At the top of the list of benefits of the digital age is its influence on global music. While in the older days, artists were required to meet in person to strike deals, and one needed to make a trip to the city of interest to discover music; the internet (despite all its flaws) has allowed us create a single world for music lovers and listeners around the globe. Take Major Lazer for instance, the three-member Disc Jockey and production group —Diplo, DJ Jillionaire, Walshy Fire— have never been to Nigeria as a group, but their presence in the current music scene is as though they live here. Or at least, visit frequently.
However, recent developments indicate that this fun fact is about to change.
The group, whose recent show of appreciation is their recently released 17-track LP, featuring Skales, Davido, Niniola and others, will be performing in Lagos next month. This concert is part of a mini Africa tour organised by U-Live Africa, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group that specialises in live music planning and promotion. The tour, dubbed Major Lazer SoundSystem Live is scheduled for the trio to visit South Africa, Malawi, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda, ending at Hard Rock Beach Lagos on the 5th of October.
Early bird tickets for the Major Lazer SoundSystem Live are available online on nairabox.com. Physical tickets can be purchased from: Hard Rock Café, Tastee Fried Chicken outlets, Filmhouse Cinemas, Genesis Cinemas, City Dia Supermarkets, and Café Neo locations.
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“Tomiwa is figuring it out…” Tweet at herICYMI: @fauxbella
The ban on “Rafiki“, Kenya’s first internationally recognized LGBT film has been temporarily lifted by a high court judge, to enable its producer, Steven Markovitz to submit it for next year’s Academy Awards.
“Rafiki”, an adaptation of Ugandan writer, Monica Arac de Nyeko’s short story, Jambula Tree, was outlawed by the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) in April, for what was described as a clear intent to glorify lesbianism in Kenya. The director, Wanuri Kahiu countered this with a lawsuit last week describing the ban as a breach of the freedom of speech act. In response, the Kenyan Government has reached a compromise: lifting the ban solely for the Oscars consideration.
Earlier today, Kanyan Highcourt Judge, Justice Wilfrida Okwany lifted the ban for seven days to allow “Rafiki” participate in the 2019 Oscars Awards. The deadline for submission of entries in the 2019 Oscars is 30th of September, and for a film to be considered, it has to have been screened in the originating county for a minimum of seven days.
The judge said the film can be viewed by “willing adults only”, with the affirmation that she is confident in the moral foundation of the nation’s society, “I am not convinced that Kenya is such a weak society that its moral foundation will be shaken by seeing such a film”, Okwany said while delivering her ruling.
In response to the ruling, the KFCB CEO, Dr. Ezekiel Mutua, has come to the aid of the apparently impressionable Kenyan adults, lamenting the moral and cultural venom the temporary ban has brought upon Kenya. “We are watching to see which public theatre will exhibit it without the Board’s approval“, Dr. Mutua said via twitter. Which means the film’s shot at an Oscar may still be threatened.
If people want to screen the homosexual film in their houses that's fine. We are watching to see which public theatre will exhibit it without the Board's approval
American Crime series,Snowfall, starring British-Nigerian actor, Damson Idris, has just been renewed for its third season at FX.
Creators, John Singleton, Eric Amadio and Dave Andron center Snowfallon America’s 80s crack epidemic, focusing on the story and its impact on lives in Los Angeles. Damson Idris, who holds the lead role in Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s Farming, stars as Franklin Saint, a Los Angeles-based young adult who graduates from selling marijuana with his uncle to vending crack cocaine with a cartel, in the wake of America’s cocaine epidemic.
The nine-episode-long second season ended on Thursday. It chronicles the lives of the show’s main characters as they experience the dangers of their various line of work, both as individuals and as active players in the crack trade system. It follows Franklin as he begins to experience the perils of success, then Teddy McDonald (played by Carter Hudson), a CIA operative who finds that his off-book drug-funded operation may be personally and professionally vulnerable to unexpected sources, and a drug dealing couple, Gustavo “El Oso” Zapata (played by Sergio Peris-Mencheta) and Lucia Villanueva (played by Emily Rios), who are on a path to becoming addicts despite witnessing dangers and implications.
The American Network sold distribution rights forSnowfall to BBC 2 after the first season aired in 2017. Both networks are expected to air the third season in 2019.
See the trailer for season two of Snowfall below
Featured Image Credit:
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Tomiwa is figuring it out. Tweet at her @fauxbella
“Bam Bam” continues Niniola’s Afro-house gospel, converting new believers through her feature on the DJ CROWD KONTROLLER single. It’s hard not to appreciate her efforts as the genre is slowly becoming a staple at dance clubs through out the country. The video Bash Em directs for “Bam Bam”, celebrates the potency of the genre on dancefloors through the club setting and dancers grooving to the Benie Macaulay produced beat. However, the video also follows a woman’s struggle with picking the right outfit, transportation and getting into the club as if to give a wholesome perspective on the importance of partying and just how far we’d go for a taste of the loud and stuffy dancefloors.
You can watch the video for Niniola and DJ CROWD KONTROLLER’s “Bam Bam” below.
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/officialniniola
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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
Following the release of her 2017 debut album, This is Me, Niniola proceeded with several fire collaborations with different artists on their tracks, including Yung Six’s “Gbe seyin”, VJ Adams “Leg Work”, Kagwe’s “Till the End”, Heavy K’s “Let them Talk”, a remix of her own track “Magun” with Busiswa and several remakes of one of her hit singles, “Maradona”. But now, she is taking a step further to release more new singles of her own, the first of which is “Bana”.
Many of the best Niniola songs are upbeat and sparsely or abundantly sultry; by now we shouldn’t expect anything less. Her songs are imbued with her usual sexual mischievousness and charisma, and she’s liable to do or say just about anything in them by dint of metaphors. “Bana”, produced by Sarz, who has been a regular on her catalogue, carries in it all of that energy. Sarz produces with drum beats and synth tones, creating an atmosphere akin to being on the dance floor. Niniola sings over the beat with lines that depict how protective and possessive she is of her man “Bana mi”, warning her friends to stay far away. She sexually describes all the physical qualities of her man and exactly how they both want it in bed, saying a lot with just few words of allusion.
Check out the track below.
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@Veenorm
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Fisayo is a journalist in search of words. Tweet at her @fisvyo
We don’t know how far away from home we are until we realise how far we have come. “Tired of movement sha, Homesick”, Lady Donli tells me a few minutes into our chat. The singer and songwriter has been on the road for much of the year, and the strain of being away from “a little sprinkle of Nigeria”, as she calls it, is telling in her longing to be back in London where she had spent the months before the North American leg of her tour.
Before she returned to London earlier this year, Donli had been in Lagos, where she hosted her first live-in-concert (at Freedom Park) and was performing in people’s homes, literally. ‘The Living Room Tour’ as Donli tagged it, was a product of her methodic understanding of the importance of touring. To beat the odds of a local music scene where only the biggest payers make it to the radio, Lady Donli is aware performances are the only way to go. “I needed to grow and I needed to create the space for me to grow. So I figured, I’d do intimate shows”, she tells me, adding “I didn’t have to pay for space, So I’d just create a stage for myself”. The idea, in her words, took the “show to the fans”.
I ask if the tour lived up to expectations for fans, “I still have people emailing me about how much the enjoyed the sessions”, she says. By the end of ‘The Living Room Tour’, fan testimonies on social media proved Donli’s on-ground support was growing. She recounts how people volunteered to help after experiencing one of her shows, and how it gave her a glimpse of what a life on the road looks like. It was timely for her too, “I was basically homeless at the time”, Lady Donli says, flatly. “I was squatting, everywhere and anywhere I could squat”, she adds, saying “It’s been a tough time”, more context for why she wants to be back in her own space, despite what she regards a fulfilling experience.
London turned out to be more than a pit stop for few shows. Touring Nigeria was an important part of Lady Donli’s strategy, but days on the road, dealing with the same kind of ‘Nigerian’ issues had left her feeling uninspired. One major reason she returned to London was “to learn” and rediscover her hunger for bettering her craft.
The first thing she did was to see some of her own favourites on stage, to see their set designs and sound engineering. While show-hopping, she saw 19-year-old American R’n’B singer Rayvn Lanae, and OSHUN, a two-woman hip-hop music group in concert. Donli tells me she’s particularly fond of these two because she discovered them on Soundcloud and has been inspired by their growth, “For me, It’s always been like, If these guys I loved on SoundCloud can go on mini-tours, then so can I”.
Later, Donli tells me how she spent the rest of her time in London, hanging out with Mr Eazi. Earlier this year the two had hinted at starting a band called ‘The Cavemen’. Lady Donli doesn’t mention this when we talk, but she confirms spending important studio time with Mr Eazi and two other “amazing musicians”: Shakka and AOD. In her words, mere conversations with the group inspired her to “do better and be better”. And at some point, while basking in this positivity, she picked up the pen and paper to begin work on her next album. Though she has been writing even as the road called to her again, recording music will not continue until the end of the North American leg of her tour this week in New York, nearly two months since the tour kicked off in Canada.
“It was epic,” she says of her opening concert for the tour in Toronto. “I mean, I knew people fucked with me out there, but I wasn’t expecting to get so much love. It felt like an extension of a birthday. I felt celebrated”. Performing to a warm crowd that rocked to songs like “Games”, “Ice Cream” and more in Toronto, sharpened Lady Donli’s artistic instincts. She began to double-down on the specifics of putting up a good performance from practice to set design and soundchecks.
At the core of Lady Donli’s tour is a personal growth endeavour even the singer admits, “These shows have made me break out of my bubble a bit more”.
The experience also taught Donli to never compromise her quality, “When I do go back, I know exactly how I want things to look and how I want things to sound”. Since Toronto, she has performed in Ottawa (her best tour experience so far) where she got fans to do the cupid’s shuffle line dance and Detroit where she learned to trust her self more through improvision.
At the core of Lady Donli’s tour is a personal growth endeavour even the singer admits, “These shows have made me break out of my bubble a bit more”. It’s impossible to tell when you meet her in person, but Lady Donli isn’t coy about her shyness, “Once I’m off stage, I’m back to being Zainab, but the transition isn’t so hard”. Being with a new crowd at every stop has improved her ability to engage audiences and have a good time at it. Donli’s lucidity about this transience of being on and off stage gleans how she has successfully merged her life as an artist, with who she wants to be for the rest of her life.
For the last show on the tour, which Donli dubs as a befitting end to ‘The Living Room Tour’, she will be playing at the Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe in New York on her birthday (20th of September). “It’s going to be a very intimate show. I’m playing with just a guitarist. Very subtle, very minimal, much like myself”, she says, adding that she would be reading quotes she’s enjoyed, to give fans an inner gaze at her personality. The way she sees it, this stage in her life is Lizzie McGuire in the Lizzie McGuire movie unapologetically embracing her real self. “I understand who I am, and I understand what I must do to get where I want”, she adds with conviction.
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Toye is the Team lead at Native Nigeria. Tweet at him@ToyeSokunbi
There’s something about seeing a group of people coming together that always lifts the mood. Add some music, energetic dance and some drinks, and you’d have a party. Choreography and dance crew, Westsyde, has released its debut single, “Kpakujemu”, ticking all the right boxes to get a party started with the bonus of an Olamide co-sign.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXsxLnogzrg/
In case you missed the origin story of Westsyde, this is the Lagos-based dance crew that won Olamide’s promotional #WoDanceChallenge and gave us the now viral Shaku Shaku dance. Perhaps as a nod of YBNL boss, Olamide’s gratitude since “Wo”became a viral success, “Kpakujemu” also features YBNL’s projected next big thing, Lyta. Starboy-collaborator Terri and hitmaker, Barry Jhay also deliver smooth verses on the Pheelz-produced instrumentals.
Of course, because Westsyde is a dance group, a song credited to them, has to live up to what they live for. On “Kpakujemu”, layered vocals, a sweeping synth baseline, pacy drum riffs and percussion samples, listens like a well-curated DJ set in a Lagos club. Although the song’s overarching theme is about having a good time and living your best life, each artist the group features infuses a personal side that expands the subject to include working hard and romance.
You can stream Westsyde’s “Kpakujemu” featuring Olamide, Terri, Barry Jhay, Lyta below.
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/westsydelifestyle
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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
With recent developments, we officially know from Jeremy Scott, the creative director of Moschio who unveiled a collaboration between the fashion house, Wizkid and CÎROC, that he is there for the Milan Fashion Week. Which started yesterday, the 19th of September and is expected to run until the 25th of September.
Speaking about the collaboration, Jeremy said: “I love the cheeky, playful nature of CÎROC. It connects perfectly with my approach to both life and fashion, so the partnership felt natural, there’s such synergy. I design a lot around personal, customized twists so it’s great to bring this into the partnership too. It’s been fun to bring together our bold take on luxury and I can’t wait to see what the year holds”.
The team, which also includes American Model, Golden Barbie, Spanish model, River Viiperi, as well as South African actress Thando Thabethe and rapper Cassper Nyovest, will explore different styles and the cultures Jeremy has chosen to explore. It will reflect a flamboyant show of color with luxurious clothes, equally glamorous parties and limited edition bottles, curtsy of CÎROC. This isn’t Starboy’s first run with fashion in Milan. In July, he walked the Dolce and Gabbana runway along with Naomi Campbell. And more recently signed a T-shirt collaboration with Nikewhich sold out within 10 minutes.
It seems, Wizkid’s next stop is South Africa, for the Global Citizen Festival, where the Father of three, along with Beyoncé, Usher and many more will be performing to raise awareness and funds to end world poverty.
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“Tomiwa is figuring it out…” Tweet at her @fauxbella
The new entertainment report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) states that the Nigerian music industry is “growing strongly” as revenue continues “on an upward trajectory” for 5 years running (since 2013). PWC reveals that this growth is indicated by the 35 million dollars revenue the music industry earned in 2017.
The report, which was released on Wednesday 19th September, indicates that the music industry experienced this growth because digital music sales plummeted ahead of physical music (DVD) sales in 2013. More notably, PwC reports that these digital sales are from caller back tunes, which are owned by telecommunications companies.
“It is therefore a music industry dominated by mobile telecom operators”, says the report.
PwC points out that these services also own some of Nigeria’s biggest streaming and downloading full-track services, competing directly with the likes of Apple Music and Deezer. Further stating that the reason for this rise is due to the piracy-proof nature of mobile digital music.
“Because [they] are confined to the controlled environment of mobile operators, they are not exposed to the ravages of piracy that affect other music sectors”.
PwC indicates that the issue of piracy is one of the elements on top of Nollywood’s stifled growth. The movie industry, which the report projects produces over 2000 films every year, earned 12 million dollars last year.
“A small figure given that Nigeria is Africa’s second-largest economy behind South Africa.“
2017 was considered a ‘strong year’ thanks to the success of Kemi Adetiba’s rom-com,The Wedding Party. This, the report affirms, is largely as a result of the limited number of cinemas (114 cinemas nationwide) available to entertain Nigeria’s estimated population of 198 million.
“With such a small number of venues, the sector will struggle to grow,” the report said.
PVC concludes that the existing number of venues means Nollywood films generally go straight to physical DVD, which makes them more susceptible to piracy. Also, with 60% of Nigeria’s population under the age of 25, the report said the “challenge for local producers is to make films that capture the imagination of this demographic”.
There is obvious scope for further growth, the report says, but with an 8% per annum growth projection and expectations of 18 million dollars by 2022, box office revenue could be better.
While we continue keeping vigil for PatricKxxLee’s promised Nowhere Childproject, the rapper follows up his “H3llywood Blvd” single with “Hurts To Feel”. The new single is just the latest glimpse into PatricKxxLee’s haunted world of distorted auto-tuned vocals, depression and hyperactive-imagination triggered anxieties. Singing “Don’t Know What’s Wrong With Me Today/ Tell Everyone That I’m Okay/ I Think I’m Sick, They Don’t Believe”, his lyrics paints an intimate portrait of an artist who, with each release, lets us a little deeper into his troubled mind. Though his emo lyrics are knotted around his half-rock, half-hip-hop production like fine embroidery, PatricKxxLee powers through an emotional performance that leaves no room for aggressive rap bars. And yet, the booming-drums, spacey ambient synth samples and his childlike grumbling makes “Hurt To Feel” sound like the trap soundtrack for a mystery/fantasy novel.
Listen to PatricKxxLee’s “Hurt to Feel” below.
https://soundcloud.com/patrickxxlee/hurts-to-feel
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/patrickxxlee
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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
Being a promoter of the avant-garde, Brymo has since made it obvious that there’s a lot more to his afrobeat folk-soul music business than meets the eye.
In case you missed it, just two days ago, he announced that he will be debuting his first book, Oriri’s Plight, on the 22nd of this month. He describes the premise of the book as “a multifaceted work of fiction, centered around a young and curious Nubian man of the dark ages”. This is a milestone in his artistic development as he wrote on his twitter, “I have been trying to write a book since I was 17, super excited it’s happening finally”. What’s more, Brymo also promises that a movie will be “absolutely” birthed out of the book later.
The “Heya” singer has made Oriri’s Plight available for preorders on the California based e-book-distribution platform for independent authors and publishers, SmashWords. Written on the direct link to the website, “Oriri’s Plight is a story of a young man who set out to bring ‘light’ for and to his people”. It follows a character named Oriri, who dreams about a personal journey to find where light is. From the obscure dream, where he was served fresh milk in a bowl that shined, accompanied by a delicacy of smoked bush meat, he decides that his own Abwari town people are in darkness because they do not consume meat, but only salmon, fruits and other foods that could be consumed raw.
Whereas in his dream, these people of light welcomed him with open arms and a feast of meat, all of this was new to him because back in Abwari, animals were considered equal with the people and were treated with respect. Although this is just a “dream”, he struggles with determination to show his Abwari people this wondrous light that he has found.
Oriri’s Plight feels similar to Brymo’s apparent journey in the artistic industry and country that he exists in. If this is so, Oriri is a self-referential character to Brymo, who has been attempting to perfect the transformative power of storytelling in himself and in his art, in a bid to bring audiences towards this light that he sees.
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/ClicksandTones
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Fisayo is a journalist in search of words. Tweet at her @fisvyo
“Where Hands Touch”, written and directed by British-Ghanaian director and screenwriter, Amma Asante tells the story of a girl of African and German descent falling in love with a Nazi soldier.
As one would imagine, Asante has gotten negative remarks on the premise she chose for her subjects, some have accused her of romanticizing Nazis, while others have condemned her extreme take on the often threaded ‘dangerous love’ path. In an interview following the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of the film however, Asante explained that her intent wasn’t to romanticise the story, but to open audience’s eyes to humanity and a desire to be understood. Speaking on her intent for the audience, Asante said, “You shouldn’t be leaving this movie thinking this is an aspirational love in the way that romantic dramas often are. You shouldn’t be thinking ‘I want to go out and find a relationship like that.’ You should be nervous for her all the way through”
Her inspiration, she says, came from her own desire to be understood and know more about her heritage; the initial idea came from the fact that she didn’t know a lot about the history of people like herself, people who were born of African descent and raised in Europe. “I knew more about African American history but not of my own” Asante says. “I kept coming across this picture from the United States Holocaust museum of this little Afro-German girl standing with her classmate, and she had this really unreadable look on her face, and I wanted to know more about her”. With Asante’s curiosity piqued, she asked questions like “Who was she? Why she was there? What was her experience? Was she happy? Was she sad?”. She further explained that she read a lot of Jewish literature around the Holocaust, and she wanted to open a wider window to it, giving others an opportunity to also acquire the same knowledge through her movie, “Where Hands Touch”.
Amandla Stenberg who plays the lead character, explains how her character personifies the image of this little girl Asante recollects, “The fact that she is just a child who wants human experiences and is reprimanded for having that desire to be a young adult”.
“Where Hands Touch” is set in 1944 Germany and follows a 15-year-old girl, daughter of a white German mother and a black African father named Leyna (played by Stenberg) . Living in Nazi Germany, Layna has to navigate growing up and having a decent childhood at a time when anyone outside non-Caucasians in Germany were either killed or imprisoned. She falls in love with Lutz a member of the Hitler Youth (played by George MacKay) and both have to figure life out between the threat to her life and the savagery of the racism.
Watch the trailer for “Where Hands Touch” trailer here:
Featured Image Credit: Web/ Toronto International Film Festival
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Tomiwa is figuring it out. Tweet at her @fauxbella
Chiwetel Ejiofor and David Oyelowo are trying to do in Nigeria what Angelique Kidjo has done in philanthropy in Benin and West Africa at large. And if recent developments are anything to go by, they’re getting pretty close. The duo is set to host a Hollywood fundraiser held annually, by The GEANCO Foundation, a Non-profit organization based in L.A. which has dedicated its time and resources to improving lives in this part of the world.
The foundation, co-founded by Nigerian-born Afam Onyema, holds the gala every year to raise money for their various philanthropic efforts, which are mainly focused on educational efforts and medical support. The official website points out that so far, “Over 130 needy Nigerians have received hip and knee replacements and bone fracture repairs through our medical missions”. The website says that in an effort to ensure adequate care and maximization of health possibilities and benefits, they have “Donated a ‘SIGN Fracture Care’ System to a university teaching hospital in Anambra State in southeast Nigeria”, and trained local doctors on use and benefits of the system to maximize its benefits
This year’s Hollywood fundraiser will focus on raising funds to push these medical aid efforts further. Held at Pacific Design Center, West Hollywood on the 6th of October, the fundraiser will open with, David Oyelowo, whose girl’s education initiative ‘Leadership Scholarship for Girls’ is serviced under the Non-profit organisation. He will engage in a keynote conversation with his co-host, Chiwetel Ejiofor on ‘philanthropy in Africa’. Also invited as guests are fellow Nigerians; Sam Adegoke, Dayo Okeniyi and Jidenna. As well as Benedict Cumberbatch serving as the event’s honorary chair.
Feel free to donate on the GEANCO official Website.
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/DavidOyelowo
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Tomiwa is figuring it out. Tweet at her @fauxbella
Nostalgia for the golden age of Afropop has been creeping into radio, often bubbling to the surface in the form of familiar samples. It’s not so hard to imagine why Duncan Mighty suddenly has one of the biggest songs in the country with repeated throwback reference to Afropop from the 2000s. Tekno’s fixation with throwback melodies and lines probably has a lot to do with it and his latest single, “Choko”, finds similar inspiration through the pacey percussion baseline, reminiscent of 9ice’s “Gongo Aso” and lends its title-name from Sean Tero’s similarly titled track from 2006. The highlife guitar harmonies and catchy drum riffs Kriz Beat produces keeps things fresh as Tekno performs his pseudo-romantic lyrics singing “I No Go Ever Leave You Waka/ I Say You’re the One For Me”. The Sesan-directed video for “Choko” sets Tekno in a dark, neon-lit bar , performing his lines to a model who plays his love interest.
Watch Tekno’s “Choko” below.
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/teknoofficial
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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
Few songs this year have deserved a dramatic music video more than Barry Jhay’s “Aiye”. The motivational song has grown to become a sort of mantra on the streets for its reflective and emotive candour. Antrans produces the mid-tempo beat, setting a pensive tone for Barry Jhay’s passionate performance that resonates somewhere between a warning and a prayer. Moaning “Nothing We Go Carry Go/ Ki Lo Wa De T’en Mule Aiye Koko/Why Are We Struggling So Much Then?”, “Aiye” is an inspirational ode to surviving in the face of hardship.
Though his songwriting favors idiomatic one-liners over storytelling, his somber vocals, mixing Yoruba and English, convincingly convey sentiments of hustling for daily living. But for those who might struggle to keep up with the indigenous expressions, Director K directs the video for “Aiye”, following a young boy who is abused as a child but repays the evil with kindness when he gets old and rich. While Barry Jhay reminds listeners that worrying only makes life harder, the video uses images like scenes showing Barry Jhay in a grave yard to highlight the effect and consequence of all our anxieties.
You can watch the video for “Aiye” below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/BarryJhayVEVO
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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
Two Nigerian filmswere screened at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TiFF). As of yesterday, both films have been picked for international distribution by a number of distribution companies. Farming, the second of the two films is Nigerian-British actor turned director, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s directorial debut.
The film, recently picked up by Lionsgate for UK distribution via HanWay Films, is a semi-autobiographical film, based on Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s life as a young boy in UK. The title, Farming is in reference to the practice of Nigerian parents “farming out” their children to white UK families.
Farming starts out in the 1960s and follows the story of Enitan, a London-born Nigerian boy, whose Yoruba parents “farm” him to a white working-class British family in hopes of giving him a better future. Enitan floats between cultures and ends up joining a white skinhead gang “led by a racist psychopath”. The film stars British-Nigerian actor, Damson Idris as Enitan and Kate Beckinsale as his foster mother, alongside Genevieve Nnaji, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and the director, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje.
HanWay Films has also closed deals with Ad Vitam in France, September Films in the Benelux region, Icon in Australasia, and CDC in Latin America and South Korea.
Here is a clip featuring the two lead characters:
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Tomiwa is figuring it out. Tweet at her @fauxbella
“Palm Wine”, off the Take Not3s II EP, begins with short opening clips and images of Not3s entourage, the couple, Tosin and Emmanuel, dressed elegantly in a red dress and plaid suit, and an invitation card with a cute message. They invite Not3s, and by implication, all of us, to be part of their story by joining them to behold their gorgeous wedding. “Palm Wine” then takes us on a journey through the white wedding and reception (#Tanny2018). A defining emotional moment was when Emmanuel had the dance with his mum and let out his feelings with some tears.
With a lovely view from the dress up scene, to the church scene where the officiating minister initiated their marital vows, directors Not3s, Jamie Cox and Ron Nengese remind us that it’s always a beautiful thing to experience conjugal love anew. And with this video for “Palm Wine”, we can watch it again and again; it’s perfectly fitting to Not3s lines on the song. He ends the video sweetly, with a congratulatory message to the couple: “Congratulations Tanny, may your marriage be an unbreakable bond, Love Not3s”.
Enjoy Not3s’ “Palm Wine” music video below.
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Fisayo is a journalist in search of words. Tweet at her @fisvyo
J Molley just released the video for “Always $tressed”, following up his Dreams Money Can Buy short film. The 3-minute long video he directs continues to leave a trail of breadcrumbs to heighten the edgy mood of his Dreams Money Can BuyEP.
Much of the same imagery seen in his previous videos for tracks from the tape are explored here —flashing lights, blurry filters, ominous crucifix— but now J Molley seems to be a member of a goth cult. The clip teeters between images suggesting comfort and those indicating danger. At first, all seems merry as we see women adorning J Molley in gold jewelry, J Molley hanging by the window of a moving car and later performing on stage, the video for “Always $tressed” ends with J Molley stabbing someone at a cult-like initiation ceremony with people knelling as though they are ready to be sacrificed. Throughout the chaos, J Molley retains his emotionless gaze like it ain’t nothing, adding a chilling context to his lyrics “Ask Me If I’m Stressed, Bitch I’m Over Stressed”.
Watch the video for “Always $tressed” below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/J Molley
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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
Shatta Wale has shared the official cover and tracklist of his new album, titled Reign. This record is the dancehall artist’s follow up to his 2016 album, After the Storm. Set to be released on the 17th of October, it was unveiled along with a promo video featuring Shatta, his fans and concerts from his previous album tour.
The 17-track album features rapper, Olamide as the only guest artist, with production credits for MOG, DJ Milzy, Damage Muzik, Da Maker and Shawerz Ebiem. It also features two previously released singles, “Mama Stories”, released on Mother’s day in May, and “Amount”, released in July.
Check out the tracklist and cover art for Shatta Wale’s ‘Reign’
The roots of Fasina’s artistic style have always been buried in a smooth mid-tempo groove. He offers us this on his latest single, “IFE (Run My Race)”. His previous work had been a magical verse uttered on Higo’s “Friday Night” last month. The rhythms on “IFE (Run My Race)”, produced by Kevin “Beats by Ko” Akpewe, forsake dance music’s crisply delineated fast-paced beats in favor of softer, more enveloping pulses. With lyrics written with boasts, Fasina sings to convince a love interest that he’s the one “baby where are you going to? you know I’m the one”, but with a little twist. Because it’s not quite clear if its the love interest who wants him or vice versa. And perhaps he’s doing and saying the most just to gain her attention. On “IFE (Run My Race)”, Fasina is guided by a bouncy baseline; it’s the kind of song a listener can easily dissolve into.
Listen to Fasina’s “IFE (Run My Race)” below.
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@hellodillon
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Fisayo is a journalist in search of words. Tweet at her @fisvyo
“growing pains” is a tribute to the young legend, Mac Miller, who left a very significant mark in the music industry, before passing away on the 7th of this month. Mafeni writes a pain driven reflective song that precisely captures what it’s like to fall into an overwhelming feeling: the helplessness of it, and the paradoxical strength that arises once you’ve decided control: “I’ll survive in the world, I’ll survive in this little room called the sanctuary, that I’m located”. If you’ve listened to Mafeni’s 2016 project, Enjoy or a more recent collaboration with Yinka Bernie, “Mondays”, you’ll be very familiar with Mafeni’s artistic style; as with most of his catalog, he gets by with an introspective persona.
Mafeni rap-sings over the mid-tempo beat Wasalu produces with synths and slow-paced drum strikes, ending with the sound of a trumpet and a testimonial quote from the late Mac Miller who speaks passionately about survival, defeat and possible happiness. The track also refers to growing pains from the frustration of fair weather friends and seeming stagnant growth (financially and career wise). Amidst his introspection, he affirms that he has to stay strong without pretence; Mafeni seems to know what the mirage of perfection is worth: nothing. Wasalu, the Lagos-based producer of the track is known for his remixes (Lady Donli’s Bobby Bobby is one of such) and beats, one of which has featured JohDavincii before. On “growing pains”, he produces a 2 minutes track approx; the short length of it would get you replaying it over and over again.
Check out “growing pains” by Mafenibelow.
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Fisayo is a journalist in search of words. Tweet at her @fisvyo
