This friday #HeinekenLFDW (Heineken Lagos Fashion and Design Week) will break new ground in its support of the Nigerian fashion industry with it’s debut Autumn /Winter season Presentation. This is the first time the showcase will feature fall/winter collection and this is also the first time the collections will be exclusively a presentation, allowing enthusiasts, buyers and sundry the rare opportunity to interact with the designers and their pieces up close. The presentation this year will hold at the Red Door Gallery in Victoria Island and will explore the concept of “Identity” in fashion.
Unlike the Summer runway shows which features 60+ designers, the LFDW fall presentation will only feature nine designers, carefully chosen by this year’s presentation curator and creative director at Stranger Lagos, Yegwa Ukpo. Ghanaian accessories designer AAKS will be making her LFDW debut with this presentation and old favorites like Gozel Green, Kelechi Odu, Lisa Folawiyo, Maki Oh,Orange Culture andRé will also be showcasing. Other debut labels include Post Imperial and Shem Paronelli (who has shown at the Lagos showcase before as part of their business fairs and in collaboration with other designers).
‘Identity’ will explore how fashion and dress is expressed in the Nigerian society and how the difficulties of producing locally affects the way in which it is expressed. Each designer will be designated a space, one in which they can distill these and other themes further, engage directly with guests, be they buyers or editors and most pertinently, present their Autumn/Winter Collections 2017.
A few of the designers share their insights on what “identity” means to them.
Also look out for the screening of “Eko For Show History of Lagos Fashion”, a fashion documentary by Bolaji Kekere-Ekun, Francesca Tiller-Gyado, and Sesu Tilley-Gyado.
The fashion film explores the origins of Lagos Fashion, the traditional fabrics such as Adire and Aso-Oke and the historical events that shaped the ever evolving Lagos fashion scene into what it has become today.
#HeinekenLFDW (Heineken Lagos Fashion and Design Week) A/W Presentation will run from the 31st March – 2nd April 2017.
Sound Sultan is a singer, rapper, song writer and comedian but perhaps his finest talent lies in his ability to craft timeless melodies. His 2014 hit with Wizkid, “Kokose” was a classic match up of his 90’s sound with a modern Afropop singer without either artist compromising their impact for effect. His latest single, “Ghetto Love” reverses that concept by bringing together all our favorite artists for a nostalgic cypher-type rework of all of their old hits.
Sound Sultan’s tuneful intro reminds listeners of the legendary status of himself and The Kings Of The Ghetto who have all made timeless music despite their low budget sound productions. The classic Sound Sultan guitar strums plays over piano chords and the bouncy reggae beat rhythm 90’s Nigerian songs thrived on. He starts with a chorus that sets the melodious tone for the rest of the song and African China delivers a truly harmonic sounding verse that revives his 2011 song “If You Love Somebody”. He shares the spot for first verse with Sound Sultan who ups the tempo of the song with his quicker flows.
Marvelous Benjy gives his early 2000’s track, “New Dance” a modern reggae upgrade for his verse as if to remind us where new singers like Pantoranking get their inspiration from. Baba Fryo joins Benjy on the second verse and works his late 90’s hit song “Dem Go Dey Pose” into the reggae verse wearing his signature star eye patch.
The last verse features the Danfo Driver duo of Mad Melon and Mountain Black who pull up in their signature yellow Lagos bus. Mad Melon sings the Sound Sultan’s hook with his more ghetto voice while Mountain slightly tweaks their “Danfo Driver” hit song to fit the “Ghetto Love” theme. Daddy Showkey is given the last verse to drop his punchy wisdom tips.
Sound Sultan’s “Ghetto Love” plays like a pleasant trip to the past when self publishing street artists were able to create music the whole country could relate to. For The Kings of The Ghetto, music was a way out of the struggle but when they got out, they found it difficult to stay relevant due to the industry’s poor structure at the time. Notwithstanding, Sound Sultan’s strategic link between the two generations brings us a slew of songs that are as Nigerian as the national anthem while giving us a somewhat existential look at life after artists reach the peak of their fame then fall from grace.
Watch video for Sound Sultan and The Kings of The Ghetto’s “Ghetto Love” here.
Inspired by a conversation with friends on past lovers, Omoni Oboli’s Okafor’s Law is a film based on a man’s quest to prove whether or not he can still pull the women he had affairs with in the past regardless of whether they’ve moved on or not. It references the informal slang ‘Okafor’s Law’ which suggests it is easier to sleep with a person if you have slept with them before.
Following the international premiere at Toronto Film Festival, a controversial issue popped up regarding the script of the film. Jude Idada, a Nigerian writer resident in Canada, alleged that Oboli took the work he had done regarding Okafor’s Law and developed it. Omoni Oboli didn’t address the allegations at the time, choosing to ignore the issue then and continue with publicity. Turns out that wasn’t a great idea as Jude Idada was prepared to get what he alleges is his due with the help of the law. He filed a suit against Oboli at a Nigerian federal high court, citing fraud and had Oboli barred from premiering the film in Nigeria.
Soon after the case was established, the court issued an injunction halting the national premiere and distribution till the allegations are addressed. Sadly, Omoni and her team were served on the evening of the premiere, effectively laying waste to all her preparations for the evening.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSCV9-BD6FB/
Though it’s uncertain how this will play out, it’s a necessary process as it seeks to address the rampant problem of intellectual property theft in Nigeria.
W4’s “Kontrol” is an exception to many things. Unlike much of Afropop from the early 2010s, “Kontrol” is simple and near minimalist. Instead of scattered steelpan drums and overproduced backtracks, loud running synths are constant through the instrumentation, alongside bouncy bass kicks that never going of sync. W4 waxes the rhythm with a sparse lyrical melody and adlibs but it’s not without purpose or overwrought with unnecessary details. In both video and audio for “Kontrol”, Fela’s influence is unmistakable, but all W4 really lends from the late Afrobeat King is mood and aesthetic; there is neither a lazy lyrical nor instrumental sample, like many artists who have sought inspiration from the legend would have done.
Produced by moonlighting producer, JFem Beats, “Kontrol” seems to have been intended as a freestyle turned hit, hence the loose lyrics and lack of obvious subject matter. This, by the way, was in the post-Free madness years, after Wizkid, Terry G and D’banj scored hits out of first-take freestyles and perhaps also inspired W4 to put out the recording as is, without editing meme-worthy lyrics about getting used like a deodorant.
It’s a tough stretch to describe W4’s “Kontrol” as a song ahead of its years, but it gave an early indication of what minimally produced Afropop would sound like in the coming years. The eventual diffusion of trap soundscape with fringe sounds in the mid-2010s allowed entry for sub-genres like Afrotrap, Electronic-trap amongst other sounds, but it was already a couple years late to W4’s “Kontrol”. Perhaps this forerunner status is a lasting legacy for the one hit wonder, who has failed to surface on the radar ever since.
The last we heard of singer Tim Lyre was part of the compilation EP Push Good Music by Olma Records. His contribution to the EP, “Fake” which he sang, wrote and produced was one of the highlights of the EP and it seemed signalled a new phase in the musician’s career who is best known for his debut EP Circa 94. But it seems that partnership might not pan out and Lyre might be going it alone.
Lyre just put out a new single ‘My Place’, the first single from his new project, a proper debut album tentatively titled For What It’s Worth, slated for release in August. This is how he describes the forthcoming EP.
The project explores a central theme of relationships and the range of emotions that come with the territory. Much like his first project, this has an eclectic, genre-transcending feel to it, although influences are taken from R&B, Soul, Pop, Hip-Hop, and other genres, it is delivered in truly West-African fashion.
‘My Place’ seems a curious choice for a first single. It isn’t as up-tempo or contemporary afro-pop like the rest of his oeuvre, instead it straddles a slower, more chill thematic sound, with focus on complex lyrics, interspersed with pidgin and a flow that uses devices like subtle repetition to drive home the song’s hooks. Lyre is creatively in charge here as well, producing the song as well as taking credit for lyrics and composition. This ultra-independent approach to music making is yielding interesting results for Lyre and we wonder what a whole album produced independently with little outside influence will sound like.
August is five months away. We won’t have to wait too long to find out.
Sure by now everyone knows that Nonso Amadi’s got the pipes and owns a beat like no man’s business, but many don’t know he actually made his name first as an independent producer, experimenting with unconventional genres. Singer Tchella’s single “Traffic” must have had a bigger debut than we originally anticipated because it’s not been four days and Amadi’s already been so besotted with the single that he’s chopped and screwed it, transforming it into a barely recognizable afro-house bop.
It seems the remix which is put out under the Hills Music Group imprint came as a complete surprise to Tchella. Which means the digital manipulation of his voice and the increase in the song’s tempo are also creative decisions all from Nonso. He digs deep into the predecessors of what has become the chillwave movement for this remix, taking the electronic-y synths of 90’s alt-pop and mid-tempo Bass thumps and liberal bass guitar riff, the very definition of having fun with it.
But more than anything, Amadi’s remix is a happy accident that shows the true range of Tchella’s voice and a clear future in electronic dance genres. Don’t say we didn’t call it.
The signing of Reekado Banks marked the beginning of post-MoHits years many didn’t expect Don Jazzy to live past. Hence why Reekado Banks’ shoulders have been weighty with pressure for hits like forerunners D’banj and Wande Coal, since his first unveiling in 2014. The pressure increased considerably after bagging two Headies awards back to back for “Rookie of The Year” and “Next Rated” categories respectively, with fans and critics alike pressuring him for an impressive debut album. Spotlight was indeed impressive but due to low level marketing and Reekado Banks’ experimentation with the growing Afrotrap music genre it failed to crease the place of classic debuts like we heard from Wande Coal and Wizkid, two artists he immediately drew comparisons to when he first surfaced on the radar.
Off the album, comes “Biggy Man”, his second collaboration with Falz since the two first worked together on “Celebrity Girlfriend” in 2015.
Reekado sings on the polysynth baseline and uses the beat’s base drop to good effect with his “Burst Brain” ad-lib. Falz takes the last verse and gives yet another quip filled verse with the swagger of a Yoruba man flipping his Agbada. The video however shows him and Reekado in modern big boy clothes.
Lucas Ried shot and directed the video for “Biggy Man” to like a photo shoot for a clothing line. But then, maybe that was the point.
Watch the video for Reekado Banks “Biggy man” featuring Falz below.
The dedicated section of the South by South West festival, “Sounds from Africa and The Caribbean” hosted its 2017 set earlier this month and just as promised, Afropop was well represented on the Austin stage. Maleek Berry and Mr Eazi were able to make time from their international tours and Ayo Jay was more than happy to take the stage alongside his countrymen and colleagues.
While we wait for the official release of clips from the concert, here’s what our Nigerian artists were able to tell us about the festivals.
Though Runtown was booked to perform at the festival, an earlier Instagram post revealed the singer was also booked to headline his own show in New York on the same day and it appears he chose that over the South by South West stage. Catch a glimpse of what Runtown was up to below.
As a musician you make many calculated risks; what singles to release first, what to promote, your brand and image. Once the passion and emotion is bled off the page and sheet music into the studio booth, a lot of thinking has to go into ensuring that the music doesn’t swallowed in the debris of sound that is churned by out by millions of hopefuls with beat making software and a dream. Tchella is definitely not lost in the debris.
Love hurts, when it’s one way traffic.
As a Nigerian this line resonates, in both literal and figurative ways and music newcomer Tchella definitely has our attention. His first single ,strong>”Traffic” is the kind of gamble only the most self assured in their sound even attempt, an honest to goodness, piano driven torch song. Singing about an ex-love who has moved on to someone else, and the unrequited love the song’s protagonist still feels, Tchella delivers clear notes in a raspy alto, trusting that the emotion he pours into every line will carry past the sparse instrumentation and subtle minors. It works and by the end of the song, you feel everything Tchella wants you to feel.
We don’t know much about Tchella other than the fact that he seems affiliated to the Hills Music Group and is working closely with 2016’s revelation, Nonso Amadi. We’ll wait to see if this mystery is part of a much larger roll out plan for the singer. We don’t know why though, he already has us in maw.
Clones long left the sphere of science fiction since the creation of Dolly the sheep but the shroud of mystery surrounding human clones makes it hard to say for certain if they do exist. That hasn’t stopped all sorts of theories though. Kanye, Taylor Swift, Gucci Mane and quite a lot of other artists have been the focus in numerous conspiracy theories claiming they are clones of some past person or have been cloned and replaced. Though it might be hard to prove actual humanoid clones exist, there are other artists who have dedicated their careers to riding the waves of other famous artists.
Quite famous for making people do a double-take and ask “Is that Wizkid?”, Ceeza Milli’s identity as an artist has been closely mirrored against his more famous colleague, Wizkid. His voice and delivery makes it hard to differentiate between both artists. His most recent release, “Rotate” however exactly doesn’t sound his usual Wizkid whitewash. This time, “Rotate” makes it hard to decide whether one is listening to Davido or Skales.
Over Bizzouch and iLLKeyz’ drum-heavy Afrobeats production, Ceeza sings about being known where ever he goes, be it from South Africa to Nigeria. This very reason coupled with his status as a “dancehall king” is exactly why the girls should dance for him. Despite the initial confusion that comes every time his songs play, “Rotate” makes for an interesting listen. Perhaps, this mirror identity of his might be the factor that might just propel him to an authentic sound.
In a world tainted by xenophobia, the painful reality of being discriminated against weighs heavily on a person’s psyche and it’s exhausting. It’s exhausting to hold yourself to cultural expectations on how to act, how to talk, how to dress. It’s exhausting to have to deal with strangers invading your personal space, demanding to touch your hair, asking you to explain some slang they heard or simply stereotype you based on your race. Unsurprisingly, it’s hard to retain that happiness you need to get through the day with all that negativity hovering around.
By the nature of her status as a black Ghanaian woman living in the U.S, Ria Boss has experienced the subtle and not-so-subtle discrimination meted out to minorities yet she realises the need to keep herself grounded. Her latest single “Carefree” is a defiant stand to retain that black girl magic she needs to get through life.
Barely hovering over the voices in the background and the soft percussions that gradually intensify, Ria states the need to keep herself grounded and carefree in spite of the negativity and sadness that pervades nearly every aspect of her reality and that of every black girl in her shoes.
“Don’t be shy, you’re one of a kind”, she chants. Be carefree.
Mr Eazi’s Accra to Lagos, mixtape was intended to reflect on nuances in both cities in a bid to show the similarity between them. True to his word, the short video teasers posted on his Instagram, “Fight” and “Business” are expected to portray stories of the two major cities of the countries; Accra and Lagos.
The two videos are from the first part of Accra to Lagos, which is stylised as a two-part story, the first 5 tracks for Ghana and the last 5 for Lagos, as he revealed in an Instagram post following its release in January.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSEqtNdl7pV/
Keeping in line with this narrative, the video teaser for “Business” featuring his Starboy labelmate Mugeez, sees Mr Eazi wearing a sleeveless Jersey, with “Ghana” printed on. Set at a poolside, it’s hard to say what else could possibly happen but a pool party.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSEt2D_FC7O/
On the short “Fight” teaser, Eazi switches up on the romance and is seen searching for his love interest, a blonde DJ Cuppy. Yet with every turn, he keeps running into another blonde woman.
Eazi’s teaser videos don’t hit anything particularly unique but given the series of conceptual “Vibez Video(s)” has released for tracks on the tape, we expect the upcoming clips to take the same crisp visuals and loose storytelling format
Shakespeare’s classic love story Romeo and Juliet, continues to inspire music, film and literature and it seems the Italian tragedy of unrequited love and star crossed lovers has inspired singer Charles Nkanga. His story might not play out as grotesquely as Shakespeare’s but it honors the story’s overarching theme; young love threatened by outside force and strengthened by trial.
On “Against The World”, Charles has a conversation with his lover, recounting conversations with friends who have expressed worry at the pace of their relationship, just like any sane person would have probably advised the teenage Romeo. And just like Romeo, Charles is deaf to the criticism, deciding instead to ignore everyone but his lover. He makes allusions to “saving this place” probably an allusion to the dystopia that is all the rage in YA literature and cinema yet he still imagines putting his arms around her. Producer X and LT’s electronic dance production fits well with the narrative Charles scripted on “Against The World”, giving the song an aura of a pre-apocalyptic conversation between lovers.
Two years ago, Lil Kesh had just been another rapper off the streets who bagged a record deal with Olamide’s YBNL records. Fast forward to a slew of top-charting hits and a moderately received debut album and you have a Lil Kesh who has been catapulted to mainstream success and popularity. Now the rapper lives in the same glass house celebrities like Drake and Kanye West—who have gotten rich enough to complain about being rich—have reached.
On his new single, Lil Kesh is skeptical about new friends who didn’t hang around to support his grind but want to take part in eating its fruits. To play into this plot, and accompanying video directed by Unlimited L.A tells the story of a boy who cruising a new bike around playmates who refused to share their soccer ball with him in the past.
PatrickxxLee’s “Pocahontas” doesn’t snap into full focus until its closing moments when he sings and raps: “Poke her Honest/ Naked truth in my sonics/ Blaze the booth and pay homage/ Melt my heart when you’re smiling”. The four-bar refrain is unmissable, partly due to Patrickxxlee’s vocal switch into lower level reverb and a clever play on the song’s title while interpolating rhymes and metaphors. In these last four lines, PatrickxxLee’s youthful hedonism and penchant for self-indulgent destruction, meets an equally layered romantic inner self.
Since the release of his rager nights memorabilia, Disco Utopia EP last year, PatricKxxLee has carefully but effectively morphed his sound over a range of emotions, but rage and love are two paradoxical running themes that remain. On “Pocahontas” PatrickxxLee relives familiar woes of intoxication and trust issues while embracing his love of the cold dark where emotions and feelings go to die. It’s supposed to be a love song about a free-spirited “Pocahontas”, but it really listens like a drunken early morning conversation in a poorly lit underground club.
As far as progressive African music goes, PatrickxxLee has positioned himself as a firebrand auto-tune vocalist. Where he excels above his peers, however, is with complex production often built off loud drums and low hollow synths, a sleek distinction in tempo PatrickxxLee has stayed true to despite trap music’s tendency for codeine rap.
“Pocahontas” is not Patrickxxlee’s newest form, but its a refreshing twist from a rapper who has been intent on subverting genre and storytelling norms with trap songs that aren’t really trap and love songs, that aren’t really about love.
Listen to “Pocahontas”, our ‘Best New Music’ for this week below.
The art of parenting is a delicate, unappreciated job that often goes unnoticed. Even before birth, women have to assume the role of the caregiver, taking utmost care to carry the child till delivery. Completely disregarding the fact that postpartum depression might make one unable to concentrate on mothering, women are automatically thrust with almost every aspect of care of the child. In celebration of Mothering Sunday, we’d be doing a special review of one of the greatest odes to motherhood, Christy Essien-Igbokwe’s “Seun Rere”.
Scripted as a conversation between mother and child, Christy plays the role of a concerned mother and advises her child to do good so his lot will be well. “Seun Rere” also gives an insight into how one-sided traditional parenting is. She echoes the idea that when a child is good, the father receives praises but if the child goes down a different path, the blame lies on the mother. Sadly, not much has changed since this song was released in the ’80s.
However, she plays against the cultural nuances regarding conversations between parents and children in Nigeria. The second verse sees the child also appealing to his mum to do well too. Quite contrary to the norm, she recognized that parenting isn’t just about giving instructions and having a child obey. There’s also a responsibility for parents to do right by their children.
The very structure of the song itself was revolutionary, as it showed a realistic open channel of communication between mother and child, one that should be replicated as much as possible.
Celebrate mothers with us this Sunday by revising Christy Essien Igbokwe’s “Seun Rere”
Lana Del Rey’s manic pixie persona is often reflected in free-spirited lyrics about skipping out on responsibilities and her willingness to go all the way for her lovers. “Florida Kilos”, one of the stand-out hits from her 2014 Ultraviolence album was inspired by a ’70s Cocaine Cowboys documentary, a story of a group of traffickers in Miami.
Quite unlike Lana’s song which is more like an ode to selling cocaine and being hopelessly in love with a drug dealer, Jinmi Abdul’s Afropop remake of the love song is more playful with bits revealing his gratitude to his woman and God.
Though Lana Del Rey fans might feel catfished after listening past the first few chords, Jinmi immediately attempts to make up for setting up such a teaser. His version tagged “Amazing Grace” is a story about being in love with a woman who has been hurt in the past. He describes all he calls her and expresses his gratitude for finding a woman he considers a blessing.
Listen to “Amazing Grace”
Update: The artist Jinmi informed us that “Amazing Grace” wasn’t intended as a cover of Lana’s “Florida Kilos”, but an original song where he unknowingly sampled her hit single.
“Anikulapo” is the latest comic from Vortex, a Nigerian company that creates African content using cartoons and comic book illustrations. What this means essentially is a fusion of traditional African art culture and modern designs. They portray traditional African culture with mediums like graffiti, comic and shirt designs instead of the typical canvas and “Anikulapo” is a perfect chance to showcase a Nigerian Story for a global audience.
“Anikulapo” is inspired by Seun Kuti, the son of Nigerian legend, Fela. Their ability to use their music as a political tool for activism in the society has inspired a comic book hero, Anikulapo who also shares facial similarities with the musician. The hero falls into the category of anti-heroes like Batman and Deadpool(Marvel first R-rated blockbuster movie). They have an extremely high sense of justice but find themselves in situations where they have to place themselves above the law for the greater good of the society.
The first edition of “Anikulapo” shows the hero working with his seven wives who are skilled African fighters. He is seen as a leader of a team consisting of himself, his seven wives and two dogs that bully criminals into submission. Similar to comics with the anti-hero narratives like the Batman series, Watch Men, Daredevil and the likes, the comic has a noir setting to emphasize the gloomy reality of the “Anikulapo” universe.
While the comic still needs a lot of tweaks to increase the comic’s commercial viability, Seun Kuti’s co-sign highlights a new interest from mainstream culture in Nigeria’s comic industry. The massive turn out at last year’s Comi-con in Ikeja, Lagos indicated a growing appeal for the subculture. “Anikulapo” would join the ranks of, “Agbara”, “June XII -Spirit of Afrika” and other home grown comics that have come out of Vortex inc. Perhaps, like America has Marvel comics, Vortex will become a firebrand for home made animations that attempt to tell Nigerian stories with brush strokes and bright colors.
Our obsession with Darkovibes began with his latest single and this week’s Best New Music, “Tommorow”. The release forced us to scour through his SoundCloud for anything and everything he has ever laid his voice on. This is how we found “Cupid”, a bass-heavy experimental EDM-fused Afrotrap single by producer, Nxrth featuring our new fave, Darkovibes.
Pine and Ginger (feat. Tessellated & Amindi k. Fro$t) – Valleyz
Producer Valleyz may have intended to evoke the wanderlust of a summer holiday with “Pine and Ginger” but solemn lyrics about using substances to cope with the strife of life add an extra layer of surrealism unexpected of an essentially feel-good song.
What You Started – DJ Yin, BankyOnDBeatz
DJ Yin is in the headrush of new love on “What You Started” and every day is a holiday in her field of feelings. You first hear a reflection of this mood in the consistent steelpan bop that slowly unfurls with other sounds. Then in minor sounds that melt into the instrumentation along with Yin’s voice then in a steady tempo that never really peaks.
It’s Alright – Orinayo Ojo
There is a fine line between feeling love and the longing for it but both emotions seem oddly familiar. And perhaps that is why this ambient lullaby is not the happiest one. Orinayo Ojo sings for lover he desperately wants close, but the descent of his voice into thick synths and airy back-up vocals indicate things may not be as simple as they seem. As Orinayo Ojo reveals in the song’s closing moments, it would appear his lover is embattled with old pain and hesitant to let anyone in.
From Our Pot Of Jollof
Yawa – Tekno
Those who only turn ears to Tekno for footwork music may not notice, but Tekno sets “Yawa” apart from his other singles by attempting to tell an actual story, instead of merely rhyming buzz words as we have grown to always expect of him. “Yawa” is a familiar story, nobody will tell it like Tekno.
Overseas
Saturn Barz – Gorillaz (feat. Popcaan)
The internet hasn’t stopped buzzing since Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz announced their first full-length project in six years, Humanz. Off the upcoming LP is “Saturn Barz”, a trademark Gorillaz track in that it destroys any idea of “genres” for the better interest of making a great record. OVO/Unruly leader Popcaan delivers on a collaboration made in Plastic Beach.
Can’t Have Everything – Drake
A scathing deep cut from the sprawling 22-track throne-claiming “playlist”, More Life. “Can’t” is a strong contender for Rap Performance of the Year.
Madiba Riddim – Drake
“One Dance” Drake returns in Super Saiyan form with a standout track from the project of the moment. Get your 2-step ready, “Madiba Riddim” is going to rule the summer.
The Heart Part 4 – Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick returns on the fourth instalment of his critically acclaimed “Heart” series, and we already know what to expect. He has a lot to get off his chest.
Growth always comes with the realization that when things remain the same for a long time, it is usually a metaphor for stagnancy. Change, with its conflicting emotions and volatility is often necessary for growth. For Niyyi, growth came with the need to question everything around him, from “people who come and go” and what he really knows about them. Drawing inspiration from these rocky emotions, he released “Sit Tight”, a song revealing how much of a skeptic he has become. On “Sit Tight”, he raps about having to face demons and question his beliefs, an uncomfortable situation that rings true for anyone who has been in those shoes.
“Sit Tight” is the first track of his Melancholy Series, a sub-series under his soon-to-be-released debut mixtape, Camp Nehru.
Today is definitely a good day. I moisturized, put my hair in a fineapple, finished all the my work on time and prayed to the Gods that the new episode of Our Best Friend’s Wedding (OBFW) would be the one where things will finally start happening. Praise the Lord, he answered.
SPOILER ALERT
If you haven’t seen the new episode of OBFW, you can watch it below or check out the entire thing on Youtube. Or you could just skip all of that and let me gist you.
Hmmm! Where were we? Oh right.
Jade got her ass handed to her in Episode 8 after she went and overestimated how much access her fancy new title as Tunde’s girlfriend would get her. Charles crossed out yet another woman from his potential wife master list and we’re no closer to finding out what the hell is wrong with Charles’s mother. That is why when episode 9 opens with Jade three weeks after the events of episode 8 I’ll admit this was me.
Jade is at home ‘working’ when she keeps getting assaulted by a persistent caller, most likely Tunde. Someone rings her doorbell (not a pun you pervs) and she reluctantly goes to check who’s at the door. Of all the people I’d expected at the door, I never imagined Tolu, Tunde’s famzing P.A. Jade understandably isn’t about to hear ANYTHING that conniving woman has to say and tries to slam the door in Tolu’s face and ends up slamming it on her hand.
P.S: WHAT. THE. FUCK. IS. GOING. ON. WITH. TOLU’s WEAVE?!
Meanwhile Charles shows up at Kemi’s ‘office’ with coffees and cake, cos appaz the ‘Oracles’ have told him she needs some cheering up. At it’s kind of obvious that the OBFW show runners were just like, ‘we already have too many subplots juggling up in the air, let’s give Kemi an absent husband and call it a day’, cos we’re 9 episodes in and we haven’t even heard Kemi’s husband’s voice. How do we know he isn’t a spirit husband?
Kemi sha steers the topic over to marriage shenanigans. Charles has run out potential brides and finally concedes that his idea was incredibly stupid in the first place. After the chest pain that seeing Jade out of his friendzone and swapping spit with another guy, he’s finally warming up to the idea that just maybe he friendzoned baby J because he thought she’d be there forever.
Jade on the other hand is bonding with Tolu after bandaging her hand. Turns out Jade used to travel the world with the Red Cross getting her Angelina Jolie on but quit because there were ‘people’ (a.k.a. Charles) that said job was keeping her away from. They get to talking and Jade accuses Tolu of sabotaging her relationship with Tunde. Tolu doesn’t convince Jade (or us) that she doesn’t have a crush on Tunde but she at least cares enough for him to swallow her pride and beg baby J to take Tunde back. Conveniently Tunde calls after, and they make up, kind of. And Jade tells him before they can get back together, they need to ‘talk’.
GHEUNS!
Mama Charles makes a surprise reappearance of her own, calling Charles after he has gone months, and sex fueled craze to find her a wife without actually talking to her. She reminds him her birthday in a few days and tensions him about bringing her a wife. Then she cryptically, or not so cryptically tells Charles she needs to introduce him to ‘someone’. But because Ogbofudo Charles never actually listens when a woman is talking to him, he waves her off and ends the call. And Mama Charley turns over to that Doctor from episode three and tells him she wants to tell Charles ‘face to face’.
Okay gurl.
Onome (who has lowkey become the show’s most exciting person) is at a bar ordering Mimosas taking a call from an ‘Olivia’ when she drops a bombshell, she’s ‘keeping it’.
Of all the people to be sitting next to her, it’s Kemi, who like Gbemi turns out to be a radio show OAP. She and Onome get to talking, and Onome spills a lot of subtle tea (definitely a pun) about the father of her child (it’s not Charles) and what it would mean for the rest of her life. Kemi is actually a decent human being and gives Onome some quality advice before homegirl exes to go and face her demons. Jade calls not long after with news of her and Tunde’s pending reunion. Kemi brings up again the as yet unmentioned thing she and Tunde need to ‘talk’ about. Whatever it is, it is obvs huge.
The episode ends with Tunde outchea moisturizing, getting his bald head laid and googling prices for engagement rings. OH EM GEEE!!!
Charles on the other hand is busy scrolling through his contacts looking for who to knack. Bobo yi is an idiot.
Finally sturvs is happurrin. Even though the season is still dragging. But sturvs is happurrin.
One More Thing…
If your 58 something year old mother who raised you as a single mom has to tell you face to face that she has finally found someone she wants to be knacking on the regular, just maybe, just a tiny bit, you might be a fucking jerk. Just maybe.
But nothing Charles is/does should surprise us at this point.
