Sute Iwar’s “Overtime” is a jaunty little doo-wop bop

Posted on by The Native

The Iwar brothers are arguably one of the most talented sibling collectives, together spearheading Abuja based collective Bantu. But they are also formidable as solo artists, Tay shining the brightest as a neo soul singer with his self released EP’s that have made him a household name  while Terna made his fortunes in photography and co-ordinating the Bantu Studio and co-working space in Abuja. Their brother Sute has been making his  fortunes as a rapper with two EP’s Jelí and Visions. He’s changing tack with his latest release on the Friday Cruise collective’s Soundcloud called “Overtime”.

For the song, Sute leaves all the trending genres and digs back a few decades to the golden age of the American Motown and its sounds. He settles on the distinctive strain of doo-wop Jazz, a piano driven kind of jazz with an emphasis on simple melodies and a heavy handed bass riff, occasionally sprinkled with unobtrusive percussions. Sute is perfectly suited to the format as he woos a lover, with lyrics are decidedly 21st century. It is delightful mix of the old and the new, and refreshingly different from everything else out there right now.

It does make us wonder why Sute isn’t promoting this like a proper single, instead releasing it without any PR or fanfare? Cleaning out his archives maybe? What ever it is, we’ll never look a gift horse or good music in the mouth.

Bump to “Overtime” here.

Listen to Tay Iwar’s first release of the year “call u”

Fasina teams up with Higo for “5 Star”, a meta afropop experiment

Posted on by The Native

The first time many Nigerians heard of British Nigerian Afropop singer was on Dj Femo’s debut single “Adara”. His unique sound, a mash of sung/spoken lyrics delivered with a characteristic drone, drew parallels with industry peers Yinka Bernie and industry pioneer Black Magic. That sound also  helped propel the Dj’s first project as a recording artist into an instant hit, garnering an astronomical 18,000 plays in a month . But Fasina is an industry all to himself, and after three singles and his star turn as a guest artist, he’s finally ready to introduce himself to the Nigerian music industry, capitalizing on the interest the ‘New Age’ is garnering.

Criminally underrated producer Higo comes on board to produce “5 Star”, Fasina’s new single. He brings his spin on the very British understated production, that has made Afropop more marketable to international audience, creating a simple harp riff, cleverly sandwiching claps between 808 percussions and shredding a synth guitar melody through a synthesizer to give it some body. It’s an enviable set up on which Fasina vibes, creating the most meta interpretation of the Afropop aesthetic, exploring abstract concepts of love and camaraderie between the singer, his love interest and his crew using inane imagery. A song built around ‘5 Star’, an ambiguous metaphor that could either refer to the kitchenware brand of the same name famous in the 90’s or the rating system used by every start up from Uber to Jumia. You’re never quite sure exactly what he means, but that’s the point, there’s enough ambiguity for you to take the song and interpret its themes in your way.

5 Star is the first feeler for a major project from the singer, and it has us stoked.

Listen to “5 Star” here.

Listen to all four songs from Odunsi and Nonso Amadi’s ‘War’ EP

GMK Taps Tomi Thomas And Santi For “Pears & Mangoes”

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Monster Boyz producer, ThatBoyGMK has made quite a remarkable impact on the ‘New Age’,  both as an artist and a producer. “Gangster Fear” and “Jungle Fever” songs he produced, have done well enough to catch the attention of Drake’s OVO Sound Radio and his single as a recording artist like “Waste Man” have continued to rack up plays well into tens of thousands on Soundcloud and Spotify. Fridaycruise, a conglomerate Soundcloud account where singles like Odunsi’s “Lose U” and Tay Iwar’s “Call U” were released has put out “Pears & Mangoes” from GMK’s archives featuring Tomi Thomas and Santi.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUaaItahj3H/?taken-by=thatboygmk

Lately, ThatBoyGMK can’t seem to stray too far from fruit based imagery for his summer themed love songs. Earlier this year he featured Tomi Thomas for “Coconut Lips” where the singer only took the hook and let GMK rap with his Rasta man flows. For “Pears & Mangoes”, GMK stays behind the scenes, while Tomi Thomas and Santi dictate the pace for the folk-song style single with up-tempo drums and xylophone riffs. Santi’s gritty vocals stands in sharp contrast to Tomi Thomas’ silky smooth howling, but they serve as a reminder that even thugs have a soft spot only love can reach.

Listen to GMK, Santi and Tomi Thomas’ “Pears & Mangoes” below.

https://soundcloud.com/user-106864619/pears-mangoes-gmk-feat-tomi-thomas-santi

Featured Image Credit: Instagram/thatboygmk

Listen to Santi’s “Beat It Up” featuring Tay Iwar and DJ Yin

‘T-Wayne’ takes us back to that time Lil Wayne was the best rapper alive

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On Thursday, the 18th of May 2017, a miracle took place on Twitter. With some encouragement from Kyle Kramer of Noisey, T-Pain and Lil Wayne’s long-lost project T-Wayne finally saw the light of day. Listening to it – 8 years too late for it to have made the impact it deserved – I can’t help but be nostalgic of a simpler time in my life, when streaming seemed nerdy, when Obama was about to begin his first term as President, and when Lil Wayne was the undisputed best rapper alive.

If the late 2000’s could rap, its flow would sound like Dwayne Michael Carter Junior. He dominated airwaves, blogs and every tv set with hit singles and widespread features, each one seemingly bigger than the last. From leaned-out Fall Out Boy remixes to hit songs with Shakira, from R&B classics with Lloyd and Chris Brown to scene stealing verses on pre-ASAHD DJ Khaled posse cuts, Lil Wayne was inescapable, and his form during this period is something of urban legend. When Future culminated his hot streak at the top of Hip Hop with the critically acclaimed DS2, it was the closest anyone had seen to an unrelenting run since the Weezy avalanche concluding with Tha Carter III.

Every 90s baby with a love of hip-hop has a favourite Wayne verse. It’s like a rite of hip-hop passage. Between his first album and 2012, Wayne featured on close to 600 songs (officially released, no leaks). In 2017 we commend artists like Future, 2 Chainz and Migos for their work ethic and rightly so. But Wayne was on a different level. 600 songs is inhuman. I could make a “Top 50 Lil Wayne features” article and still have people pissed off that I got it wrong. Hate or love him post-2010, but Wayne’s run at the top can not be taken away from him. He was untouchable. Lil Wayne literally said “the f is for phenomenal” on a track on an a full length album that was actually in stores for sale, and we all just said “ok, fair enough”.

In Nigeria Lil Wayne is still one of the most popular rappers till this day, but during his run, it was something completely different. There simply wasn’t anybody touching him. This isn’t exactly a surprise as he was the biggest rapper in The States at the time, but we’ve seen this doesn’t always translate perfectly. In my lifetime I’ve only seen three other rappers have a similar impact in Nigeria. 50 Cent, Rick Ross and Jay Z. “In Da Club” will go down as one of the biggest songs in any genre of all time when the rapture hits ( I assume there will be some sort of awards show to determine this kind of thing on D-Day). Rick Ross’ monster singles “Hustlin” and “B.M.F” solidified his street legend status in Nigeria, along with his various concerts. Jay Z has a road named after him in Kwara State, so yeah there’s that. But still, Weezy trumps all of them, and here’s why even years after his prime, we still see lookalikes, merchandise, and the demand for a live show.

1. He was young

Lil Wayne has been rapping since he was a child. He literally joined Cash Money when he was just 9 years old, before later becoming a Hot Boy. I don’t remember the Hot Boys but I know they put in work in Hip Hop. They had a platinum album. Along with all his successful features by the time Tha Carter III dropped (more on that later) he was 25 years old and was six albums deep. Wayne was a veteran in Hip-hop before he was legally old enough to buy a beer. Young people love seeing young people achieve great things, it’s just a fact. Look at Lil Bow Wow’s popularity (not to be confused with the joke that is Shad Moss). It gives them hope that dreams can become a reality. Lil Wayne was young, large and in charge.

2. He featured on everything

I mentioned earlier that by 2012 Wayne was featured on over 600 tracks with a myriad of artists. In 2007 MTV had awarded him the Hottest MC in the Game for good reason. If you needed a fire verse you went to Wayne.

He was one of the few emcees that could cross over into practically any genre and not look out of place. If you had an R&B joint and Lil Wayne wasn’t featured on it you were wasting your time. A&Rs are labels literally had the easiest job in the world, all you had to say was “go get a Lil Wayne verse”. Here’s a short list of notable Weezy features:

“Soldier” by Destiny’s Child “Girls Around the World” by Lloyd, “Love In This Club, Part II” by Usher, “Official Girl” by Cassie, “I’m So Paid” by Akon, “Turnin’ Me On” by Keri Hilson, and “Give It Up To Me” by Shakira, “My Life” by The Game, “Swagga Like Us” by T.I. All these songs went certified gold or platinum by the way, and this list is far from exhaustive.

Till this day, this work ethic mirrored with savvy crossover moves has not been replicated. Wayne was everywhere.

3. The Carter III (and more specifically, that shoutout in “A Milli”)

Tha Carter II is Lil Wayne’s magnum opus. Now that’s out of the way, we can talk about how Tha Carter III took Lil Wayne to new heights. It sold a million copies in a week. Whilst it was not the first album to do this, the fact it leaked in its entirety 2 weeks before the release date and still went on to go platinum in a week is staggering. Everyone was singing along to “Lollipop”. In my short life in hip-hop only 50 Cent’s  “In Da Club” and got more mainstream play. Most importantly to Nigerians however was the freestyle on track 3, “A Milli” .When Weezy said “A millionaire, I’m a Young Money millionaire, tougher than Nigerian hair” it was a wrap. From that point on, Lil Wayne was crowned the king of rap in Nigeria.

Phenomenons are a rare yet exciting occurrence in life. They usually manifest themselves in extraordinary human beings that seem capable of doing the impossible.  As I listen to T-Wayne I think back to a time when Lil Wayne was invincible. Now with his current label issues he seems more mortal than most but here in Nigeria he will always be the GOAT.

Weezy F Ade and the Ade is for_______: Follow me on Twitter: @Ade_AAA

We summed up Olamide’s career in these five epic songs

007 has left the building: James Bond star, Roger Moore passes away

Posted on by The Native

Words By Ehimenim Agweh

Today, the James Bond franchise lost one of their men who played the dashing super agent on screen. Sir Roger Moore, passed away at his home in Switzerland after a ‘short but brave’ battle with cancer say his children in an official statement.

Sir Roger Moore who was aged 89, first became the 007 character in 1973. He also had the record of being the longest serving James Bond for 12 years in an acting career that spanned the course of  four decades. In 2003, he was knighted by the Queen for ‘services to charity.’During his lifetime, he was also a published author.

Sir Moore was a veteran actor who was involved with UNICEF as a part of his humanitarian efforts. His family has announced that a private funeral will be held in Monaco where he lived with his wife, Kristina Tholstrup.

Sir Roger Moore will always be remembered as the best James Bond to ever grace the screen and an actor worthy of his craft.

Featured Image Credits: News/Laser Time

Sizz The Truth Preps For ‘The Whole Truth’ EP With “Longest Round”

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Ghanaian rapper, Sizz The Truth has been hinting at his debut EP, creating a Prior To The Whole Truth playlist on his Soundcloud with old singles. A lot has changed in the world and rap scene since he released “I Got It Now” 3 years ago, but the basics remains the same; tight flows, braggadocio lines and sex still sells.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUNK1Vug40r/?taken-by=sizzthetruth

He describes his songs as a sneak peek into his life, thoughts, interests, fantasies, experiences and aspirations but as is the case with most hip-hop artists, its hard to separate fantasy from reality. His latest single, “Longest Round” addresses his sex life while also conveniently boasting about his diamonds and designer shoes.

The new release isn’t the most experimental hip-hop single, settling for a typical bass heavy beat with piano fast riffs like all serious Eminem songs ever. But with the ease at which Sizz The Truth sings the hook, hitting each note with practiced precision, it certainly hints at a promising EP to come. No release date has been given for his The Whole Truth EP but we are looking forward to it and hoping for more tracks like “Longest Round” and perhaps, the Ghanaian rapper would even explore more adventurous themes.

Listen to Sizz The Truth’s “Longest Round” below.

Featured Image Credits: Instagram/sizzthetruth

Watch Juls’ video for “Bad” take Afropop from Ghana to the UK

The Lupita and Rihanna Twitter movie is actually happening

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Words By Ehimenim Agweh

For once Twitter has proved itself useful as what came about as a series of ideas on Lupita and Rihanna are now set to become reality.

The movie idea which was first pitched on Tumblr revolves around a picture of Rihanna in furs and shades as Lupita sits beside her in glasses at a Miu Miu fashion show in 2014. A Twitter user, @blaquepink tweeted the picture and another user, @1800SADGAL suggesting the movie idea: A heist with Rihanna as the girl who scams white men and Lupita, the computer smart friend who plans the scams.

Fans were all for it and clamored for a behind the scenes collaboration of Ava DuVernay and Issa Rae on it. All four ladies were taken with the concept and a movie was born. After a ‘dramatic’ bidding session at Cannes, Netflix secured the rights to the proposed buddy comedy.

Although the concept’s development is still in its early stages, production is slated to begin and credit will be given in some form to the originators of the idea.

Finally, the internet has been put to good use.

Featured Image Credits: Instagram/lupitanyongo

Tay Iwar’s “Call U” Is The Perfect Way To Start And End Your Day

Posted on by The Native

Alarms are pesky little things. They signal the end to everything good and for some, the start to a long day ahead, away from the warmth and comfort of their beds. Even with the upgrades of customizing alarm tones to specific tastes, they still get torturous eventually. The solution to all our morning problems might be hidden in Tay Iwar’s latest release, “Call U” uploaded on Fridaycruise’s Soundcloud account.

While we wait for the Bantu collective artist to release his first single of the year, “Call U”  comes as the same lowkey release format thatOdunsi’s “Lose You” as a stand alone single untied to any upcoming project. “Call U” is an Afro-Soul number with pianos that build into somber ambient harmonies. He strings together 5 phrases over the short length of the single, causing it to listen like a demo or perhaps a ring tone?  Call, Sleep and morning are the most repeated words but his melodies hint towards something you want to listen on repeat till you sleep.

That being said, the yearning emotions in Tay’s lyrics and vocals ensures that his narrative of being wary of heartbreaks isn’t lost even if the song ends up serving as a ringtone or the best jolt from slumber.

Listen to Tay Iwar’s “Call U” below.

Featured Image Credits: Instagram/tayiwar

Asa’s concert was lit and Tay Iwar opened for the icon

Watch Eugy Take His Love Interest For That Retreat You’ve Always Wanted On “Hold Tight”

Posted on by The Native

British-Ghanian producer, Eugy is in the perfect position to try all sort of new things like switching between rap and Afropop. His genre blending and a handful of features have kept his name in conversations but for his new single, “Hold Tight” he goes solo for the Afropop number.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUZ2A1thjrT/?taken-by=eugyofficial

Eugy allows another hand work on the deck for “Hold Tight”. Team Salut who produces “Hold Tight” uses piano synths and flute harmonies layered over a bouncy drum pattern. Eugy sings over the dancehall beat with laid back melodies, confessing his love and what he’s willing to do for his love interest. The video for the single starts at a waterfall which features through the most part of the Gabriella Kingsley directed clip.

“Hold Tight” is the lead single off Eugy’s forthcoming EP, Flavourz expected to be released in time for the weekend. While we wait for the EP, you can enjoy the video for “Hold Tight” below.

Featured Image Credits: YouTube/EugyTV

Listen to Eugy’s “Give It To Me”, also produced by Team Salut

The Shuffle: Revisit the title track from P-Square’s platinum-selling album, ‘Game Over’

Posted on by The Native

Sibling duo (or trio, if you count, Jude Okoye) P-Square have been accosted with various accusations of sampling and song appropriation nearly as often as the count of every hit song they’ve released. Still, at a time where labels were falling apart internally and Nigerian music had only aging superstars who occasionally misfired, P-Square remained a consistent firebrand for Afropop. They had stage presence, sang their hearts out, and managed to pull off at least one nationwide radio hit per year.

The P-Square legacy may forever be haunted by the questions about originality, but no one will forget the golden P-Square era of Game Over , an Afropop album reported to have sold nearly 8-Million copies across Africa and the world. Game Over packed a punch, though most of that effect is owed to heavy sampling from a broad range of genres and soundscapes, it also explains why an African pop album will have a hip-hop and R&B title-track like “Game Over”.

“Game Over” opens with ominous violins, similar to the ones you hear on Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor” . The instrumental quickly dissolves into claps and heavy base drops in quick succession like you would hear on a typical Timbaland produced track. By the time vocals set into the first verse, the mood had already been set for a hard break-up song that would have fit just as right on a rock metal instrumentation.

It is agreeable that after listening to the entire album, the purpose of “Game Over” is lost as a title track. But this is not very uncommon with P-Square albums either. The theme of “Game Over”, however remains a rarity in Afropop. We have all heard sappy Nigerian heartbreak songs, but there are very few that balance the actual rage of losing love quite as realistically as the P-Square do with “Game Over” .

Stream “Game Over” via Apple Music here

The Shuffle: Revisit the peak of modern afropop of the 2000s with Eldee’s “Big Boy”

Have a great idea and need funding? You should check this out

Posted on by The Native

One of the biggest problems every millennial faces trying to bring their often very imaginative ideas to life is funding. Money is scarce, and even when you do find it, there simply aren’t enough examples to show you how to manage the funding you get and resources to ensure that you make the best of your opportunity. So we end up sizing down our dreams to fit our budgets and throwing world changing ideas of out of the window to make way for ‘realistic’ ones. Well, we call bullshit. Good thing there’s Exodus.

Exodus is a design school for Nigeria dedicated to developing ideas for sectors and states through process, imagination and compassion. A country-tailored design program nurturing ideas with potential for impact and change in Nigeria.

So Exodus is a partnered design school that focuses on providing mentorship, tools and most especially funding for young people with interesting ideas looking for a way to turn them into viable finished products. Partnering with investors, some from Nigeria, some from the diaspora, successful candidates for the Exodus funding program get to work on their ideas, no matter how unconventional and finish them. This is how Exodus explains the process.

Exodus cycles will be guiding the process of birthing ideas from imagination into reality with weekend sessions and gatherings: 3 months on sector idea development + 3 months on state idea development. As a team, we will go through a process of research, thinking, solving and experimentation to eventually generate ideas that directly solve problems in specific sectors and states in Nigeria. At the end of every cycle, we will present proposals of developed ideas that identify and plug holes in the system to a pool of investors, partners and mentors.

There really isn’t that much else to say, other than, why aren’t you already applying. You do that, right now. Who knows, you might be the next person whose innovations we’ll be celebrating at The Native.

 

Watch out for the second season of The Voice Nigeria

Suede’s “Alkebulan” is an Africa anthem that plays to all the genre’s tropes

Posted on by The Native

Everyone seems obsessed with Africa these days. It goes from your random roadside busker, all the way up to Beyonce Knowles, whose latest album was heavily influenced by Yoruba culture and whose ‘Push Party” last weekend was ‘African’ themed and featured Fela blasting in the background. With this renewed interest in celebrating Africa, it seems almost kitschy for your first proper single as a recording artist to toe these lines, but Singer and Euphonic signee Suede, does a great job of dipping into the pool without getting himself too wet on his new single “Alkebulan”.

Heavily influenced by the current Afropop sounds ruling the airwaves, sparser clear percussions, subtle wind accents and barely recognizable synths, played up by classic guitar melodies popularized by ‘world music’ performers like Youssou N’dour and Salif Keita. Suede’s voice is clear and he has a natural talent for holding the attention of his audience. “Alkebulan” is a decent song by any metric, however where it falters is in the lyrics. For a world music anthem, especially one that treats Africa’s diversity as a single stereotypical monolith, one would expect that Suede would take a little more time to craft original lyrics that actually speak and acknowledges his multivariate audience. Instead what we get, are all the terrible tropes of the genre; sexualizing the continent, regurgitating tired lines about Africa needing to ‘rise up’ and ‘stand up’. It really isn’t too much to ask that if a musician is going to address the continent, they come a from a place of knowledge.

This is Suede’s first properly promoted single and only the second of his career, so he has some space to grow into his own as recording artist. Hopefully he sheds the tired tropes and actually gives us truly introspective music. Originality of content isn’t something artists who dabble in ‘world music’ can simply do without.

Listen to “Alkebulan” here.

Listen to Nonso Amadi and Odunsi’s joint EP ‘War’

Afropolitan Vibes is moving house and we are stoked!

Posted on by The Native

Words by Fisayo Okare

Afropolitan Vibes, organized by Adebantu of the Bantu Collective, is easily Nigeria’s longest running monthly concert gig, with forty concerts spanning four years. In those four years, Afropolitan Vibes helped cement Freedom Park’s image as the premium place to seek out good live music, it’s stage hosting everyone from M.I to Brymo.

Ade Bantu and Abby Ogunsanya founded Afropolitan Vibes and it began as a monthly live concert before a two-day annual festival was added to their event line-up in December last year, 2016. Musicians of the Afrobeat, Afro-hip-hop, Afrofunk, Afropop or highlife origins perform at the event with the 13-piece Brotherhood Aliance Navigating Towards Unity (Bantu) collective live band, which Ade Bantu is also a part of.

But now the Afropolitan Vibes is evolving, firstly by moving house from Freedom Park in Lagos Island to Muri Okunola Park in Victoria Island. This is important for several reasons. Muri Okunola park is decidedly much bigger than Freedom Park’s venue and has largely been underutilized, by moving, Afropolitan Vibes is giving itself space to grow. Security at Muri Okunola is also much better than it is at Freedom Park, as is parking. And thirdly, it seems this new move is in some ways sanctioned by the state government which means better funding. And finally after increasing the tickets for the event to N1500, in 2016, they’re dropping it to 1k, which will definitely draw more people in.

This is another event to be added to your June going-ons for some experimental music. Their changes suggest that they are working on ways to improve the event to better suit both performers and the audience without losing the core values of the show. They are still providing a platform for niche artists to perform their way into the hearts of niche music lovers, just at a different location, time and price.

Incase you missed it: Jay Z Enlists Tiwa Savage, Wizkid, Maleek berry & More for “Made in America” 2017

Donald unites with Tiwa Savage on “Rain Drops”

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Words by Fisayo Okare

With Afro-soul house roots, South African singer-song writer, Donald Moatshe continues to refine his delivery and style with each new release. When Donald debuted his critically acclaimed sophomore album Train of Love in 2012, his prodigious technique distinguished him from the other few artists drawing on the influences. His confidence in the future success of the album after its release was almost clairvoyant, judging by the success of the lead single “I Deserve”. Before the first quarter of the following year had ended, Donald was nominated for a BET award against Nigeria’s 2Face Idibia and Ice Prince, Ghana’s R2Bees, and Radio and Weasel from Uganda. In the intervening years, his sound has only gotten better.

That same year he bagged the nominations, Donald once spoke about the need to unite more and do more collaborations and concerts together, to better the South-African music industry. Today, the standard has definitely improved a lot and now, he’s been going beyond the borders of his country to unite with artists from other parts of Africa. As he debuts his fourth studio album this year, Something More, he taps Tiwa Savage for “Rain Drops” one of the singles from the 10-track album.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUUyriuFpJX/?taken-by=donaldindenial

Not a single note sounds out of place here, meshing into a delightful whole. And if you doubt, listen to “Rain Drops” again and again. On the third listen, it should be an epiphany.

Check out the video below.

Featured Image Credit: Instagram/Donaldindenial

ICYMI: Afropunk is coming to Jo’burg -First edition of Black culture’s biggest festival on African soil

Essentials: Rastavellihigh Debuts With ‘Trapalyn’

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While we anticipate marijuana becoming legalized in Nigeria with the patience of a Jehovah Witness waiting for Christ’s second coming, artists are already spreading the good news. You can’t talk about Hip-hop and recreational drugs without crediting Snoop Dogg helping pushing the narrative around drugs in music from taboo to de rigeur. Lately, everybody seems to get doped on something before getting behind a mic and Nigeria is rarely ever too far behind on trends. If Lil Wayne’s codeine and lean culture didn’t quite get make it to Nigeria, the new Trap artists like Travis Scott have made their impression on neo-Afro artists and Rastavellihigh is the newest to mimic that chilled, slightly slurred sound in Nigerian music.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUP3uk_gkKN/?taken-by=rastavellhigh

His debut EP, Trapalyn was released last week with 11 tracks to announce himself. As the name suggests, a trap artist with a keenness for drugs. The first track, “Never Skressin” is as you’ll expect, themes of drugs, sex and a his deep slurry voice adds a gangster tinge. He coins lyrics about how he can get anything/anyone he likes over the salad of piano synths, trumpets, ad-lib harmonies and drum riff instrumentals making sure to mention his name enough times that you scarcely can forget it.

“Tepamose” is the second track and the most obviously Travis Scott influenced track. Rastavellihigh employs his slurred sung rap and his “Aye/Alaye” follows the exact cadence of Scott’s “RaRa in/Put the RaRa in”. Mumble rap features on the Trapalyn with “Igboro” featuring Dejavu who gets production credit as well. The collaboration shouts out various streets in Lagos, their states of Origin and extols working hard to earn their living.

Like all the other songs off the EP, “Steady” and “Lungu” are primarily about smoking up and sipping lean. The laid back vibe of the tracks could be a metaphor for the drug trip and it makes Trapalyn work for what it is; a playlist for that laid back weekend where all you do is experiment with new experiences.

Listen to Rastavellihigh’s Trapalyn EP below.

https://soundcloud.com/rastavellihigh/sets/trapalyn-1

Featured Image Credits: rastavellhigh>

Listen to Straff’s debut EP “Vanilla Sky”

Get ready to see David Oyelowo as Harold Soyinka in 2018

Posted on by The Native

Words by Fisayo Okare

Asides having movie and production work already stacked up for him this year, David Oyelowo also has a movie to co-star in along side Thandie Newton set for a March 7th release date in 2018. Oyelowo, Thandie Newton, Charlize Theron, Joel Edgerton, Amanda Seyfried, Yul Vazquez and Sharlto Copley all star in Nash Edgerton’s previously untitled action comedy, now set to be released as “Gringo.” It’ll also mark the movie debut of Paris Jackson, Michael Jackson’s 19-year-old daughter, who has been cast in a supporting role as “an edgy 20-year-old.”

The movie is filmed in Mexico city and follows a newly-married, mild-mannered businessman executive (as played by Oyelowo) with a stake in a pharmaceutical company about to go public. When he becomes  stranded, and wanted by the American Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) he realizes that the life he’s been dreaming of isn’t what he expected.

The official synopsis, from Amazon’s sub, IMDb.com is thus:

“Combining dark comedy with dramatic intrigue, Gringo joyrides across the border into Mexico, where all is not as it seems for mild-mannered American businessman Harold Soyinka (David Oyelowo). Crossing the line from citizen to criminal, Harold tangles with duplicitous business partners, Mexican drug lords, international mercenaries, and the DEA. As he attempts to survive in one of the most dangerous places on earth, the question lingers: is this ordinary man in way over his head, or is he two steps ahead?”

“Gringo”’s script, penned by Anthony Tambakis and Matthew Stone is financed by Amazon Studio and directed by Edgerton, who made his long-length directorial debut with the acclaimed Australian thriller “The Square”.

The movie’s title was announced with a first look at the movie in the featured image above.

ICYMI: David Oyelowo is to star in another true-life drama after Selma, “Arc of Justice”

Tiwa Savage’s first official single of the year, “All Over” Gets A Video Upgrade

Posted on by The Native

Tiwa Savage’s “All Over”  is her first single release this year after featuring on  “Diary” by Fuse ODG earlier last month, and Donald’s “Rain Drops” this month. Fans have anticipated her first single since the 2015 R.E.D album but after signing a distribution deal with Sony Entertainment last year, all she has released are videos to songs off her old album. “All Over” marks the return of the songbird from her short hiatus and a return to recording and fans can now begin to anticipate a new album from Nigeria’s pop queen.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSqUbDIAp3x/?taken-by=tiwasavage&hl=en

Tiwa sings about her romantic feelings on “All Over” with a call and response hook similar to Kcee’s “Tonight” without impersonating the singer entirely. She uses the imagery of Shakespeare’s classic love story to describe the crazy things she is willing to do for love. When it was first released back in April we were confident that the dancehall number was destined to hit dance floors with a bang but evidently, the lack of a video has made it hard for people to accept it wholly.

The Mavins singer has finally released a video to make the single more radio friendly. Directed by Patrick Elis, “All Over” video was shot in Miami where Tiwa is adorned in a Bfyne Ankara print bikini on a beach and accompanied by models who join her to perform well choreographed dance steps. The brightly colored shacks and costumes make the video for “All Over” look playful and the fonts used for the lyrics that come on and off also follows that playful narrative.

Watch the video for Tiwa Savage’s “All Over” below.

Featured Image Credit: Instagram/Tiwa Savage

Updated with visuals.

Tiwa Savage and the curse of the groupie effect

Wizkid’s 3 Billboard Awards Is Another First For Africa And Afropop

Posted on by The Native

This year alone, Wizkid has been in entertainment headlines more times than Beyonce has Grammys. While some have been nothing more than the rumour mill around Wizkid spinning, the Starboy’s Billboard nominations for his feature on Drake’s “One Dance” was one of the more genuine ones. The 7 nominations were great but after the award ceremony on Sunday, he had made history as the first African to ever win a Billboard Award.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUYQKvCF2eW/?taken-by=billboard

“One Dance” was released last year as a part of Drake’s Views album that saw the Canadian expand from rapping and singing to a more inclusive genre blending style. The hit single spent an ungodly amount of time at #1 on the Billboard chart aided by Wizkid’s Reggae infused Afropop bridge and production credits. Yesterday’s win finally laid to rest the rumours that swirled around the extent of Wizkid’s contribution to the single and album. He won 3 Billboard Awards for Top Streaming Song, Top R&B Song and Top R&B Collaboration with that feature and no absence from videos or award ceremony can take that away from him.

See the rest of the Billboard Winners and Nominations below.

Top Artist
Adele
Beyonce
Justin Bieber
The Chainsmokers
Drake
Ariana Grande
Shawn Mendes
Rihanna
Twenty One Pilots
The Weeknd

Top New Artist
Alessia Cara
Desiigner
Lil Uzi Vert
Lukas Graham
Zayn Malik.

Billboard Chart Achievement Award Presented by Xfinity
Luke Bryan
Nicki Minaj
The Chainsmokers
The Weeknd
Twenty One Pilots

Top Male Artist
Justin Bieber
Drake
Future
Shawn Mendes
The Weeknd

Top Female Artist
Adele
Beyonce — WINNER
Ariana Grande
Rihanna
Sia

Top Duo/Group
The Chainsmokers
Coldplay
Florida Georgia Line
Guns N’ Roses
Twenty One Pilots — WINNER

Top Billboard 200 Artist
Beyonce
Drake — WINNER
Prince
Twenty One Pilots
The Weeknd

Top Hot 100 Artist
The Chainsmokers
Drake — WINNER
Rihanna
Twenty One Pilots
The Weeknd

Top Song Sales Artist
The Chainsmokers
Drake — WINNER
Prince
Justin Timberlake
Twenty One Pilots

Top Radio Songs Artist
Justin Bieber
The Chainsmokers
Drake
Rihanna
Twenty One Pilots — WINNER

Top Streaming Songs Artist
The Chainsmokers
Desiigner
Drake — WINNER
Rihanna
Twenty One Pilots

Top Social Artist
Justin Bieber
BTS
Selena Gomez
Ariana Grande
Shawn Mendes

Top Touring Artist
Justin Bieber
Beyonce — WINNER
Coldplay
Guns N’ Roses
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

Top R&B Artist
Beyonce — WINNER
Bruno Mars
Frank Ocean
Rihanna
The Weeknd

Top R&B Tour
Beyonce — WINNER
Lionel Richie
Rihanna

Top Rap Artist
J. Cole
Desiigner
Drake — WINNER
Future
Rae Sremmurd

Top Rap Tour
Drake — WINNER
Future
Kanye West

Top Country Artist
Florida Georgia Line
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban
Chris Stapleton
Jason Aldean

Top Country Tour
Luke Bryan
Kenny Chesney — WINNER
Dixie Chicks

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Top Rock Artist
Coldplay
The Lumineers
Metallica
Twenty One Pilots — WINNER
X Ambassadors

Top Rock Tour
Coldplay — WINNER
Guns N’ Roses
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

Top Latin Artist
J Balvin
Juan Gabriel — WINNER
Los Plebes Del Rancho De Ariel Camacho
Maluma
Nicky Jam

Top Dance/Electronic Artist
The Chainsmokers — WINNER
Calvin Harris
Major Lazer
DJ Snake
Lindsey Stirling

Top Christian Artist
Lauren Daigle — WINNER
Hillsong Worship
Hillary Scott & the Family
Skillet
Chris Tomlin

Top Gospel Artist
Jekalyn Carr
Kirk Franklin — WINNER
Travis Greene
Tamela Mann
Hezekiah Walker

Top Billboard 200 Album
Beyonce, Lemonade
Drake, Views
Rihanna, Anti
Twenty One Pilots, Blurryface
The Weeknd, Starboy

Top Soundtrack/Cast Album
Hamilton: An American Musical — WINNER
Moana
Purple Rain
Suicide Squad: The Album
Trolls

Top R&B Album
Beyonce, Lemonade — WINNER
Bruno Mars, 24K Magic
Frank Ocean, Blonde
Rihanna, Anti
The Weeknd, Starboy

Top Rap Album
J. Cole, 4 Your Eyez Only
Drake, Views — WINNER
Kevin Gates, Isla
DJ Khaled, Major Key
A Tribe Called Quest, We Got It From Here…Thank You For Your Service

Top Country Album
Jason Aldean, They Don’t Know
Florida Georgia Line, Dig Your Roots
Blake Shelton, If I’m Honest
Chris Stapleton, Traveller — WINNER
Keith Urban, Ripcord

Top Rock Album
The Lumineers, Cleopatra
Metallica, Hardwired…To Self Destruct — WINNER
Radiohead, A Moon Shaped Pool
Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Getaway
Twenty One Pilots, Blurryface

Top Latin Album
J Balvin, Energia
CNCO, Primera Cita
Juan Gabriel, Los Duo 2 — WINNER
Juan Gabriel, Vestido De Etiqueta: Por Eduardo Magallanes
Los Plebes del Rancho de Ariel Camacho, Recuerden Mi Estilo

Top Dance/Electronic Album
The Chainsmokers, Bouquet
The Chainsmokers, Collage 
Flume, Skin
Kygo, Cloud Nine
Lindsey Stirling, Brave Enough — WINNER

Top Christian Album
Casting Crowns, The Very Next Thing
Lauren Daigle, How Can It Be — WINNER
Joey + Rory, Hymns
Hillary Scott & The Family, Love Remains
Skillet, Unleashed

Top Gospel Album
Tamela Mann, One Way — WINNER
Kirk Franklin, Losing My Religion
Travis Greene, The Hill
Tasha Cobbs, One Place: Live
Hezekiah Walker, Better: Azusa – The Next Generation 2

Top Hot 100 Song
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer”
The Chainsmokers Featuring Daya, “Don’t Let Me Down”
Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance”
Justin Timberlake, “Can’t Stop The Feeling!”
Twenty One Pilots, “Heathens”

Top Selling Song:
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer”
The Chainsmokers Featuring Daya, “Don’t Let Me Down”
Drake Featuring, WizKid & Kyla “One Dance”
Justin Timberlake, “Can’t Stop The Feeling!” — WINNER
Twenty One Pilots, “Heathens”

Top Radio Song
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer”
The Chainsmokers Featuring Daya, “Don’t Let Me Down”
Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance”
Sia Featuring Sean Paul, “Cheap Thrills”
Justin Timberlake, “Can’t Stop The Feeling!” — WINNER

Top Streaming Song (Audio)
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer”
Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance” — WINNER
D.R.A.M. Featuring Lil Yachty, “Broccoli”
Rihanna, “Needed Me”
The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk, “Starboy”

Top Streaming Song (Video)
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer”
Desiigner, “Panda” — WINNER
Zay Hilfigerr & Zayion McCall, “JuJu On That Beat (TZ Anthem)
Rae Sremmurd Featuring Gucci Mane, “Black Beatles”
Twenty One Pilots, “Heathens”

Top Collaboration
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer” — WINNER
The Chainsmokers Featuring Daya, “Don’t Let Me Down”
Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance”
Sia Featuring Sean Paul, “Cheap Thrills”
The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk, “Starboy”

Top R&B Song
Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance” — WINNER
Bruno Mars, “24K Magic”
Rihanna, “Needed Me”
Rihanna Featuring Drake, “Work”
The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk, “Starboy”

Top R&B Collaboration
Drake Featuring WizKid & Kyla, “One Dance” — WINNER
PARTYNEXTDOOR Featuring Drake, “Come And See Me”
Rihanna Featuring Drake, “Work”
The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk “I Feel It Coming”
The Weeknd Featuring Daft Punk, “Starboy”

Top Rap Song
Desiigner, “Panda” — WINNER
Drake, “Fake Love”
D.R.A.M. Featuring Lil Yachty, “Broccoli”
Migos Featuring Lil Uzi Vert, “Bad And Boujee”
Rae Sremmurd Featuring Gucci Mane, “Black Beatles”

Top Rap Collaboration
D.R.A.M. Featuring Lil Yachty, “Broccoli”
Zay Hilfigerr & Zayion McCall, “JuJu On That Beat (TZ Anthem)
Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello, “Bad Things”
Migos Featuring Lil Uzi Vert, “Bad and Boujee”
Rae Sremmurd Featuring Gucci Mane, “Black Beatles” — WINNER

Top Country Song
Kenny Chesney Featuring Pink, “Setting The World On Fire”
Florida Georgia Line, “H.O.L.Y.”
Florida Georgia Line Featuring Tim McGraw, “May We All”
Little Big Town, “Better Man”
Keith Urban, “Blue Ain’t Your Color”

Top Country Collaboration
Dierks Bentley Featuring Elle King, “Different For Girls”
Kenny Chesney Featuring Pink, “Setting The World On Fire” — WINNER
Eric Church Featuring Rhiannon Giddens, “Kill A Word”
Florida Georgia Line Featuring Tim McGraw, “May We All”
Chris Young Featuring Vince Gill, “Sober Saturday Night”

Top Rock Song
Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa & Imagine Dragons with Logic & Ty Dolla $ign Featuring X Ambassadors, “Sucker For Pain”
Twenty One Pilots, “Heathens” — WINNER
Twenty One Pilots, “Ride”
Twenty One Pilots, “Stressed Out”
X Ambassadors, “Unsteady”

Top Latin Song
Daddy Yankee, “Shaky Shaky”
Enrique Iglesias Featuring Wisin, “Duele El Corazon”
Nicky Jam, “Hasta El Amanecer” — WINNER
Shakira Featuring Maluma, “Chantaje”
Carlos Vives & Shakira, “La Bicicleta”

Top Dance/Electronic Song
The Chainsmokers Featuring Halsey, “Closer” — WINNER
The Chainsmokers Featuring Daya, “Don’t Let Me Down”
Calvin Harris Featuring Rihanna, “This Is What You Came For”
Major Lazer Featuring Justin Bieber & MO, “Cold Water”
DJ Snake Featuring Justin Bieber, “Let Me Love You”

Top Christian Song
Lauren Daigle, “Trust In You”
Hillary Scott & The Family, “Thy Will” — WINNER
Skillet, “Feel Invincible”
Ryan Stevenson Featuring GabeReal, “Eye Of The Storm”
Zach Williams, “Chain Breaker”

Top Gospel Song
Jekalyn Carr, “You’re Bigger”
Tasha Cobbs, Featuring Kierra Sheard “Put A Praise On It”
Kirk Franklin, “Wanna Be Happy??”
Travis Greene, “Made A Way” — WINNER
Hezekiah Walker, “Better”

Featured Image Credits: Instagram/wizkidayo

Wizkid talks on taking Ojuelegba to the world and how he got first Drake feature

“White Collar Man”, Brum3h’s much anticipated debut is everything we hoped it’d be

Posted on by The Native

“Nobody go fit to answer for you, so you yourself you better choose”

As part of To Name A Few, Brumeh Oghenekaro has challenged many of our conventions about what is capable or even possible from a Nigerian super group. Their singles, “Stay Over” and “Based” were both critical hits, earning them a loyal following and thrusting the band squarely in the centre of conversations about the future of Nigerian music. But while Golddrummachine, one half of To Name A Few already had a flourishing career as a solo artist with three instrumental albums and a handful of singles, Oghenekaro was still yet to put out a proper debut single. Well that changed over the weekend when he put out “White Collar Man”, a single he’d been working on for a few months.

As solo artist, Brum3h is an immersive storyteller, consumed with passing on his message as simply as possible. Over an instrumental that is dominated by the rhythm guitar, the singer’s signature instrument, and defies defining into any particular genre, Oghenekaro weaves a compelling story. Seun “Sleek” Omoniwa and George “TRXVBZ Adebowale, produce, adding the acoutrements that turn Brum3h’s strumming into a cohesive instrumental, complete with concert ready, swelling choral percussions. But the theme that Brum3h worries on his debut, is one that is universal to the millennial experience; finding your place in a society that pressures you to conform. Switching between pidgin and English, packing each note with an earnestness that is impossible to ignore, Brum3h channels our deepest fears and dispels them, urging that we put ourselves first for a change.

In time the inevitable comparisms with other alternative greats like Asa, Timi Dakolo, Ese Peters and Lindsey Abudei will come, but they will frankly be unnecessary. Brum3h is obviously his own artist, and will forge his own unique path.

Listen to “White Collar Man” here.

Listen to the hip-hop remix of TNAF’s “Based” featuring Barelyanyhook

Best New Music: Odunsi crafts an unlikely Afrosoul work of art with “Lose U”

Posted on by The Native

Odunsi’s “Lose U” has all the markings of a cult collectible in years to come. “Lose U” was released via ‘fridaynightcruise’, a perpetually random SoundCloud account with three singles by Odunsi, two of those featuring Santi (“Cancer”) and Zamir (“Science”). It’s not exactly clear why these releases have been kept away from the spotlight of Odunsi’s official SoundCloud, but it’s not also hard to imagine ‘music heads’ stating ‘facts only’ about these underground obscure releases in a few years.

“Lose U” is built off an innate ambiance set on Sade style Afrosoul drums, screwed pianos and Odunsi’s reverbed vocals melding into the conscious instrumental stream. The texture is precise and hard felt, even more when the fade-into-mute comes in only 30 seconds into the second minute mark. “Lose U” comes with the brevity of fleeting emotions. Odunsi sings of carrying on his own if he has to lose his current lover . It’s nearly odd that he sings of a love of present with the sobriety of a past one, but this is all he says on “Lose U” and nothing more.

The haunt of “Lose U” is in the all too familiar feeling of heartbreak and unrequited love. A reminder to us all, that somethings are indeed worth holding on to. But only if they are holding on to us.

Listen to “Lose U” via Sound Cloud below

Listen to the song previously named Best New Music

King Jamal’s Trap wave has only begun if “No Love” is anything to go by

Posted on by The Native

Nothing kind of prepares you for a great trap bop. The best ones always creep up on you, starting with an unassuming piano melody, the simpler the better. A basic riff, on which the bass heavy percussions can ride, on which the rap. As a genre, Trap is only starting to gain mainstream attention in Nigeria, partly because of our continuing obsession with American hip-hop and its various iterations, splicing it with our own traditional genres to create sonic hybrids and sub genres. Terry Apala is the most visible progenitor of Nigeria’s Afrotrap movement but rapper and producer King Jamal, and his faithful to the original approach to the genre.

King Jamal has worked extensively as a producer, dropping the criminally underrated Lost In The Beat III  instrumental album last year, and his debut single as a performing artist “The Fall” earlier this year. He returns to his Roland TR-808 Drum Machine and classic sound for his second single “No Love”. Self produced, Jamal is all hype, delivering impassioned lines in a style that reminds you of the new kings of trap-hop. Sampling, sound effects for emphasis and layering vocal work for emphasis and switching between sung rap and straight up fire, Jamal reminds us that loyalty in supreme in an industry where the groupies are transient and the hype men are flaky. Your craft and your swagger is all you have when the lights go off and the fans disperse.

Sound advice if you ask us.

Listen to “No Love” here.

Watch Video for J Hus’ “Common Sense”