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”

Posted on by The Native

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’

Posted on by The Native

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”

Kyrian Asher’s “Land of a thousand spires” is a requiem for fear

Posted on by The Native

Abuja based rapper, producer and graphic artist Kyrian Asher is easily one of the brightest talents of the ‘ New Age’. With a vision that is inspired by multi-genre and multi-disciplinary interests, . Asher’s 2016 EP No Place For Wild Dogs V.2 was a curious project whose influences and inspirations ranged from Middle Age art and architecture to Daft Punk, with a style and delivery that sounds nothing like anything else any young Nigerian rapper in the 010’s. Since then, Kyrian Asher has spent his time producing for other artists (he was part of the producing team for Lindsey Abudei’s stellar debut album) and streamline his unique vision for what we can only call Baroque rap.

His new single “Land Of A Thousand Spires” will instantly remind you of peak Kanye with its manipulation of vocal chants, autotuned and arranged into a simple melody. Asher literally oozes confidence as he guides us through his journey in rap, weaving a narrative through era specific metaphors like mosh pits, a hallmark of the alt-metal movement of the early 2000’s and allusory lines from iconic songs by other rappers and singers. Added to punchlines that reference classic Greek mythology and contemporary literature, there are reams and reams of references to unpack, a proper synesthetic experience for the so inclined.

But ultimately his message is simple, Kyrian Asher has come through a lot, and conquered fear on his way to becoming the artist he is now. “The Land of a Thousand Spires” is a spool of thread through the maze, to show us the way to get to where he is.

Listen to “The Land Of A Thousand Spires” here.

Here is a list of songs we’ve been listening to at THE NATIVE

Essentials: Rejjie Snow’s ‘The Moon & You’

Posted on by The Native

Following his politically conscious single, “Crooked Cops” where he addressed black exploitation, the Irish rapper of Nigerian descent released his new mixtape to add to his new releases in anticipation of his debut studio album, Dear Annie. His new mixtape, The Moon & You has 13 tracks and guest features from Joey Bada$$, Jesse Boykins III, Joyce Wrice, Dana Williams & Julian Bell. The Moon & You has a lot of orchestra worthy instrumentals and melodies thanks to productions from Cam O’Bi, Stefa Ponce Shungu and Benjamin Miler who gets the most production credits for songs like “Sunny California”, “Me & My Piano” and 6 other songs. Together their works give Rejjie Snow a platform to rap his way into hip-hop’s growing list of genre blending artists.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUH8sT-gR7q/?taken-by=rejjiesnow

The mixtape opens with “Intro”, an immediately indicator of the direction The Moon & You is heading with heavy jazz influences and melodies that bring to mind Andre 3000’s Outkasts. Rejjie Snow delivers a performance that could easily fit on a rock instrumental but his lyrics reference Wu-tang and other Hip-hop themes.

The lead single, “Purple Tuesday” features Joey Bada$$ and Jesse Boykins III and was released a few days before the mixtape. Rejjie Snow brings the Pro Era rapper along for a rap number on trying to figure out the world around us and our position in it. Jesse Boykins III’s Soulful chorus links the two rap verses with inspiring lyrics preaching hope.

“Sunny California” is the most streamed song on his Soundcloud off the mixtape. Benjamin Miler produces the somber beat that starts with piano keys that morph into energetic rock guitar riffs towards the end of the 7th track. Rejjie Snow reflects on past love and things that help him deal with sad times: “weed, sunshine, summertime, light girl, chrome wheels, new wip” His deep musky voice is layered with a thin auto-tuned one that dominates the catchy hook.

Most tracks on The Moon & You have positive messages of hope with a lot of orchestra piano arrangements. Rejjie Snow put his pipes to test on songs like “Me And My Piano” which listens like a John Legend live performance. The Moon & You explores several genres for beat samples giving it an experimental feel after listening to the synth baseline on “Mama Africa”. Though Rejjie Snow is of Nigerian decent, he doesn’t milk his heritage for culture points, only settling for a casual acknowledgement with his song titles.

Listen to The Moon & You below.

https://soundcloud.com/rejjiesnow/sets/the-moon-and-you

Featured Image Credits: Instagram/rejjiesnow

Rejjie Snow stays stunts on his “Flexing” single

5 Videos You Should See This Weekend

Posted on by The Native

Lil Wayne – Got Money Feat. T-Pain

This throwback might be coming a little late but there is never a wrong time to listen to one of the most landmark releases in Hip-hop history. T-Pain and Lil Wayne’s T-Wayne super group that laid down the blueprint for Kanye West and Jay Z’s Watch The Throne to break all the records it did. “Got Money” was released in 2009 when both artists were at the tippie-top of their careers. While Lil Wayne legal limbo with Cash Money drags on, T Pain has been hinting at a come back with his releases. Yesterday, the singer/rapper released the T-Wayne album he and Lil Wayne have been sitting on since 2009 with leaked single, “He Raps He Sings” and 7 other new songs. It’s the most nostalgic album that would come out this year hands down.

Phyno – Link Up Feat. Burna Boy, MI

Phyno’s The Playmaker album didn’t get the attention it deserved when it was released last year. The rapper has tried to fix that by releasing videos for the tracks that are guaranteed to do well commercially. “Link Up” features MI and Burna Boy who join Phyno to deliver what has so far been the hardest rap collaboration of the year. Unlimited L. A directs the video with that perception in mind, using face mask costumes on the three artists. MI’s trigger fingers also can be seen as a metaphor that their rap bars aren’t to be messed with.

Future – Mask Off

Future’s “Mask Off” has become a cultural masterpiece, its accompanying video directed by Colin Tilley aims to make an even bigger statement. Tapping Amber Rose for a gloomy, the video is set in what feels like a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The scenes show burning cars, robbers and looters, masked anarchists and Amber Rose in fishnets riding shotgun. The chaos however stops towards the end of the video when the anarchists are swayed by the flutes and join Future dancing.

Major Lazer – Run Up Feat. Yung L, Skales, PartyNextDoor, Nicki Minaj

It’s been over a month since the release of “Run Up” The Major Lazer single featuring Nicki Minaj and PartyNextDoor. It has since grown popular enough for an Afrosmash remix featuring Skales and Yung L, following Diplo’s visit to Nigeria during GidiFest. While Afro remixes to big American songs aren’t new in Nigeria, “Run Up” Afromash’s video is a definite first. Stanz Visuals directs the video set in Lagos with shots depicting a festive atmosphere showing models adorned in traditional attires as well as Caribbean carnival costumes.

Katy Perry – Bon Appetit Feat. Migos

“Bon Appetit” is filled with all the quirky food related sexual innuendos you’d expect with every cornball radio pop song you have ever heard . “Bon Appetite” is expected to be included on Katy Perry’s Witness album and it features Migos. The video shows the singer getting served as a meal after going through all the process of getting cooked. Migos show up in the club just before the meal takes a dark turn for the guest but that metaphor could be anything.

Featured Image Credits: YouTube/FutureVEVO

Listen to the sixth installment of the NATIVE MIX feat. Smoking indoors

Michael Jackson’s chimpanzee gets his own Netflix show

Posted on by The Native

Words by Ehimenim Agweh

On the heels of a slew of biopics covering various aspects of the life of the ‘King of Pop’, one particular member of his entourage is getting his story told. His pet chimpanzee, Bubbles.

It tells Michael Jackson’s story from Bubbles point of view and how he processes the events around him. The story follows Bubbles from the time Michael Jackson adopts him, his place in his owner’s various scandals up to the point of his release. It also aims to explore the possibility of sexual abuse from Michael Jackson to Bubbles.

The story’s concept was listed as one of Hollywood’s best unproduced screenplays and is currently on the market for buyers at the Cannes Film Market. Netflix and Amazon were leading a list of potential takers until Netflix bought the rights to the screenplay.

Bubbles’ story was acquired by Dan Harmon of ‘Anomalisa’ fame and is to be represented by international sales company, Rocket Science. Production will include Andrew Kortschak and Walter Kortschak of End Cue as well as Dan Harmon’s Starburns Industries.

Incase you missed it: Michael Jackson’s Biopic to premiere on his Memorial Day – 25th June

The Bumplist: Kiss Daniel, J Hus, Phyno, Sampha and more songs you need to hear

Posted on by The Native

Odoyewu – Minz

At the tail-end of last week, new comer, Minz released two singles, “Story”, our best new music for this week, and “Odoyewu”. Odoyewu is your typical dance floor braggadocio number, sprinkled with just Afropop fairy dust to ease to club DJ sets as a mood leveler as the night tends towards morning.

Rollin’ (feat. Khalid & Future) – Calvin Harris

In his seemingly never-ending attempt at creating the Song of the Summer, Calvin Harris drops the third single from his forthcoming album Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1.  Joining the phenomenal “Slide” and the playful “Heatstroke” is “Rollin'”, with vocals provided by Khalid and Future. It’s his best outing yet.

Janet – M.T. Hadley

Little is known about the London producer whose track got played on Frank Ocean’s BLONDED Radio. But what we do know is his track “Janet” is an absolute gem. This one hits home.

Roses – Elena Ayodele

“Roses” is the lone single on the Soundcloud page of Future’s “Mask Off” flutist Elena Ayodele. This debut single by the Nigerian-American (by name) is a fusion of many seemingly random but cohesive ideas, including trap music filtered through R&B and a sax solo that sets the entire track apart from anything you have heard lately.

Feelin’ (feat Chris Adjei) – RJZ
The new afro-wave has thrived on songs like “Feelin'”, where mellow verses are rewarded with heavy drops and a hook that dissolves into a lighter shade of the instrumental. This contrast has become a hallmark for EDM-inspired sub-generes of African music and RJZ pulls off the same concept for “Feelin'”

Sensual – Kahvinya

Kenyan singer, Kahvinya recorded “Sensual” as a tribute to Yoruba river goddess, Oshun. It’s a bit of bit of R&B and Soul sprinkled with electronic experimental music. But most importantly, it’s an indicator that Africa’s most progressive are seeking for more than airplay, they’re also seeking spirituality and self-discovery.

Plottin’ – J Hus

Bouff Daddy finally dropped his debut album Common Sense, and more than anything he showed his exceptional versatility throughout the long-play. “Plottin” is reminiscent of the UK Garage days of yesteryear, and Hus adds his magic as he always does.

Sofa – Kiss Daniel
After a critically acclaimed New Era debut album, the pressure on Kiss Daniel to impress with a sophomore effort is now twice what he felt last year. “Sofa” is the first new material we’re getting from Kiss Daniel this year and it brings back a boisterous era that is quickly being overwritten by minimalist production and mood based music.

Cheers – Yung L

Picture a do-over of Rihanna’s version of her own song with the same title, strip everything away but keep the mood and purpose, add trumpets, then put Yung L in the booth. Voila, “Cheers”

Outer Limits (feat. Serine) – A2

The London MC shows out on yet another strong outing. His debut album, Blue, can’t come any sooner

Link Up (feat. Burna Boy & M.I) – Phyno

“Link Up” is one of the deep cuts from Phyno’s heavily underrated Playmaker album. Phyno runs through hard brags in his native language, with M.I supporting with light funny punches. The icing on this cake is Burna Boy, who melds it all together with the hardest bridge and hook put to microphone this year thus far.

Close but Not Quite (feat. Sampha) – Everything Is Recorded 

XL Head Honcho, Richard Russel, put together an EP with friends of the label, and the title track from Sampha is Sampha at his very best.

Listen to Native Mix 006: Featuring Smoking indoors

Mr Eazi: Touring the world, levelling up and changing the game forever

Posted on by The Native

Not many have stories like Mr Eazi’s. The singer and songwriter, started off promoting University parties and shows in Ghana. A random studio session led to the recording of his first single and successively, he recorded and released his first mixtape, About to Blow in 2013. Over the next months, Mr Eazi steadily rose through airwaves in Ghana. And in 2014, he relocated to Nigeria, a precursor to an eventual blow-up with break-out single, “Skin Tight” the following year. The rest of the Eazi story is pretty much public knowledge from there.

This summer, Mr Eazi will be going up against AfroPop heavyweights AKA, Wizkid, Davido, Sakordie amongst others nominated for BET’s Best International Act: Africa category. The nomination for the highly coveted award strengthens a sturdy global reputation and acclaim he has built over the past few months, in addition to performing for audiences of various sizes and nationalities.

These are no small wins for any African artist. Despite the facts, it’s almost hard to think Eazi is the same man who rose to popularity in less than two years with a handful of singles and a moderately successful Accra To Lagos mixtape. In fact, Eazi’s distinct laid-back style and comparatively low-replay value made early doubters speculate he would fizzle into the same backwater stable all one-trick ponies go to die (Olu Maintain, what’s good?). But it’s 2017 and Mr Eazi has not only cut through the long line to mainstream reverence, he is also cultivating a following built off more than hype with a world tour.

The rise of Afro-inspired sub-genres has been well documented by local and foreign media since the turn of the decade. But the hype of forays by forerunners, D’banj, 2face et al who attempted to take Afropop into the global market never materialised into sustained mainstream careers. It may be agreeable to say Mr Eazi is only a beneficiary of a digitally globalised world where accessibility is increased by the internet, however, the announced locations and dates for his world tour gleans an artists who understands the value of markets outside of his comfort zone. After premiering his mixtape Accra To Lagos with an intimate London event hosted by DJ Cuppy in early February, he announced his #DettyWorldTour listing fifty initial venues – both big and small – across Europe and North America, and an eight-month calendar that would put him on the road from April through November.

“I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man” – Jay Z

Going by the numbers, Eazi’s #DettyWorldTour highlights a crucial pitfall of African artists: the failure to follow album releases with a promotional tour to signal-boost the project. Revenue that could have been garnered from tickets and merchandise sales and are often lazily foregone, causing even good albums to come and go with little post-release staying power.

Perhaps the broader discussion here is a general lack of performance-worthy venues and the sheer volume of logistics required for an international campaign. However, the #DettyWorldTour hack for this conundrum is a pretty simple one. In addition to including small to medium sized easy-to-manage venues for international stops, his team also revealed that upon return, Mr Eazi would be going on a thirty-school university tour across West-Africa. This is a game-changing strategy no doubt borne of Mr Eazi’s past as a university events promoter. The ingenuity, however, is further highlighted considering Kiss Daniel similarly set out on a tour for his New Era album last year, and left African venues off his map completely.

As with many pop sub-genres in any soundscape, there is always a tendency for sound to be dependent and fettered by hype. This is particularly why Mr Eazi’s attempt to surpass that limitation is important. In this part of the world, there is low respectability for the value of live performances and big stages (like airplay) are often tied to backdoor payola arrangements and nepotistic ‘links’ between artist/management and event promoters. #DettyWorldTour does not only redefine Mr Eazi’s artistry, it’s a glimpse at how a sustainable brand can be built away from industry politicking.

Mr Eazi’s insistence on playing the game by his own rules is probably why he has previously stated he wants to be the “Jay Z of Africa”. Putting the extensive catalogue of Gloria’s Son aside, the formative Roc-a-Fella years in the 90s is what set Jay Z apart from his rap counterparts, predating his actual run as President of Def Jam and all that came after it. There’s a long way to go before we can speak about Eazi in the same breath as The Greatest Rapper Of All Time, but he is well on the path to living out one of Jay Z’s greatest teachings: “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man.”

Image Credit: Instagram/mreazi

Incase you missed it: Watch Mr Eazi, Kahlo and Davido in Riton’s Music Video For “Money”

Watch J Hus Stunt In “Common Sense” Video

Posted on by The Native

J Hus unveiled the first video from his debut album, Common Sense a few hours ago. If his plan for the album is to produce videos to show off and throw shade at his haters then he is up to a great start with the video for “Common Sense”. The video is filled with several images primed to make you feel like the rapper has it all figured out.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUPdNv0FWxJ/?taken-by=theuglygram

J Hus is in his symbolic bucket hat that was a central element for his album cover art. The black Benz J Hus references in album lead single, “Did You See” also makes an appearance in “Common Sense” video. In an unceremonious intro, J Hus is seen buying the Benz second hand from a white owner who keeps talking till J Hus cuts him off; “Hey enough of this. Lemme just get my hand on it yeah?”. That could explain why the models in the video are also too engrossed in catching as much cash as possible that the music is lost on them. The video also shows J Hus accompanied by two friendlies but shots of three J Hus eating at a table suggests that he really only trusts himself.

J Hus’ debut album is expected to ease into summer playlist in the coming weeks. Peep the titular track from the album here.

Watch J Hus’ video for “Common Sense” below.

Featured Image Credits: YouTube/JHusVEVO

Check out all the standouts from J Hus’ ‘Common Sense’ album”