‘Blood & Water’ & ‘Young, Famous & African’ headline Netflix’s slate of upcoming South African titles

Posted on by Dennis Ade Peter

Netflix is gearing up for some of its busiest months since entering Sub-Saharan Africa. A few weeks after unveiling a packed schedule of upcoming Nollywood releases, the streamer has shared a slate of short and medium term plans in South Africa, from commissioned films and TV series to deals with filmmakers. The announcements were made at MIP Africa, which is part of FAME Week Africa, currently ongoing in Cape Town. In the panel titled ‘See What’s Next on Netflix’, a handful of returning TV shows and newly commission titles were teased.

Headlining the set of returning shows is ‘Blood & Water’, the young adult series that’s delivered three seasons and has gotten better with each new batch of episodes. Its renewal was announced earlier this year, and the fourth season is set to premiere in early 2024. Also making a return next year, for its third season, is the reality show ‘Young, Famous & African’, which gathers a cast of pan-African superstars for frivolous drama. Completing the list of renewed shows is ‘Savage Beauty’, the family-rooted mystery drama which debuted in 2022 and is expected to return next year.

 

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Of the slate of upcoming titles, the earliest release is the young adult series, ‘Miseducation’, which will premiere next Friday, September 15. The series will follow Mbali Hadebe (Buntu Petse), a first year varsity looking to reform her life in the aftermath of the shameful exposure of her mother’s corrupt dealings. It’s helmed by Burnt Onion Production, the studio behind the Netflix hit comedy drama show, ‘How to Ruin Christmas’, which ran for three seasons.

Slated for late 2023, BBZEE Production’s ‘Yoh’ Christmas’ will be looking to either match or surpass the acclaim of Burnt Onion’s acclaimed, holiday season show. Before then, the third instalment in writer and director Jayan Woodley’s ‘Kandasamys’ film franchise will drop on October 20. Netflix acquired the licensing rights to the first two films in the family-rooted drama, and has now commissioned ‘Kandasamys: The Baby’, which was shot in South Africa and Mauritius, as an exclusive.

Also part of a franchise, ‘The Ultimatum: South Africa’, a regional spinoff of the Netflix reality series which features couples at a crossroads in their relationship where they either have to commit to tying the knot or go separate ways. News of the reality show hit the internet around this time last year, with a tentative premiere date for this year, however, there’s no concrete release schedule just yet.

 

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Rounding out the rest of the slate are two films, both set to drop in the first quarter of 2024. ‘Soweto Love Story’ is a romantic comedy set in the heart of Johannesburg’s famous township, and ‘Heart of the Hunter’ is a spy thriller based on the book by Deon Meyer. The latter is directed by Mandla Dube, who entered a multi-project partnership deal with Netflix, following the release of last year’s Apartheid-era action thriller, ‘Silverton Siege’.

As Dube’s partnership deal unfolds, the streamer has also shared several partnerships with filmmakers and production houses, most of whom have delivered commissioned work for Netflix. Nigerian-born Akin Omotoso (‘The Brave Ones’) and Ochre media have been tapped for a multiple-title book adaptation; Donovan Marsh (‘iNumber Number: Jozi Gold’) is set for a 3-film partnership; Gambit Films (‘Blood & Water’ ‘Unseen’), Stained Glass Productions and Black Brain Pictures will produce multiple films and TV series.

Alongside multi-title deals with Nigerian filmmakers like Mo Abudu, Kunle Afolayan and Kemi Adetiba, Netflix is clearly playing the long game and looking far into the future.

AV CLUB: ‘JAGUN JAGUN’ RAISES THE CEILING FOR YORUBA EPIC FILMS

Best New Music: Brazy updates “Attends” with befitting DBN-Gogo assisted remix

Posted on by Nwanneamaka Igwe

In music, success is measured in different ways. For most artists, it’s the ability to communicate with listeners on a deeper and emotional level which serves as a determinant for their success. Given that attention spans continue to decline and we’re constantly in search for the next best thing, it’s always impressive to find a new artist who is able to break out authentically and garner a loyal following. With a small but mighty discography, London-based, Nigeria-born rapper, Brazy is making waves in the industry speaking directly to young audiences, both back at home and in the diaspora, while simultaneously bypassing the norms with her genre-defying music.

It’s impossible not to have heard her earworm track “Attends,” a catchy song delivered in French, Chinese and English, which found success fast and easy on the Internet. Since its release in 2022, Brazy has earmarked herself as an artist to watch who came into the game confident, and ready for a good time. The snippet, which debuted months prior, showcased a thrilled audience dancing to the intoxicating hook with a witty pre-hook, “Cheat on me, I’ll cheat on you.”

In a NATIVE exclusive interview earlier this year, Brazy shared that she had recorded the song to perform in the Paris leg of an intimate show for Cruel Santino’s ‘Subaru Boys: FINAL HEAVEN’ tour. “When I performed it in Paris, I hadn’t put the snippet out but the way the audience reacted was insane. I thought because it had that Bouyon feel it was nostalgic to them or other black people in Europe like Amsterdam. Then I heard it took off in Ghana.” 

 

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“Attends” captures Brazy’s effervescent, carefree sound perfectly. The upbeat production seamlessly tied in with Brazy’s fast-paced delivery as Brazy returned to tell her love interest that as much as they’re a match made in heaven, “Me and you I think it’s fate, you be custard and I be cake,” she won’t hesitate to leave his side at the first instance of inconsistency.

Brazy is keen on expanding her craft and connecting with her growing audience who consist of young people who look just like her. With this in mind, she’s recently just released the DBN Gogo-assisted remix to “Attends,” a clear tactical move within her arsenal to widen the scope of her discography and open her to an entirely new audience. In recent months, many Afropop artists are expanding their worldview and collaborating with a diverse cast of artists and producers from around the world, including standouts such as Victony’s “Soweto” which pulls the effervescent production of Tempoe and the brilliance of Rema and Don Toliver.

While there’s certainly arguments to be made for and against cross-cultural collaborations of this ilk, Brazy’s “Attends” is a clear standout which further showcases her artistic brilliance. Arriving only a few days ago after an announcement on the rapper’s Instagram page, “Attends (DBN Gogo Remix)” is a fusion of two hitmakers who are strutting with palpable confidence and creating more bright spots on the sonic canvas of the year.

The remix takes an entirely new sonic direction to the song’s original version. Over the bouncy new track, Brazy and DBN Gogo flip the upbeat instrumentals of the song for a more toned down pitch laid over familiar House-sensibilities, all the while retaining Brazy’s infectious vocals. From the onset of “Attends (DBN Gogo Remix),” it’s clear that Brazy and DBN Gogo are just having fun as they dance across the scintillating production with delectable keys.

As the track builds up, Brazy’s vocals come into focus, as she enunciates a much calmer and richer tone to suit the now mid-tempo production. Thankfully, she retains the original, well-loved lyrics only to be met with gleaming swishes in sound effects that key perfectly into Brazy’s futuristic palette. When the pre-hook arrives, Brazy chants the first verse again as the low-cadence drums now jump to the forefront of the track.

DBN Gogo’s seamless production is an instant standout on the track. Sticking to her sonic roots, she blends and contours keys and percussions into her orbit with an ease that provides the perfect backdrop for Brazy’s catchy lyrics. It’s not lost on us that Brazy tapped the South African DJ, producer and music executive for a befitting update to the track given the burgeoning success of Dance music on the continent and the diaspora. In the past few years, South African music has soared across the continent owing to the global rise of Amapiano and more, and it has found an audience IRL and in online spaces such as Instagram and TikTok.

Given that Brazy is no stranger to finding viral success on online spaces, the remix is a perfect commingling of two like minds who are keenly observing the culture while contributing to it in real time. By the end of the track, all expectations have been effectively met. It’s a fun and memorable spin on an already potent single–let’s all be cake.

Featured image credits/NATIVE

ICYMI: OLAMIDE, PHEELZ & THE SYNERGY OF ARTIST-PRODUCER PAIRINGS IN AFROPOP

Four takeaways from Tekno’s new album, ‘The More The Better’

Posted on by Dennis Ade Peter

When Tekno finally shared his debut album, ‘Old Romance’, it felt more like a long overdue item being ticked off a checklist, rather than a marquee event fitting for a pivotal figure in Afropop. Released in late 2020, four years after he helped reshape the sound of Nigerian pop with a handful of smash hits, including the forever classic “Pana” and producing Davido’s “IF,” the album lacked the trademark spark that made him one of the hottest hit-makers around.

Maybe it would be too much to ask for the singer/producer to recapture that same magic and stretch it out across an entire full-length, but the framing of the project was an indicator that Tekno did understand the narrative function of a multi-song drop. What ‘Old Romance’ lacked was generally compelling execution, a concept project about holding on to the ideals of wholesome romance in these times. On the more intriguing songs like “Uptown Girl” and “Catalia,” Tekno’s recognisable mix of levity and heartfelt charm makes for delightful listens, but for the most part there isn’t that much insight to be gleaned from the album.

‘The More The Better’, Tekno’s new sophomore album, doesn’t come with the sort of high stakes that accompanies a debut LP and, to its overwhelming advantage, a low bar to clear its predecessor. The singer takes advantage of those circumstances to deliver a project that meets his standards as a hit-maker, and is even surprising in its sonic width. This is Tekno having as much fun as he can on wax, while remaining an everyman’s artist with his perspective on love and life. Here are four striking takeaways.

 

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Tekno will always be for the masses

Very few artists poignantly capture the human angle of the Nigerian condition like Tekno. While they might be described as “deep cuts,” within a catalogue filled with preppy romantic and lascivious hits, several of his songs have seen him Nigeria’s socio-political ills from a purely pro-people stance. On his new album, there’s nothing quite as surgical as “Sudden” or as fiery as “O Wa,” co-headlined with Falz, but it has its fair share of resonant moments.

On the Dido-sampling opener, “Twice Shy,” Tekno sings of resilience from a person perspective: “Man been through the darkness of the tunnel, at the end there was light/situation could’ve held me down, but delay is not denial.” The lack of specificity will make it easier for listeners to work their own personal feelings into the song, aided by the interpolation an African China classic. It’s the same M.O on the zen-seeking lead single, “Peace of Mind,” and the spiritually-inclined “Play,” where he further acknowledges how Nigeria isn’t optimised to enable the dreams of many of its young people.

The romance isn’t old; it isn’t new either

At his best, Tekno’s love-themed songs find the middle ground between stand-in-the-rain-R&B invocations and a touch of Nigerian male solipsism that doesn’t come across as overbearing. The hook of 2015’s “Duro,” where he promises to “show you love that you’ve never seen” and already dreams of a family with kids, is one prime example. On ‘The More The Better’ closer, “Can’t Chase,” he invokes the infamous Folake from “Pana” as a way to drive home the message that he’s not interested in any messy romantic situations.

It’s the first time in his career he’s pointedly addressing the complicatedness of love in an era where situationships and all kinds of games abound. Considering the many songs of adulation and admiration and devotion before it, there’s a subtle redressing how listeners might come to view Tekno in relation to romance. With undeniable slappers like “Lokation” and “Permit,” many will easily recognise the troubadour whose music is primed to light up dancefloors. However, without any explicitly rigid frameworks, there’s no feeling that the singer is selling us an agenda. Like the rest of us, Tekno has his own ideals and they’re translated into songs that fit within the self-assured scope of this album.

 

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The return of a “King of Pop”

Tekno is widely known as the populariser of the “pon-pon” sound that revolutionised Nigerian pop, which basically mean that at some point he dictated pulse of mainstream music. In a way, he still does, considering the easily traceable evolution of what’s hot these days. On ‘The More The Better’ standout, “King of Pop,” he flexes his ability to effortlessly deliver club-ready music. The tricks are recognisable: catchy one-liners, snappy melodies and a liberal use of onomatopoeia to fill up negative space. The music is new territory, though, a makossa beat with some Afrobeat embellishments.

Part of his credentials as a pop savant is Tekno’s preference for colour-packed beats, and he plays around with even more sonic shades from across Afropop. The title track has a salsa-infused swing to it, “Flashing Lights” is a dancehall-inflected bop, “Borrow” is driven by a red-blooded folk-pop groove, “Peace of Mind” is heavily indebted to Kizomba, and there’s a mid-section run featuring log drum-indented arrangements. Tekno is at his most adventurous, aided by Tuzi, DJ Coublon, Krizbeatz and more soundmen who help make sure these forays are less risqué choices and more a showcase of mastery.

A notable change in vocal texture

A few years back, Tekno dealt with a serious vocal ailment, which made it difficult to record or perform music. In getting his chords fixed, the change in the texture of his voice is evident. While there’s always been a light rasp in his voice, it mainly added edge to the buttery croons and youthful charm of his melodies. Now, his voice is hoarser than it’s ever been. You can tell on “Regina,” which features CKay, whose “emo-afrobeats” style is partly indebted to Tekno’s pon-pon reign. On that song, the contrast in tone shows how much Tekno’s voice has changed. For what it’s worth, he’s adapted his songwriting to fit. In place of melodies that used to lilt, he’s leaning even more on making his lines pop, whether it’s by adding a little more verve to his performance (“Borrow”), or singing his lines with a lived-in touch (“Can’t Chase”). It’s further proof of how ‘The More The Better’ shows Tekno as a malleable performer whose identity will remain intact as he ages forward.

ICYMI: FOUR TAKEAWAYS FROM KIZZ DANIEL’S ‘MAVERICK’

NATIVE Exclusive: How Patoranking Became The ‘World Best’

Posted on by Emmanuel Esomnofu

Three minutes into a Zoom conversation with Patoranking, our shared roots was the topic. We rattled off a number of places we knew, after he got to know that I lived in Ajegunle for a significant part of my life. Each name was familiar and evoked memories of home. But while the area which was affectionately called AJ wasn’t really that for him—Patoranking was raised in Ebute Metta, another suburb in mainland Lagos—it was there he got introduced to Galala, the zesty subgenre birthed from Dancehall which has formed his core sound over the years, making him one of Africa’s most intriguing musical exports. 

Immersed in Patoranking’s practices and philosophy are his many stories. Regardless of the gargantuan leaps he makes in his career, if the artist comes across as a guy-next-door, it’s because he’s lived on the farthest-leaning spectrums of life and has come through the other side with appreciation for everything. “When I moved from nothing to something, that was my story,” he sang on the opening lyric of “Alubarika,” his breakout record which was released in 2014, just around the time African pop was opening itself up to audiences internationally, especially in the United Kingdom. Rather than fizzy, afro-focused sonics, the vision of the artist born Patrick Nnaemeka Okorie was markedly different: he wanted to connect the world to his stories, through the universal genre of Reggae which most influenced him. 

“Music was the only means of survival,” he says to the NATIVE. “Music was the only guy that could control you. And if you don’t want to do what people are doing, either you play football, or you do music, or you learn handwork. Or,” he says with a hint of danger, “You join bad gang. And coming from a home in the ghetto, it’s very important that we do what is right.” 

Years before Patoranking appeared on the circuit of mainstream audiences, he was in Ghana trying to convince people of his talent. The West African country which bordered Nigeria from its southwest region had a thriving Reggae culture, sharpening Patoranking’s love for its intricacies. That awareness to the possibility of sound would beautifully coalesce with older experiences, such as sauntering into AJ street jams and stealing everyone’s hearts through dance. The Galala-influenced music of Daddy Showkey, Marvellous Benjy and Danfo Drivers were already ingrained in his consciousness, and without giving it much thought, Patoranking was cultivating the ethos and delivery of what would become an inimitable voice. 

“It wasn’t easy going around telling people that I would be great,”  he says now, “all they need to do is just listen to Patoranking. But we kept on going, you know. Many stumbling blocks, trying to get people’s attention, wondering why nobody’s hearing you. Also, you want to give your family a name, which is very important and then you want to be the voice or the face everyone look up to in the ghetto. So you don’t have to fail them; you just have to get it done.” 

Patoranking sure introduced himself with the assurance of a man who carries such transcendental responsibilities. Aside the stirring performance in the Timaya-featuring record, loosies with Olamide (“Bora”) and DJ Hazan (“Early Momo”) were well-received in the streets, the acute, gritty observations of Patoranking connecting on a deep level. “Girlie O” moved him past those considerations; having that bell-evoking progression and Pato’s affectionate lyricism, the record revealed him in the light of the Caribbean-facing superstar. 

Throughout 2014, Patoranking was in scintillating form—he honoured those transcontinental ambitions with records like “Tonite,” which was a collaboration with the veteran Faze and “My Woman, My Everything,” which received a stellar hook from Wande Coal. He also burnished his relationship with the local soundscape, appearing on the Sarkodie-hosted “No Kissing Baby” and “Friends,” one of his most affecting records which considered the weight of relationships. From then on, the artist was in incredible high demand, and the more he opened his arms to collaboration, the more he flowed into the ebbs of a career that had world domination in sight. 

By the time Patoranking released his debut album ‘God Over Everything’ in 2016, he was a household name on the continent. A 16-track body of work, it incorporated features of influential contemporaries (Wizkid, Olamide and Phyno), merged Fuji into the emotive closer with the iconic King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall who the song is titled after, and per his Jamaican influences, Konshens features on the tropical “Daniella Whine”. It was a successful debut and three years later, in 2019, Patoranking released ‘Wilmer’, the album named after his first daughter and which featured her on its black-designed cover. The sonic variance in records like “Feelings” and “Lenge Lenge” demonstrated that Patoranking still knew how to conduct the several parts of his artistry, while embracing a pan-African vision featuring the likes of Kenyan rapper Nyashinski, the South African artist Busiswa, the French artist of Congolese heritage Dadju, and Donae’o, the British rapper of Ghanaian and Guyanese descent. Crowning it all was Davido on the uber-hit “Confirm”. 

Patoranking places an intentionality into his music, and an innate self-awareness for his potential for love and greatness has never been in doubt. In February, earlier this year, he released the stirring track “Abobi”. A sociopolitical number whose peculiarly Nigerian expression emerged from a tradition shared by the likes of Ras Kimono, Evi Edna Ogoli and Majek Fashek, it aligned Patoranking with his didactic motivations while establishing the trajectory for his fourth album. 

“For me, it’s a place of pain,” he shares in response to how he approached the record. “In as much as I’m an advocate for change, I just have to do what I can do because at the end of the day, charity begins at home, you know? And if I’m to start mine, I have to start from my own place which is—so my home is, my music. So if I want to speak for the people or fight for the people, I have to start fighting from my own home. That’s why I just pour it into the music, where I talk and express how we feel.” 

Patoranking’s activism comes across as essential and true to his core. It’s the involvement of a man who’s seen life from its darkest corners and knows more than most why we must embrace the light. It’s also a sensibility that emerges from the Reggae genre, which has always acted as a conscience within the scope of popular music. One of Patoranking’s major heroes, the legendary Bob Marley was a messenger of love as much as he was a globe-trotting superstar who became one of the 20th century’s most enduring personalities. Creating his fourth album which is titled ‘World Best’, it is this unification that Patoranking has set his sights on. Particularly, unifying the shared experiences between his African home base and our Black siblings in the Caribbean diaspora. 

I asked why that was important for him. “If you look at it, we’re all one. Same colour, same race,” he says. “It’s just different place. There’s a lot of similarities; if you live in Jamaica, you’d see that same lifestyle in the ghetto. There’s a place called Little Kingston in Ajegunle; and if you go to some places in Ghana or Sierra Leone, you would think you’re in the Caribbean. Even when you’re there in the Caribbean, you’d think you are home. And if you go through history, that taught us that a lot of the people that make up these places are people taken from home.” For Patoranking, it was a choice of language and love. 

‘World Best’ album drew its title from a similar well of language and love, as Patoranking’s friends have been calling him that for a while now. “I’ve always wondered why they call me world best,” he says, “and you know, no man crowneth himself king, except the people. And if they said ‘Okay, Pato, you’re world best’, they see what I don’t see and I was like, ‘You know what? I’ll take it. I’ll claim it. It took us about two years making this album because we wanted to make sure we get it right.” 

“We like to take new directions; if everybody’s going left, we want to go right. That’s what we were able to do with this one.”

 

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Beginning with the drill-evoking “Inshallah,” the fifteen track body of work delivers on its creator’s promise of novelty. It’s a different song to anything Patoranking has done before, merging his distinct dancehall sensibilities with the more contemporary style. On “Gyal Like You,” he and Kizz Daniel lend their inimitable voices to the warm rootsy production. Sounding straight from a bar in 2000s Ajegunle, it’s a loving message with Galala undertones. “Smoke & Vibes” is similarly composed, with Highlife-esque guitars colouring its seams. It’s a harkening to records like “Make Am” as Patoranking again flexes his grasp on topical issues (this time, overt reliance on drugs) while retaining his humour. The Jamaican stalwarts Beenie Man and Popcaan appear on “Amazing Grace” and “TONIGHT” respectively, both signature styles vividly impressed alongside Pato’s.

“Just like the title, it has to be around the world,” says Patoranking in response to where the project was created. “From Lagos to Lome, Togo; to Accra, Ghana; LA in California; London, Paris. So we just went around the world making the best of the best songs”. One of Patoranking’s best-ever songs does come here, on the Victony-featured “Babylon,” a phrase known to rasta believers as representing the dysfunction of the modern world. Over thumping progressions, both artists trade off each other’s energies, especially Patoranking whose sensibility audibly influence the song’s direction. “Leader, Lion, yes I be Idolo/ Fight and face my fears, no ojoro,” he sings in his passionate verse, describing himself as World Best and the Champion. 

Like most of the artists he collaborated with on the album, Victony was called into the studio to directly contribute his dulcet vocals. Patoranking is a huge fan of the youngster and he also cedes space for talented Ghanaian songstress Gyakie on the party-starting “Control Me”. Along with veteran features such as Diamond Platnumz and the American rapper Ludacris, ‘World Best’ emerges as a combination of both experienced and fresh voices, which supplies a vivacity that makes it Patoranking’s most well-honed album.

“A place of peace, where the energy is right,” he says, “that’s where I’m coming from with this album. We just want to carry everybody along, musically and experience wise. As a human being, I love peace, I love vibes, I love the right energy. In as much as we wanna go global, we want to make sure we do it the right way. Which is our way, which is the peaceful way, which is the easy-going way. So even when you hear this album, that is how you should feel.” 

Listen to ‘WORLD BEST’ below.

Track-By-Track: Xenia Manasseh Breaks Down Her Debut Album, ‘LOVE/HATE, Pt. 1’

Posted on by Uzoma Ihejirika

Xenia Manasseh’s debut album ‘LOVE/HATE, Pt. 1’ is out in the world only four short years since the Nairobi-born singer/songwriter returned to her home country. She had spent close to five years in the US, studying at the Berklee College of Music and chasing a songwriting career in Atlanta. ‘LOVE/HATE, Pt. 1’ is a culmination of all of Xenia’s experiences whilst contemplating self-love and affection for others. 

“The number one lesson that I learned a long time ago was that I was supposed to do music, and that that was the path that I was supposed to follow and that was the thing that brought me the most joy,” she tells the NATIVE. “To just follow my heart and just see where it takes me.” Xenia’s album is a combination of her honest, clear-eyed observations and hers as well as the producers’ mastery of music techniques. The project, which features Karun, Tay Iwar, Shalom Dubas and Xenia’s grandfather Edgar Manasseh, traverses topics of new love, hope, hurt and belief in one’s greatness. 

‘LOVE/HATE, Pt. 1’ is Xenia’s gift to every listener, an album for “people to know that it’s okay to be vulnerable.” Speaking with the NATIVE, Xenia tells the stories behind each song on the 11-tracker, breaking down the feelings, motivations and human connections that breathed life into the album. 

Her words, which follow below, have been lightly edited these words for clarity. 

 

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“G.I’S INTRO” FT. EDGAR MANASSEH

This is the song that I recorded last. I recorded it this year about a month and a half ago. So, my grandpa, my Babu, and I have a very interesting way of speaking when we’re not in the same place and we just communicate by sending each other music. And so in May, I woke up to some lyrics from him and then a voice recording of him singing the song and a message that said, “You can perfect this song.” Anybody who knows him knows how he comes off as stern but he’s so gentle. He’s at that age where it’s just like “I know what I’m talking about.” So he sent me a voice recording of him singing [the lyrics], and I was like, “Wow, I have no idea what made you wake up and do this,” and it was such a clean recording as well. And I immediately knew that I wanted it to be on my album.

I already had the structure [for the album] before so everything that you see now [from] songs 2-11 was the original version of the project, which I loved. But then, once he sent me that, I was like, “Oh my God.” One, it’s in Swahili, and he is from the coastal region of Kenya. I’ve grown up there most of my life, by the beach. I went to high school In that city. Our ancestors are from there. And it’s a song that we’ve sung for so long. So it’s called “Zilizopendwa,” and it basically means “the songs that are loved.” And, I’m sure you guys have those songs as well that you sing at your traditional ceremonies. At least for our culture, there are songs that you sing at weddings, you sing at funerals, you sing at celebrations [and] you sing whenever the family comes together.

And yeah, I went to the studio and I just recorded over [his] singing. So G.I is his nickname. His full name is Edgar Ivan Manasseh, but he’s been called G.I for a long time and as somebody who’s contributed so much to my musical journey, everything about it feels so real. I feel like I’m also fulfilling one of his dreams and putting a stamp on the fact that I’m Kenyan embracing my culture and embracing where I’m from and giving back in a way to him and those that came before him that made the way for me.

SOUL LOVERS

I can’t remember at which point I wrote it, but I feel like that was also the name of the beat. I had started working with a label in Atlanta [in 2018] as a songwriter so I would always get beat packs sent to me pretty often and if that wasn’t happening, I could just reach out to the producers that were also under the label. So, this guy—he had just been signed after me—his name is AVB. He was the youngest one that was signed to the label but I just kept gravitating towards his stuff; I was just like “This guy just has so much magic that he’s doing.” He alongside the other producer Sangria who had been signed just right before me. 

And I heard this beat and I just remember feeling like I was floating. I was classically trained so it just was a culmination of that plus the R&B direction that I had started taking in my music. It was like a no-brainer and the song just flowed out of me. It took me maybe an hour to just write it and send it. And then after that, I’ve just had it this whole time. So the fact that it’s coming out feels so good. It feels so good.

“LATE NIGHT CHECK UP” FT. SHALOM DUBAS

This is also another one that is produced by AVB  [and LNK]. It was just another beat that I found in the folder. This one, I can’t really remember the space that I was in. I feel like I was describing my hope for something new. I was writing all these things in the middle of the night. I truly think that I was a nocturnal creature in another life because I was writing in the late morning hours. After midnight, I’d be up until six, seven or eight a.m. sometimes. 

I think I was just sitting there thinking about how I miss being checked on in the evening because the person that I had just gotten out of a relationship with was in the US. So there was a time difference. So whenever they would wake up, it would be in the evening for me. And I guess I kind of just trailed off in that direction and was just describing how it felt in the beginning. It’s like the feeling of having butterflies, the feeling of “Oh my God, this person has messaged me” in the middle of the night [and] morning for them. Somebody’s checking on me and this is something new and I’m excited and it’s so clear to me that this is somebody that I have some sort of future with, and I think that that’s the space that I was in when I wrote my section. 

And then, in 2021, we went to Nigeria for the AFRIMMA Awards and that’s where I met Shalom who my manager Faiza had been telling me for the longest time that she had sent “Late Night Check Up” to and we hadn’t had a chance to connect before that at all. And of course, we never knew that we were going to end up being nominated for AFRIMMA or end up in Lagos. So we had multiple sessions, but this was the very last session that we had before we left and went back to Nairobi and it just felt so surreal. It was the first time I was meeting her but we were in the studio and I was engineering for her. I remember crying—I’m pretty sure we have video evidence—but I remember crying because I just couldn’t believe it. I was like, “Wow. somebody has finished the story. You couldn’t have told me that this is where I’d be in the world when this song was going to be finished or who would be doing it,” because we had so many ideas before. And I feel like she completed the story.

“SOUTHWARDS” FT. TAY IWAR

This one is so funny because I had a studio session yesterday with the person that I had originally written this song for in 2019. When we were compiling stuff for the album, I was looking up the lyrics and of course, it took me back to the day that I wrote it—June 24 2019—and that person’s name was at the top and I was like “Oh my God. I completely forgot that you’re the reason why I wrote this song,” because they were just looking for songs and I was doing my whole songwriting thing at the time. And this was a song that I actually pitched to them, but they didn’t end up using it.

So I just had it for myself for a while. And then again Faiza, my manager—who has been working with Tay for a while—had actually booked him in Nairobi for a show and I opened for him at that show. And so I got to meet him then. Not knowing that maybe a year later he would send us back the second verse and we were just mind-blown. I don’t think we’ve stopped being mind blown since that day. Every time I listen to [the] song, I’m just like “Wow, the way things come together is just incredible.”

“ANTICIPATE” FT. KARUN

“Anticipate” [was] produced by Cee B and Stoopid Lou. Cee B is another producer that was signed to the same label that I was [in Atlanta]. I had been writing every day but I hadn’t picked anything from any of his folders. So on that particular day, I was just like, “Let me see what this guy has in here for me to use,” and I listened to that beat and I remember it was called Motion, and I immediately started thinking about driving and then, all of a sudden, I had half a song that did use the metaphor of driving to describe love. I just remember sitting in my room and feeling like I was moving, like I was in motion and then [I] totally forgot that I had sent the song to Karun.

And I think she and I had a gig maybe six months later. And when we were saying bye to each other, she was like “By the way, I wrote something to that song you sent me a while ago.” I had no idea what it was going to be but she and I had known each other for a while. We had been roommates in college and then we had come back and I feel like she’s one of the main artists in Nairobi that opened the door to so much of the alternative R&B and soul music that’s being created now. 

So she sent me her verse. A lot of this project has been emotional, especially [with the] features because it’s really somebody else coming into your space, bringing in their own experience and helping you finish a story that you started, and when it feels right, it’s just emotional.

“TEMPORARY LOVE”

Karun had been a part of the #emPawa100 program [launched] by Mr Eazi where he was giving grants to a hundred artists on the continent to do a video and a release. And for the one that Karun did, I was in her video. And I remember feeling like, “Oh my God, I can’t believe I missed out on this opportunity.” And so it came back around the [following] year and he [Mr Eazi] had reduced the numbers. He’d now made it #emPawa30 where the same amount of money that was originally being given out was going to be split between 30 people so everybody would have more to spend on a video and a release and something else if they could. 

And so you just had to apply by posting one or two video submissions on your Instagram and tagging emPawa [Africa]. “Temporary Love” is the first one that I submitted but even just off that song, I had definitely gotten into the program. I posted a second one but by that time, I knew this one was happening. I just didn’t know when and then on November 5, 2019, I woke up and went on Twitter and Mr Eazi had tagged me in a tweet saying that I was his fifth pick for the emPawa program and I was like “Whoa,” and then [I] came to find out that I was the only Kenyan out of all the 30 people. And it’s crazy to think that though – 30 people out of who knows how many people applied on the entire continent of Africa? 

But yeah, that’s how “Temporary Love” happened. But I think it took me an additional year to write the second verse because we only had to post a one-minute clip for the audition. So I only had the first verse up till the chorus. Between 2019 and 2020. And then I think I finished it towards the end of 2020 after trying multiple times and then finally being like “How should I approach this?” and doing some cool stuff with songwriting.

I think I like to see it now as just relying on my first instinct because I tried to write so many versions of the second verse. And I only succeeded and followed through once I went back to the source. So on the version that’s out, I start the song by saying, “No I didn’t listen/Try to keep my distance,” and I start the second verse by saying, “I know I kept my distance/Wishing that I listened.” So once I made that switch, it just made sense. I was like, “Yeah, go back to the original idea. Of course, you have something to say if you just make reference to that.” And that’s how I approach a lot of my songwriting as well. I don’t like to stray too far from my first instinct because it’s about how I feel. I feel like the thinking should be done to apply the language, but it’s about how I feel.

“CHEZA CHINI”

So “Lowkey” is the song that I ended up releasing with emPawa after I got the grant, and before we got to this version of the album, there was no interlude. And the song came out in December 2020. And I remember just listening to the album over and over again and feeling like I wanted to add something new to it because the song had been out for a while and I was like “Okay, if I put this in a project I definitely want something to break up the first half and the second half,” and so I arrived at “Cheza Chini.” 

So Cheza is Swahili for play And Chini is Swahili for down. So play it down, which is basically keep it lowkey. I was trying to bring in some Swahili but also do something crazy. And I wanted something ambient because I like ambient sounds, I like meditating and I like the sounds of birds. I like the sounds of nature. I just wanted to close my eyes and listen to something and be transported to a totally different world before “Lowkey” started. The version that I had of it [“Cheza Chini”] before was just a version that I made on my laptop. And then, I ended up re-recording it this year, a few months ago, and changed the arrangement a bit to make it feel even more orchestral. We added that long bass that just goes all the way through and “Cheza Chini” is the one song on my album that I had a hand in the production.

So funny how life is: two guys, Joshua Choo and another guy called Troy Bourgeois. We all went to the same college. I actually had a class with Troy and I had no idea that he was in LA. I just went for my session and found out that he actually worked at the studio that I was recording. And so he just came through to help. And then Josh and I were connected through my mixing engineer. And the first day that I met Josh, he’s like, “I’ve been listening to your music for so long.” And then we started reviewing videos from when we were at school and finding out that we were in the same room so many times and didn’t even know or hadn’t even connected. 

So, that’s how that all came together, that was a great day. I love playing around with vocals. I was in the choir when I was a kid and we always sang chorales and I love choral music. I love arranging vocals so I wanted to also just play around with that. I always try to have those elements in all my projects and you’ll always find something like that where I just have a section that is packed with vocals on vocals on vocals and so I wanted to play around with that on “Cheza Chini.” Cheza Chini is the translation for “keep it lowkey.” It’s the intro to “Lowkey.”

“LOWKEY”

I feel like I might have written it the week after I got accepted [for the #emPawa100 program]. I remember writing it in November 2019. I had a friend that I had just met. She’s from Denmark and she was just in Nairobi for a while and we became so close. She had even lived in my grandparents’ house with me for a while and then she got an Airbnb so I’d split some of my time there. And I remember on that day, everybody wanted to go out but I was like, “No guys, I just want to stay here and make some music.” It was like 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. and I was just sitting there. The beat, I think, was also called lowkey. At that time I was trying to really rely on my instincts, and so I would use the names of the beats as the inspiration and I’d be like, “Okay, lowkey. How do I feel? What do I have to say about this? What’s my experience with this?” 

And I believe that there might have been somebody new in my life [at that time] and based on my previous experience which shaped a lot of the ‘LOVE/HATE, Pt. 1’ album, that was a relationship that had ended. I just didn’t want to share that with anybody so soon. I was in a space where I wanted to just keep it to myself because I was afraid of losing it if I opened it up to the world and that’s what I wrote about. I also wrote that song very fast.

“NIAMBIE”

I wrote it when I was in Atlanta In 2018. I feel like I actually even downloaded the video the other day from the session where I did it. October 3, 2018. In the six months that I was in Atlanta, once I started writing songs, I was doing five to six sessions a week, so four, five, six days of the week, I was in the studio splitting my time between the label and then splitting the other half of the time making stuff with MOMBRU.

I went to his house and I just wanted to do something different. He had played me the beat and I kept trying to write something in English and it just wasn’t flowing. And so I was like “Okay, let me just try something new.” Up until this point, I hadn’t written anything in Swahili that I had put out. At the time we were working on my debut EP ‘Fallin’ Apart,’  for which we had the idea for it to be parts A and B. And I think that was supposed to happen. But it’s funny now because that’s actually what’s happening with [my album]. We have part one and part two. ‘Fallin’ Apart’ just came out on its own and it’s gonna stay like that.

So I was like, “Okay if I’m going to write something in Swahili, I want to actually talk about something that’s super traditional.” So I went back to thinking about arranged marriages. In an arranged marriage, you don’t have much of a choice. You are just set up with this person and so I was just trying to think what happens in the case where you don’t have a choice, but you’re in love with somebody else and you’re willing to even risk tradition and you’re willing to just break boundaries if you just get confirmation from [that] somebody else that they want you as much as you want them. And so, that’s what “Niambie” is about. 

So, [the song’s title] means tell me. The first verse—direct translation—is “Believe me/ I want to be with you forever/But before you find me with somebody else, tell me that it’s me.” The second verse, “Contemplating my decision/ I’m on a mission for more.” I wanted to explore something else and see what it’s like when I don’t conform, which, outside of that song. definitely applies to me. That was my frame of mind when I wrote that song. And then I put it out. I think I had been home for about two months and we had my whole ‘Fallin’ Apart’ EP already, but we decided to put out “Niambie,” which didn’t even end up on the project and it was just so well received, it blew my mind.

I couldn’t believe it because I felt like people were going to tell me “Ah, this girl is just trying to bend. She’s just trying to bend this Swahili thing,” like “She’s still not really doing the local thing,” like “She’s not really in the space of the music that we’re used to,” but it just blended my influences and when I say the way it was received, I don’t mean even just at home. A lot of people in the US tell me that that is their favourite song of mine. I have videos of so many friends that are not Swahili-speaking at all that learned the song, that know it word for word and it just blew my mind to be at home and have the reception on both ends. And I was like, “Oh, I’m supposed to do this music thing, why am I running away from this?” And so, I made the commitment and now here we are so many years later talking about my debut album.

“PRECIOUS”

I love this song. I don’t have a favourite [on the album] but sometimes it feels like this one is my favourite. This is my self-love song even though it still sounds like I’m speaking to somebody. I feel like it can apply to anybody that I want to let into my life. Whether it’s a friend, whether it’s a relationship. This song was produced by the only Kenyan producer on the project. His name is Mbogoua Mbogoua Mbogoua. We had known each other for a while. He invited me to his studio and we made this song and it’s funny because it’s the only song we’ve actually ever done together but then it’s the one song that I’ve consistently performed ever since then. 

I can’t remember the headspace that I was in or rather what prompted me to write the way that I did. It was kind of aggressive almost; it’s like “Of course, I need to talk about myself like this. Of course, I need to value myself. Of course, I need to remember my value and know that I’m precious and know my worth. And of course, I need to have boundaries and uphold those.”

Yeah, “Precious” is just energy. When I wake up, I want to feel like this and I want other people to feel like that. And I feel like they do, all those that have listened to it, all those that have heard me perform it. I have a friend who tweeted two days ago that was like, “I just need Xenia to confirm that ‘Precious’ is going to be on the album because I can’t keep going back to the video I have in my Google Drive from her performance in 2019.” And so I’m excited for it to finally come out.

“LOVE/HATE”

This definitely had to be the title track. When I wrote “Love/Hate,” I felt like it was the one song that described the range of emotions that I had written about from having hope to new love to songs like “Soul Lovers” where I’m talking about how colourful love can be, how soulmates just find each other.  For [this song], [I highlighted] that push and pull. One day, we’re good, the next day, I’m packing. Everything falls under that title. 

And this song in particular is very sentimental. I don’t know if it’s because of the emotional space I was in when I wrote it and how that’s not even a headspace that I’m in right now. In the song, I was willing to over-compromise. I was willing to not uphold boundaries because I felt like love was such a necessity, and because I was operating like love was such a necessity, when it wasn’t there, I also felt like my world was just being thrown into chaos.

And I just was constantly going back and forth between those spaces and I can admit that it’s toxic but it’s so good when it’s good. And I don’t want to let go, I don’t want to be the one that ends things even though I’m aware that this isn’t healthy. Of course, I’ve grown from that and I’m grateful for that experience because it helped me translate that into music and be like, “Okay, what do I want to do different from this?” So, Yeah, that’s a very, very special song.

Stream ‘LOVE/HATE, Pt. 1’ below.

Featured image credits/NATIVE

TurnTable Top 100: Burna Boy Claims Four Spots On The Top 10

Posted on by Uzoma Ihejirika

Fresh off the release of his album ‘I Told Them…’ Burna Boy leads with the most tracks in the Top 10. He takes No.2 – No. 5 spots with “Giza” featuring Seyi Vibez beating “Big 7” down from its spot last week despite being a new entry on the chart. “Giza” had the No.1 spot on streaming with 3.69 million streams. “Big 7” climbed down to No. 5. “City Boys” takes Khaid’s “Anabella” spot at No.3 pushing “Anabella” down to No. 6.

Asake’s “Lonely at the Top” holds down the No.1 spot for the eighth week, making it the only song to last that long for the first time in two years. The record has remained unbeaten since Joeboy’s “Sip (Alcohol)” spent ten weeks at No.1 in 2021. The song amassed a total of 3.65 million on-demand streams in Nigeria earning it the No. 2 spot on streaming and 96.8 million radio impressions earning it the No.1 spot on Radio.

Burna Boy’s “Cheat on Me” with Dave saw a rapid ascension from the Top 50 into the Top 5, climbing up from its No. 41 spot last week to No.4 this week. Omah Lay’s “reason” drops further down the chart, taking the No.7 spot on the Top Ten while Adekunle Gold’s “Ogaranya” drops from No.7 to No.8. Olamide’s “Jinja” drops four positions, going from No.5 to No.9. At the No. 10. spot is King Promise’s “Terminator.” Notably, Falz’s “Ndi Ike” falls completely out of the top 10 entries.

Featured image credit/NATIVE

NATIVE Exclusive: Eclipse Nkasi’s Grand Vision For Music And AI In Africa

Posted on by Uzoma Ihejirika

Curiosity has always motivated every one of Eclipse Nkasi’s endeavours. It began with music, opening him up to the world of rap as a teenager in secondary school. This led him to discover the music production software FL Studio and set him on the path of being a music producer. Nkasi followed the allure of curiosity to the business side of music making as he became an event organiser and the Head of Promotions at prominent Nigerian record label, Chocolate City Music. After that, he would then move into the Marketing and Advertising industry, where he’d work with a number of notable brands on campaign content and strategy. By late 2022, Nkasi’s curiosity showed up again: this time introducing him to the endless possibilities of artificial intelligence (AI).

 

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“I was always interested in technology. I always liked to seek out knowledge. So it wasn’t very long before those two started to collide,” he tells the NATIVE. “I started to have ideas that were very inspired by technology and I felt like this could be something that I could do.” Artificial intelligence, a relatively new phenomenon in today’s world, is gaining more recognition for the abilities of digital machines (computers, robots, and more) to replicate the analytical and decision-making abilities of the human mind.

Nkasi’s observations of the technological evolution and his passion as a creative person inspired him to found Wakati Media, a company blending technology with creativity. “Our goal is to reshape the way people experience music, film and fashion. We are leveraging artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality and so much more.” In May, Nkasi released the first offering of his technology-meets-creativity ideation in the form of ‘Infinite Echoes,’ a nine-track project and, in his words, Africa’s first AI-powered music album. The album was made in three days with a $500 budget and was nourished by Nkasi’s close friends David Wondah, a music producer and sound engineer and Nnamdi Agbo, a singer, songwriter and actor.

“I knew that artificial intelligence was going to be able to do a whole lot, especially within the creative space. This is following what I had seen in the late part of 2022 with ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL-E and the likes of them,” Nkasi says. He was worried about what the role of an artist and creative when AI was involved and had conversations with friends. “[This was] split across two lines: people who thought ‘This is the end. AI is here to take all our jobs and we are done for.’ However, there were also people who thought AI would not stand a chance and was missing a real human element. “Instead of falling into one of those boxes, the best thing for me was to just figure out what was possible,” he shares.

“I’m now very aware of what can happen, of the fact that AI isn’t going to eradicate artists and not because I’m saying that sentimentally but because I know for a fact what is currently possible till that changes tomorrow.  So now, I function from a place of information and first-time experience.”

Nkasi made a documentary to record his, Wondah and Agbo’s experiences with recording ‘Infinite Echoes.’ A large share of the album was created by AI-powered software: Soundraw for beat making, ChatGPT for the lyrics and ElevenLabs for voiceover work. “We added extra instruments to suit what we wanted. The most obvious thing to do with AI and music would have been to do some fake Drake or fake Rihanna voice cloning and that we didn’t want to touch, and I’m very grateful that I stayed away from it,” he says. ‘Infinite Echoes,’  which follows Nkasi’s ‘Child of Destiny’ (2020) and ‘Gravity’ (2023), is an intricate story of a character named Leo in a dystopian universe who goes through different situations to realise that he alone possesses the power to win. It is a sonic tale of self-discovery and self-actualisation. 

“I have a way that I approach album making and this is an example of why human nature would always define how an AI project comes out,” shares Nkasi. As a creative, Nkasi belives in telling a story, a cohesive sonic vision bounded together with lyrics. “The themes that cut across the album are things that I also highlighted in the beginning when I started prompting. It was clear that I wanted the songs to be about hope, love and a sense of faith. The actual story [of the album] was written by ChatGPT, of course taking direction from what I gave. We give it the context and the themes we wanted it to contain; the sonic influences –  Hip-Hop, Afrobeats, Soul and a bit of Dancehall, which is the type of sound that I like to explore personally.”

With ChatGPT, Nkasi generated song and album titles and a tracklist. Song titles for “Love Tempo,” “Dream Chaser,” “Find You,” “God’s Whisper, Pt. 1” and “God’s Whisper, Pt. 2” stayed the same, except for “Ifuu (Men Di Bad).” He also made sure to fill his promptings with exact details of the lyrics and the emotions therein he wanted. “It’s advanced prompting. [You] get content that feels better for you because in the end there’s no song on ‘Infinite Echoes’ that doesn’t sound like it’s a song Eclipse could have written,” Nkasi says. 

According to Nkasi, using advance prompting achieves much better content than generic output. “If you use ChatGPT extensively, you start to realise that it does have certain words or phrases that it panders towards. You run the risk of having things that have these overarching ChatGPT-ey type of writing over time and that’s why it’s good to give it more context. The best example would always be the song ‘Find You.’ That’s the Dancehall one,” he says. Nkasi had the entire chorus written out before prompting ChatGPT and only gave the machine the chorus. “[I said] ‘Give me the rest of the song—the verses and other parts of it—but make sure it’s about 80% patois, 20% English and maybe 10% Nigerian Pidgin.’ That’s the same thing we did for “Ifuu (Men Di Bad)” because it’s an Igbo song written by ChatGPT, even though I also wrote a huge part of it.”

“God’s Whisper, Pt. 2” was produced by David Wondah, with the lyrics written completely with ChatGPT. It’s a soaring Gospel duet by Nkasi and Mya Blue, an AI-generated singer. Mya Blue materialised out of the creation process for ‘Infinite Echoes’ as Nkasi felt the desire to push the boundaries of AI further. Hopping onto Midjourney, he went to work on Mya Blue’s facial characteristics and sonic textures. For the voice synthesis process, Nkasi tested Mya Blue’s pronunciations with “very weird songs,” seeking to smoothen her use of English and Nigerian Pidgin. Mya Blue has done covers of Davido’s “KANTE,” Libianca’s “People” and Resonance’s “Lee Lee.” Nkasi reveals that while working on Mya Blue, he never thought about her race; he was only concerned with creating and bringing his vision into reality. Still, that hasn’t stopped Mya Blue from impressing several listeners.

Nkasi also lets on that there is a huge demand for more music for Mya. “We already have offers from one of the top distribution companies in Nigeria to distribute her music. So now, we’re in the studio trying to make original music from her because apparently everybody wants to hear it,” he says. According to Nkasi, Mya will soon have her own single and make appearances on other mainstreams Nigerian songs. “[There’s] possibly an EP from her by the end of the year.”

For Nkasi, the biggest lesson that he has acquired from working on ‘Infinite Echoes’ is one that every creative person needs to heed: “Just execute.” The project drained Nkasi emotionally and financially—from would-be funders failing to fulfil their promises to losing all the footage for the documentary and having to rent equipment again and reshoot. He’s grateful that he didn’t give up on the project even when those trying moments tempted him.  “We have investment offers from VCs [venture capitalists]. We have a whole plan in terms of how we intend to do this on a bigger scale and be able to incorporate more creatives,” he says. 

Nkasi also mentions that all creatives will benefit from AI, especially if they stick to the path of ethics. He believes this is important so that nobody’s copyright is being infringed upon in the process of creating music with AI and the final product is true to each person’s craft. “I will continue to spread the word [by] organising workshops and training that will help more people get into the world of AI and music and arts, but get it from the right angle,” he says.

Through his company Wakati Media, Eclipse Nkasi is determined to restructure how entertainment and media content is created and consumed in Africa. With ‘Infinite Echoes,’ the journey has begun. More content in the areas of film and fashion are in the pipeline. “These are the milestones for me. There’s a lot of work that I need to do across those spaces,” he says. “I can see that there’s a whole revolution coming. So to anybody who is with it, I say, ‘Welcome to the Resistance.’”

Featured image credits/NATIVE

Identify: Tolibian wants to become a master of his craft

Posted on by Nwanneamaka Igwe

Hailing from the North Central part of Nigeria, Tolibian is a familiar name among young people. Wearing multiple hats as both an artist and a comedian, he’s garnered a sizeable following blending Fuji and Apala into his orbit and charming crowds with his wit. For any multidisciplinary artist, it’s a know conundrum facing multiple skills and weighing up which to master, in fear that they can only maintain one lane. However, the Ilorin-born artist is doing the opposite–a master of both his skills, learning his craft and biding his time for his moment.

The way Tolibian sees it, he’s able to play to both his strengths because they are extensions of his personhood. “It’s like taking the form of a character. If I want to be an artist, I can be an artist. If I want to be a comedian, I’ll be a comedian, he tells the NATIVE. “I don’t find any difficulty in switching between these characters. I can easily go on stage and perform my music without being comical,” he continues. 

This relentless attitude and commitment to his craft swiftly earned Tolibian an outstanding social media following for his hilarious skits, which later laid the foundation for the multi hyphenate to venture into music. In order to be the best in both fields, Tolibian has studied and paid close attention to the reaction his music or comedy skits elicit from a crowd. This careful exercise soon armed him with the confidence he needed to fully explore both creative pursuits, particularly music after seeing how receptive audiences were.

Taking a familiar starting place, Tolibian experimented with Fuji sounds which once soundtracked his childhood and drew inspiration from its great artists to inform his work. “The positive reviews I was receiving from the content online is why I felt like music was what people wanted to see. I make music effortlessly. I decided to put in effort and see where it goes and my music has been evolving in a really exciting way,” he shares. For Tolibian, he’s comfortable with embracing his mistakes and learning curves, and using this to further furnish his world view. 

With a knack for melody, and a technical comprehension for cadence, he then released his standout single “Abaya,” which he describes as a pivotal moment in his career. “I think that was when I dropped “Abaya.” My freestyles always trend and I’m grateful to God and my audience for the support. But the one that stunned me the most was definitely “Abaya,” the uNder alum shares.

Tolibian continues to deliver true-to-life lyrics and showcase his refined confidence as he ascends the ranks. Recently, he released new single “Happy,” a Fuji-inflected number with an aspirational message that serves to further reinforce his hitmaking abilities. As he continues to take a step towards the powerhouse he is capable of becoming, we caught up with Tolibian to discuss making music for his audience, growing up in Ilorin and mastering his comedy and music skills.

Our conversation, which follows below, has been lightly edited for clarity. 

NATIVE: Thanks for joining me today. Taking it back to where it all started, what role did music play in your life when you were growing up?

Tolibian: Tolibian, that’s me. I hail from Kwara State, Nigeria. Ilorin-west to be precise. Growing up wasn’t too tough but it made me who I am today. It has taught me to be resilient, persistent, hardworking and never giving up on my dreams. I didn’t have any formal music training. I used to play music for fun but then I started to make freestyle videos online and I noticed people started to fall in love with the musical part of me so I decided to take it seriously and pursue it professionally.

What year was that? 

I started making music professionally in 2021.

Looking back on when you started, how would you describe your previous sound with the music you’re making at the moment?

I’m still working on different genres. I’m still trying to find my own style. I’ll just let my fans and audience decide but for now, I’ll say I’m doing Afro-fusion and Afro-Fuji even though I try to be versatile with different genres.

When did you realise you wanted to start music professionally?

The positive reviews I was receiving from the content online are why I felt like music was what people wanted to see. I make music effortlessly. I decided to put in effort and see where it goes and my music has been evolving in a really exciting way. I’ve been exploring different sounds and styles to find what really resonates with me. I’ve also been working on some new songs and I hope it connects with people on a deeper level. I’m collaborating with other artists to create something truly unique and powerful and I believe this evolution would help me grow as an artist. It’d help me connect with a new audience in a meaningful way.

You come from the Northern part of Nigeria, Kwara State. How instrumental was your hometown in the music you were listening to and making?

My background doesn’t really inspire my music but I grew up listening to Fuji music like Barista. I also listened to the likes of Bob Marley and Fela but the genre I really grew up listening to was Fuji and the oldies music. My dad played them a lot.

What moment in your career do you consider to be your big break?

I think that was when I dropped “Abaya.” My freestyles always trend and I’m grateful to God and my audience for the support. But the one that stunned me the most was definitely “Abaya.” I’ve dropped a couple of freestyles that trended like my cover of Avicii’s “The Night” and Fireboy’s “Peru” but the virality of “Abaya” really got me in my feelings. The love was massive and the turn-up was unexpected.

How did your artist moniker ‘Tolibian’ come about? 

I postulated the theory of my stage name from my actual name. My name is Motolib so I removed the ‘tolib’ and I just added the ‘a’ and ‘n’ after to make it sound nicer. That name has been mine since secondary school. I’ve been exploring different sounds and fuji has definitely played a significant role in my music career. Most of the covers I did for people are me using fuji on their actual song so Fuji has played a good role in my music career so far. I’m still working around other genres and I really believe that evolution is going to help me grow as an artist. 

Your music covers a range of genres from Afropop to Hip-Hop, Apala and more. Why is it important, at this stage of your career, to remain experimental?

Creativity is very important for any kind of project. You can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again. If you don’t get tired, your audience can get tired and they’ll always ask for more. Learning never stops. As a person you need to keep learning every day but more so as a creative person. There are new talents emerging every day fighting to reach stardom so I feel it is very important for any creative to always want to explore and go beyond your capabilities. It is good to try out new things.

What do you want people to take away from your music?

I want them to feel like they can change the world for the better through their own actions and the power of my music.

In 2021, you released your first official single. What headspace were you in at the time of making this track and what messages did you hope to tell audiences?

“Abaya” is about me trying to tell people to not live above their means. I made the song for pure entertainment. The message there is literally to cut your coat according to your size. In the song, I tell them, “If you cannot afford abaya, go for Jalamiya.” 

How would you describe your creative process?

I believe that when you create something it is important to stay open-minded and let your imagination run wild. I can get inspiration from anything. From personal experiences, other people’s stories, movies, and listening to songs. I can get inspiration from anything. It’s just left to what I’m writing on and my pen game. The inspiration I get is what I use to inspire and entertain others. It’s helped me so far and I’ve been improving over the years.

As well as music, you’re building your path within comedy. Can you tell us more about your earliest memories of making people laugh?

Back then, in my alma mater, I used to be this stubborn boy making people laugh. I’m never boring. I think that’s how it started. When I got to senior secondary school I continued as an MC for different departments. I started posting short skits on my Facebook with makeup on and I’ll even have my head of department officials support me. I’m only the body that passes the message to people and lucky for me, they found it hilarious. So that’s how I started and from there I fell in love with music. I started making freestyle videos. People loved that so I decided to pursue it professionally. That’s how I switched from comedy to music.

Would you say you dabble both now or you’re predominantly focusing on music?

I’m focused on music professionally. I’m still going to use the comical part of me to promote my music but for now, I don’t want to confuse my audience.

How do you find combining your comedic skills with your love for music?

It’s like taking the form of a character. If I want to be an artist, I can be an artist. If I want to be a comedian, I’ll be a comedian. I don’t find any difficulty in switching between these characters. I can easily go on stage and perform my music without being comical. If I was summoned for a role in a movie or skit, I’d obviously have to play the role of the comedian which makes me engage with a different audience. None of these talents interfere with each other and it is all thanks to God that I’ve been able to finesse it. Although, most times, I do have creative blocks and I find it difficult to write. Once I switch into one character and get too deep and fall in love with it, getting back to music can take some time. I’ll be stuck battling with creative blocks but it’s usually not too tough for me to handle.  

How do you usually overcome those creative blocks?

I wish I had an answer to this question but honestly, it just comes and goes.

How have you managed to navigate the industry as a newcomer and what are some of the things you’ve learnt so far?

Not giving up on my dream, being resilient and being persistent. That’s the only way. Don’t rely on people to help you. I’m not saying you shouldn’t get help from others but you should help yourself first before your helper will come. I have a good number of fans on my platform and if I’ve been able to get this far without any label’s help, anybody can do it. If I can survive, you can survive.  

You recently released “Happy.” What was your inspiration behind this song and what did you want listeners to take away?

“Happy” is like a breakthrough type of song. Anybody listening to “Happy” should feel that breakthrough. The song isn’t really inspired by anything but that’s what I want my listeners to take away.

When you made “Happy,” did it feel like you were making a hit?

Yes. I always believe my songs are going to be a hit. You just have to trust in the process which is why I put in my all in everything I do because I want it to be worth it.

The music scene is packed with amazing talents looking to carve their lane. How do you stay true to yourself at all times amid all the noise around you? 

In as much, as I said, I’m trying to explore and try out new sounds to see what really resonates with me, one needs to be very careful with the way you learn and the people you learn from. When I see something that really sits with me or is really creative, I go for it. Over the years I’ve been able to differentiate between noise and actual music. I know what I want.

What does growth look like to you personally?

Growth means everything to me. My numbers are increasing, my pen game is getting better and improving the kind of music I make. I mean if I start counting, we’ll spend all day here. My music has been evolving in a very exciting way and I think that’s growth for me. I’ve been able to take a step from freestyle and delve into music. That’s growth for me.

What’s next for you beyond the recent single release?

I have a body of work that is dropping soon, probably this year. I’m dropping an album or EP.  I believe my fans are going to be excited for this one.

Featured Image Credits/The NATIVE

NATIVE Selects: New Music From Juls, Pheelz, Kold AF & More

Posted on by Emmanuel Esomnofu

Every week, new music shows up, sweeping fans and music lovers off their feet while artists gauge reactions to know the effect of their creativity. At the NATIVE, we are committed to keeping our ears on the pulse of the music scene and bringing the best sounds to your doorstep. In our last edition, we brought you new releases from Johnny Drille, Moonga K. and more. Today, we have songs that move from Afropop to Amapiano to R&B, with our select artists showcasing their unending talent and passion for creativity. Lock in!

JULS – “PALMWINE RIDDIM”

For those who know, Juls is the progenitor of the contemporary palmwine sound. A decade after collaborating with Show Dem Camp on the iconic “Feel Alright,” the Ghanaian-born producer is building a rootsy world. “Palmwine Riddim” sets the tempo in that regard; a live-centric mellow groove whose progression imbibes a neo-Highlife flourish, while incorporating the bubble of everyday voices and conversation. It’s a masterclass in mood and measure, and has us very excited for his forthcoming ‘Palmwine Diaries, Vol. 1’. 

KOLD AF – “NOBODY 2 SOMEBODY”

One of the most distinct voices to emerge from Nigeria in recent times is newcomer Kold AF whose silky smooth vocals is every listener’s dream. Her spirited lyricism finds the perfect accompaniment through her vocals, a full, embodied quality. On “Nobody 2 Somebody,” she sings about the potential of her dreams, while centreing divine power as a spur behind them. Heartfelt and contemplative, it’s the kind of song you want to wake up listening to. With records like this one, there’s no doubt that Kold AF has a lot more to say. 

MAJOR LEAGUE DJZ, KOJEY RADICAL & MAGICSTICKS – “BAD FOR BUSINESS”

It’s a heavyweight affair on “Bad For Business” as the producers Major League DJz and Magicsticks collaborate. All three have been some of the most inventive hands creating from the percussive roots of Amapiano. On here, their distinct adaptations of the genre bares in magical form. Earthy, fun and quirky, the British-Ghanaian artist Kojey Radical excites over the production, unfurling afro-inspired rhythms and just sounds so good having a great time. 

KRIZBEATZ FT. RAYBEKAH & LADE – “TIME WASTER”

On this emotive masterclass, producer Krizbeatz features the duo of Raybekah and Lade, who sings about the lack of intentionality from a love interest. With distinct but similarly affecting vocals, their stories are delivered with a humorous bent even as the song’s message imbibes a lot of thoughtfulness. As always the brilliant hand of Krizbeatz is never far away, in this case supplying the effervescent production which the song benefits from. 

BALLORANKING FT. DYANI – “WE UP”

Primed to release a new album this week, Balloranking has shared a new promotional single titled “We Up.” The artist operates a distinct plain in the Street Hop canon, his stories presented through an optimistic gaze, while his vocal inflections have been consistently evocative. That skill set is present on the mellow “We Up,” a gracious recounting of the struggling days and how he wants to keep living the good life. A chilling feature verse from Dyani cements the record’s celestial appeal. 

PHEELZ FT. YOUNG JONN – “JELO”

Inspiration is the theme of the song as two of Nigeria’s most prominent producers-turn-musicians collaborate for the first time. There’s a lot connecting Young Jonn and Pheelz but it’s still a marvel how beautifully they both connect here, their distinct sensibilities melding into sonic warmth. A narrative style is used to depict the grass-to-grace theme, with specific places and memories brought up, while the vocalisations and ‘Piano-inflected production builds around. 

IDAHAMS – “GOD BLESS AFRICA”

On the mellow record, the Port-Harcourt raised artist and producer sings about the beauty of Black women. The mood is however more celebratory than contemplative as he sweetly paints images of associative loves. Teasing an affectionate performance from him, the production mirrors the lyrical direction, in the sense that it’s a fun and relaxed vibe. With its runtime going just over two minutes, it’s a breezy record that should have you hitting replay.

ATTIFAYA & KEMUEL – “FRESH BOY RIDDIM” 

As the title suggests, there’s a luxurious feeling permeating this record. Right from the glossy keys and laid-back drums to the deliveries, which range from the sing-songy hook of Kemuel to the rap zest of Attifaya, each part of the song is in purposeful alliance. “I too get style, I for dey sell style” is a line which does great at describing the flex that’s the artist’s mission, and crowd vocals brings the atmosphere together, establishing an outdoor party vibe. 

KOLABOY FT. TIMAYA – “KOLAPIANO (ISAKABA) [REMIX]” 

The Oja sound has been one of the distinct instruments soundtracking our musical year. Among its early adapters in the scene was Kolaboy, who blended its spiritual essence into charged drums to create the sound he described as Kolapiano. On this remix, he teams up with Timaya who contributes his golden voice to the song’s well-established mythos. Singing about the desire to live the good life, with lyrics delivered in the Igbo language and Pidgin-English, the pair deliver a masterful remix. The song’s video also relays the song’s intentions with a fine depiction of its ascendant culture and its dramatic proportions. 

ICYMI: FIVE TAKEAWAYS FROM THE 16TH HEADIES AWARDS

What’s Going On: Nigerian Labour Congress starts warning strike, Gabon’s new head of state & more

Posted on by Dennis Ade Peter

“What’s Going On” Tallies Notable News Headlines From Across The Continent — The Good, The Bad, And The Horrible — As A Way Of Ensuring That We All Become A More Sagacious African Generation. With This Column, We’re Hoping To Disseminate The Latest Happenings In Our Socio-Political Climate From Across The Continent, Whilst Starting A Conversation About What’s Important For Us To All Discuss. From Political Affairs To Socio-Economic Issues, ‘What’s Going On’ Will Discuss Just That. This Week’s Headlines Come From Gabon, Nigeria & South Sudan.

Brice Oligui sworn in as Gabon’s new head of state

Last week, Gabon became the eighth country in west and central Africa to be taken over by a military junta, following a coup that overthrew 14-year president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, successor to his father Omar Bongo, who ruled for 41 years. Led by Brice Oligui Nguema, a 48-year old army general and commander of the elite military unit known as the republican guard, the coup took place in the aftermath of elections that returned Ali Bongo as president, despite widespread allegations of gross irregularities and blatant rigging.

On Monday, September 4, Brice Oligui was sworn in as Gabon’s new head of state, as he took the oath in the presidential palace in the country’s capital Libreville. “This patriotic action will be a lesson learnt that will be taught in the books of our schools,” he said in the speech that followed his swearing-in, noting that the junta had taken power without any bloodshed. In addition to the announcement that a new government would be formed in a few days, he recommended a new penal code, a referendum for a new constitution, and a new electoral legislation.

Brice Oligui also promised a “free, transparent election” that would return power to the people, however there’s no set date. With the legislative reforms he’s proposing, though, analysts predicts that it could take months, or years possibly, for the next elections. While the United Nations roundly condemned the coup and the African Union suspended Gabon, many of its citizens are celebrating the junta’s seizing of power. However, there are some local cynics, like presidential opposition candidate Albert Ondo Ossa, who’s adamant that he won the cancelled elections and has called the coup a “palace revolution” meant to keep the Bongo family in power—Brice Oligui is Ali Bongo’s cousin.

Nigerian Labour Congress begins 2-day working strike

“I think they’re just conditioning us for when the price officially becomes N700 per litre or something ridiculous,” a concerned Nigerian citizen told The NATIVE earlier this year, during a petrol scarcity crisis that had been rocking the country for months. Immediately after his inauguration as president in late May, Bola Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidy and a change in the per litre pump price of petrol, almost tripling the official price upon his arrival into office.

The hike in price, with petrol going for N585 per litre in Lagos and up to N620 per litre in some states, has impacted the cost of living, doubling the cost of transportation and driving up the prices of household goods. In protest of the fuel price hike and its impact on the cost of living, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has embarked on a 2-day warning strike, starting on Tuesday, September 5. The largest trade union federation in the country, the NLC’s strike is expected to affect varying sectors of the economy, with several affiliate unions, including education, aviation and banking, joining in the strike.

“The removal of fuel subsidies is a direct attack on the poor and working people of Nigeria,” NLC president Joe Ajaero said in a statement. “It is an attempt to impoverish our people further and make life more difficult for them.” The federal government appealed to the NLC to call off the strike, however, the congress leaders boycotted a meeting convened by the minister of labour and employment, remaining adamant that the warning strike would go on as scheduled. While the entire country isn’t on standstill, it’s been reported that some electricity workers, bankers and civil servants have joined the strike action. The warning strike is expected to end on Wednesday, September 6.

South Sudan Basketball makes Olympic history

Of the four African countries participating in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, South Sudan has emerged as one of the best stories of the entire tournament. Representing the youngest nation in the world, the basketball team clinched a spot at next year’s Olympics in Paris, after beating perennial African basketball powerhouse Angola 101-78 on Saturday, clinching the lone FIBA Africa direct qualification spot.

Already a surprise qualifier to the world cup, this latest feat is incredibly remarkable for a country whose basketball program is very young. Led by point guard and reigning NBA G-League MVP Carlik Jones, the Bright Stars of South Sudan won the first two matches in the preliminary, including a blowout win against host country Philippine, before losing their next two matches. However, their win in the classification round against Angola ranks them as the top African team of the competition, immediately qualifying them for next year’s Olympics.

[Featured Image Credits: Guardian NG]

ICYMI: THE POPULARITY OF FANTASY PREMIER LEAGUE AMONG NIGERIAN FOOTBALL LOVERS

Five Takeaways From The 16th Headies Awards

Posted on by The Native

Yesterday, the 16th iteration of the Headies Awards took place in Atlanta, Georgia for the second consecutive year. The ceremony, in its typical fashion, gathered some of the best heads in the music business, for a renowned celebration of remarkable achievements and milestones of Nigeria’s burgeoning music industry.

Since its inception in the early 2000’s, the award founded by Ayo Animashaun, has played a pivotal role in spotlighting outstanding talents and innovation across the scene. Within its 16-year history, the Headies has awarded the best and brightest in the game, from Afropop frontrunners such as Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, Davido, Burna Boy, 2Face and more, and the new generation of stars including Rema, Victony, Ayra Starr, and more, who are pushing the boundaries of the genre on the global stage. While their recognitions and wins as artists and producers are important to the music ecosystem, the persistent lack of organisation and infrastructure of Nigeria’s premiere award show has hardly developed since its formation, despite its recent move to the States. 

This year, these structural issues were brought squarely to the fore in the recently concluded 16th Headies Award which was held at the Cobb Centre in Atlanta. On the star-studded night, efforts to push the envelope with the production and organisation of the award show were not successful, leading to production issues during the award announcements, sound problems on the stage and unannounced categories which were later published online and awarded backstage.

It’s an admirable step to ensure every facet of Nigerian pop music is properly represented but also a glaring recognition that our award system has a long way to go. After taking a look at the full list of nominees, below are our takeaways, including the good, the not-so-good and the befuddling snubs.

 

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WHEN WILL WOMEN GET THEIR FLOWERS?

The Headies hasn’t always been the most gender diverse awards show. In recent times, their lack of purposeful representation has been brought to the forefront, and this year’s event was no different. For an industry that is witnessing the influx of so many diverse and talented women voices, it’s a travesty that we are seldom seeing these women take centre stage at such events. 

Other than the female categories, which was won by Ayra Starr and WAJE, there were few other categories which had women nominees, talk more of winning them. This peels into the larger conversation that women haven’t always gotten their flowers, especially in Nigeria which, even with its massive number of male acts, does have women artists—from soulful savants like Lindsey Abudei, YINKA, and Bella Alubo, to the many rappers (as listed somewhere below)—who are doing great things with their sound. For an awards show to properly contextualise an industry, it must vehemently refuse the comforting temptation of a single story. Headies haven’t done that this year, and it’s a stab in the flesh of their intentions.

We should do better and recognise that women play a role in this music we so love; more than fillers, they should be celebrated, in the major categories, winning the major awards, and not as a favour, but because the music is that good. 

THE YOUNGER GENERATION IS DOING ALRIGHT

Nigerian pop music isn’t just at its most prosperous, it’s also littered with more bonafide stars than ever. Part of that is the boom in the emergence of ultra-talented, charismatic artists since the late 2010s, an influx of attention-holders as part of a younger vanguard. This year’s Headies is an explicit confirmation of the plain fact that the game is being elevated by a glut of artists that weren’t minted stars about a decade ago. 

Apart from Burna Boy (who’s clearly not a new cat), Wande Coal, Tiwa Savage, and Waje, all of this year’s awardees broke out fairly recently, an indicator that we’re living through an expansive time in Nigerian music and the future might be even more brighter than we can even imagine. Rema won Best Male Artist and African Artist of the Year, four years after he became the hot new kid on the block; Victony picked up to two Headie plaques, including one for Recording of the Year, a momentous aftermath two years after a life-threatening accident; Ayra Starr won Best Female Artist, a stunning achievement in year 3 of her career; while Asake deservedly coasted to the biggest wins of the night—Next Rated and Album of the Year.

That these wins are coming at a time when older superstars like Wizkid, Davido, Olamide, Kizz Daniel and more, are still prominent, at home and globally, feels a lot more wholesome than a straight override by the younger generation. It bodes well for the competitive spirit of awards like the Headies and, more importantly, the variety listeners will always be treated to.

NIGERIAN MUSIC, AMERICAN STANDARDS?

On “Danfo to the Headies,” a single off his most recent album, ‘West African Goat’, rap artist Paybac Iboro sang about entering commercial buses to the venue of the 2020 Headies. In typical Paybac fashion, it was a way to discuss his personal travails, but as a nominee of the award show, it was symbolic that he could attend the award show without needing the glossy ride many of his more commercially successful colleagues can afford. For its last two editions, no one can board a danfo to the Headies, a logistical impossibility due to the awards now taking place in the U.S.

First of all, hosting a Nigerian award show outside the country (and the continent even) isn’t great for the optics. Secondly, it’s a cultural travesty that undermines the importance of Nigerian music to its core audience. Thirdly, the move to America hasn’t exactly improved the production quality—which is worrisome because that was the main reason for the move initially. Now, in addition to many independent artists who wouldn’t be able to attend the show, if they were nominated, Nigerians and Africans have to stay up at early morning hours to catch the proceedings of the award show.

Also, after Anthony Anderson’s appearance of last year, it’s unexplainable that Terrence J, who doesn’t have any explicit ties to Nigerian music, was tapped to host this year’s event. It’s not that he did a bad job hosting, but it just plays into the Westernising of an award show that should be innately African.

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR CRITERIA? 

The relevance of producers in the music making process cannot be overstated. Many times, these artist-producer dynamics lay the foundation for seamless expression on both parts while offering a more or less consistent environment for artists to thrive and deliver back to back hits. Examples of these iconic duos across music history lay in abundance and a category like this at our most prominent award show should recognise that. However, a glance at the nominees and the eventual winner, Rexxie for “Abracadabra (Remix),” shows that the criteria is hinged on a producer’s work on a single as opposed to multiple singles or a body of work. 

Now, Rexxie is undoubtedly an extraordinary producer and his contributions to slinging the ropes of Street-Pop to mainstream audiences will always be priceless. Think London who was already nominated alongside Andre Vibez for “Calm Down.” Anyone familiar with Rema’s world domination at the moment is well away from the pairing’s faultless creative relationship beyond the hit single. Other than producing other hit singles across ‘Rave and Roses’ like “Charm,” London also scores writing credits on a number “Soundgasm” coupled with him being the most reliable ear for building Rema’s distinct sound. Magicstick who also appeared in that category missed out on the win, especially considering the fact that he spearheaded one of the biggest breakthrough acts of 2023, Asake. That being said, it is more beneficial in the long run to have the entrants for this category to celebrate long term impact beyond a 3-minute plus contribution. 

A RAP RENAISSANCE IS IN FULL-EFFECT

Every couple of months when Nigerian rap conversations swing into mainstream discourse, it often tilts towards the ideal that the genre is ailing. For those in the know, Nigerian rap has always been flush with talent and great output, it’s the audience that needed to catch-up. Well, the renaissance might fully be on the way. With his 2022 album, ‘Young Preacher’, Chocolate City rap artist Blaqbonez won the Headie for Best Rap Album. It’s the culmination of years of refinement to his skill-set, savvy self-marketing and a bullishness to prove that he is the “Best Rapper in Africa.”

For years, Payper Corleone has been forging his cred in the underground, his slick wordplay and mafioso-affiliated gait making him a distinct figure in Nigerian rap. His win in the Lyricist on the Roll category highlights the talent pool that lies just beyond the mainstream. NATIVE Records flagbearer ODUMODUBLVCK won two awards, including Rookie of the year, in the midst of a breakout run that has seen him score veritable hits with “Picanto,” “Declan Rice” and “Firegun.” The middle song, a cultural signifier of the synergy between Nigerian pop culture and global football, won Best Rap Song.

ODUMODUBLVCK has always been adamant that his burst into the mainstream is a gateway to more of his rap colleagues taking over Nigerian music. While that assertion mainly applies to his crew of friends and collaborators, it could be applied widely, especially when you consider that all three winners in the rap categories are wildly different artists, representing varying sects of the scene. And that’s not even including the many women – SGaWD, Aunty Rayzor, Ytboutthaction, Brazy, and more – who are easily some of the most inventive and exciting voices and faces around. The present and future of Nigerian rap is fertile.

[Featured Image Credits/The NATIVE]

Words by Dennis Ade Peter, Nwanneamaka Igwe & Emmanuel Esomnofu

ICYMI: REVIEW: OLAMIDE’S ‘UNRULY’

Our First Impressions of Ruger’s Debut Album ‘Ru The World’

Posted on by The Native

Ever since Ruger broke into the music space with “Bounce“, his career has been on roll and continues to skyrocket the charts. Signed to Jonzing World Records, Ruger has always delivered albums producing hit songs. From his debut EP, ‘Pandemic’ which had the major hit song “Bounce” to his second EP, ‘The Second Wave’ with “Dior” as the lead single. We can’t forget his comeback to the music scene in 2022 with “Asiwaju” and “Red Flags,” with “Asiwaju” proving to be the better song charting at number 1 on Apple Music for almost 2 months. With every release from Ruger, a clear road to stardom is paved.

Preceding his album was an extensive 15-city North American album tour with the first show in Boston. Before this, the artist also toured and performed in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Rome, Brescia, Oslo, Dublin, Ireland and Canada, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Montreal, and Edmonton. 

The RU Nation has been anticipating the release of a new album ever since he announced this on his Instagram Page and With Ruger’s debut album now here, we’re about to witness the world and headspace of the one eye-patched artist. The 17-track features Stefflon Don, Projexx, Sauti Sol, Govanna, and Juggelerz and contains familiar tracks like “Asiwaju” and “Red Flags”. 

As per usual, the NATIVE team delves into ‘Ru The World’ to deliver our initial thoughts and impressions. Tap in! 

 

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FAVOURITE SONG

Uzoma: “Tour” stands out for me. The Drill-led production is so smooth and Ruger’s Dancehall-esque delivery is topnotch. Also, love the message of the song: seeing your efforts yield success and making those closest to you proud. It’s a brilliant choice for an opening track. 

Moore: Of the songs on the project I’d say “Kristy” is definitely my favourite. It’s a low-key, gentle love song with soothing vocals that makes it a perfect song to send to your crush.

Dimeji: “Tour” definitely. It’s a perfect introduction to the album. The harmonies on the chorus are amazing and the production brings the track together perfectly. 

BEST FEATURE

Chigoziri: “All My Days” stands out to me out of all the features on the track. Sauti Sol does justice to the song and brings the song to life. 

Sien: “All My Days” has to be it for me. From the bear selection to Sauti Sol gliding through the track. It’s a match made in heaven. 

Dennis: Sauti Sol and BenjiFlow on “All My Days.” The latter is the producer but he’s such an integral part of what is one of the album’s best and most distinct songs. Sauti Sol? Yeah, Bien killed it. He has a stamp on every record he touches and he makes Ruger the lovestruck guy sound even more enjoyable – believable even.

STANDOUT PRODUCTION

Nwanemaka: “Ashana” is a good shout for this. I wouldn’t necessarily say this is the best production because it’s super catchy and perfectly encapsulates Ruger’s soundscape. Legendary Beatz understood the assignment. 

Emmanuel: A winning feature of Ruger’s music has always been his production. On ‘Ru The World’ he extends that run by working with a host of talented producers who create a number of truly memorable beats. Of them all, I’m leaning towards the Kukbeatz-produced “Kristy,” which is a very layered show, from the Konto-evoking drum pattern to the guitar playing. It’s mellow while being energetic, inspiring some of Ruger’s most passionate imagery. “I Want Peace” is also a strong shout—-there’s a riveting warmth permeating its core. 

BIGGEST POTENTIAL HIT

Alex: It wasn’t hard to pick. “Asiwaju” is a potential hit. Upon its run-up before the album, it was already a hit. The beat, sound, lyrics and appeal to the supporters of President Tinubu will not be discounted. 

Dimeji: “Tour” again for me. The song has a really catchy essence and great replay value. I feel like it’ll go crazy on TikTok.

Chigoziri:  “Likely” featuring Govana sounds like a potential hit, especially with the catchy beats and Govana’s impressive delivery of his verse. 

BIGGEST SKIP

Nwanneamaka: Maybe I started getting tired as I reached the end of the album but “Red Flags” isn’t doing much for me. It’s also Ruger’s typical avoidant personality shining through because why would he say “You saw the red flags baby and you ignored the red flags and you’re here.” You can miss me with that. 

Uzoma: I guess Ruger must have wanted to try something different but “Nine” isn’t my cup of tea.  Doesn’t capture that pleasant SA vibe. There’s something about it that sounds so jarring.

Daniel A: Call it high expectations but “Addiction” ft. Stefflon Don wasn’t what I had hoped it would  be. It’s two strong characters choosing to go slow. Didn’t work.  

OVERALL FIRST IMPRESSIONS 

Dennis: Ruger is the latest Nigerian mainstream dancehall maestro. That much is evident on ‘Ru The World,’ an album steeped in lascivious and exuberant expressions. It’s a little too long for its near-house run-time but not to the point that makes it a wearying listen. After all, he plays with some sonic diversity, even if the thumping drum patterns of dancehall are central to its cohesive identity. It’s a remarkable debut LP from an artist who knows his best traits and optimises them.

Alex: Ruger has been on a continuous rise since he stormed the industry in 2021. His hit singles, “Asiwaju,” “Girlfriend,” “Bounce” and others are proof that he’s an artist to listen to. ‘Ru The World’ offers a hindsight into Ruger’s personality.  His perfect grasp of Afrobeats and modern sounds shines light on his incredible talent. The collaborations with Stefflon Don, Govanna, Sauti Sol and Juggler on the 17-track project provide a varied and engrossing musical trip for every listener. 

Emmanuel: For Ruger, ruling the world isn’t about geographical dominance as much as it is a telling of his romantic exploits. Almost every song on this album deals with the several affairs he’s supposedly had, painting their stories through the stark and sometimes reflective prism of a rising celebrity. That creates a progression the album benefits from, although its length could have been more concise, to encourage repeated listeners. It’s not a fatal flaw, however, as there’s an essential variance in the tempo of the songs. In all, Ruger manages a spellbinding body of work, cashing in on his cult figure as a teller of exciting sensual stories. 

Stream ‘Ru The World’ here.

[Featured Image Credits/The NATIVE]

NATIVE SELECTS: NEW MUSIC FROM JOHNNY DRILLE, BRAZY, PHYNO & MORE

Meet Wizard Chan, the latest Headies ‘Best Alternative Song’ Winner

Posted on by Uzoma Ihejirika

Yesterday, the winners of the 2023 Headies Awards were announced. Burna Boy, Rema, Ayra Starr, Victony and Black Sherif were among the winners from the 32-category list of nominees. This year’s Headies was the second time in a row that the mostly Nigerian-focused event was held outside Africa, at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Georgia, Atlanta, USA. Among the reactions that have trailed the winners list, as well as the general handling of the event, there is one artist whose success at the Headies deserves an appraisal: Wizard Chan.

Wizard Chan—born Maxwell James Fuayefika—was one of the uNder alum of January 2023. Chan’s music deserved is laced with fusion-pop songs and palpable Reggae influences. His track “Earth Song” notched two nominations in this year’s Headies for Songwriter of the Year and Best Alternative Song categories. In both categories, Chan, who debuted in 2020 with “Halo Halo,” was pitted against the likes of Omah Lay, Simi, Tems, BNXN, Burna Boy, Cruel Santino, Obongjayar and Flavour, among others. He lost the Songwriter of the Year category to Simi but won the Best Alternative Song category, which was open to the public for voting.

Wizard Chan’s win is a testament to the loyal following he has amassed in a short while, but it is also a credit to the building blocks he has laid down in his career even before he got his breakthrough. Born and bred in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Wizard Chan began exploring his musical talent as a teenager while in secondary school, acquainting himself with the rudiments of becoming a recording artist with stories to tell. After moving to Ghana for his tertiary studies and then Sokoto State for the mandatory one-year national service, he settled in Lagos to map out his plans for his career.

In Lagos, he started a record label and company with his best friend, using the knowledge he gained from his Marketing and Business degree. “I discovered that getting a deal from a recording label is a lot and sometimes it might break you down. For that reason alone, I decided I was going to do my own thing with my friend. We put every single thing we had into music even though we didn’t know what we were doing because we didn’t have direction at first but I guess the best way to learn is to fail,” he shared in a recent interview.

Chan’s music, for the most part, is inspired by his life experiences as well as his obeisance to spirituality. His Reggae influences are the distinguishing factor he infuses into whatever sound he employs, sifting through for apt observations on people and life’s situations. On 2020’s “Truth,” Wizard Chan touches on the political and economic ills stagnating the progress of Nigeria. “The government are sleeping on the people they are serving/Commissioners and senators are living their lives lavish/Leaving little or none for the poor little masses,” he sings. It’s on “Earth Song,” though, that Wizard Chan strikes gold. Over Drill-influenced production, Wizard Chan explores the transient nature of life and how people’s actions can impact generation after generation. He revealed that the song emanated while he was “going through life” and that that is when he makes his best music.

“‘Earth Song’ is really special because I wrote that in one of my darkest times, you can hear the pain. I’m happy but not surprised because people are going through a lot emotionally and mentally without speaking up,” he told the NATIVE. Chan replicated the tale of surviving tough times on “HighLife,” which, as the song title suggests, pairs modern adjustments to the Highlife genre. He does the same on “Beast of No Nation” with King Perryy and Tuzi and “Que Sera Sera” with Dino Zee.

However, it isn’t only the hard times that Wizard Chan contemplates in his music. He finds joy and pleasure in love, romance and affection. On “Halo Halo,” Wizard Chan serenades a love interest; on “Yolo,” he and Mavice express their intentions for a lover, and he and Thousand Voice stir the softest feelings on “Miss You.”  His love for experimentation also comes up on the Amapiano-led “DRUMLINE” with 01FRNCH. Wizard Chan’s musical influences include Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Jay Z, Damien Marley, Santi Sol and Black Sherif and it tells on his fusion of sounds. 

With an album tentatively titled ‘The Messenger’ in the works, Wizard Chan’s win at the Headies is an indication of the authenticity of his music and its connection to the listeners. Beyond the music, his visual branding—the dark cloaks, cowry beads and fashion stylings from his Ijaw culture—accentuates the prominence of his craft. It’s the beginning of great success ahead for the Headies winner.

Featured image credit/NATIVE

A 1-Listen Review Of Khaid’s New EP, ‘Emotions’

Posted on by Emmanuel Esomnofu

Khaid’s year has progressively blossomed into a real moment of arrival. Although he’s been on the scene for a while, 2023 has seen the full spectrum of his musical abilities emerge under the light of the mainstream audience. The prime evidence of this growth has been Khaid’s trifecta of Afropop-influenced songs—with the latest being “Anabella”—which have become uber-popular hits, reaching sweet spots of melody and memory across Nigeria demographics, transcending gender, age or class status. 

 

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As Khaid continues to ascend through the ranks, he’s releasing honest and relatable songs which have gained ubiquity such as “Jolie” and “Carry Me Go,” which featured the Mavin Records wunderkid Boy Spyce. Coming off the strength of these records, and with a nomination in the Rookie of the Year category at the just-concluded Headies, the artist has been moving confidently. This audibly influences the succinct but purposeful release of ‘Emotions’, his new EP which features six songs, including two of the aforementioned singles. As he told The NATIVE some months before, “on this project you should expect to hear the Afrobeats Khaid”. 

Unarguably one of the most promising youngsters orbiting the afropop scene, it’s a no-brainer that we should parse ‘Emotions’ through critical ears, which is what we do in this 1-listen review. 

In usual 1-listen review fashion, all reactions are in real time while the music plays. No pauses, rewinds, fast-forwards or skips.

“JARA”

A mellow beat starting out this one. “I dun dey fight, I dun dey shoot gun,” is such a visual lyric. I’m tempted to say it’s Omah Lay-esque, but he’s not the first to squeeze nihilist themes into afro-inspired music. Khaid’s delivery is very heartfelt here; he’s painting an image that we’ve become familiar with over the years, which is the pensive thoughts of a celebrity. I like the direction; lyrically, it’s a bit ambiguous but that’s what this sub-genre (can we even call it that?) within afropop does; merging philosophical inquiry with touches of romantic tension. 

“HOLD ME”

Vibrant drums from the start of this one. “She’s got a broken home and a broken smile”; that line comes off with a bit of contrasting feels, but I can hear the emotive scales Khaid is trying to reach here. The metaphors can be stronger; shining like sunlight in the sky is cool to the ears, but it doesn’t really sink the listener into a unique narrative. I like the artist’s vocal style here though; it’s audibly influenced by R&B, and that makes him want to flex on them. Ultimately, the flex comes off okay. Nothing too special, but you might catch a vibe under the perfect conditions. 

“NO TIME”

This beat is sounding a little like “Carry Me Go.” There’s that colourful early 2000s Nigerian Pop energy captured in the drums, the zest of their edges. “Follow who know road, e dun cut my sandals” is the kinda line that demonstrates how our music mirrors the simple poetry of our everyday lives. Khaid is in inspired form here; so far, it’s perhaps my favourite from the project. I’m throwing my hat as well, that this would be the next promoted single from this EP. 

“JOLIE”

What more can be said about this song? It’s undoubtedly one of the biggest songs of the year. In terms of sonic quality, it’s a brilliant evocation of love through the Nigerian prism, as every lyric and every beat counts stays close to home. There’s not a bone of complexity here; the writing as well as the production is straightforward, which renders an emotive stability to the record. With every song, the project’s choice of title is justified. 

“PEOPLE (EVIL)”

Dancehall Khaid is present here. The first words are delivered in a style reminiscent of Rema’s “Divine”, but this sounds more up the Ruger alley. Cloak and dagger, holy father—there’s a cache of well-done references I’m hearing. It’s not the most evocative song, but Khaid obviously pushes his songwriting here. As part of the project, it’s a fine way to lead into the final song of the EP. 

“ANABELLA”

“Baby wetin sup o…touch my weak spot o” that line alone makes this song a worthy listen. Following in the tradition of his afropop records, this is a bubbly and tender affair. Somehow it reminds me of those cheesy scenes we used to have in Old Nollywood; I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a video montage of it somewhere, soundtracking such a scene by Paw-Paw or some other enterprising lover boy. Seeing as the mood also mirrors the sentiment of a closing moment, it’s the most appropriate choice for this important role. 

FINAL THOUGHTS 

‘Emotions’ fittingly captures Khaid’s ability to craft saccharine hits from everyday emotions. Combining bright, bubbly beats with purposeful touches of melancholic, heartfelt stories, the project bears a dichotomy that would shape up to be one of its narrative strengths. And perhaps the songwriting sometimes comes across as too cloying, and devoid of an original quality, but it’s evident that Khaid still has some developing to do—every artist does, actually. However, based on the enjoyability of these songs, it’s clear that Khaid and his label Neville Records has orchestrated a great run-in towards the end of the year for the talented artist. 

Stream ‘Emotions’ EP.

Featured image credits/NATIVE

ICYMI: Kayode wants to tell emotive stories through music

Kayode Wants To Tell Emotive Stories Through Music

Posted on by Emmanuel Esomnofu

In the early noughties, the music industry went digital. Spurred by the popularisation of mobile devices like phones and laptops, more artists and producers sprung around the country, contributing to its mosaic of sonic voices. The years since have been similarly productive, as self-reliant technologies have made it easier for people to pick up music. Kayode’s introduction to the art form was a mix of that and the traditional setting of the church, which influenced his love for instruments. 

“My parents are Christians so they were always in church, and I was always in church,” he said to NATIVE Mag. “I was always drawn to instrumentals and I just grew a natural inclination for playing the piano and I started learning how to play the piano, mostly by myself. I had a teacher for a while but I just stopped going, then I basically developed the skill by myself. I learnt most of the stuff I knew on YouTube.”

 

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Before then, Kayode’s parents were avid lovers of music. His childhood was spent listening to Lagbaja and King Sunny Ade from his father’s playlist, and later in life, he grew up into the blog era which developed into influence from the likes of Lil Wayne, Wizkid, Burna Boy and Drake. “They just inspired me to move in my own direction,” he affirms. When Kayode turned eighteen, based in Ikorodu, he recorded his first single and though he didn’t want to share it with anyone, the reception he got from a friend and his brother, who urged him to continue making music, stuck with him; he wanted to become a musician. 

Linked to Kayode’s ascendant star is the Lagos-based artist’s use of Instagram as a means of self-promotion. More than ever, young artists are showcasing their talent to the world, using the global mirror of social media. On the budding star’s IG account, there are several videos of him freestyles and doing covers of other artists’ songs, infusing his unique spin to their popular variations. 

Around the period of 2019 and the following year, he moved from his home residence in Ikorodu to the Akoka axis of Yaba, where he attended the University of Lagos. It was a vibrant creative hub and that zeal to release music was an influence on Kayode, who was charting his own climb beyond scenic recognition. That won him the ears of a still-growing fanbase, following his music beyond the trail of content videos, and they have been rewarded, quite regularly, with good sound.  

In 2020, he released the mixtape ‘Playtime is Over,’ a telling showcase of his zeal to grow using his art to plot his ascension. The records “On My Back” and “Look At You” utilised the floaty soundscape of cloud rap to pass important messages of living and love, while the Magicsticks-produced “Side Guy” nodded to audible Nigerian influences, from the colourful, quirky language to its bright percussions. Kayode has continued to release music, sharing ‘STILL FIGURING LIFE’ earlier this year, a collection of seven songs which explored the motions of young Nigerian existence. 

“The project is basically as it is, still figuring life,” he says. “Like at a point in everybody’s life we’re into that realisation that we’re all still figuring life. This was just me at that point in my life where I’m still figuring out a lot of stuff. I like to make music about what I’m feeling and that was just how I was feeling at that certain point in my life and yeah, I made the music about it.” 

Kayode’s amorphous creativity is revealed in songs like “All I Need” and “Chop This Life.” Whereas the former draws an evocative piano tune alongside the audible progressions of Drill, the latter belongs more in the Afropop territory, set on mellow drums. On “Blessings” the mercurial duo of Psycho YP and ODUMODUBLVCK-assisted feature, Kayode shares that everything came about seamless. He tells the NATIVE that he and Psycho (who delivered his verse in one take) sharing a mutual friend who set up the session. 

Kayode’s sonic repertoire also includes his skills with mixing and mastering. “When I started writing music and I really needed to record music, studio sessions were very difficult to get,” he explains. These structural and financial hinderances delayed his plans for his dream. Eventually, Kayode was able to save up and purchase a laptop which he used to start recording his own original music. “The more I recorded, the more I understood what I was doing. Even at a point, I didn’t even know I was mixing and mastering; I just knew I was making my voice sound good,” he shares. 

When asked about the audible influences in his work, Kayode is quick to cite his love for melodies. He wants to show the prospects of instrumentation, especially the piano, which is widely considered as the base of all music. Returning to his roots, Kayode traces where the sensibility comes from: “It just ties to my memory in church where—because most of the music we play in church were very melodious,” he says. “They spring out certain emotions in you and I feel like subconsciously, it has stuck with me where I listen to certain beats and I am just drawn to them.”

Like every goal-oriented artist, Kayode casts an ambitious gaze to the future. “Right now, I’m growing,” he says. “I’m not where I was last year; I’m certainly not where I was last two years. I’ve grown musically, the fan base is bigger, and yeah I’m hopeful for the future, I know there’s a lot more coming. I just want to keep putting out music for my fans. There’s endless opportunities coming and I’m just waiting and ready for everything that is about to come.” 

New Music Friday: Projects from Ruger, Tochi Bedford & Xenia Manasseh

Posted on by Uzoma Ihejirika

It’s another Friday and time for a roundup of music projects from African acts to check out. Throughout the week, music has poured in from all over the continent and sometimes it can slip through the cracks, unheard. This column serves to bring those projects to your ears as you prepare for the end of work and look forward to the weekend. It’s a packed week for new releases. From Burna Boy to Kelvyn Boy, settle in for an experience as we travel the African continent for the latest music projects.

RUGER – ‘RU THE WORLD’

Since his debut in 2021, Jonzing Records’ Ruger has steadily built a following with smash hits, culminating in deserved stardom for the young artist. His brand of Dancehall-influenced music has helped him carve a niche in the scene and placed him as one of the leading music stars in Nigeria. Ruger has released his 17-track debut album ‘RU The World’ and it’s a boisterous collage of styles and themes that are distinctively Ruger’s.

TEKNO – ‘THE MORE THE BETTER’

Tekno’s place in Nigerian music history is cemented, many thanks to his incredible run in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The singer has returned with renewed verve since recovering from a vocal ailment. On his latest album ‘The More The Better,’ Tekno addresses a variety of topics from love to overcoming tough times. The project is essentially a Tekno affair, with one guest appearance in the person of CKay. From the title track to “Peace of Mind” to “Can’t Chase,” ‘The More The Better’ is a fine outing for Tekno.

XENIA MANASSEH – ‘LOVE / HATE PT. 1’

Kenyan act Xenia Manasseh unveils her debut album ‘LOVE / HATE Pt. 1.’ It is a project that details her observations about love and the pleasures and pains it causes. ‘LOVE / HATE Pt. 1’  is built on an R&B core with Soul and Hip-Hop mixed into it. There are guest features from Tay Iwar, Karun, Shalom Dubas and Xenia’s grandpa Edgar Manasseh. 

KHAID – ‘EMOTIONS’

“On this new project, you should expect the Afrobeats Khaid,” Khaid told the NATIVE in July. On his latest EP ‘Emotions,’ he keeps to his promise with six tracks that showcase his artistry in the Afrobeats lane. The EP contains previously released singles “Jolie” and “Anabella,” and is a collection of love songs revolving around various situations.

TOCHI BEDFORD – ‘HALF BLUE’

Tochi Bedford’s music is a fusion of diverse elements. The artist, producer and sound engineer kept that as an important factor in his artistry and on his latest project ‘Half Blue,’ he sticks to his ethos. With features from Cruel Santino, Mowalola and Odunsi (The Engine), ‘Half Blue’ delves into matters of romantic connections and personal will, creating a skilful addition to the Alté catalogue.

TYSON SYBATELI – ‘PRESENT’

South Africa’s Tyson Sybateli collaborates with fellow SA Hip-Hop podcast crew The Sobering Podcast on his latest mixtape ‘Present.’ The project is rap royalty with Tyson spitting bars over infectious, slick beats. He is also joined by acts such as Priddy Ugly, Thato Saul, Nanette, Ben September and Tron Pyre, among others. ‘Present’ makes for an enjoyable listening experience as we are reminded of Tyson’s exceptional rap skills.

KARUN & BLOCKA BEATS – ‘LIE TO ME, VOL. 1’

Last year, singer Karun and producer Blocka Beats released “Lie To Me (Tell Me a Fairy Tale,” a love song with dark undertones. The positive reception for the song has inspired  Karun and Blocka Beats to invite other producers to add their spin to the track, shuffling it through different soundscapes. ‘Lie To Me, Vol. 1’ features remixes from Blackcurrant, Kenza, Kayrop and Mike Muema, among others.

AUNTY RAYZOR – ‘VIRAL WRECKAGE’

Aunty Rayzor—real name Bisola Olungbenga—is a fiery package of fast-paced raps and effective singing. With a growing repertoire of works across Africa, the artist is seeking to enshrine herself into the consciousness of music lovers. On her debut album ‘Viral Wreckage,’ Aunty Rayzor bursts with energy from track to track, assisted by a host of collaborators. It’s a project sure to turn heads.

Featured image credits/NATIVE

NATIVE Selects: New Music From Johnny Drille, Brazy, Phyno & More

Posted on by Nwanneamaka Igwe

Every week, new music shows up, sweeping fans and music lovers off their feet while artists gauge reactions to know the effect of their creativity. At the NATIVE, we are committed to keeping our ears on the pulse of the music scene and bringing the best sounds to your doorstep. In our last edition, we brought you new releases from Guchi, Diamond Platnumz and more. Today, we have songs that move from Afropop to Amapiano to R&B, with our select artists showcasing their unending talent and passion for creativity. Lock in!

JOHNNY DRILLE – “SPENDING” 

Johnny Drille ventures away from his usual mellow soundscape for an upbeat rendition on “Spending.” Over a groovy Amapiano beat, Drille sings about spending his money on the woman he loves as his show of affection. He croons that while love is important, the material aspects are equally as important. Mavin Records’ boss, Don Jazzy, also provides background vocals while reiterating Drille’s message of spoiling your love interest.

BRAZY & DBN GOGO – “ATTENDS (DBN GOGO REMIX)”

Attends Shekeleva! Brazy’s hit single, “Attends” takes on a refreshing perspective with the help of South African DJ-Producer, DBN Gogo. The initially fast-paced, high-tempo single spins into a slowed-down bass-heavy track with ominous piano chords. The Afro-House embellishments become evident mid-way through the track with the inclusion of brash log drums and barely audible shakers. As the track fades out, Brazy’s vocals seep in and out to allow the instrumentals to take over.

AZANA – “SIFANELENE” 

Following her cheerful tune, “Shona Malanga,” Azana draws us one step closer to her upcoming album with a mellow love story on “Sifanelele.” The Mthunzi-assisted track leads in with daunting, low-tempo piano keys, followed shortly after by Azana’s honeyed vocals and twinkling guitar keys. Backed by melodious chants, her heartfelt rendition tells the story of two lovers expressing gratitude for navigating life’s tumultuous journey together.

PHYNO – “DO I” 

Jaysynths snags production creds on Phyno’s latest Amapiano single, “Do I.” In his typical fashion, the Eastern Nigerian rapper comes armed with sleek bars recited in Igbo and English. He directly poses rhetorical questions on the track’s hook “Do I look like I give a fuck?” paired with a not-so-humble brag of his riches. He is addressing his naysayers, emphasising that he deserves everything in his possession.

KENZA & XXC LEGACY – “ALONE” 

South African DJ-Producer, Kenza taps XXC Legacy for a slow tempo EDM tune, “Alone.” The beat contained the typically intoxicating synths of Deep House paired seamlessly with Legacy’s mellifluous vocals. She embraces vulnerability as she addresses feelings go loneliness after a soiled relationship. “I smoke the pain away, drink it all away/I wish that I could stay, in the clouds today,” she croons on the track’s pre-hook, heavy with feelings of regret.

MR EAZI – “ADVICE” 

Mr Eazi is taking us to church on the intro of his recently released single, “Advice.” Produced by M.O.G Beatz, the high-tempo single leads in with a beautifully sung choir rendition, followed by a direct address from Mr Eazi. He immediately establishes the mood of the track as he reminds onlookers to keep their unsolicited advice. The bass-heavy drum pattern is paired with lush piano chords, backed up by smooth harmonies by the choir. “I no need advice/ talk wey dam talk I no pay attention, them no be my size,” he passionately croons on the tuneful hook.

UNA RAMS & MIKHALÉ JONES – “SOS”

Una Rams delivers a sultry new single dubbed “SOS,” the artist’s acronym for “Sex on Sunday.” He taps South African R&B star, Mikhalé Jones for a soulful rendition, exploring themes of passion and sexual connection with their love interests. The track holds captivating rhythms and captivating melodies created by sweet-sounding saxophone chords and a steady drum pattern.

ANYTHING WITH YUSEF – “FERRARI”

Botswana-born Afropop artist, Anything with Yusef, unveils another layer of his artistry on his captivating new single dubbed “Ferrari.” The track leads in with a velvety saxophone solo paired with a head-bopping beat and light shakers. He seamlessly rides the wave of the beat with charming harmonies and dulcet vocals as he addresses his love interest. He lovingly promises that he is capable of providing all her needs on the Jitotwe Tshombela-produced track.

MOONGA K. & NKOSILATHI – “BE MINE” 

Dreamy Piano chords and twinkling keys open MOONGA K.’s recently released melancholic single, “be mine.” “Can I turn back, can I fix the damage of the past,” he croons on the opening line, evidently filled with feelings go dread. The lush guitar strings heighten the track’s ethereal atmosphere as he reminisces on a past relationship. Nkosilathi taps in mid-way through the track, posing rhetorical questions to her love interest as she expresses her fears of falling in love again.

Words By Nwanneamaka Igwe.

Featured Image Credits/The NATIVE

“The game is the game”: The ultra-popularity of Fantasy Premier League among Nigerian football lovers

Posted on by Dennis Ade Peter

Olaide has his head in his hands, he’s just learnt that Arsenal conceded a goal within a minute of kick-off, in the English Football club’s Premier League fixture against Fulham. A lifelong Liverpool fan, Olaide couldn’t care less if Arsenal failed to win, but he was mourning a conceded goal because the Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale and defender William Saliba were in his Fantasy Premier League (FPL) team. That goal all but assured that both players would have little impact on his score for the week’s round of fixtures.

“Shebi dem dey house?!” Olaitan loudly asks in Pidgin English, his question directed at no one and everyone in the vicinity at the same time. His logic was simple: Arsenal were playing a team that many would describe as a weaker opponent, on their home turf as well, an advantage that meant the possibilities of keeping a clean sheet was more than decent. “You know say Arsenal hate to dey keep clean sheet for house?” a guy popularly referred as SK retorted to Olaide’s question, recalling Arsenal’s nail-biting win against Bournemouth last season, after conceding two goals in the match’s early minutes.

SK, a Manchester United fan, also wasn’t invested in an Arsenal win, but he wanted the London club to complete a comeback if winger Bukayo Saka would be involved in the goals. “Saka dey my FPL team,” he said. Another guy, Tonye, this time an Arsenal fan, wanted midfielder Odegaard to be in on the action. When Arsenal won a penalty in the second half and Odegaard converted from the spot, no one screamed “GOAL BALL!” louder than Tonye. It was obvious he wasn’t just celebrating an equalising goal.

Fantasy Premier League is an online fantasy draft game, centred on the English Premier League (EPL), where fans, pundits and even football players create teams on a fixed budget. At the start of every season, every FPL manager is given a budget of 100 million pounds to draft players of varying prices, selecting 15 players across positions without exceeding the budget. Every round of match fixtures, players are scored based on tangible, real life contributions like goals, assists, clean sheets, added bonus points and more. The cumulated points represents a score for the week, and each week’s tally count towards the total at the end of the PL season.

During the season, FPL managers are afforded a free transfer for each new fixture week, allowing for some flexibility to transfer players in and out within budget. There also chips—bench boost, free hit, triple captain and wildcards—that help with transfers and score boosts, although they must be used sparingly. Prizes are also offered to different tiers of winners: The overall champion for this season’s FPL champion will win a 7-night break in the UK inclusive of two VIP hospitality at two PL matches next season, travel and accommodation inclusive. That’s just the headliner, in a package that includes a laptop, noise-cancelling headphones and more. There are prizes for 2nd to 20th positions, as well as in-season prizes for Manager of the Month and Manager of the Week.

Last season’s tally for the total number of Fanasy Premier League managers was reported to be well over 11 million. Given the increasing popularity of the fantasy game, this season’s should be higher. It’s far more than the 76,000-plus players who registered when the Premier League officially launched FPL, along with its website, in 2002. Before then, a 25-year old computer programmer, Andrew Wanstein introduced fantasy football to the UK, having been inspired by a fantasy baseball game he was introduced to by a family friend from the US. Debuting in the 1991-92 season, Wanstein’s Fantasy League attracted about 700 players.

Although Wanstein wasn’t involved in the creation of Fantasy Premier League, there’s no doubt he inspired the now global phenomenon. “The drive was just sort of enthusiasm for football,” he told ESPN late last year. Even with its glossy prizes, the same drive is what’s pushing FPL’s ubiquity amongst many football lovers across the world—Nigeria included. “It’s just another way to be a fan and engage the game,” Olaide says of being invested in FPL. “Before, all I really cared about was Liverpool and I would watch some matches between the bigger teams, but these days I keep tabs on almost every team so I can find players I can transfer in and out of my team.

Austin, a self-proclaimed FPL champion, is currently a part of three leagues, one of which he paid a 5,000 naira registration. Last year, he was one of 43 managers in the paid league, winning the 150,000 naira top prize for finishing at the top position. “Towards the end of the season, na FPL consume my mind because I don make mouth say I go win,” he says, stating that he’s a sore loser and would’ve probably gone through a bout of depression if he hadn’t ended up at the top spot after spending nearly half the season in that position. A Liverpool fan, Austin says he watched every match possible in May, even though the club he supports was “pretty much nonsense” last season.

This season, Austin isn’t that confident of winning the prize money for the league because there’s been an almost 100% increase in managers. “Now, we have about 80 people and the prize money has doubled but these guys are not playing this year,” he says. Last weekend, he got 64 points, and he’s somewhere in the middle of the pack so far, which means he’s playing catch-up. But that doesn’t mean he’s lost interest in this season’s Fantasy Premier League; the other two leagues he’s part of consists close friends and he doesn’t want to be at the receiving end of humorous, depreciating banter on a weekly basis.

The same motivation is what pushes Oyinkan. “I’m better at dishing banter than taking it,” she says. “So anytime I have a bad FPL week, I avoid social media. My friends know, so they even call me out on Twitter when I don’t respond to group texts. It’s even worse when Man Utd now decide to lose on the same weekend.” Banter is a Nigerian specialty, one that we use in easing and deflecting the debilitating social conditions of the country. On football twitter, it’s known that Nigerians let the jokes fly, from sardonic humour to off-the-cuff observations. Even the country’s national team isn’t spared.

Considering the ultra-popularity of football and the Premier League, along with the global recognition of our bantering abilities, it’s no surprise that Fantasy Premier League is popular amongst young Nigerians. Even those who don’t play have heard about it. According to a tweet from August 2022, Nigeria had 338,250 FPL managers, a number that would have undoubtedly increased as last season progressed, and should be more during this season.

For all its allure, some people still drop off eventually. “After like 10 weeks that I knew I was just arranging rubbish, I gave up last season,” Olaide says. “It requires dedication.” For some, their issue is ideological, especially since the points are fixed. “I don’t like the fact that a player can play really well and not end up with a goal or assist, then be given 3 points,” Austin says. As he explains, it collapses the nuances of the game into straightforward numbers, which can belittle the contributions of some players and overly glamourize others.

As SK points out, the rules are there as a framework for transparency, so players aren’t just awarded points due to the discretion of some people. “It’s just setting up your squad to optimize those fixed metrics,” Oyinkan says with a wry laugh. “Last last, we go again every weekend. The game is the game sha.”

ICYMI: HOW THE IPHONE BECAME INCREASINGLY SOUGHT AFTER BY YOUNG NIGERIANS

Everything we know so far about the coup in Gabon

Posted on by Dennis Ade Peter

For the eighth time in three years, a coup d’état has toppled a civilian administration in west and central Africa. On Wednesday, August 30, military officers in Gabon forcefully ousted Ali Bongo Ondimba as the country’s president, after 14 years in power. Occurring shortly after Bongo was declared as the winner of the recent general election, around a dozen military personnel appeared on national television to announce the end of the existing administration.

The military spokesperson stated that he was speaking on behalf of the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI), and the committee “has decided to defend peace by putting an end to the regime in place.” He went on to add that the election results that declared Ali Bongo the returning president had been voided, placing him and his son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, under arrest and home detention. Several of Bongo’s aides have also been arrested. According to the spokesperson, the arrested are facing charges from treason and embezzlement to corruption and drug trafficking.

Within hours of the coup announcement, AFP news agency aired a video of the Ali Bongo asking his “friends” to “make noise” and come to his aid, claiming that his family were away from him and scattered around. “I don’t know what is going on,” he said in the video. Instead of gravitating to Bongo’s trepidation, many citizens in Gabon poured out to the streets in jubilation of his ousting, a show of how deeply unpopular the president had become.

In 2009, Ali Bongo was elected into office following the passing of his father, Omar Bongo, who ruled Gabon for 40 years. During the older Bongo’s autocratic rule, Ali served in various capacities in his father’s administration, as the minister of foreign affairs, deputy in the national assembly, and minister of state. It was widely believed that Ali would eventually succeed his father, both his entry into power wasn’t without controversy. Due to allegations of fraud by the opposition, the constitutional court of Gabon ordered a recount of the 2009 election results, which still declared Ali Bongo the winner despite continued grumbling by many citizens.

Seen as a hugely important election, after Bongo had served two 7-year terms, independent candidate Albert Ondo Ossa was considered the main opposition candidate to the incumbent seeking a third term. Months before the election, several controversies put Gabon on edge, starting with a handful of proposed reforms from the parliament. Among the reform were the reversal of the adopted 2018 bill, which moved the single-round presidential election to a two-round ballot, and a reduction of presidential terms to 5 years. In April, these constitutional changes were adopted, along with the abolition of re-election limits, allowing Bongo and many politicians to essentially remain in administrative office for life.

Regardless, Albert Ondo’s candidacy reportedly picked up steam, gaining the support of a multi-party opposition coalition. On the day of the elections, it was reported that foreign media and international observers were prevented from entering Gabon, voting at many polls were delayed, which impacted the percentage of registered voters that actually voted, and ballot papers carried the names of candidates who had already dropped out of the race in support of Albert Ondo.

After voting took place on Saturday, the government restricted internet access and imposed a curfew, stating that there were measures against the spread of false news and potential violence. In the dead of night, at 3:30AM local time, the results of the election were announced, declaring Ali Bongo the winner with over 60% of the vote. Shortly after, mutinous soldiers, led by Brice Oligui Nguema, commander of the republican guard, took over the presidential palace, placing Ali Bongo under arrest before making their announcement later that day.

Gabon joins Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, and several other African countries and former French colonies that have slid into military rule via coups. The celebration of the coup by Gabonese citizens is a reaction to decades of being lorded over by a family and select group of elites, with Omar Bongo keeping the country in a one-party system until 1991, and his son keeping the hegemony going even as oppositions have sprang up. Gabon, a mainly producing and export country, is currently beset by high levels of poverty, with a reported 40% unemployment rate for people between ages 18 and 40.

The Bongo family has been repeatedly accused of embezzling and hoarding public funds, with the Pandora Papers fingering Ali Bongo as one of the many African leaders with wealth in offshore tax havens. On social media, a viral tweet shows an alleged video of bags of hard currency in the presidential palace. Many Gabonese hope that the coup will portend the change of the country’s fortunes. The Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI) has announced Brice Oligui as the president of the transitional council, perhaps a sign that the new junta already has eyes towards a true democracy in the near future.

[Featured Image Credit: Al Jazeera]

ICYMI: EVERYTHING WE KNOW SO FAR ABOUT THE CONFLICT IN SUDAN

Teni Shares Her Second Single Of The Year, “Lanke”

Posted on by Emmanuel Esomnofu

Evolution is a famous concept in music. Once every while, an artist grows beyond their established sound and aesthetic, and it becomes necessary to create another vision. Prior to this year, the singer Teni occupied a visible space across the scene; pulling from the colourful tapestry of the Nigerian experience, and infusing the sounds of her native Yoruba, she created effervescent portraits of young existence, as heard “Uyo Meyo” and “Case,” just to mention a few records. 

 

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A post shared by TENI OTG (@tenientertainer)

Today, the artist releases “Lanke,” her first record since the May-released “No Days Off”. As the older song revealed, the musician was branching onto wider plains of sonic experimentation. Its Genio-helmed production had a skittering, freewheeling drum base that was ostensibly influenced by Nigeria’s alte music, especially those which have soundtracked a number of songs from Cruel Santino, who also directed its visuals.

Coming after 2021’s sprawling ‘WONDALAND’, it signified a marked change from the afropop Teni was doing, and unsurprisingly, was timed to go with her new brand direction, which was a more femme, gritty image, arrived at by dark rock-esque clothing and sunshades, bandanas and ripped trousers—-her second arc was in full flow. 

“Lanke” continues in that style, another step towards the new sound Teni is charting. An Amapiano-tinged progression is provided by Blaise Beats, a cool but zesty vibe that would fit seamlessly with Asake’s ‘Work of Art’. On vivid display throughout that album were novel techniques for the South Africa to be utilised, and Blaise, who’s been one of the more consistent producers in recent years turns in a beautiful shift on the record. The drums are accompanied by string instruments and deftly follows the vocal inflections of Teni, making it a song in purposeful alliance with all its component parts. 

To her credit, Teni isn’t estranged from her early technique, sprinkling the vibrant poetry of the Yoruba language on its chorus. Her vocals are as evocative as ever, as she speaks on her unique qualities with a rapper’s audacious allure. “On g, I got the juice and the energy, everybody wanna sodi to my melody,” she sings in the opening bars, and for the rest of the song’s runtime, she paints the image of living up her life, in the second verse, singing, “Teni Makanaki on a skibi jumpo lifestyle, bad bitches wanna ride/ Never alone, with my guys, I’m a liverpool on this side…”  

Feel-good bops have been an essential niche in Teni’s catalogue and “Lanke” is a fine addition. Each second of the song bursts with flavour and finesse, showcasing the continued growth of the beloved singer. Perhaps a couple more singles would be released before an album comes out but right now, Teni has scored two great songs in two releases, and witnessing this growing affinity for experimentation has been a triumph of afropop’s year. 

NATIVE Selects: New Music From Show Dem Camp, E.L, Muthaka & More

Posted on by Emmanuel Esomnofu

Every week, new music shows up, sweeping fans and music lovers off their feet while artists gauge reactions to know the effect of their creativity. At the NATIVE, we are committed to keeping our ears on the pulse of the music scene and bringing the best sounds to your doorstep. In our last edition, we brought you new releases from Guchi, Diamond Platnumz and more. Today, we have songs that move from Afropop to Amapiano to R&B, with our select artists showcasing their unending talent and passion for creativity. Lock in!

SHOW DEM CAMP FT. BELLAH – “WYW”

Off ‘Palmwine Music Vol. 3’ from Show Dem Camp comes this new music video. A favourite among listeners of that sprawling, feature-laden body of work, here the rap duo translate its theme of a toxic relationship into a stirring visual montage. The looks are exquisite and the scenes packed with deliberation as much as action, and Bellah pulls off a riveting performance as the femme fatale. Everything works to beautifully extend the run of this record. 

TOLIBIAN – “Happy”

Abubakar Abdulmutolib Ottan, popularly known as Tolibian is a fast rising singer and songwriter from the North Central part of Nigeria (Ilorin, Kwara state). On his latest single “Happy,” the singer delivers a perfect fusion of Afrobeats and Apala, which can best be described as tuneful and classic. On the new track, Tolibian attempts to paint a mental picture of what living a true happy life feels like with lyrics such as “We battle and survive/Wetin God design no fit collapse.”

E.L – “SOBA”

One of the most consistent artists from Ghana, the music of E.L has always retained a funny, quirky outlook. “Soba” is his latest, colourfully rendering the azonto sound in a contemporary light. The result is a hit ready-made for online challenges, which should get the song’s hype buzzing afterwards. Considering the celebratory period we find ourselves in this year, there are surely great prospects for the record going forward. 

MONSEEKA – “OVER THE RADAR”

Monseeka might be a newcomer, but she’s clearly accrued experiences that glow under the heat of her pen. Her intense sensibilities are captured on this record, which details her floating towards the perfect place. Emo themes are increasingly fancied by young musicians; that is because the mental landscape offers so much narrative material. Helmed by the masterful Bigfoot, this is a sterling addition to that tradition. 

MUTHAKA & EMMA CHERULO – “TOUCHING ON MY BABY”

A consistent feature in the African music scene is the soulful excellence of Kenyan artists. The country has no shortage of artists adapting genres like R&B and Soul, matching their soulful core with the vibrant percussions within their popular music. “Touching On My Baby” benefits from that fusion, blending the impressionist voices of both musicians to tell a sweet-sounding tale of desire and protection. A vintage touch is present in the visuals, which references the eighties-evoking vibe of the record. 

KING PERRYY & IDA BANTON – “DENGE”

The Port-Harcourt sons unite for this scorching banger. “Denge” harkens back to the sound of Baba Fryo and his iconic dance, actualised through a contemporary filter which manifests in the zesty edges of its mastering. At its core, however, is a simple Dancehall riddim and a vocal sample, while both artists float assuredly over the record. It’s expectedly light work for King Perryy who’s in familiar territory, but it is 1Da Banton’s verse, brief and boisterous, which brings the song home. 

JAY-WAY – “ONLY ONE I THINK ABOUT”

A thrilling sense of adventure follows every second of this record. Crafted with intimate observation and fun-paced progressions, it blurs sonic lines between bedroom pop and rap music. The Dutch-Ghanaian act has also put out a five-track EP of the same title, incorporating zesty touches from nearby genres of alternative rock and dubstep, all of them working towards the project’s portraiture of a colourful, complex existence, which ostensibly belongs to the young. 

MOHBAD – “BEAST & PEACE”

Earlier this year Mohbad released the ‘Blessed’ project, unarguably his most important one yet considering the events which preceded it. Off that project, few songs captured its stark imagery as vividly as its opener, “Beast & Peace”. The song, as its title suggests, presents both sides of the street reality while centering his own trajectory within those considerations. On the just-released visual he’s dressed as someone who’s just come off a fight, a telling allusion to the song’s message of personal strength amidst the trials of being persecuted and picked upon. 

MAJOZI & MTHANDAZO – “MI AMOR”

On this jazzy track, the South African artists combine to pine about a lady’s love. Cheesy, affectionately-drawn images are drawn with lighthearted touch, while the easy production reminds you of a rainy day. It’s a beautiful song whose strength arises from its tenderness, which is evident from the guitar progressions down to the background vocals. Each element contributes to its dazzling whole, making this the perfect soundtrack to a loving moment. 

[Featured Image Credits/The NATIVE]