Listen to Manuel Cole’s daring debut, “Wavy”

Posted on by The Native

Trap and drill music—adopted from communities riddled with gang ties and drug money—are often dismissed for lack of substance. But once you get past their drug, women and violence markers, there is a rich vein of content buried deep in their boastful bars. Take the undying paranoia and spells of depression generously sprinkled over Future’s releases for instance, it’s proof that Trap songs can be much more than just debauchery.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVXQ3kMHCA7/?taken-by=manuelcole_

Manuel Cole’s debut release, “Wavy” does nothing to remedy Trap music’s stereotypes with his catchy drug induced hook over the super-hero synth beat produced by Johnson IP & D.H.P. The rise and fall of the dark sinister beat gives the song an urgency that serves as the perfect platform for Manuel Cole’s introduction into the Nigerian soundscape and he doesn’t disappoint. In the same vain, his lyrics support fantasizing about money and violence with cartoon-like imagery that requires no parental advisory sensors.

Though “Wavy” is his first released single, Manuel Cole raps about how his hard work is being slept on. We expect Manuel Cole to have more singles to be released soon and we are looking forward to them. Wavy’s bland showy theme, his Call Of Duty and sport metaphors displays a mastery of rap that would serve him well on other subjects.

Listen to Manuel Cole’s “Wavy” below.

Featured Image Credits: Instagram/manuelcole_

Listen to Mr Eazi on Magnom’s “Over Feed Me”

Listen to LIFEOFMYPARTY and Mayhem’s squelchy ballad on “Bring Your Love”

Posted on by The Native

LIFEOFMYPARTY is a UK based Nigerian singer and his new single, “Bring Your Love” tells of two love stories, one more obvious than the other. Like most singers, LIFEOFMYPARTY is never too far from an emotional confession of his undying affection for a love interest on his releases but the untold story here is his bromance with featured artist, Mayhem on the single. Both artists have worked together on all of LIFEOFMYPARTY’s releases from “Church” to “Benzo” and their latest collaboration highlights the duo’s remarkable chemistry.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVi_zOKjvYE/?taken-by=lifeofmyparty

“Bring Your Love” starts with a bouncy acoustic harmony spiced up with throbbing drums and occasional horn samples that give a laid back ambience for LIFEOFMYPARTY’s melodic vocals. He praises his muse’s dance moves in a coaxing purr before Mayhem joins in with a singing rap flow that ends in a frenzy of sexual jives in the most charming way possible. The single listens like an allegory to being in a relationship with an attractive woman as both artists seem uncertain of how long they can keep their love interest, begging “Please don’t leave me” though “She’s moving like she wants” them.

The single makes you wish they would just become a group or at least work on a joint tape in the near future.

Listen to “Bring Your Love” below.

Featured Image Credits: Instagram/lifeofmyparty

Listen to Mr Eazi on Magnom’s “Over Feed Me”

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Best New Music: Rock with the SDC and Funbi on the high-life inspired “Up 2 You”

Posted on by The Native

“You now rocking with the SDC, Show Dem Camp ọmọ yes indeed”

Over the past five years or so, Show Dem Camp’s tongue-in-cheek tag has become eponymous with a forward-thinking sound and eloquent lyricism. One blinding streak of light in the group’s underground glimmer is the ability to add creative tweaks of old ideas for sprawling new concepts. You’re probably already familiar with the Afrojuju-inspired “Feel Alright” featuring BOJ or “Happy Weekend Sah”, a shout-out to rhythm infused street hip-hop of the early aughts. This time around, the group reinvents the high-life genre with “Up 2 You” featuring Funbi, the first track off Palmwine Music Vol. 1, their latest EP since last year’s Clone Wars Vol. 3.

High-life is a precarious type of music for any one to make. The genre’s reliance on guitars, means the baseline melody must be built with everything else from ground-up without losing any organic detail essential to the markings of a live recording. Perhaps this is why “Up 2 You” opens with unintelligible background chatter that could as well be a man yelling over the static for his bandmates to align themselves in place for the set. This airy moment doesn’t linger for long on “Up 2 You” before it eases into cheery mid-tempo guitars and soft drums for Funbi to breathe life into the arrangement.

“Up 2 You” thrives on the only thing you can do with high-life music: make feel good music about having a good time. But SDC does a bit more. Tec does well to shout-out the squad, sharing a bit of before and after contrasts in the group’s come-up story. For Ghost, it’s Friday night, he’s got a wonder woman looking like ‘blue flames’ and together they’re about ‘to paint the town rouge’, because that’s what you do when you find someone you can have a good time with.

Listen to Show Dem Camp’s “Up 2 You” via SoundCloud below.

D’banj reinvents himself as a high life crooner on “It’s not a lie”, named Best new music

Here’s our definitive ranking of the first batch of blind auditions from The Voice Nigeria Season 2

Posted on by The Native

After what will probably go down as the most talented season of reality tv music since Idols West Africa (which gave us Jodie, Timi Dakolo and Omawumi) and a whole year of waiting, The Voice Nigeria is back. The second season premiered on the 16th of June 2017, with a new judge, Yemi Alade and a fresh batch of talent. We’ll say this right out of the hatch, so far it seems like the second season of The Voice Nigeria is having a serious case of the Sophomore Curse. Season one’s blind auditions easily had better, more vocally versatile singers, many of whom came fairly polished.

This season’s hopefuls are surprisingly rough around the edges, with a good number of them unable to enunciate properly the complex songs they choose to tackle. Weird considering the acts who eventually make it to the live blind auditions, pre-audition in Nigeria and are thinned out to a manageable cache that can then be flown to South Africa. We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves because this is only the first of four rounds of blind auditions but things are not looking good so far.

Here’s our ranking of the auditions from sunday’s show.

8. Jahnonso – Fly Like An Eagle(Seal).

Everyone knows you have to give it a lot of thought before you tackle a song by Seal, and you come correct if you’re going to tackle Steve Miller’s iconic ‘Fly Like An Eagle’, covered with great dexterity by Seal. Jahnonso, one half of the Ilem sibling duo, literally butchers the song, screaming his way through the high notes and barely squeezing through with his pronunciations. His performance convinced only Yemi Alade, which we guess say more than anything else, we could.

7. Afolayan – I’ll make love to you (Boyz-II-Men)

Another singer tackling an iconic song, Afolayan who works as a singer in real life, tried to jazz up his performance, ditching the song’s sultry origins for a more noble delivery. But it didn’t quite work and even though he got Patoranking to turn for him, the other judges seemed unconvinced. He has a lot to prove in the coming season.

6 Zorah Julius – Dangerous Woman (Ariana Grande)

Ideally, Zorah’s performance should be at the bottom of the list, but she got three judges to turn for her based on the force of her raw talent. However there really are only two people who can do justice to Ariana Grande’s “Dangerous Woman”. Ariana herself and Mariah Carey. Zorah’s rendition stretches the limit of her abilities, and show she doesn’t have control for complex songs, and that ending was disappointing as hell. Let’s see if Waje can whip her into shape.

4. Olarenwaju – Stupid Song (Bez ft. Praiz)

Jazz singer Olanrewaju was one of two blind audition that chose music from Nigerian singers, and she had one of the better auditions, actually eliciting physical responses from the judges. However things went progressively south when she decided to switch to scat singing, a skill she evidently isn’t proficient at. She got Yemi Alade, to turn for her, so she has a lot to prove as the show progresses.

4. Jahtell – Fucking Perfect (Pink)

Jahtell has some got some serious pipes on her, and as a plus size woman with a message of body positivity, she was only one of two singer to audition with songs that ideally suit their talents and personalities. However, Jahtell, like her brother Jahnonso, has a huge enunciation problem, the kind that some vocal runs can’t mask. Once the competition gets underway proper, it will come back and bite her in the ass.

3. Favour – Kilo Poppin (Ms. Jaie)

Favour’s cover of Ms. Jaie underrated Nigerian debut Kilo Poppin’ helped cement her not just as a talented singer, but also one that will probably succeed commercially in Nigeria, which makes sense considering she sees Yemi Alade (a successful touring artist herself) as her music idol. Favour got all four judges to turn, a rarity this season thus far. Her performance was saved by it’s bright spots, but there is still some work to be done before Favour finds her place as an artist.

2. Emmanuel – Survivor (Destiny’s Child)

School teacher Emmanuel brought the house down, getting all four judges to turn with his stellar interpretation of Destiny Child’s ‘Survivor’, he was also the first contestant the judges actively campaigned for, but he eventually chose Timi Dakolo. Emmanuel however still has some control issues when he goes for power notes, which is why he stops just shy of our favorite act for the first episode.

1. Ifeoma – When you believe (Prince Of Egypt OST)

31 year old Ifeoma couldn’t have chosen a better song, than one Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey both lent their vocals too. Incredibly technical and always moving, Ifeoma literally sails through the entire song, never missing a note, never pitchy, almost always in control. Perhaps too in control because only two judges turn for her. She goes with Yemi Alade, whose fervor as a stage performer, might help her find her on-stage gingah!

Here is a ranking of the greatest ‘so you think you can dance’ performances

Idris King is angling to make the bilingual ditty a thing with “Cruise”

Posted on by The Native

Idris King, co-creative head behind retro-collective 90’s Baby has always been on some other shit. There are many definitive quirks in his music; he favours a decidedly electronic vibe in his music, he incorporates French and pays homage to contemporary French legends, leans towards complex story telling and prefers single word titles for his songs. All of this has helped distinguish him as the vanguard for a more cosmopolitan sound that doesn’t co-opt elements of Afrobeats or highlife as a way to appeal to the masses. His last single “Squad”  was a proper capsule of everything King represents as a recording artist, and now he’s loosening up and having some fun with new single “Cruise”.

Clocking out at one minute, twenty two seconds, “Cruise” will probably be the shortest, fully actualized song that will be released this year, and King makes excellent use of those precious seconds, offering us the swaggiest sixteen bars we’ve heard in a while. Switching between french and English with ease and enough context that the listener can simply coast without having to figure out exactly what’s been said. King also playfully hints at a crush on Lady Donli, a line both of their fanbases will latch onto and probably ship them on. We’ll be watching the both of them closely too, who knows we might be getting a collaboration soon.

“Cruise” is fun, but also carefully orchestrated, and this is why Idris King is one of the most intriguing stars of the New Wave.

Listen to “Cruise” here.

Listen: Bankyondabeatz works a madness on idris king’s “squad”

Astro’s “Lean In My Sprite” featuring TenaTenpo speaks to just one side of luxury

Posted on by The Native

There are few artists as musically versatile as dancehall virtuouso TenaTenpo and that’s just what Astro needs if he’s going to break into the mainstream as a rapper. Though he isn’t new to the industry, Astro’s releases have failed to make it all the way to radio. This is probably why Astro’s taking a hard left, and riffing off the consummate acceptance of recreational drugs in music entertainment today with his new single “Lean And Sprite”.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVSComyFLlp/?taken-by=astro_rb

You never hear Nigerian hip-pop artists expressed vague existential dissatisfaction, or warned their fans that the “baller” lifestyle comes with tragic burdens—even when they say “ball to you fall” there’s no explanation for what the fall means. Most of what these enthusiastic rappers preach can be described as night bar stories among friends reveling in reckless alcohol and drug use and wanton sex. “Lean And Sprite” employs all these genre tropes, dressed up in a beat and delivery that screams radio friendly.

“Lean And Sprite” is a party driven rap song, but that doesn’t deter Astro from delivering a bleak attempt at a confrontational take on street rap that is both urgent and unsettling. TenaTenpo features on the first verse and chorus with a singing rap flow that follows his genre blending aesthetic. Astro takes on the second verse layered with snarky hype-man ad-libs over the synth heavy trap beat. Their collaboration adds to the pool of rap songs that glamorizes the hedonist but fails to mention the darker sides of the habits—A dark side artists like Kid Cudi, The Weeknd and most pop stars have explored for their chart topping singles.

That being said, “Lean And Sprite” works for what it is; a perfect theme song for those mischievous car rides around town.

Listen to Astro and Tenatenpo’s “Lean And Spirit” below.

https://soundcloud.com/astrorb/lims

Featured Image Credits: Instagram/astro_rb

Genre blending ain’t nothing but a thing on Tenatenpo’s “Apartment 15”

AV Club: Dare Olaitan is helming Ndani’s new show ‘Lagos Big Boy’

Posted on by The Native

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Nigerians genuinely curious about a young director’s Nollywood debut. But Dare Olaitan’s debut film Ojukokoro utilizing the all encompassing power of social media created a furore and had everyone trooping to the cinemas to his debut oeuvre. When the film finally debuted on March 9th, it had critically acclaimed reviews across the board, and good numbers for a debut film solidifying Olaitan’s position as a critical and commercial success. It was only a matter of time before someone stepped up to finance his next project, and now Guaranty Trust Bank owned media company, Ndani has just announced that he directed their new webseries Lagos Big Boy and put out the first wave of promotional content for the series. 

The premise for the new show is simple, albeit a little too similar to the basic premise of Ndani’s biggest success Gidi Up. It follows four twenty something millennials, trying to find success in Lagos while they juggle the usual constraints of Lagos living, posturing to fit into the right circles, circumventing nosey parents, juggling romance and career, you know everything Gidi Up already covered. Only difference is that this time, they’ve taken out all the female leads and changed them up with male ones. Lagos Big Boy seems like compensation for Skinny Girl In Transit and Rumour Has It, both with predominantly female leads.

Olaitan also serves as head writer for the show, and if the promotional material is anything to go by, he is already leaning heavily on his Guy Ritchie-esque aesthetic, labelling the characters as monolithic stereotypes and leaning heavily on them.  He is also bringing back a handful of actors from his film, fast rising entertainer and comedian, Gbolahan ‘Bollylomo’ Olatunde and Charles Etubiebi Oke. Chukwuebuka ‘ChueyChu’ Okoye, who made his name doing snap reaction videos for Pulse Nigeria is also making the jump on Lagos Big Boy and relative new comer Tosan Wiltshere rounds out the characters.

A little apprehensive about how the show will work, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

See the promo material below.

 

AV Club: Taiwo Egunjobi’s satire, ‘Amope’ has quirks, but doesn’t really fulfil

Listen to OluAndTheCoconut’s “Call Me” featuring Skipper, Remy Baggins and BlackseidTheDJ

Posted on by The Native

Electronic based genres are starting to gain mainstream acceptance among Nigeria’s music audience with the emergence of producers like Sarz. More producers are experimenting with the sound by fusing it with other conventional genres and though this isn’t new, more people embracing the synthesized harmonies could lead to the birth of a new genre in Nigeria just as America made Dubstep out of Reggae.

OluAndTheCoconut already showed his proficiency with experimental music with his iteration of Daft Punk’s signature cyborg vocode on “Crusin”. His latest single sees him venture into the Afropop scene with Skipper, Remy Baggins and Blackseid as featured artists on “Call Me”.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVUetsNgQIb/?taken-by=oluandlecoconut

The love song is driven by ultra-minimalist xylophone riffs that are reminiscent of 90’s adventure video game soundtrack. He indulges in chopped-and-looped rave vocals that gives the beat a crowd pleasing touch, as a swirling acappella diva shrieks into an ambient abyss and looping the words “Yeah”, “Oya” and “Come On” over the groovy drum patterns.

Featured artists all deliver melodic renditions promising to always be there for their lovers on the dance-hall number. However, like most new artists, there’s very little individuality in their vocal work aside from the rap verse. OluAndTheCoconut’s debut release was too auto tuned to tell what his voice sounds like for sure but with the more releases he puts out, we hope he’ll step out from behind the digital wall of sound.

OluAndTheCoconut is joining the campaign to fuse Afropop with electronic sounds to birth a new genre in Nigeria and his “Call Me” supports that claim. The single might never break into the mainstream but it goes a long way in defining the DJ turn producer turn artist’s sound.

P.S: We love, love, love the vintage style Japanese film poster inspired cover art. Brilliant.

Listen to OluAndTheCoconut’s “Call Me” below.

Featured Image Credits: Instagram/oluandlecoconut

Listen: Oluandthecoconut’s “cruising” appeared on the Native’s Bumplist

How Olamide’s “Letter To Milli” defines millennial fathering

Posted on by The Native

We often neglect how much technological accomplishments has influenced how we engage the world. Evolution has gifted us with abbreviated conversation skills and an absurd talent for picking the perfect emoji to express our emotions. But it’s not all bad. At least now it’s easier to find people who relate with our struggles using a clever hash tag, which by the way, has proven—beyond any doubt—that all men have a lot of work to do.

Yet countless heterosexual women get married every weekend as if someone is secretly telling them that fatherhood is the cure for scum. Most kids will tell you it’s not and their fathers are still terrible human beings who seem to only care about their own happiness. We took a survey to find out what people’s relationships with their dads are like and if it improved as they matured.

Here’s what we found out.

He treats me like a driver now. Then, he treated me like a houseboy

-A

More intellectual. It isn’t just ‘Whooo bobo, pikaa boo’- that he’d be throwing me up and down that happened some years back. We can relate on various topics that I couldn’t some 3-5 years ago

-M

My relationship with him is like a brother to brother relationship. My father is awesome. Growing up, he had all the time for us even though he was busy. Occasionally came to take us home from school. Weekends he cooked, listened and taught us like a lesson teacher, especially Maths. I feel more comfy with Popsy than my mum at everything. My mum hasn’t been around for a very long time and growing up from an all boys family, we all leaned towards my dad. He created time for us. That’s why we turned out well

-J

I couldn’t lie to him about girl [sic] now I can lie better about girl to him

-D

I could ask for money without thinking twice then. Now, I have to calculate and think like an ‘adult’ before asking for money

-M

Mostly ‘welcome’ and ‘good morning’

-U

He used to change channel when they’re kissing before but now he leaves it

-W

I could not go and talk to my dad like that but now he’s more understandable

– Y

There’s no difference between then and now. The only little difference is that then, he could tolerate my mistakes but now I have to own up to every mistake I make

-Y

My relationship with my dad has definitely changed over the years. It’s kind of moved to a comfortable place now. Now, I can say, oh I actual have a “relationship” with my dad i.e more than just biological. When I was younger I revered him. I still do though, then it was more like a fear thing cause he seemed to be very imposing, and he’s a confident person. But that did well for I and my siblings discipline. I definitely felt closer to my mum growing up. But as I grew older, (also with me just becoming more confident, -I used to be a really really shy kid) I could open up more to him.

-O.

Going to a boarding sch and doing A levels outside the [home] country also fostered the need to just be closer to my parents in general. As I turned 18, my dad also sorta felt ‘now I can open up to you, now I can relate with you on a level like other adults’. So my relationship with him flourished at a point that I can pretty much talk to my dad about pretty much almost everything. Maybe not everything totally, cause my dad is pretty much out of touch with the millennial age and can be very embarrassing sometimes, another thing that kept me away from him when I was younger, he was just super embarrassing. But now I can take it cause I know it’s like in good touch. It’s nothing malicious, it’s just him being a DAD, you just have to tension your kids. Yeah. I love my dad, I love everything he does for me.

-O.

My Dad is one of the most selfless people I’ve met in my life. I always tell people that, if I could be half the dad that he is, I think I’ll be like his success. He’s a great father. It’s one of my aspirations in life to be a father too. I look forward to having children of my own and if I could be the father that my dad is, I’ll be super proud of myself.

-O.

My dad never thinks twice when it comes to his kids and his family. He’ll put anything on the line for his family. He’s just an amazing person. I wouldn’t say my only regret is that I got to know this late (cause it’s not like he’s dying). Nonetheless, he’s been the same. He hasn’t really changed and I’m grateful for him. For everything he does for my sisters and my mum. Him just being there.  I’ll say he’s literally my rock. Without my dad, I don’t know where I’ll be today. He’s just kind of provided a spring board for myself and my siblings. I love my dad. I love him.

-O.

My dad and I only used to talk when I need money. But now I’ve learnt it’s important to build a relationship with him. And we call more often now. But when I was younger, I can’t remember having any strong relationship with him.

-F

My dad and I have always been close. We dance together sef and joke and stuff. He’s a family guy.

-S

I always call my dad like everyday from school. Though when we were younger I used to dislike him. Even now, I still do. I feel like on my wedding day I’m going to have my first dance with my mum. Not my dad. Cause he’s annoying.

-A

My father has always been akacious with money. Without my mum I don’t know where I would be. Though I love both of them very much. I may have disliked my dad a little bit while growing up, but now, I can tolerate the old man.

-T

Fathers realizing that it’s easier for them to use shame as a training tool, destroy the self esteem of their kids. They resort to all kinds of manipulation to guilt kids into behaving in a manner they see as fitting of someone who bears their name. Children are taught to internalize their insecurities to please their fathers till they end up just like them.

Fortunately, we’ve seen some indications of hope for millennial fathers though they are just very much a product of the generation they were born into. 2 Face is still the poster boy for the notorious baby mama reputation of men in the Nigerian music industry today and no amount of pseudo-conscious lyrics and wedding anniversary releases will make that go away. Meanwhile no one even mentions it now when the new artists have kids out of wedlock. Perhaps it’s the adjudication that all men are scum or something else but now it seems okay to bring babies into the world without a proper family to help them socialize. Olamide, Run Town, Wizkid, Davido—to name a few—are single father but at least they seem to really care about their kids and that’s a step in the right direction.

Olamide’s “Letter To Milli” is a great example of millennial parenting. The track, off his 6th studio album Glory, is an heart to heart conversation between a father and his son but instead of the usual bashing, down talking and outrageous brags about good grades, Olamide’s words are encouraging as he admits his own insecurities and mistakes in hopes that his son won’t make the same mistakes too. Olamide isn’t a saint  but conceding to his flaws makes him shine in a society where men like to think they are infallible. It’s also a giant leap from an industry that previously only used their kids as a marketing tool for their craft.

“Letter To Milli” spells hope for fatherhood among millennials but Olamide isn’t alone in this trend of positive fathering. DJ Khaled is another one. The hip-hop DJ is constantly showering on his son, Asahd. Their father/son bond has already gifted him an Instagram account, his own memes and even his first executive producing gig before his first birthday. That’s extreme but it just goes to show how much we’ve changed as men. The times when one man would have double digit number of kids are past and men are finally appreciating the life they bring into the world.

So this one is to those fathers who actually care about their kids. Happy Fathers’ day.

Featured Image Credits: Instagram/Baddosneh

Revisit Christy Essien Igbokwe’s revolutionary motherhood anthem, “Seun Rere”

Watch Cassper Nyovest’s tribute to fatherhood on “Superman” featuring Tsepo Tshola

Posted on by The Native

Cassper Nyovest’s Thuto album released in May is not just another boastful hip-hop album. It demands a lot from listeners as it touches on socially conscious subjects that will sound tame or passive in the hands of other rappers. But the pay off is worth it because he manages to express complex ideas in simple manner. One of the hit tracks off his album, “Superman” has gotten an adjoining video and it follows the same narrative of singing praises to fathers.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVZOK9PlZ9b/?taken-by=casspernyovest&hl=en

Cassper Nyovest realizes how fortunate he is to have grown up with a father who cares enough to take care of him and protect him in this era where most men are regarded as scum of the earth. “Superman” is written in  appreciation of what his father did despite the pressures of the world on the male figure. His video release is timely too with Father’s day just around the corner and he taps Tsepo Tshola who himself is a father of two as they both dedicate their talent to fathers who put in effort to make growing up as fun for their kids.

The video features celebrities such as Kwesta, Major League, Riky Rick, Oskido, Carpo as well as graduation pictures of daughters and their dads.

Watch Cassper Nyovest’s “Superman” video below.

Featured Image Credits: YouTube/FamilyTreeWorld

Watch Cassper Nyovest stunting with money bills in “Tito Mboweni”

Iyanya’s “Hold on” is an advice to women looking for perfect Men

Posted on by The Native

“why struggle with love when you can create your dream partner at buildYourPartner.com”

The above is a message written on the door-mail poster delivered to the central female persona in Iyanya’s “Hold On” video.

In what plays out like an episode of the satirical Anthological series, “Black Mirror”, Iyanya and Ogo Okpue , the director of his new single “Hold On”, convince us with a narrative that taps into the collective unease about the modern world and unanticipated consequences of new technologies. “Hold On” sets the scene of a near future, fast forward to June 2025, where the endless possibilities of Artificial Intelligence (A.I) comes to play.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVZoZX5AJpm/?taken-by=iyanya

The video tells the story of a young woman (Sara) who is miffed at her boyfriend for his cheating habits, they are having a typical couple’s fight when in that moment, they split. As she mourns him with her house-mate/friend (Esther) — who’s one in the other females her ex presumably cheated on her with too — soon a mail/poster is delivered to her doorstep. Obiter Dictum: There should be no such thing in 2025 anyway, I mean, common if we can get a digitally built man, why can’t we get messages digitally appearing in the air?

Seeing the poster and thinking about the riff-raff of a boyfriend she dated, she orders for her “perfect lover”, her “Ideal” man. And this is when Iyanya’s music finally! begins. Baby girl’s digitally built boyfriend (Cyborg) is delivered, she activates it and their supposed-to-be-perfect relationship begins. Not until the human robot deems it worthy to cheat on her with her friend, Esther. Sara of course gets angry and likewise, she breaks up with Cyborg by deactivating the damned machine of a heart-breaker.

It’s underlining point, if you deign to say, is that even if a man is digitally built, they’ll still end up being a scum. So in Iyanya’s words, “just take it one step at a time…hold onnn”. All couples argue, but it’s the way they argue that determines if their relationship will go the distance.

Though fans may not be at ease with the 2 minutes 45 seconds of movie screening prior to the beginning time of the actual song, why watch a music video with no solid narrative when you could just go on and stream the songs audio? “Hold On” is absolutely worth the watch, grab your popcorn if you may. The Project Fame alumnus seems to be settling in just fine at his creative head quarters and new management, Mavin Dynasty.

Watch Iyanya’s “Hold On”, off his Signature Ep below.

Feature Image Credit: Youtube/Iyanya Hold On

ICYMI: Cup a comprehensive review of Iyanya’s “signature” Ep on our Essentials post

Watch CKay and Dremo party like cool kids on “Gaddemit”

Posted on by The Native

What producers can’t express with words, they do with their sounds and in Afropop, the weight of the groovy music can sometimes render words needless. However, in spite Afropop’s dependency on good beats, the music producers responsible for the hits tend to get sidelined by the artist’s fame. CKay who is responsible for a large chunk of Chocolate City songs comes with a new single latest single, “Gaddemit”  featuring Dremo.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVZ5siYAA1r/?taken-by=ckay_yo

CKay produced the beat for “Gaddemit” using catchy drums and spacey piano chords layered with funk riffs. The vibrant beat threatens to drag the single to the dark place where noisy songs go to die but with the Tekno-inspired minimalist beat movement, it levels the arrangement and waxes strong on melody. Ckay layers his melodies with an auto tune filter that helps him show his enthusiasm for catchy lyrics and dance tunes. The pseudo-romantic number features a verse from Dremo who delivers his classic dark humor bars referencing the popular Kemit meme this time. But he still managed to throw in a few regrettably backward lines like “Now your bae gone like the one that flit”.

“Gaddemit” hints at a singer/songwriter career with a lot of potential. The Chocolate City producer now recording artist’s sophomore single if pushed to the right corners can finally give CKay the credit he undoubtedly believes he deserves. He has promised more releases before the year comes to an end and if “Gaddemit” is any indication of what’s to come then we have our ears tuned in.

Though the song is okay, the video directed by Unlimited L.A is a bit difficult to follow. It’s set like a day in the life of a music star who wakes up with hot models around him but feels too generous to keep them to himself. So he does the gentlemanly thing by ordering drinks and calling his bro to join the party. Asides the distracting scribbles bouncing across the screen, the video also managed to prove that as drab as parties with more guys are, parties with more girls are even worse. But don’t let that stop you from having fun this weekend.

Watch CKay and Dremo chill out on “Gaddemit” video below.

Featured Image Credits: Instagram/ckay_yo

Listen to Dremo’s “Next single”

This post has been updated with the video.

Essentials: Jinmi Abduls’ debut EP, “JOLAG” is the come out party for neo-afropop

Posted on by The Native

Watered down dancehall music is always big in every soundscape. Something about tapping to the rhythm makes it comforting through periods of confusion, anger, sorrow and outright bliss. Great pop songs can jolt you into emotional and psychological realms only music can reach and this makes it so attractive for new artists trying to gain acclaim in the industry. Jinmi Abdul’s releases have gotten the attention of music blogs with his indigenous aesthetic but his debut project JOLAG shows where his real talent lies.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVZNTLZB_hp/?taken-by=jinmiabduls

The 7 track EP has guest features from Foresythe, Remy Baggins and DMW’s Mayorkun. All three artists are relatively new to the soundscape which gives the EP a coming-out party feel for tomorrow’s Afropop. The lack of A-list features may reduce the impact of such a bold statement but Mayorkun’s DMW co-sign has allowed him cress the soaring height of commercial acclaim, and given the way Mr Eazi emerged from obscurity years ago to releasing smash hits consistently, maybe Jinmi Abdul just needs a bit more time.

JOLAG starts with “Mowadupe” a strong opener with piano samples and traditional drum riffs typical of Nigerian gospel songs. It mixes the nostalgia of Paul Play Dairo’s “Mo Wa Dupe” with alternative melodies to show off his sampling proficiency, an essential skill for all aspiring Afropop artist if Davido’s “If” is anything to go by. Jinmi Abdul is only 19 but that doesn’t stop him from addressing the bad decisions that can come out of being in love on “Linda Highlife”.

“Prada” is an instant favorite from the EP though like every other single off Jinmi Abdul’s collection, it stubbornly sticks to traditional drums. But the synth piano harmonies hint at an Afro-EDM fusion on the love song. Remy Baggins’ production and feature on “Slowly” is also enjoyable as they combine to deliver a Caribbean dancehall number with Remy Baggins’ best Rasta flow impression and Jinmi Abdul’s melodies reminiscent of Justin Bieber’s on Major Lazer’s “Cold Water”.

Mayorkun features on “Scum”, a music equivalent of how men react to misogynist accusations. The dance number makes light of the shortcomings of men and their inability to stay loyal. Both artists promise they are the exception to the rule and in a playful turn of events manages to conclude that everything—including Lagos—is scum.

Jinmi Abdul leans heavily on traditional drum samples as homage to his high-life influence but the sound works better as effect than eccentricity. Though we’ve seen Adekunle Gold soar to commercial success with a similar rhthym, it’s hard to imagine the industry can accommodate another Adekunle Gold.

Listen to Jinmi Abdul’s JOLAG EP below.

Featured Image Credits: Instagram/jinmiabduls

Jinmi Abdul talks to Native on his music influences and more

Hallelujah Challenge fever and the rousing of a country

Posted on by The Native

Words by Ehimenim Agweh

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVYDCXRlgLf/?taken-by=nathanielblow

11:50 pm. The WiFi comes on and an alarm begins to ring violently. 10 minutes left until the live broadcast. Phones are coming on, live streams are coming alive. Nathaniel Bassey is ready and so is Nigeria.

The month of June is seeing a wave of religious consciousness sweep Nigeria in a way that few could have predicted a decade ago. Twitter timelines have gone into overdrive documenting what must be perhaps the largest gospel concert ever in the country. But there’s nobody there. Or is there?

Web hacking his way to ubiquity is the gospel artist Nathaniel Bassey. Armed with the power of the Internet and a holy mandate, he set out to pull the nation together in a frenzy of praise and worship. For one hour everyday between 12am and 1am, Bassey leads a praise and worship session using Facebook and its sister site Instagram’s live streaming tools. The kicker? This goes on everyday throughout the month of June.

Tagged the ‘Hallelujah Challenge’, thousands of Nigerians have been logging into Instagram every night since the 1st of June to see the show and participate in it. Some come to check it out, have a feel of the atmosphere or read the messages that scroll past in real time. Others come in to be lifted in praise. In the time the challenge has been running, many celebrities have joined in, often getting recognized and called out by their fans. One memorable appearance was Dbanj’s when he went ‘Suddenly!’ as Nathaniel Bassey launched into a song with ‘suddenly’ in it.

This is not the first time Nathaniel Bassey has proposed an online challenge. His previous one, the #OneHourTongueChallenge was created to inspire Christians into praying in tongues more. The challenge ran all through April, an inclination for 30-day months which shows itself again in the Hallelujah Challenge. Although publicity for this challenge was not much, the challenge took and concluded as planned with enough people participating to make it a thing.

Recently featured on CNN, Nathaniel Bassey’s Hallelujah Challenge has asserted its importance as a marker of advances in Nigeria’s use of technology. What starts off every night as a man on a microphone with camera trained on him ends as a concert with thousands of Nigerians in virtual attendance. It’s the ultimate hack and he’s winning at it.

The Hallejuah Challenge works for several reasons. For one it harnesses the power of the Internet to connect people to one central event. Second, it is unobtrusive, not requiring Millennials to leave the relative comfort of their homes, and thirdly (and probably inadvertently) it plays to the millennial ego, which prods us to always situate ourselves at the centre of every popular zeitgeist.  Day after day, The Hallelujah Challenge trends on Twitter and gets people talking. Raking in between 40 – 70, 000 people per night, the live-stream is filled with watchers commenting testimonies and observations in real time. The hastags -#Hallelujahchallenge and #Olowogbogboro (The outstretched hand of God)- go hand in hand with the live-stream and make the rounds all day. Nathaniel Bassey has awakened the public consciousness and he isn’t easing up anytime soon.

Despite critics coming out to decry Nathaniel Bassey for capitalizing on Nigeria’s penchant for religion to get viral fame, Nathaniel Bassey is still able to push his agenda and get people to come together. The Hallelujah Challenge might be a genuine service, a scam or a publicity stunt but one thing is for sure: Nigeria isn’t sleeping on it.

Feature Image Credit: Instagram/NathanielBassey

ICYMI, Read up: Timi Dakolo & Mr Eazi join campaign to help you quit smoking

YinkaBernie’s falling headlong into chillwave with “Palmwine Chills”

Posted on by The Native

Yinkabernie has proven himself one of the more cerebral of the ‘New Age’ movement, carefully understudying greats like Fela Anikulapo Kuti and Black Magic and creating his sound influenced by their styles and their politics. After a number of singles, Bernie is consolidating the attention he’s gotten and work put into perfecting his sound; bettering himself as he prepares to put out his first proper body of work, an EP that he’s tentatively calling 19 and Over. But first, he’s teamed with with Musmah, Lady Donli and Bris B of the LOS for the first single off the upcoming project “Palmwine Chills“.

Anyone who’s followed Yinkabernie’s career would have easily foreseen that at some point he would dabble in the Chillwave movement. All the signs were there, his predisposition to slow tempo instrumentals, his slightly baritone drone and his monotonous delivery. “Palmwine Chills” is an amalgam of all these elements, with an extra bare instrumental with a simple synth riff and percussions that come and go as the song needs. YinkaBernie stays front and centre though, even though he is a gracious host, letting his featured artists shine. Bris B has the strongest verse on the song and Lady Donli is really in her element here, having fun with adlibs and accenting the verses of the song’s other co-collaborators. It’s chill and fun, and at no point takes itself too seriously.

The Chillwave movement is gathering steam, and if Yinkabernie’s album is anything like this single, he’s about to become its evangelist.

Listen to “Palmwine Chills” here.

Listen: Yinkabernie gives sublime storytelling on “Silhouette”

Omagz and Genio Bambino are all about that easy loving on “Óshó free”

Posted on by The Native

The industry can be unfair to unsigned artists, often burying their work in a tidal wave of new content from amateur singers and rappers looking for a big break. Only the most pre-emptive of artists, escape the cycle of releasing individual singles and promoting them, hoping for each consecutive single to be the one that ‘blows’ and focuses on releasing a larger more cohesive body of work. After a series of collaborations (including one with Lady Donli) singer Omagz did just that with his 2016 EP Young Magazine, before he disappeared from the scene, perhaps to pursue other interests. Now he’s back a year later, with a new single “Óshó Free”.

Tapping underground darling Genio Bambino to feature on the first single from what will eventually  become Omagz’s second EP Aurora, Omagz revisits the basic tenets of what has become known as classic afro-pop, only with a few individual flourishes. Traditional percussions are jazzed up with Xylophone accents, a bass heavy synth plucks out notes for a simple riff, samples of wildlife situate the song in a slightly otherworldly place. The lyrics aren’t nearly as experimental as the instrumentation, but then again, the best love songs are the most straight forward, and both men are decent vocally so the song never suffers.

“Óshó Free” would be a decent addition to a weekend chill playlist and does a good enough job of drumming anticipation for the EP, but we have our fingers crossed that hopefully this isn’t the best song on the coming EP. Omagz definitely have a few tricks up his sleeve.

Listen to “Óshó Free” here.

Essentials: Mich Straaw debuts with ‘Collage collection’ reissue

Timi Dakolo & Mr Eazi join campaign to help you quit smoking

Posted on by The Native

You know how some artists, creatives, workers generally and maybe even you, smoke either as a past time or as a way to destress? Timi and Eazi are not the type. Yeah they are cool like that. As role models for the youths, smoking and non-smoking beautiful people of Nigeria, Timi Dakolo and Mr Eazi have been charged with the task to get people to beget a habit of seeking good health and a clean environment by quitting Tobacco in-take.

They have been newly appointed alongside Fallyhamu as ‘goodwill ambassadors’ for the Tobacco-free Nigeria campaign and champions for the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) Control agenda.

N.C.D’s like cardiovascular disease, diabetes meillitus, cancer and chronic lung disease are becoming increasingly significant causes of disability and premature death. Globally, NCDs, primarily cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes are responsible for about 63 per cent of all deaths. Though, in Nigeria, CVD (such as hypertension, coronary heart diseases and stroke) is the leading non-communicable disease, next to cancer, diabetes mellitus, sickle cell disease and a host of others.

We’ll see the concerted efforts to be made by Timi, Eazi and Fallyhamu to help you quit smoking. So make life easier by doing just that.

Feature Image Credit: Instagram/Mr Eazi

Revisit the Native Mix 002: featuring UK-based Producer, SMOKING INDOORS

NATIVE Mix 008: featuring Addy Edgal

Posted on by The Native

Guest DJ Addy Edgal returns with the eighth NATIVE Mix, featuring cuts from the respective undergrounds of Lagos, London, Toronto, and more. Gems from Daniel Caesar, Lady Donli and Ray BLK are mixed with bangers from DAP The Contract, Lil Uzi Vert and J Hus. The set also includes a great Jaegen & Arnold remix of a Ramriddlz heater.

Listen here and peep the tracklist below.

Get You- Daniel Caesar
Save You – Kodak Black
VSVSVS – 24 Hrs
EYE – Cryface Jordan
Mexico – DAP The Contract
Link- K Forest
Buy It – Lil Uzi Vert
Malibu (feat.Post Malone) – 24 Hrs
Redbone- Childish Gambino
Closer- Emma Jensen
Whippin- Kiara Ft Felix Snow
Fools- EMI
Kashe Ni- Lady Donli
Closed Doors- J Hus
Phone Down- Erykah Badu
Lonely- Nav
Chill Out – Ray Blk
P2P (iii) (Jaegen & Arnold Dick-a-ting Remix) – Ramriddlz
Lose U – Odunsi The Engine
Lagos City Wave – Daramola

Listen to the Native Mix 007, featuring Dj Wayne

WAFFLESNCREAM x The NATIVE R/W ’17 Editorial

Posted on by The Native

As recently announced, WAFFLESNCREAM will partner with The NATIVE and Red Bull NG  to host the first skate jam in Lagos, in celebration of the growing skateboarding scene. The skate jam will also feature showcases from similarly popular extreme sports in the city, as BMXers will be invited to join the festivities.

In anticipation of Go Skate Day, WAFFLESNCREAM has put together an editorial in collaboration with The NATIVE to highlight the local scene in Lagos. The editorial features tees and hats from the latest drop, pictured by Leonard ‘flowers’ around the streets of Lagos.

The pieces from the latest collection can be picked up at the WAFFLESNCREAM skate shop.

WAFFLESNCREAM Skate Shop

234 Muri Okunola Road,

Victoria Island,

Lagos State. Nigeria

Photos by Leonard ‘Flowers’

Documenting Nigerian skate culture with slawn, leonard & onyedi

Afrobeats is the future and Wizkid is its ambassador

Posted on by The Native

Words by Ehimenim Agweh

In an interview and photoshoot published today by Hunger Magazine, Wizkid is making his stand on the Afrobeats/Afro-pop scene clear.

Photographed in urban fashion and donning 90s sunglasses, Wizkid distinguishes between what is Afrobeats and Afrobeat and how he interacts with both genres. Citing Fela and Bob Marley as two of the greats who inspire him, Wizkid paints a picture of himself as an emissary of fun times and good music, an ambassador to the world.

Throughout the interview, Wizkid continually emphasizes on the universality of music. Despite his being the most recognizable face of the Afrobeats genre, Wizkid extricates himself from that view and places himself firmly at the center of things: a man of the world and for all. The article further goes on to cite Wizkid’s various international collaborations and the impact they had on the world. In spite of his worldwide success, he has no plans to remove himself from his African fanbase.

The article was published today on Hunger Magazine’s site and featured Wizkid wearing a range of designers from Stella McCartney to Topman Premium. This comes as a part of Wizkid’s appearances before he releases his album, Sounds From The Other Side in early July.

See excerpts from the photo shoot by Charlie Cummings for Hunger magazine below.

Feature Image Credit: Charlie Cummings for Hunger Magazine

Tekno, Wizkid, Mr Eazi and Davido up for BET Award

Watch Uzo Aduba mimic her mum, talk family and embracing her birth name

Posted on by The Native

It’s no easy feat being different in a world where the norm is what’s expected of everyone. While some may slink into what is acceptable by the status quo, others stick up for who they are, gradually shine through it and eventually stand out for it, while making themselves a role model for others to follow. As a little girl growing up in elementary school, Uzo Aduba was somewhat of the former but her mother was there to nurture her and instill values in her, of which she continues to remain grateful for. The actor says her mum is a strong woman, “She’s lived 10 lives”. Her mum made her embrace her name Uzoamaka Aduba, of which she says when she asked her mum if she could call her “Zoe”, she said to her -now imitating her mum’s Igbo persona- “if they can learn to say Tchaikovsky and Dostoevsky…then they can learn to say Uzoamaka.“

This was Uzo’s reply to a question from Tracy G of Sway’s Universe during an in-studio interview, saying: “A lot of people in hollywood, they’ll tend to change their names, and I also have a lot of Nigerian friends who have changed their names to make it easier for people in America to say aloud. Was that ever Something that you considered or was it easier for you because of your Nigerian pride?“. Regarding this, Uzo narrated her experience as a child, saying never again since then has she considered it as an adult.

She also spoke about the new season of Orange is the New Black (OITNB), the American comedy Drama Web series, where she plays the character of “Crazy Eyes”. Coincidentally, Uzo donned a similar hairstyle to that of Crazy Eyes when she went to audition for a role (not for Crazy Eyes, but another character) in the series. She was told a No, but called back for the role of Crazy Eyes, which she has gone on to win several awards for including the Emmy’s. The hair did it.

Uzo talks being an immigrant, being Nigerian, schooling, keeping up with about eight teachers from her school days including the Kindergarten ones too. To wrap up the interview the broadway actress sang in an operatic voice with its strained vowels, the scream of the high and strangulated sound in the soprano’s throat over a hip-hop beat (“hip-Opera“), suggested by Sway.

Enjoy the interview below.

Feature Image Credit: Instagram/Uzoaduba

ICYMI, Watch: Orange is The New Black Season 5 keeps fans on seats’ edge