamville rapper Lute. Completing the line-up, he reprises collaborations with Santi and Dreamville rapper Bas—both artists are on the album’s 15th track, “Nunya”.
Dark Moon Flower – October 16th my debut mixtape Cover and tracklist. my gift to y’all for being patient. art by Nicole Black This project features some of my favorite artists from all around the world. Sleepless nights spent , pre order drop on Friday pic.twitter.com/iuCLGbBoij
To raise expectations, he recently shared the tape’s opening track, “BLACK”, as its lead single. Driven by a rumbling, Lo-Fi Trap beat, the song finds Shane in confident mode, with lyrics referencing his thriving career as an indie artist, and also sneering at his naysayers. “You drop your shit and it’s wack, I drop my shit and it last”, he dismissively raps.
In the accompanying black-and-white video for “BLACK”, Shane is seen performing his lyrics with a carefree attitude, on the streets at night. There’s a cameo from Bas, as well as performance footage from his time on tour with the Dreamville rapper earlier this year.
See Shane Eagle in “Black” here.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/Shane Eagle
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The animated series “Malika: Warrior Queen” has gained a lot of traction worldwide with the pilot episode earning a spot at 8th Annual Lagos Comic Convention held last month, then later at the 6th Annual MECCAcon in Detroit, Michigan.
Starring Adesua Etomi as Malika, the trailer for the animated series marked the show as one to watch out for, as it followed the story of a female protagonist trying to stop the rebellion by singlehandedly taking on the leader, General Ra. It’s exactly the type of kick ass female lead role we’ve been looking for, and the fact that it’s animated gives good indication of what information children of this generation will be digesting.
After 99 days of full-on drama, Big Brother Nigeria announced housemate Mercy as the winner over the weekend. The Nigerian syndication of the show is a fan favourite which has superseded the popularity of other variations of the Big Brother franchise, mainly by exposing the complex underbelly of the Nigerian psyche.
As first outlined by another publication earlier on in the season, Big Brother Nigeria closely mirrors previous seasons in its choice of character archetypes. Mike and Ike filled its diaspora quotient, with Mike holding double duties as this season’s token married housemate, Mercy and Tacha were this season’s hypersexualised vixens, taking over from Alex and Cee-C from season 3; Seyi, like Miracle, is this season’s humble but privileged elite; Omashola and Frodd were this season’s lovable rogues, roles Tobi and Rico Swavey were cast into last season. Wildcards Frodd, Cindy and Elonozam rounded out the season’s final 10, culled from a chaotic 26 contestants.
Given the tried and tested formula, we expected nothing less than pure entertainment, however, a number of decisions cut all of the show’s thunder. Tacha was controversially disqualified, after scaling through 11 consecutive eviction nominations; Ike, Cindy, Diane and Elozonam were all put up for eviction by the scheming Frodd, after winning a challenge that awarded him the ultimate veto.
Consistent votes are how followers of BBN predict the odds of who will win the season, and for Big Brother Pepper Dem, Mike and Mercy were projected as this year’s final two after both scored the highest votes on weeks they were nominated for eviction. In previous seasons, the show’s twist was usually the unlikeable female housemate (T-Boss and Cee-C in their seasons) ranking higher in final voting than more likeable housemates, but with Tacha disqualified, a truly unexpected twist was harder to pull off.
While Mercy pulled a well-deserved routing of the other housemates, winning the competition with a convincing 41% of an unprecedented 50 million votes in the final week, post-show speculations over the next few weeks will revolve around how the season played out, how uncomfortably familiar the season’s scripting was and if next year’s show will be worth the emotional commitment, not who won this season.
HOW DID WE EVEN GET HERE?
The African franchise of Big Brother debuted in 2001, ran for three seasons. Big Brother South Africa was such a success, that it’s production company, Endemol decided to replicate the idea on a continental scale. They had incentive to make this transition, as Africans in the diaspora were beginning to take an interest in locally produced entertainment (the first season of Big Brother Africa was broadcast in the US, and had one of its contestants swapped to Big Brother UK mid season). An Africa-wide Big Brother franchise widened the net by giving fans from half of Africa’s English-speaking countries, a ‘hero’ to root for.
Big Brother Nigeria, launched in 2006, as an experiment to capitalise on the influence Nigerians had on the Africa-wide franchise. Bayo, the first Nigerian representative of the Big Brother Africa franchise in 2003 reached the final weeks of the show and his journey convinced the organisers to bring the franchise to Nigeria. After a single season rife with disqualification controversy and contested evictions, Endemol put a pause on Big Brother Nigeria. By then, however, Nigerians had gained a hankering for the show and began to skew the competition with their votes to favour contestants from the homeland.
In the seasons that followed, Nigeria’s Kevin Pam rode on the momentum of his in-house relationship to endear himself to fans and win his season, Uti Nwachukwu returned to the 5th All-Star season for a redemption arc after an early eviction during his season and Karen Igho surprised everyone to win a strongly contested 6th season. Despite dwindling popularity, Endemol produced three more seasons of Big Brother Africa.
While it played with the Big Brother franchise, Endemol also continued its experiments with country based franchises. Notably, Big Brother Angola, which failed to match the success of earlier seasons because the show was shot almost entirely in Portuguese, the country’s official language, and two more seasons of Big Brother Mzansi/South Africa, both recording the shortest durations in the continent-wide franchise.
It made sense that Endemol would return to Nigeria, as its other franchises were harming financial bottom lines by not reaching the rest of the continent. With one of the highest GDPs on the continent and the largest population, Nigeria had a ready-made audience waiting to consume a localised version of their beloved TV-franchise.
A HOMECOMING, OF SORTS
Big Brother, as a brand and a game show, relies almost exclusively on a futuristic matrix of cameras and embedded microphones to live up to its mandate of surveying its guests 24-7. In reality, no one can simultaneously consume the lives of 12 or more housemates, so the show is edited in real time by professionals who surveil all housemates and craft a linear storyline that heightens drama.
That kind of operation costs money, and the South Africa based studio which was used to shoot the majority of the franchise is rumoured to cost in excess of a million dollars. Investing that kind of money in Nigeria with issues of insecurity and a declining economy wasn’t a good shout. The first and second seasons of the show were shot in South Africa to defray costs, even though it caused some backlash from watchers and the Nigerian government.
From the moment the first housemates of the reboot made their debuts, the show became an instant sensation. Social media evolved sufficiently since the first iteration of the show, giving Big Brother Nigeria near-boundless virtual mobility. It has also made it easier for lovers of the show to create fandoms, rife with followers and led by influencers and brands with their own agendas. Today, during Big Brother season, it’s near impossible to avoid its aphorisms and its principal actors.
At the end of the reboot season of Big Brother Nigeria, season’s Efe won hearts for perceived humility and vulnerability. Runner ups, Bisola and T-Boss became favourites for multi-potentate talents chosen and refusal to conform to societal expectations, respectively.
The next season crudely mirrored these parallels, Miracle, the season’s winner was chosen for his perceived humility. Cee-C and Tobi, the season’s runner-ups were on two sides of a voting war that was spurred by their tumultuous in-house relationship. The show’s footage was edited to help audiences buy these character storylines and keep them invested in the show’s trajectory, with an end goal of getting them to vote across fandom lines.
WHERE DID THINGS TAKE A TURN?
There are a couple of reasons why Big Brother Nigeria might already be on the track to decline. After two years of unprecedented success from a multi-stream revenue that includes vote cycles, brand partnerships, spiking subscriptions during the big brother months, the organisers finally listened to criticisms of the show.
A big one was hosting the show in South Africa, making it harder to facilitate a number of plans relevant to the show’s success. The expense of flying celebrities from Nigeria to South Africa to visit the show was astronomical, as was getting brands to sponsor show segments and other activities. With an estimated 5.1 billion Naira from votes and partnerships in 2018, Endemol decided it was time to expand, and the Nigerian Big Brother studio was completed early 2019, domiciling the show in West Africa.
Few could have predicted that viewers would eventually regret this move. A Nigeria-based production made it easier to just throw in a celebrity or 10 into the house to kill a few hours instead of engaging the housemates as Endemol powered towards season finale. Convenient tasks and twists based on psychological interventions were meant to compel housemates to shed pre-planned strategies. Even mid-level influencers who would have not been worth the cost of transporting and housing if they had to be flown to South Africa to see the housemates, were trooped into the house to share nuggets of wisdom that did nothing to advance the show or its housemates.
Social media itself is also evolving how the public interacts with the Big Brother Nigeria dramadom. Leaked online videos from the auditions made it easy to speculate who had progressed beyond the preliminary eliminations. Armed with that kind of information, it is rumoured some housemates retained the services of communication firms and PR specialists to help frame the narrative around their time in the house on social media.
Social media grifters also piggybacked off the aggressive marketing around the show to create farmed Instagram and Facebook accounts and convert them to fan pages for the housemates. Influencers like Tiannah Styling and Jaaruma Empire also court their fandoms through vague promises of financial gifts and trolling masked as commentary.
While sex and informal romantic housemate pairings are common in the Big Brother franchise, the Big Brother Nigeria showrunners experimented incorporating relationship subplots into the show in season 3. Force-pairing housemates and tying their progress in the show to the actions of their partners must have sounded brilliant in theory, but was an atrocity in action. The showrunners didn’t bring back the idea this season, but with social media virality as an incentive, the idea that sexual relationships progressed you in the house was cemented.
In reaction, Season 4 house seemed in a frenzy to pair up and begin to perform or simulate romance for their tv audiences. Khafi and Gedoni got weeks of airtime as the whole country speculated on their sex lives, Ike and Mercy simulated cunnilingus in full view of the camera in what was clearly a crude attempt to go viral. Tuoyo’s entire storyline revolved around his career as a moonlighting stripper. Some housemates even crossed the line from persuasion to sexual harassment as the weeks progressed.
IT NO LONGER MATTERS WHO WINS BIG BROTHER NIGERIA
The one defining feature of earlier seasons of Big Brother was the fact that winning the show could genuinely change your life. For housemates like Ofunneka, the entire cast of Big Brother Nigeria season one, Kevin Pam, Uti Nwachukwu and to some extent Karen Igho, participating in Big Brother significantly raised their public profiles. Katung Kwasu, the winner of the first BBN season used his winnings to float a record label, which expanded in 2019 to include a film production studio. While not everyone chooses to use that profile to transition into entertainment, it was such a revolutionary idea at the time that it changed things and opened doors for winning housemates in other spheres of influence.
Social media has skewered the dynamics of reality television. You are just as likely to gain global virality, and sometimes infamy from a three-second gif as you are from sequestering yourself for 3 months for the entertainment of others. The contestants of the 3rd season of Big Brother have already shown this. They were so savvy with leveraging the internet to extend their time in the public eye that they were given an unprecedented month-long reunion show consisting several episodes to hash out the unaddressed inanities from their season and beyond. When housemates can generate this much traffic around themselves without the trappings and rules of the house, the cash prize won from the show becomes less an incentive than it is a secondary compensation for riding it out to the end. A controversial disqualification or speculation of sexual activity can be just as effective in cementing a housemates place in the post-show canon.
The Big Brother Nigeria franchise is clearly in need of a re-evaluation of how it wants to interface with our social media-driven world. If it is to remain relevant, the end goal of a cash prize and ‘continental fame’ has to be more than a side quest in the rush for fame or infamy.
The annual Felabration festival Yeni Kuti started to honour the memory of her late father, Fela Kuti, kicks off next week, 14th of October. The week-long event is returning to Nigeria after holding its first-ever edition in London back in July, and it’s bringing with it a new theme, ‘From Lagos With Love’, inspired by Fela’s “Eko Ile” single but also acknowledging the international relevance of the festival.
Between the 14th and 20th of October, concerts, a symposium, a dance competition, art competitions and debates among selected secondary schools in Lagos will be held in honour of the Afrobeat legend and the ideals he believed in. There will be a ‘Dress Like Fela Day’ on the 19th of October with the winner earning a cash prize.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Bobi Wine, Professor Akin Oyebode and London based Black African musician, poet and political activist, Akala will speak at a symposium on the opening day, 14th of October, at Neca Hall. But the secondary school debate on ‘Persons above 70 should not be allowed to contest for political position’ will be held this Wednesday, on the 9th of October at Freedom Park.
Femi Kuti, WizKid, Davido, Burna Boy, Simi, Seun Kuti, Mr Eazi and other A-list Nigerian artists have graced the New Africa Shrine stage in the past. This year promises to have these A-lists and their international colleges perform on the Felabration’s stage. The Pan African Orchestra from Ghana have already been confirmed.
Featured Image Credits: Web/www.felabration.net
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BBC Africa Eye is putting a spotlight on sexual harassment taking place in tertiary institutions both in Ghana and Lagos. An hour long documentary which uncovers the dirty politics of university lecturers and the transactional exchange of sexual favours for grades that they perpetuate. Reporter, Kiki Mordi goes undercover to exhume this endemic to the world, and it’s everything we needed it to be.
Thread:
Sex for Grades – university lecturers harassing female students, pressuring them for sex in return for grades or admission – is a scandal that's gone on for decades.
In Nigeria, social media has become the main medium for naming and shaming abusers due to the justice system being unduly unfair to women and children; the system has also gained notoriety for the gross underreporting of sexual related offences.
A key facet to resolving the culture of silence and gross mistreatment of women is restructuring learned and constructed ideals about a woman’s place, and the most effective way we can think of to reach all members of society, is through education. Education aimed at teaching young men and women about consent, body autonomy as well as defensive measures that could be necessary in dangerous situations. Education should also be extended to teachers and faculty members with a strict sexual misconduct code, along with sanctions attached for defaulting on any rules; all this is pertinent to ensuring universities and schools become a safer place for students.
Back in his office, Dr. Boniface told “Kemi” that relations between female students and lecturers might “benefit” the girls… but only if they paid with their bodies.#SexForGradespic.twitter.com/jgBXcARUxb
Although met with resistance from prominent church leaders for introducing LGBT+ ideas to Ghanaian youth, the scheme, seeks to teach sexual and reproductive health with an emphasis on “values such as respect, inclusion, non-discrimination, (and) equality” a representative from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) made known.
It is no better time than ever for the Nigerian government to work on adapting a similar programme across schools nationwide. Conversations on sexual health, consent and sexual violence are met with hushed whispers within the Nigerian society, and are founded on the half-baked assumption that morality and chastity are to be adhered to while demonising sex.
As young adults, we all know how ineffective this is in our society, and also that women suffer the most effects from a lack of these conversations. Nigeria should be aiming to introduce a comprehensive sex ed curriculum, in order to change the attitudes of young Nigerians towards sex, and empower them with information that will do well for their sexual health if and when they eventually get to it.
Watch the BBC Africa Eye documentary here:
Tami is a lover of astrology, music and women. Tweet your fave female artistes at her @tamimak_
Eedris Abdulkareem embodied all the angst and truth-speak of rap in the early 2000s, making him the face of the genre in Nigeria. His ego-driven shtick painted him as a controversial figure who picked fights with everyone from the former president, Obasanjo to American rapper, 50 Cent. But it was that same confidence that earned him the respect of Nigerians as he addressed edgy themes others might shy away from.
Before highlighting the political issues in Nigeria on his commercially successful sophomore, ‘Jaga Jaga’, he debuted ‘Mr Lecturer’ in 2003, opening conversations on the misfeasance use of power in Nigerian universities. “Mr Lecturer” plays out as a conversation between a student and a lecturer who makes sexual demands from his students before passing them. It’s a scene so quintessentially Nigerian, it borders on parody while delivering the edgy message against sexual harassment. While the playful nature of the song made it catchy and popular on radio, it was hard to miss the severity of the crime with the music video showing the lecturer get arrested.
Unfortunately, sexual harassment remains prevalent in Nigerian schools till date. Just last year, an audio recording of a Professor soliciting sex for grades from an Obafemi Awolowo University student went viral and eventually cost the culprit his job but most cases get swept under the rug for lack of evidence. The time of reckoning, however, seems to be on the horizon with BBC’s “Sex For Grades” documentary exposing some of the sexual predators taking advantage of their students. Eedris has lost the mainstream appeal that made “Mr Lecturer” such a compelling social-political song, but it remains relevant today for spotlighting a problem that still exists as a reality for many Nigerian students.
See the music video for Eedris Abdulkareem’s “Mr Lecturer” below.
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/abdulkareemeedris
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You are meeting Debola at a strange time in his life. He wandered into a dream and lost his way back. Tweet at him@debola_abimbolu
Kizz Daniel is problematic AF and that’s that on that. We last reported on his single “Fuck You”for slut shaming women when he hurled different names at his lover for being promiscuous, as well as the controversial line in “Yeba” which gained a lot of traction online for the problematic line “Uncle stop touching”.
One instance is a mistake but having an ever growing name for problematic lyrics just shows Kizz Daniel’s inability to understand and educate himself on gender politics and sexual relations. His latest release “Pak n Go” continues in the same trend, where women are the object of his songs and he doesn’t shy away from enabling men to drop women who demand for more than they are given, which is often trash.
The direction of his lyrics take on an even more sour tone when he adds, “when will you marry ye, until your bobby touch your bele o wey man no wan collect”, a line that is sure to spark enmity among Nigerian women whose worth is often times placed in their eligibility for marriage by our patriarchal society. On his youtube page, Kizz Daniel describes the song as intended to ’empower(s) under-appreciated lovers’, which proves false because the ripple effect of his lyrics work to put women down rather than empower anyone.
On his latest single, “Young Love”, Adekunle Gold captured the feeling of being in the honeymoon stage of a romantic relationship. While his lyrics touch on dreamy sentiments, the song is grounded by a lived-in reality, with an admittance that it won’t always be rosy. “Although this is young love, don’t ever leave my side”, he gently asks of his love interest, over bouncy pop beat.
Updating the single, he’s just shared the music video, and while it doesn’t necessarily follow the song’s narrative arch, it displays the its feel-good qualities. Split between day and night, the video shows Adekunle Gold singing his lyrics while vibrantly moving across a walkway, before ending at a hangout spot where he is joined by men and women dancers for a set of choreographed and sensual moves.
Watch “Young Love” here.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/Adekunle Gold
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Dennis is not an interesting person. Tweet Your Favourite Fela Songs at him @dennisadepeter
Davido’s second studio album, ‘A Good Time’ is currently underway, including features from artists like Migos, Gunna and Lil Baby. Ahead of the October 11 release date, Davido has been prolific with his single release with “Blow My Mind” featuring Chris Brown making incredible milestones both home and away. The two then teamed up again for “Lower Body”, a song on the extended version of Chris Brown’s ‘Indigo’ album.
Now the Afropop superstar has linked up with Fabolous and Jeremih for new single “Choosy”, which was released alongside an accompanying music video. The romantic song sees all three artists reassuring their love interests of their desire to not stray from the relationship, with Davido sampling his 2017 hit single.
Not so welcoming, are Fabolous’ lyrics, who sings “Hold up, if you curve me mind yo business Just notice how fine your friend is”, a line most ladies will instantly relate to, as men whose sexual advances are turned down often choose to problematically retaliate. This sentiment comes as no surprise, given that the rapper has already been under heat for domestic abuse incidents.
The bop is definitely a sure runner for playlists and sets during the upcoming ‘cuffing season’.
