Since “Holy Ghost” put the indie rock band on our Best New Music spot earlier in the year, Paradise Motel has released EgoSex, a project hinged on soul-numbing confessional style music. “Indestructible”, the follow-up single to the EP accentuates this sentiment, giving the band’s romantic despair a nearly existential polish.
With a deceptively joyful combination of guitar plucks, piano harmonies and lead singer, Wekaforé Maniu Jibril’s restrained cooing, “Indestructible” is the rare breakup song for one night stands. Depicting every relationship’s worst nightmare—“You’re Going To Look Me In My Face And Tell Me It’s NotForever”— “Indestructible” contains some of the most quietly devastating lines of the year: “But I Don’t Feel A Thing”.
Paradise Motel’s growing discography and devotion to Emo themes serves as a razor-sharp reminder that the group has all it takes to be a musical force to be reckoned with.
That Culture Clash Johannesburg was the premier edition of the Redbull Music Academy event on African soil, didn’t stop the aftermath of Patoranking’s outing due to a technicality, from making news headlines in Nigeria anyway. The tabloids in the nation seem to take some sweet pleasure in reporting failure, luckily Patoranking’s disqualification is a slight discomfort when measured against what it means to perform at Culture Clash.
Compared to fellow outliers Wizkid and Davido, coverage around Patoranking’s global crossover moment hasn’t matched up to the progressive leaps he has made since he broke out of the streets of Ijegun, Lagos. Performing at one of the most innovative music experiences in the world fits as a perfect example of Patoranking’s understated row over the last twenty four month period. Just before his performance at Culture Clash last month, we caught up with Pato to talk about this and his creative process amongst other related topics.
Read our conversation with the Afro-Dancehall singer below.
Can you describe your music in three words?
My music in three words; amazing, great and inspiring?
Your sound has been consistent since your debut; can you speak about your influences like Fela, The Marleys and artists of recent times?
Fela and Bob Marley have really and truly inspired my music, and if there is anything I wanna take out from them, it would be the longevity of their sound and that is what I’m trying to do, that is what I’m doing, that is what I’m practicing. Recently I listen to everybody, I listen to all types of sounds, but I wanna sound different from everybody. You will definitely know I have a touch of Fela and Bob Marley.
So howdo other markets affect your sound right now, like the Nigerian and Afrobeats sound, how do they influence your market?
Yeah It’s very important I get in touch with other markets because two things; I wanna be known there, and I want to sell my culture to them. My target audience is the global audience, you know, everybody, I wanna capture everybody so it’s very important that I tap into those markets.
In 2015 and 2016 you had two of the biggest songs in the respective years (“My Woman” + “No Kissing Baby”). Why do you think some may still not view you in the elite class of active artists?
I have never thought that…I believe there is enough space for everyone and once I start to see it as a competition, the whole point of winning alongside other African artists, is futile. I think the question is, do people view or see me [at all]? And the answer is yes, they do.My fans do, and I see them too. I am more than grateful for all the love so far.
There has been a lot of talk recently about who “started” this sound or the next etc. As someone who has been making dancehall music from the beginning, what are your thoughts when you see other artists now try their hand at dancehall-inspired songs?
Originality is key and in the same way I had an inspiration and a mentor when i started, is the same way people now see me as one. I have customised and become one with my sound so even though you might know who i draw inspiration from, you can still differentiate me from them. However, sound and style of music is a cycle that rotates with different generations and all are welcome to try whatever genre they identify with, including dancehall. My thoughts are, keep it original, relateable and consistent.
Your debut album GOE, charted on the Billboard Reggae charts. What has changed since then?
A lot of things. In fact, I never expected the album to chart on such a global scale, and since it happened it has made me realise I could get more. Next time we could be looking at winning a Grammy with an album, number one on the Billboard charts, not just number four.
Can you tell us about SummerFest, and how it felt being the only African artist on the bill, at the Summerfest?
Super Excited. My kids will be taught in school that their dad was the first african to perform at the biggest Reggae festival in the world. I learnt a lot in terms of staging and music as well and it’s an experience worth sharing.
Artists mature in their sound as they grow, what has changed since you started?
A lot has changed, my writing skills, the fact that I’m able to interpret how I feel and make it musical. I’ve grown wiser and stronger musically, I’m more musically inclined.
What ‘s the most difficult thing being Patoranking?
The most difficult thing being Patoranking is that you have to keep the brain working 24/7. You have to work smartly-hard. Haha.
What are your thoughts on Clashing coming to Africa, do you think this is a platform that can gain popularity like it has in the UK.
The Red Bull Culture Clash is a different form of entertainment that hasn’t really been felt in Africa. I think it’s a beautiful idea, if we can have more of this and really embrace this movement. We’ve seen all kinds of concerts but the Red Bull Culture Clash is different. I want to see a Red Bull Culture Clash in Kenya, one in Nigeria, just spread out across the continent.
What are your thoughts on Red Bull contributing to the Culture in Africa.
Big shout out to Red Bull and it is a great brand that I’d like to associate myself with, so I’d say on behalf of Nigeria, welcome?
There are a lot of new acts coming out of Nigeria, what do you think of them and the new sound they are creating?
I’m proud of the new guys coming out of Nigeria, like Santi and Tomi Thomas who I’ve been a fan of since his days with L.O.S. He’s different and unique. I’m really happy with their work and if there’s any advice I’d give, it’d be to work smartly-hard, put God first and put in the work. And drink Red Bull, haha!
Finally what should we be expecting from Patoranking?
Expect greatness in its purest form, expect something different. Expect fire, ya dun know, bless.
Last week, most of Nigeria and by extension most of the world put down their briefcases and ploughshares and took a few days off to celebrate the life, legend and legacy of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, arguably Nigeria’s biggest creative export. From exhibitions to concerts, talks to parties, people remembered the man who created what we know today as Afrobeat and who at his zenith held more clout in Nigeria than the Federal government. But few songs best illustrate why Fela remains as beloved and idolized twenty years after his death as “Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am”, off Kuti’s 1971 album Roforofo Fight.
Released as part of a quartet of albums from the most productive year of Abami Eda’s career, “Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am” has all the hallmarks of a classic Fela single, a languid, self determined instrumental warm up that goes on for several minutes, putting the listener in the right frame of mind, and setting up a tonal theme for the rest of the performance, a choral style, call and response chorus in conjunction with Fela’s omnipresent band, and long winding verse that defy the laws of composition and march at a tempo that only Fela decides. But what really distinguishes this song from the rest of the master’s oeuvre, is the masterful storytelling that Fela employs. Fela had always understood that at the core of his sway over his fans was his ability to empathize with their terribly oppressed lives, and the skill with which he consumed their stories, ruminated on them and regurgitated them back, defiance milled into the broth.
“Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am” is brimming with defiance, delivered subtly as an exchange, reflected through a lens of righteous justice. Fela sings of the oppressed, and personifies the oppression of Nigerian people. He asks through a direct chorus and series of vignettes, that the suffering of oppressed be respected and that if it is not, then the oppressed is justified in their decision to revolt, to take arms against the persons who mock their suffering and remain unempathetic to their oppression. He substitutes the government for smaller, more relatable avatars of power, like the landlord who wields the power to deny shelter, or the policeman who can take away a man’s freedom, or even closer. Never to look away from intrigue when the opportunity presents itself, Fela subverts his own theme in the third vignette about a husband, citing that sometimes it is our own avarice and pride, not an external agitator that puts us in trouble.
40 years after it was first released, through military regimes and civilian governments and a world that went digital, “Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am” remains relevant, because it tells a fundamentally human story.
Listen to “Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am” here.
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Edwin eats his rice and cabbages. Tweet at him@edgothboy
Barack Obama’s presidency might not have lifted black communities out of their struggles, but it certainly put a pep in their steps. The actualization of Martin Luther King’s dreams served as a confidence boost rippling through American society and manifested in the increased appreciation of black lives and ultimately, black artists. But perhaps now more ever, we can feel the direct influence of Obama’s presidency on black recognition with the appointment of Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald for the official Smithsonian portrait.
In line with the tradition that started with George H. Bush in 1993, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery commissions an artist to create a portrait of the president and the first lady after their tenure. Renowned New York artist, kehinde Wiley who you might remember from Jay Z’s artsy music video for “Picasso Baby” and has a reputation for his portraits of black men in the latest Hip-hop fashion will depict Barack Obama. While Baltimore artist, Amy Sherald will create the former American first lady, Michelle Obama’s portrait.
The portraits are expected to be unveiled in early 2018 and will enter the museum’s permanent collection. Black history is taking a brighter hue and we are here for it.
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/kehindewiley
You are meeting Debola at a strange time in his life. He wandered into a dream and lost his way back. Tweet at him@debola_abimbolu
It seems the new trend artists are experimenting with is the ‘micro song’, halving the conventional three minute song and challenging themselves to find a rhythm and deliver a complex narrative in the time it takes for a traditional Fela song to draw out its opening notes. Wavy The Creator, Amaa Rae have both put out music recently that took this challenge and ran with it, creating surprisingly actualized songs and now Tomi Agape is taking the idea for a spin with “She (Sativa)”, a ditty about a free spirited woman who refuses to let any one tie her down.
I keep it simple with you baby,
She don’t wanna play these games.
There is a sense of deliberateness in the choice of instrumental for “She (Sativa)”, perhaps to conjure the confessional vibes of 90’s R&B, often created to played live in small, intimate spaces. While created electronically, “She (Sativa)”‘s instrumental is sparse, with drum machine loops and electronically altered bass guitar riffs interspersed to create a frame around which the singer could build their stories. And the girl Tomi Agape sings about is definitely worthy of a story or two; sure she she smokes some sativa (weed) but she isn’t no druggie. Sex positive and unwilling to shrink herself or her desires for anyone, Agape’s bad girls flits in and out of the lives of the men she encounters, irrevocably changing them in the process. Her power is tangible, her freedom, a thing to be envied.
Let’s hear it for the bad girl.
Listen to “She (Sativa)” here.
Edwin eats his rice and cabbages. Tweet at him@edgothboy
On Tuesday Morning, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan took to twitter to announce The “Best Male Act” for the 22nd annual MOBO Awards. MOBO, an acronym for Music Of Black Origin, was created to recognize and honor musical artists that create black or urban sounds and they will be doing just that in Leeds on the 29th of November.
Leading with 5 nominations ranging from Best Male Act to Best Album is Stormzy, the British born Ghanaian is no stranger to topping UK charts, and the radio hot track “Big For Your Boots” from his 2017 “Gang Signs andPrayers” album which was nominated for Best Song is proof that he’s in a league of his own.
Interestingly, two Nigerian artists have been nominated this year in two other categories, aside “Best African Act” which is a step up, if we’re to consider the award’s history. nominated alongside Bugzy Malone, Stormzy, Skepta for “Best Male Act” is Maleek Berry
From his induction into the Nigerian music industry in 2012 working as a producer under Wizkid’s Star Boy Entertainment, to working with other artists like Wande Coal, Fuse ODG, Davido and finally releasing his debut EP “Last Daze Of Summer” in 2016, through his Berry’s Room music label, it’s obvious that the british born Nigerian producer and artist, Maleek Shoyebi, has been working tirelessly to be celebrated for his contribution to art through sounds and we’re rooting for him and for Wizkid, nominated alongside Drake, Solange, Jay Z for Best International Act, Wizkid appears to be the only African and first Nigerian artist to be considered for this category which says enough for his discography. if you’re rooting for them too, then you should definitely vote here
Here’s to hoping they bring home the awards.
Check out the full nomination below
BEST NEWCOMER
Dave
Jorga Smith
Kojo Funds
Lotto Boyz
Loyle Carner
Mabel
Mist
Not3s
Stefflon Don
Yxng Bane
BEST HIPHOP ACT
Giggs
Little Simz
Loyle Carner
Nines
Stefflon Don
Wretch 32
BEST R&B/SOUL ACT
Craig David
Jorga Smith
Nao
Ray Blk
Sampha
BEST AFRICAN ACT
Davido
Eugy
Julz
Maleek Berry
Mr Eazi
Sarkodie
Tekno
Tiwa Savage
Wande Coal
Wizkid
BEST JAZZ ACT
Cleveland Watkis
Dayme Arocena
Moses Boyd
Mr Jukes
Terrace Martin
BEST SONG
Did You See – J Hus (produced by Jae5)
Dun Talkin – Kojo Funds (produced by Ga)
Aladdin – Not3s (produced by Malv on the track)
Big For Your Boot – Stormzy (produced by Fraser T Smith and Sir Spyro
Bestie – Yxng Bane (produced by Adp)
BEST FEMALE ACT
Emeli Sande
Jorja Smith
Jessica Ware
Lady Leshurr
Little Sims
Mabel
Nadia Rose
Nao
Ray Blk
Stefflon Don
BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT
Cardi B
DJ Khaled
Drake
Jay Z
Kendrick Lamar
Migos
Solange
Sza
Travis Scott
Wizkid
BEST REGGAE ACT
Aldonia
Alkaline
Chronixx
Damian Marley
Popcaan
BEST GOSPEL ACT
Lurine Cato
Mali Music
S.O.
Triple O
Volney Morgan and New-ye
BEST VIDEO
Walk The Walk – Bossman birdie (directed by Luke Davies)
Spirit – J hus (directed by Hugo Jenkins
The Isle of Arran – Loyle Carner (directed by Hudson Georgia)
Hot Property – Mist (directed by Jennings Oliver)
Big For Your Boots – Stormzy (directed by Daps)
BEST ALBUM
Common Sense – J Hus
One Foot Out – Nines
Process – Sampha
Gang Signs And Prayer – Stormzy
Growing Over Life – Wretch 32
BEST MALE ACT
Bugzy Malone
Chip
Dave
Giggs
J Hus
Maleek Berry
Mostack
Sampha
Skepta
Stormzy
BEST GRIME ACT
AJ Tracey
Chip
P Money
Skepta
Stormzy
Wiley
“Ifunanya is too queer to live and too rare to die” Tweet at her @Iphynaya
Since the release of “SOS”, Yung L’s trajectory from underground singer to mainstream success seemed set in stone. But like all great come ups, they are a few hurdles the singer would have to surmount before finding his rhythm. Starting from the few follow up releases that failed to receive the same attention “SOS” had, and a plateau where he thought he’d end up a middling artist. He reveals in his album’s “The Documentary” video that he considered quitting music last year when the album was originally set to be released. However, this year has seen him return to winning ways with a feature on Major Lazer’s “Run Up” remix that also featured Nicki Minaj and a recording deal with Chocolate City. With the label’s backing, Yung L finally has the platform to make that jump to elite status through his Better Late Than Never debut album. Switching from more Afrobeats influenced pop confections, Yung L’s first single off the album’s pre-released single,“Cheers” continued his dancehall affiliations and hinted at the direction his now released album would take.
For his debut project, Yung L creates a cordial universe joined by Sarkodie, R2Bees, Poe, his Mr Marley alter ego and more music industry heavyweights than we care to count. The 19-track offering is delightfully sappy with subtle pointers at Yung L’s jovial character through the skits and almost 10-minute long “Voice Note” track, containing several artists singing his praise. Normally, this amount of hype only sets the bar too high and ultimately leads to a disappointing experience but Better Late Than Ever lives up to its brag.
Better Late Than Ever invents a space where two of dancehall’s more distinctive artistic sensibilities—Afropop and Reggae—are mashed up as though they were always meant to play next to each other. On “Where You Dey”, the opening track finds the perfect balance between the two as he performs a reflective number using Afropop melodies while casually roping in Reggae friendly patois tropes. But by the second track produced by Chopstix, he ditches all Afropop appearances for love inclined “Nina”, with the same swinging rhythm of all Bob Marley classics.
His dancehall dexterity allows him switch between genres as a DJ would to keep things interesting. Midpoint tracks like Sarkodie assisted “Pressure” and “Anya” doubles back to Afropop with the former’s Azonto tinged melodies and the latter’s Afrobeat influences. But rather than systematically juxtaposing the genres, he lets the melodies unfold with an organic sense of cadence—highlife guitar riffs appear on “Buru Hallelujah”, percussion chirps around him like crickets on “Cheers”—contributing to the unifying dance undertone of the album.
The album’s dance disposition finds fulfillment on “Gbewa” where he delightfully coordinates a dance routine, giving instructions; “Gbewa oh/ Gbe sohun” over the mid-tempo beat. But beneath the generous dancehall and feel good coloring of Better Late Than Never, there’s a subtle gospel to make the most of every opportunity and have a good time while you’re at it. You can stream the album below.
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/yunglmrmarley
You are meeting Debola at a strange time in his life. He wandered into a dream and lost his way back. Tweet at him@debola_abimbolu
Amaa Rae is quite the unconventional siren. With a voice that is half whisper and all control, she is able to conjure a softness that is rare in music by African female artists who are often forced to be as aggressive as their male counterparts to gain some of the traction they have. But even more, Amaa Rae has found the perfect channel through which to deliver her music to her audience; through carefully orchestrated ‘intimate’ video sessions. She just put out the newest installment of the intimate sessions, a performance of a medley “Hi Nights x Happy Mistakes”. Accompanied only with a guitar, Amaa Rae is fantastic (as always), but the performance’s hidden gem is its unexpected interpolation of D’Banj’s “Oliver Twist”, reinventing it into a little ditty that every Nigerian will immediately resonate with.
Listen to “Hi Nights x Happy Mistakes” here.
Edwin eats his rice and cabbages. Tweet at him@edgothboy
Artists have always shown an admirable understanding of converging cultures from a variety of musical influences and that there’s a need to give back. Through their charitable foundations and even child adoption, their impact is felt beyond mere musical avenues. Though Lil Jon may not be the most showy or popular artist given his preference for producing and DJing, he has left his impression across the globe. But perhaps now more than ever, he just cemented a place in the hearts of Ghanaians after he recently opened a primary school for children in Asuogyaman District in the Eastern Region who used to study under trees.
Commissioning the fully furnished classroom block, Lil Jon accompanied by his wife, Nicole Smith and son, Nathan Smith explained that he funded the project through Pencils Of Promise NGO, in memory and in honor of his late mother, Carrie M. Smith whose birthday falls in October.
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/liljon
You are meeting Debola at a strange time in his life. He wandered into a dream and lost his way back. Tweet at him@debola_abimbolu
This year, rapper Dusten Truce showed us there was another to make your voice heard. He put out his cerebral EP 23 To Life, and teamed up with Jamal Swiss to put on the insanely successful five date Young Kulturetour, that had a steady roster of the some of the brightest musical talent in the country and proved that if properly organized smaller, more intimate concert tours by emerging artists can gain serious traction. Done with the tour and sated with the respect of his peers, Dusten Truce doesn’t really have anything to prove. Which is why his new surprise joint “The Recession” feels a little like he’s flexing on us.
Stumbled on this in my library, might as well wipe the dust off and share with you guys.
The Recession https://t.co/6EbjsvxS41
Featuring two other rappers Lex, Czukwudiii (Lex also produces), The Recession, references the ambient pop influenced hip-hop sounds that rappers like Lupe Fiasco helped bring to the mainstream, employing staccato snares and synth heavy, minor chord fuelled electronic harmonies to conjure the tonal sensation of a languid spiral into despair. All three rappers have vastly diverse styles and approaches to world building and while Truce is the most accomplished, Lex and Czukwudiii more than hold their own as they weave a familiar theme of young people caught in that mid point between fame and obscurity and weighing their options in a world where the stacks seem weighed against them.
However, in the light of the recent rape and sexual harassment scandals in Hollywood, Lex and Czukwudiii’s insistence on using metaphors that glorify rape culture and sexual harassment are hard to glaze over. It is somewhat tone deaf that in a song that introspectively dissects the expectations that young artists are burdened with, the same artists employ language and metaphors that have been used to oppress other minorities But that is the only criticism of what is a near perfect rapper showcase.
Listen to “The Recession” here.
Edwin eats his rice and cabbages. Tweet at him@edgothboy
Coming from an industry where originality is rare and rarely celebrated and most artists derive pleasure in recycling old beats, Yemi Alade’s pan-African approach to creation and collaboration is largely celebrated, on both sonic and visual levels, as one of the finest in Africa. She has embodied the beauty of African culture and consistently professed her respect, by effectively incorporating African sounds and costumes in her songs and videos. Her albums titled Mama Africa and Mama Afrique are additional testaments to this love for the motherland.
Perhaps so as not to be accused of overdoing the African thing or in the transition of her brand, her recently released video for “Nakupenda” abandons her Afrocentric affections for more cosmopolitan themes.
Featuring the Kenyan musician Nyashinki, the clip, directed by Ovie Etseyatse, finds the multilingual diva Yemi, in an exquisitely designed wedding gown, professing love for her beau, while Nyashinki gets suited up, soon the scenario changes and they are together but without friends or family on a sparse field, clearly in a world of their own.
You need not speak Swahili to know that “Nakupenda” means “I Love You”, or maybe you do need to.
With the incursion of love songs in the music industry, one would presume their visuals be conveyed through diverse scenarios. This is a little underwhelming for an artist who despite her knack for love affiliated songs, is known for the creativeness which usually accompanies her videos, but from an optimistic view, it’s an attestation to her versatility and ability to deliver a hackneyed theme in an ultra-modern manner.
Watch “Nakupenda” here.
“Ifunaya is too queer to live, too rare to die” Tweet at her @Iphynaya
Since the show debuted the first episode of its African franchise nearly three years ago, Coke Studio has facilitated pan-African music collaborations from artists so culturally diverse in their genres and approach to music that every performance in unexpected and unconventional. Every week, Coke Studio pairs two distinct acts on the continent to exchange pre-released material and perform cover versions of each other’s tracks. This is often a prelude to both artists working together for a Coke Studio original composition in collaboration with a producer. Though the show has prided itself on these genre-mashing experiments for more than four seasons, recordings, performances and original compositions have struggled for clout outside of YouTube clips and the 44-minute run-time of the live show. Thankfully, one of Coke Studio’s recent episodes featuring RunTown and Nasty C spawned a track that proves there may be hope yet for Coke Studio to deliver some actual cultural value beyond ratings and marketing a capitalism.
In a video showing the first meeting between Nasty C, RunTown and Shado Chris, Nasty establishes his intent to tell a story with their collaboration regardless of what the direction the music takes. True to his word, his contribution to “Said”, is a sharp inward look at his path to glory against odds of hate and initial uncertainty from his future fans. This largely sets the tone for RunTown’s cut of “Said”, as the singer hedges both chorus and verse on calling out everyone who had little faith in him. It’s almost reminiscent of RunTown’s similarly hater-targeted “Lagos To Kampala”, especially when he contrasts his life starting from the bottom with the superstar lifestyle his life has since evolved into.
“Said”, is produced by Ivorian veteran mixer, Shado Chris. Shado himself is an artist who decidedly makes Ivory Coast’s signature Coupé-Décalé music, an electronic percussion-based dance music style with minimalist arrangements. Some of that minimalism surfaces on the opening moments of “Said” with Nasty C’s voice coasting on nothing but trap synths and an electronic guitar sample. A beat break and a drum-roll follow Nasty C’s intro, before the arrangement bursts into an electrifying bounce of synths and bass drums, melded together by RunTown’s melody.
Much of Coke Studio’s original compositions may have sailed under, but “Said” combines the best of African hip-hop with the acoustic flavour of West African Afropop, for a song that passes off as a light-bulb idea someone should have executed a long time ago.
Stream RunTown and Nasty C on “Said” for Coke Studio Africa via Apple Music.
Toye is the Team lead at Native Nigeria. Tweet at him@ToyeSokunbi
Since his days with the DRB crew, BOJ has cooked up a star-making campaign, and “Omo Pastor”, off his debut BOTM album was its warm, gooey center. An impossibly sweet, plainspoken song that showcased his uniquely laidback vocals and a sense of humor that seemed to appealed to all social classes in Nigeria. Yet, despite his music connecting with Nigerians, the album didn’t quite have the crossover effect to move him out of the indie scene and into mainstream acclaim.
But lately, we’ve seen BOJ take some positions that have to be seen as an attempt to properly cement a place in Nigeria’s mainstream following his HF Music label signing last year. His Magic sophomore album is more like a canyon to shoot him past former indie glory. While BOTM featured indie acts like Teezee, Bo-J and Fresh L, Magic is a star studded 15-track offering with features from YCee, Falz, Simi, Willy Paul, Lady Jay, Ayo Jay, Wande Coal, Seyi Shay, Banky W and Olamide on pre-released “Wait A Minute” single.
The album begins grandly with titled track, “Magic” as BOJ intones, “O To Ojo Meta Ta Ti Ri Arawa (Translated roughly as ‘Its Been a while since you’ve seen me’) with the solemnity of a bible reading. He goes on to establish the track’s showy theme with a sexual undertone over the mid-tempo beat Studio Magic produces. And though these themes are reflected through a number of tracks like “Nowo” featuring Banky W, YCee assisted “Antidote” focuses more on the affectionate themes with a dance inclined highlife harmony.
“Aisha” finds BOJ venturing into Reggae territories backed by Wande Coal who has proven time and time again that no genre is too complicated for his Afropop melodies. Simi’s feature on “For Sure” gives the album’s pseudo-romance theme a more genuine outlook as she performs a duet with BOJ who even calls out Simi’s name at least twice to punctuate their affection.
There’s no shortage of joyful live instrumentation on Magic, and it all comes together with piano, trombones, trumpets, layered call and response vocals on tracks like “African Lady” featuring Willy Paul from Nairobi. Though there’s a painful lack of a breathtaking moment on the album, it won’t surprise anyone if the album pops with the right marketing strategies.
You can stream BOJ’s Magic below.
Featured Image Credits: Instagram/bojonthemicrophone
You are meeting Debola at a strange time in his life. He wandered into a dream and lost his way back. Tweet at him@debola_abimbolu
Just in case you haven’t heard, we’re in the final stretch before the 2017 Ake Book and Arts Festival kicks off in mid November. The Ake Festival has grown to become one of the most important festivals for writers, artists and book lovers on the continent and with each year, the festival attracts more international writers, artists and activists looking to connect with their Nigerian audiences. This year’s theme “This F Word” is especially interesting, considering it centres the experiences of women in and out of the literary scene and asks us to engage them. The team at Ake have gathered a very diverse panel of women who are artists, creators and writers to speak, hold panels and interact and we are little awed by just how many young women there are on this year’s roster. These are some of bright young talent and veterans we’re eager to connect with at the Festival.
Amara Nicole Okolo
As a writer, Amara Nicole Okolo’s work is distinguished by her ability to focus on the things we’d normally consider boring or transient, mining deep human emotion from these mundane moments and forcing us to feel in the process. She is the author of two short story collections, and most recently her non-fiction memoirist essay on Catapult, dissects her parent’s fraught marriage and lays it bare.
Alexis Okeowo
Alexis Okeowo is best known for her journalistic essays and her by-lines for many of the world’s most reputable news organizations and magazines. Her work in recent times has been centered on Nigeria and its many complexities, and she recently released a “A MOONLESS, STARLESS SKY: Ordinary Women and Men Fighting Extremism in Africa”, a collection of her journalistic reporting and creative non-fiction of the people affected by religious extremism and sectarian crisis like Boko Haram. But Okeowo is versatile as her latest essay for the New Yorker on fellow Nigerian creative and disruptor Amaka Osakwe suggests. She will be bringing much needed journalistic insight to the Ake Festival this year.
Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
Not many writers, especially ones who have a thriving career and a critically acclaimed debut novel shortlisted for the Bailey’s Prize insists on tonal marks when their names are reproduced in print, but this is one of the ways Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ asserts herself in a world that seeks to homogenize her. With a long pedigree in Nigerian literature (she helped start Saraba Mag), and an intimate knowledge of navigating western spaces as a Nigerian writer, Adébáyọ̀’s insights will be invaluable at Ake this year.
Ifeoma Chuwkuogo
There is nary a person who has seen Ifeoma Chukwuogo’s 2016 film Bariga Sugar and not felt strongly about either way. A gifted story teller using the medium of film, Chukwuogo uses nuance and empathy to tell the stories of Nigerian women of all ages, normally banished to two dimensional self serving portrayals.
Joyce Olong
We’ve been huge fans of singer/songwriter Joyce Olong since she first pop up on our radar on the Olma Records PGM EP. Since then, she has signed to the label and is about to put out her debut EP Merci Beaute(reviewed here) which revolves around sisterhood and the telling of complex female stories.
Koleka Putuma
Nigerians will finally get to meet rockstar poet Koleka Putuma whose debut poetry collection Collective Amnesia sold out its first and second print reissue’s thanks to her undeniable moxie and a marketing plan and book tour that saw her connect to thousands of poetry fans in South Africa. Koleka’s already recieved some major press here in Nigeria but it would be great to see her finally bring her magic here.
Mona Elhatawy
When Mona Elhatawy released her controversial collection of Essays Of Headscarves and Hymens, few people could have foreseen just how much it would challenge the beliefs, presumptions and assertions of Muslims across the world. Praised in some circles and vilified in others, Elhatawy has become an avatar for Muslim women navigating their place in a world that seeks limit them. If not for anything, you can be sure that Elhatawy’s panel at the Ake Festival will be electric.
Yvonne Owuor (Dust)
Caine Prize Winner Yvonne Owuor’s Dust is finally making its way through the Europe and America and getting the global attention it deserves. But we have always been in awe of her superb storytelling and her great Kenyan epic, a book that challenges everything we think and know about how to write about Africa. We’ll certainly be sitting at her feet at Ake Festival.
Olumide Popoola
Olumide Popoola’s new novel When we speak of Nothing (which I have actually read) has an unconventional protagonist who falls somewhere on the LGBT spectrum and navigates a world that doesn’t quite know what to do with him. Between the UK and Nigeria, parents that are both protective and secretive and difficult friendships, Popoola asks us to imagine the very thing that we often overlook, that LGBT persons are among us, and they are far more normal than we’d care to admit.
Olutimehin Adegbeye (TED)
“Who Belongs In A City”, this is the question that Olutimehin Adegbeye asks in her TED Talk heard around the world. Timehin’s TED Talk and much of her activism in the last year has revolved around the forced evictions of people in Fishing villages in Lagos state, where the governor is trying to ‘create’ a luxury megapolis by erasing anything contradicts that dream. Unafraid to tackle important questions, unapologetic about her convictions and utterly convincing with her arguments, Timehin is certainly going to be one of the highlights of this year’s Ake festival.
Poetra Asantewa
Poetra Asantewa already has somewhat of a love affair with Nigeria. She was chosen as part of the Farafina Creative Writing Workshop class of 2016 and is very enmeshed in Nigeria’s creative writing scene thanks to her riveting essay on Olisa TV’s Supplement. But she is also a major voice in Ghana’s growing spoken word poetry scene, where she helped create Black Girl Glow, a collective created to help raise the profile of female artists in Ghana. She’ll be bringing her words and ideas to Ake.
The core concept behind Maleek Berry’s Last Daze of Summer EP released last year, was the transience of Summer. Though his loose storytelling may not essentially allow us call the EP a concept album, all 6 tracks on the project are tributes to the joie de vivre of Summer and the romance it inevitably inspires. While hit track, “Kontrol” details his lover’s assertiveness and remains relevant regardless of the season, the video’s vibrant and colorful motif cached it aptly into summe
His latest release is a music video for “Let Me Know” off the EP. JM Films directs the summer tinged video with filters and themes that are once again reminiscent of romantic getaways and exotic vacations. The video however brings a new dimension to Maleek Berry’s music as he features in the video, but only as an observer while his love interest is shown through the eyes of her easily distracted boyfriend.
The lover’s vacation has a number of happy moments but the occasional fights and disagreements shown mean there’s hope for Maleek’s helplessly romantic singing—“Omo Let Me Know/ You Don’t Want To Be Solo/ Put You On My Team For Sure”. And without breaking character or even bothering with costume change, the video morphs into a video for “Lost In The World” where he gets into a fight with the same love interest from “Let Me Know”‘s video.
It’s unclear if the video follows the same storyline, but both videos are unmistakably summer.Watch the video below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/Maleek Berry
You are meeting Debola at a strange time in his life. He wandered into a dream and lost his way back. Tweet at him@debola_abimbolu
On the first breath of “Me and My Guys” , Endia allows synths and drums to preclude his entry before asking: “Me and my guys dem, shey we go live long?”.
If questioning death is considered a sort of omen in this part of the world, asking if death would be delayed for long enough to witness the actualisation of dreams and aspirations, is downright negative thinking. Yet Endia’s existential hook for a song that could be presumed a squad anthem only comes full-circle when core themes of process and inner-circle support resurface elsewhere on the single. Process as a part of creative growth is highlighted when Endia sings of making “Music wey dem make them people start to gyrate/ cos when dem gyrate/ E mean say we dey penetrate”. It’s a cheeky way to describe how he and his crew study the market, but it comes with self-awareness of the slow but gradual journey to the fame and success.
The early years of an artist’s career are earmarked by uncertainties and doubts. But the hustle is especially tasking in Nigeria where newcomers are expected to thrive against odds of a faulty industry where music sales are low and radio alone determines the market. This is why “Me and My Guys” particularly rings deep in the light of DJ Olu’s demise. Affiliations and associations are vital to an artist’s becoming and the late DJ Olu, was an entrepreneur and producer who worked closely with Davido during his formative years in the game. His residency at a handful of London nightclubs gave him the chance to create platforms for many Nigerian artists to get their foot in the door of what later became a global crossover for Afropop—through the UK—in the years that followed.
It said that the top is a lonely place, but as Endia attests, the come-up grind ironically requires strength in numbers. Listening to “MAMG”, one wonders if the top is lonely because of backstage figures like the late DJ Olu, who like many lost ones are only around for long enough to assist the climb to the apex, and nothing more.
Stream Endia’s “Me and My Guyz” below.
Toye is the Team lead at Native Nigeria. Tweet at him@ToyeSokunbi
The torch song is a trope that has been utterly owned by black women since the late 1800’s. Greats like Nina Simone and Billy Holiday made their reputations through torch songs, compositions that somehow manage the capture the entirety of human emotion, particularly loss and despair while remaining uncluttered and accessible. Save for a handful of independent artists, the sub-genre has never really caught on in Africa, understandable considering the kind of expectations we place on music made by women. But ever so often, you come across a song like Ghanaian singer Cina Soul’s “00:01” and you’re reminded why torch songs persevere in a vastly different world from the one where they became popular.
“00:01” an allusion to the magical hour, a stripped down ballad carried almost entirely by droning synth chords, an understated piano loop and an expressive bass guitar that adlibs almost as much as Cina herself. Cina Soul addresses a lover, earnestly professing her love even though she can sense it is somewhat futile to compress herself into her expectations of her. There’s a wantonness to Cina’s voice, a yearning that is best expressed when she lets herself go and really commits.
A genre chameleon, Cina Soul proves (again) that there really is no genre she can’t own.
Watch “oo:o1” here.
Edwin eats his rice and cabbages. Tweet at him@edgothboy
In the 90’s, heartfelt confessional songs was the hallmark of male driven R&B. It was in, we’d even dare say fashionable for singers and rappers to turn the lens on themselves and excoriate the deepest recesses of their minds, offering us carthasis in the process. Sure that era is gone, but the sentiment still remains, and singers like Vader returning to those dark halls and finding themselves in the process.
On the heels of Vader’s debut EP ‘King Of The Night’, an EP on which the singer established his bonafides as a confessional singer, unafraid to tackle themes that are often taboo for men, he proved himself a voice for the millennial generation, tortured by their search for something real in all the facile superficiality that characterizes our lives, the singer just put out “Missing You”, an ambient single, flush with foreboding synths that thump like a subdermal pulse, conjuring despair and helpless. A complex drum loop with a flourish of staccato hi-hats, provide a trap bent to the music, as does Vader’s delivery, digital altering providing a gruff underbelly to his voice and offering him a somewhat aloof stance, as he sings about an ex-lover whose absence continues to haunt him.
“Missing You” is the perfect excuse for a dreary night of wallowing in pasts we are often forbidden from allowing ourselves to miss.
Listen to “Missing You” here.
Edwin eats his rice and cabbages. Tweet at him@edgothboy
Reggae supergroup Major Lazer has easily been one of the most progressive collectives working today. The group has been using its influence to put on a number of amazing artists, including Anitta and Pablo Vittar from Brazil and Skales and Yung L from Naija. They have had a strong presence in Africa following their string of features with Nigerian artists (Wizkid, Mr Eazi, Skales and more) and a Diplo visit back in April. Coinciding with Afropop’s recent global fame, their role in African music’s representation on the world stage cannot be understated. Though the 6-tracked Know No Better EP released in June was packed to the brim with guest features from around the world, they left room for Patoranking, Ice Prince, Jidenna and South Africa’s Nasty C on the 3rd track, “Particula”.
The “Johannesburg 1979” text displayed at the start of the “Particula” video sets the scene for an Afrocentric and retro motif of the video before props like Afro wigs, old stereos, tribal face paints and 70’s style dressing consolidates. Nasty C, Ice Prince and Jidenna perform their parts of the song—Nasty C sings in a car, Ice Prince on a roof and Jidenna while is seen fixing his signature coif —before converging at a dance club where DJ Maphorisa spins and gets the crowd dancing. And though Major Lazer only appears via a poster at the club with a picture of all three members of the group, their presence can be heard on the EDM harmony of the Afropop beat.
Stream Major Lazer and DJ Maphorisa’s groovy and retro video for “Particula” featuring Nasty C, Ice Prince and Jidenna below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/majorlazer
You are meeting Debola at a strange time in his life. He wandered into a dream and lost his way back. Tweet at him@debola_abimbolu
Since Grime’s golden age in the 00’s, many have wondered about the future of the genre artists like Giggs, Skepta and Nines laid the foundation for. But after Stormzy’s Gang Signs And Prayer album’s international fame, the genre shone brightly especially with the new generation of grime artists like Abra Cadabra who are aren’t too shy to explore and experiment with Afropop’s affection.
Abra Cadabra’s recently released “Lemme At Em” single that Fred Gibson produces enlists one of Nigeria’s top Afropop artist along with Jelani & Fred. Effectively killing two birds with one stone—adding an authentic Afropop flavor and flaunting his friendship with people in high places—his aggressive boasts get a justifying outlook.
Burna Boy’s history with London may have tinged his slack Afropop patois flow and caused him to lean a few melodies too close rap. But the video for “Lemme At Em” reminds everyone he is Nigerian with the flag displayed boldly behind him.
You can stream the video for “Lemme At Em” below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/GRM Daily
You are meeting Debola at a strange time in his life. He wandered into a dream and lost his way back. Tweet at him@debola_abimbolu
Since joining Don Jazzy’s Mavin Dynasty label earlier this year, Johnny Drille has been doing the most with his music video releases. Though his first official release as a Mavin artists was a video for his pre-released “Wait For Me” single, the video was his debut thus leaving him a clean slate to create a image for himself. And so far, his magnum opus begs a question that has never been asked by anyone under Don Jazzy’s label before: Is Johnny Drille some kind of weirdo conceptual artist working in epic music-video mode?
It’s rare for Nigerian artist to take the wheel of their video rollout the way Johnny Drille has by creating a series of conjoined videos. While it’s still unclear if the videos mean his anticipated debut album will follow one storyline, the video for “Wait For Me” and his follow up single,“Romeo And Juliet” seem to tell the same story of Johnny Drille, or at least a version of him.
Over the course of the two videos—both directed by Mex Films—Johnny Drille is a helplessly romantic who is constantly falling for long-hair wearing dark skinned models who play damsel in distress oh so well. After losing his love interest to a fatal ailment while at a military camp in the first video, the video for “Romeo And Juliet” sees him get over the loss and into the arms of a new partner who he’s again ready to “(Give His) Heart. Give It All/ Won’t Take It Back”.
The same retro motif used in the video for “Wait For Me” that supplements Johnny Drille’s country-esque folk music style and his homely love themes continues on the the video for “Romeo And Juliet”. And as if to emphasize the continuity, the same model used in the first video is seen in a photography but quickly forgotten when the new woman in his live needs saving.
You can watch the video for “Romeo And Juliet” below.
Featured Image Credits: YouTube/MavinRecords
You are meeting Debola at a strange time in his life. He wandered into a dream and lost his way back. Tweet at him@debola_abimbolu
