Though unstated, Asa celebrated the first day of international women’s week yesterday with the release of a video for her performance with a 60 piece orchestra at the Simphiwe Dana Symphony Experience last November. There is no doubt that Asa performed a full set but asides from her spell binding rendition, the choice to upload this cut from her set is directly linked to the song’s core subject matter.
“Moving on” is the fifth track from Asa’s bed of stone album. On the song, Asa sings of a dark event that causes her to run and hide but she also details how she’s moving past the trauma of it all. It’s vague, but Asa’s metaphors unmistakably fits the description of rape and abuse, and a survivor’s attempt at forging on with a semblance of a normal life.
The imagery of the performance stays true to the song. The all black Orchestra playing behind Asa who strolls the stage in a white flowing dress conveys the message of hope in spite of pain from the past. The world’s cold reaction to the theme of rape and suffering is also expressed through the blue lights illuminating the entire stage.
Asa addresses a core woman struggle in our patriarchal society in the most poetic way she knows. The performance was effortlessly graceful and builds the narrative for women all over the world trying to make the best of their situations.
After a long awaited album that failed to meet public expectation, Wande Coal is looking to redeem his past glory. Late in 2016, he released “Iskaba” and “Ballerz” two singles produced by DJ Tunes and Maleek Berry respectively. His most recent effort is the release of the video for “Ballerz” a glossy 50s styled gangster video, set in a private bar where money speaks volumes.
Though his pimp daddy persona might be a tad problematic given how it subtly implies sexual exploitation, great costumes and chrome lights give the video a cinematic tone, perfect for the Nigerian pop and R’n’B don narrative, Wande Coal has pushed since the release of his Wanted album in 2015.
Runtown was invited to perform on The Compozers’ latest Encore Session, a live recording usually done for instrumental covers and reworks of pre-released singles. Their attention over the years has moved from hip-hop to the Nigerian Afrop-pop genre with re-fixes of “Surulere”, “Soke”,“Woju” amongst others. Runtown brought his energy for a live rendition of “Lagos to Kampala”, “Pain Killer” and late 2016 summer hit single, “Mad Over You”.
Runtown’s presence in the studio gave the performance life and The Compozers’ deft touch on the instruments gave a dynamic feel to all the fan favorites re-worked during the jam.
Watch The Compozers’ first Encore session of the year featuring Runtown here.
The mid 2000’s had more than its share of musical one hit wonders. Perhaps it was because the industry was in the middle of it’s second incarnation, the quantum shift from the rebel-tinged music of the Plantashun Boiz and the Remedies, artists so surprised that they could pull Nigerian audiences that they never really stopped being underdogs long enough to become legends and the commercially driven jollof music superstars of the 2010’s.
The casualties of this move were mostly female pop stars inspired by Beyonce and Rihanna, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga and looking to replicate their success here. While most of the music these starlets made were very much of their time, a few have proven well ahead of their time. None, however, have been as prophetic of our contemporary sound as Justina’s “Omo You Too Sexy”.
Justina made her name as the second runner-up in 2006’s Nokia First Chance reality singing contest. She worked on music, releasing “Omo You Too Sexy” in 2008 and a video for the song in early 2009. “Omo You Too Sexy” ticked a number of firsts; it was the first overtly sensual Afro-pop songs by a female singer, long before Tiwa Savage released Kele-Kele Love and changed everything. She was also the first female Afro-pop startlet to subvert the male gaze, actively pursuing the subject of her desire. Then there is the sound. Before Justina, Nigerian pop starlets tended to sing entirely or largely in accented english. She was the first to properly embrace pidgin as a medium in her music, a trope the male artists had all but adopted by 2009 when the song was released.
“Omo You Too Sexy” was instant hit, and though Justina tried to replicate the success of the song with follow up singlesThe Morning After, Radio DJ and So Tempting.It has stayed the biggest hit of her career.
“My mummy has plenty friends… but me I don’t have any friends.”
Many kinds of women have been portrayed in Nigerian cinema but none has been more poorly treated than the sex worker. In a deeply religious country like ours, with its influence spread across all spheres of existence, including creative ones, sex work is villified. Classic films like Domitilla defined sex work as the exclusive preserve of the greedy and the wayward, and sex workers as ungodly. In the years since, sex work has become a plot point, a twist thrown in to give a flailing film some edginess, a trump card filmmakers rarely touch unless they can use it as a contrast to purity. The complexities that define sex work and the realities that sex workers have to live through to survive are rarely told with empathy, grace or even distance from personal prejudices and predispositions.
While sex work is misrepresented in Nigerian cinema, the sex worker at least is represented. This representation sadly doesn’t extend to the people directly affected by sex work, the partners and children of sex workers. It is on this premise that filmmaker Ifeoma Chukwuogo and writer Ikenna Edmund Okah build their film Bariga Sugar.
Ese, the ten year old daughter of sex worker Tina lives in the ghetto Brothel Bariga Sugar. Played by Halimat Olarenwaju with skill that you’d expect from someone far older, she brings Ese to life. Ese navigates the world with an avian curiosity, tempered with a weariness that comes from persistent rejection. As the pre-adolescent child of sex worker living a brothel, she is old enough to understand that her mother Tina is a pariah by virtue of her work, but young to be traumatized by the rejection she receives because of her affiliation to her. She is withdrawn, content to spend her days sitting outside her mother’s room, passing the days while her mother ‘entertains’.
When Hanatu, a new sex worker moves into the brothel with her ten year old son, Jamil (Tude Azeez). Ese suddenly finds herself the recipient of attention. It takes her a while to warm up to the bubbly Jamil, and never truly engages him till he is bullied and taunted by street children because of his mother’s sex work. It is only then that both children really find they share identical experiences and become inseparable. A misunderstanding between their mothers, threatens to end the children’s friendship and a tragedy reunites them, the price of which is almost too much to bear.
While the children are the real revelations of Bariga Sugar, the film really is more than the sum of its parts. Tina Mba’s stellar turn as the brothel madam, Madam Sugar helps ground the film in reality, proving yet again that the veterans of Nollywood still have a lot to give. Re Olunuga’s understated original score provides the fragility that reminds us, in spite of the harshness of the ghetto and the bleakness of the children’s reality, that these characters represent people with vast internal lives. Even the vintage radio advertisement that plays in the background in the first few minutes of the film, and the ambient sounds that follow help transport you to the decade in which the film is set and allows you fully immerse yourself, staying with you long past the film’s 26 minutes.
When the Bariga Sugar’s big tragedy happens, you are simultaneously expectant and completely blindsided. It helps that there are no villains in the end, only women and children disadvantaged by a system that let’s them fall through the cracks. The lessons are subtle but they’re impossible to ignore.
At the end of the film Ese is where she was when it began but she is essentially changed. The viewer is too, which is all a filmmaker can ask for.
On Wednesday March 8th, the world will unite in celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity, per IWD. Here at The NATIVE, we strongly believe that this is a conversation that needs to be had, especially surrounding women in the creative industries in Africa.
For far too long, the success of women in the African music industry has been downplayed by the presence of a male figure in their lives. From Sasha P in the Storm Records heyday, to the early 2010s pop dominance of Tiwa Savage, there seems to constantly be an overbearing patriarchal figure, quick to take far too much credit for doing a comparatively minuscule job. During this week, we aim to highlight the women in music, style and the communities that surround them, that are breaking ground and making up their own rules as they do so. Whilst it is somewhat easy to fall into the trap of elevating women simply to fulfil some sort of pseudo-moral criteria, it is pivotal that any artist is only championed because of their talent and message, regardless of their gender.
At The NATIVE, we are committed to accelerating gender parity, but not just in a obligatory box ticking way: there are numerous African women doing amazing things in the creative industries that need to be highlighted, and we are intent on doing so.
One of the tasks op-ed writers and editors covering Niniola will face in the coming years is how to properly classify her type of music, without skewering important facts or reducing her artistry to one trifling detail. Between her post-Project Fame debut “Ibadi” and last year’s sleeper hit, “Shabba”, Niniola has morphed through a range of African styles with EDM accents. Even now, her latest single is a mile apart from what we last heard from her on the Afro-juju-inspired first track off Legendury Beatz’s Afropop 101, “Kini” .
“Maradona” opens mellow, with Sarz’s signature multi-layered house music groove and a simple baseline. Nini comes in after a stop-and-snare with a loose metaphor about her lover’s slipperiness and multiple trysts with different women. She wants to be upset with him but it is impossible, even as she knows that he only comes to her at night time after a long day of philandering. The reason is obvious by the start of a sultry refrain vividly detailing her lover’s dominance in the bedroom, complete with subtle references to fellatio and violent orgasms. It sounds like the type of hazy conversation you have with that one person your body can’t say ‘no’ to, no matter how sound your mind, head and heart is.
“Maradona” is not an unusual song, it’s just an oddly composed one and in a good way. Sex is a taboo topic in Nigeria like many other African countries, and it is especially even worse for women who are expected to ascribe to certain moral values. Though Niniola obscures some of the details with a sly sublet of Yoruba language, she doesn’t shy away from the lewd directness and specificity that gives “Maradona” all of its intended risque and edginess.
Two months ago, twelve young adults entered the latest edition of the Big Brother Nigeria household, thus forfeiting the rights to their time and privacy in exchange for the chance to win ₦25 million and an SUV, as well as the usual 15 minutes of fame associated with this sort of exposure. We won’t dwell on the morality of their decisions and the fact that in the history of the Big Brother franchise in Africa, there has never been a more sex-positive cast, to the point that some have even petitioned for the show to be banned despite the fact it is already an age restricted adult show. What we will note, is that the housemates were unafraid to pair up and engage in consensual sexual activity – presumably for ratings – but also, as one would expect in any restricted premises full of adults for am elongated period of time.
What was not consensual however, were the events that happened in the early morning of March 5th 2017. Kemen, the self-proclaimed “fitness entrepreneur”, sexually assaulted fellow housemate TBoss whilst she slept. In what was clearly a premeditated attack, Kemen waited till he thought the cameras in the house were off and for TBoss – who he had been romantically pursuing unsuccessfully all season – to be asleep. Almost immediately, hundreds of people began to tweet directly at the Big Brother Nigeria social media handle, calling their attention to the assault and demanding that Kemen be punished. Later that evening, during the weekly eviction show, TBoss was shown the video of the assault, and Kemen was rightly disqualified for misconduct.
The statistics are terrifying: one in five women across the world has been the victim of sexual assault. When you actually compute the numbers, translate them from mere statistics to experiences that people are living with, the sheer scale of it is mind-boggling.
For every five women you know, one has had someone try to force them to have sex, or touched them in a sexual manner without their consent, or inexplicably taken a “no” to mean a “yes” One in ten women have been raped, which means you regularly interact with someone who has been raped; perhaps some casual acquaintance like the daughter of the bossman who runs the corner shop, or the server at Chicken Republic who always gives you extra ketchup, or maybe even your cousin, or sister, or mother. There were only 8 women in the Big Brother Nigeria house and it took less than a month before a woman was assaulted.
But Kemen wasn’t the only one who assaulted a housemate. Debbie Rise, one of the latecomers to the show, waited till Bassey was asleep before forcing a kiss on him. When he didn’t reciprocate, she left, which is probably why she wasn’t punished as severely as Kemen. The widely touted myth that women are incapable of raping or sexually assaulting men likely also contributed to how lenient the people behind Big Brother were towards her, but this does not mean what she did was not a crime.
In both instances, the victims of the unsolicited sexual attention were close to their assailants and had even been somewhat intimate with them. But this doesn’t given Kemen or Debbie Rise the right to perform intimate acts without the consent of their desired suitors turned victims.
What this means is that as a younger generation of Nigerians, we need to teach ourselves about consent. For years we have been taught that “No Means No”, and that we should stop when our partners explicitly tell us no. But consent has evolved beyond that. Consent is not simply the presence of a “No”, it is the absence of a definitive “Yes”. If your partner is not willing and actively giving you verbal and/or non-verbal consent, you need to stop whatever you are trying to do.Whilst every situation is different with varying contextual details, there is no grey area between yes and no: we have all been taught this from a young age. You must be equally agreeing to whatever sexual act you both are engaged in for it to be consensual, and that consent can be withdrawn at any time. No one owes us their bodies or their consent. It must be given freely.
For those still struggling to understand the difference between Yes and No, watch the video below.
While it is possible that Nigerians are still sore that Ghana became an independent nation while the country was still under British rule, over the years artists from both nations have come together to make some of the best music from the African soundscape.
Regardless of the Mr Eazi beef, music has been the one thing both nations agree on. This list does not only intend to celebrate Ghana’s 60th independence day, it’s also a way to share happy memories we’ve had over the years. Without further ado, here are our picks for top 7 Ghana-Nigeria collaborations ever.
Tony Tetuila featured Ghanaian hip-life group V.I.P on “2 Women” off his 2006 Free Soldier album. “2 Women” listens like a loud bar conversation among four guys trying to have a good time out despite inherent personal relationship problems. It reminds us of the simple times before the jollof wars, when the idea of hombres from both countries bantering over girl problems didn’t seem entirely bizzare.
Skin Tight (feat. Efya) – Mr Eazi
Mr Eazi took advantage of his Nigerian nationality and Ghanaian upbringing to create “Skin Tight” alongside songbird, Efya, a decorated singer and songwriter from Kumasi, Ghana. “Skin Tight” is a lovable feel good track that enjoyed airplay in both nations. This collaboration was among the collection of singles that helped push his music to Nigeria and ultimately all around the world.
My Love (feat VIP) – 2Face
Many may be unfamiliar with this little detail, but 2face and VIP’s cross-border collaboration was directly inspired by an old Jamaican folk song popularized by Harry Belafonte’s “Jamaican Farewell”. The loose instrumental arrangement and light weight subject matter fits perfectly into the ambiance of songs so distinctively mood based that they sound a lot better when you are within the context of its intent. For “My Love”, there is a distinct Afro-Caribbean vibe that yearns for a modest escape like going on a vacation or a having an independence day yard cook-out with your loved ones.
Kiss Your Hand (feat Wande Cole) – R2Bees
After the success of his M2M album, Wande Coal hit the road to tour, make press appearances and seek new inspiration amongst other things. His stop at Ghana led to the birth of his cult favorite ‘Ghana freestyle’ and the release of an official single loosely borne of his impromptu freestyle. “Kiss Your Hand” was timely for the group R2Bees because it came at a time when everything Wande Coal touched was gold. The single was largely responsible for R2Bees crossover into the Nigerian mainstream, and is perhaps one of the first proof of potential for modern African music through Ghana Nigeria collaborations.
No Kissing Baby (feat Sarkodie) – Patoranking
Patoranking’s ability to consistently churn out quality Afro-pop hasn’t gone unnoticed. “No Kissing Baby”, his number one single featuring Ghana’s Sarkodiemakes for great dance floor music and silently tackles the issue of consent in male and female sexual relations. Over preppy drums and a groovy baseline inspired by Ghanaian Afropop, Patoranking sings of a lover who rejects his advances and his gentlemanly desire to only take whatever love she would freely give without forcing her hand. At a time when the subject matter of rape culture is being tackled more openly among young people in African societies, Patoranking and Sarkodie’s “No Kissing”, inadvertently lends a voice to devastating social ill that needs all the attention it can get.
Daddy yo (feat. Efya) – Wizkid
Wizkid is on to greater things these days. “Daddy Yo”, his first single since working on Drake’s Views album is an EDM-tinted club heater featuring Ghanaian singer and song writer, Efya. There not much for content on “Daddy Yo” but if anything, it proves that Ghana-Nigeria collaborations will work on any level; local or international.
Slow Down (feat Wizkid) – R2bees
It should be no surprise that R2Bees gets a second mention on our list. Their 2014 collaboration with Wizkid on “Slow Down” ear-marked the beginning of an extended public relationship between the group and Starboy (a friendship that culminated their joint set up of Starboy records with Padae as its head). “Slow Down” is calm and was probably the first indication of the progression Mr. Eazi, Runtown and Tekno amongst others towed with their brand of Afro-pop – with simpler production and focus on vocals.
Nothing excites us more here at the Native Mag than young artists taking risks that advance their crafts, especially when they do it early in their careers. It is even more impressive when it is a female artist and when their dedication to the craft is put before commercial viability. This is why Jemimah Ugen’s debut single ‘Suddenly’ is so interesting; it’s a confluence of all these things.
Ugen is relatively unknown in the music industry but it turns out she has put in the work in the years leading to now. She also has uber talented producer Atah Lenell Otigba (who has produced some great songs including the critically acclaimed debut album by Lindsey Abudei) lends his production and songwriting talents to the song.
A classic guitar driven ballad that works to the best of Jemimah’s strengths; her vocal proficiency and distinct timbre and easy on the ears melody that flits along from the first note to the closing chords. She sings of unexpected love and the beginning throes of a romance. As an introduction to who she is as an artist, she couldn’t have had a better calling card than ‘Suddenly’. We hope the song gets major airplay and brings her the attention she deserves.
Nigerian Canadian filmmaker Kazeem Kuteyi came to Nigeria in the summer of 2015 with an idea on his mind. He planned to make a short documentary chronicling the creative and personal lives of young Nigerian creatives forging new paths in their respective fields. As a creative Nigerian in diaspora, he had begun to hear the first strains of homegrown talent making a name for themselves internationally. But the stories he often heard about them were either incomplete or skewered through a western media lens, taking out all the nuance and cultural influences that inspire these home based artists. He decided to do something about him, take on the project of properly telling these stories himself.
It took him a few months to find the subjects for his documentary and record their interviews and after post production Kuteyi was forced to shelve the project due to financial constraints and the Nigerian network for which the documentary was produced refusing to pay for the project. Kuteyi turned his time to other projects including the digital platform New Currency which Kuteyi co-founded, that profiles independent artists across the world, curating their sounds and influences and deciphering their inspirations and motivations. New Currency has also curated a number of offline events to connect followers of the project with the artists that the project has profiled.
Two years later Kuteyi has decided to put out clips and outtakes from the documentary so we can experience the greatness that he immortalized on tape and share in the very distinct vibe he was able to capture. The ones we’ve seen so far, featuring fashion merchandize expert and stylist Funmi Fagbemi and graphic designer/photographer Niyi Okeowo are must sees.
Storytelling has always been a hallmark of Nigeria’s alte-music scene. The ability to create elaborate yarn ensconced in 3 -5 minutes of contemporary sound was what separated artists like Ajebutter 22 and BlackMagic from their contemporaries. It found them fanbases that universally related with their personal stories and showed that jollof music isn’t the only way to find mainstream success here. Independent artist and producer Yinka Bernie is making that approach work for him on his new single ‘Silhouette’.
Just like Future has Desiigner, turns out Black Magic has an honest to goodness doppelganger in Yinka Onaduja, otherwise known as YinkaBernie. The singer’s new single, engineered by Goldkeyz and self produced by Bernie, marries all the classic elements of Black Magic’s distinctive sound and Ajebutter 22’s delivery. Vocoder induced vocal fry; check. Droning sung rap; check. Eclectic trumpet heavy afro-beat instrumentation; check. Save for their names and the fact that Magic hasn’t announced any new singles, you wouldn’t be judged for mistaking Yinka Bernie for Mr Repete.
But before you go for your pitchforks and light your torches; chill for a second. YinkaBernie’s is a consummate experimenter, flipping singles by Asa and releasing EP’s that references Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s oeuvre. So it wouldn’t be a stretch to see Silhouettewhich is a pretty decent single, as one of Bernie’s sonic experiments. Also the artwork, done by Taiwo Ayodeji is pretty sick. So take some time out and give it a spin.
Popping the cherry is one of the most defining coming-of-age events that will happen in anyone’s young adult life. And because good sex sometimes depends on room atmosphere, sound creates an extra layer of stimulation. We took that cue to ask The NATIVEcommunity what they remember hearing the very first time they bumped uglies.
From “Wicked Games” to Linkin’ Park, and everything in between. Here are 11 of the most interesting responses we got.
Sounds from The Other Lover
“His grunts were louder than the generator next door, I kept on wondering if he was in pain or something” (E. 20)
“Wicked Games” – The Weeknd
“I was so tight and dry that he could only get the tip in. We stayed like that for a long time barely moving and for some reason he kept humming along to the song (while i writhed in pain under him). I have never related to a song like I did in that moment” (L. 24)
*”Some Metal Band”*
My head was close to the speakers and some metal band (old Linkin Park maybe) was screaming. But he knew what he was doing and though my ears were ringing for hours, my eyes also went blind and my legs got crippled after. If you know, you know. (L.W. 19)
Prayerful Parents
“I remember hearing her parents praying upstairs. We were in her room downstairs in the dark trying not to make a racket” (P. 22)
Something from Skrillex
“Mans was into dubstep. He tried to time his strokes and pulled out every time the beat dropped. FML” (F. 21)
“Don’t Matter” – Akon
“I don’t remember how this song got stuck on replay, but what I really remember is trying not to cum in the first 30 seconds and slowing down every time Akon sang ‘but I’ve got you’” (K. 26)
“With Me” – DVSN
“The song was playing off his phone. The loud shuffling and creaking bed drowned most of the lyrics, but I could still hear it playing in the back” (S, 19)
When porn and chill got too real
“We both didn’t know shit about sex so we decided to watch porn for guidance. But he got carried away and when we were done he was convinced I was the one making all the sounds from the TV (In reality I was in blinding pain the entire time except for like 2 seconds of slow, deep strokes that felt good). He really thought his first timer ass put in that much work. He’s my boyfriend now and this is an inside joke that will never get old” (G. 18)
An interlude from Kirk Franklin
We had a lot of foreplay and everything was going good, but just as we were about to start the real thing, a Kirk Franklin song (“Still In Control”) shuffled onto the playlist. I could’ve sworn I felt my vagina dry up instantly. (T.T. 24)
“Sexual Healing” – Marvin Gaye
“No need to tell me, I am just as ashamed of myself for losing my virginity to the most cliche sex song of all time” (V. 26)
“Hold Yuh” (Feat. Nicki Minaj) – Gyptian
It took me a while to notice, but my boyfriend (at the time) was thrusting to the tempo of the song. But while we were at it, the power cut and the music stopped. I think he was confused about which rhythm to use after that so we just switched positions. (S. 22)
*Editor’s Note: We’d hate to ruin the memories of your first time, but Linkin’ Park is definitely not a Metal band. Please don’t do that to the genre of Metal.
Ozzy B might have taken up a new name (Santi) but his style of R’n’B remains distinctly the same.
After the release of his debut LP Suzie’s Funeral in 2016, Santi has kept busy with guest features and recently the release of “Jungle” featuring Odunsi and Genio. His latest single “Beat It Up”, is produced by Fuego Senoras beat maker, Bankyondbeatz and it features DJ Yin and Tay Iwar.
On “Beat It Up”, DJ Yin sings about the fear of losing love while Santi and Tay tell a story of a girl who keeps coming back despite the circumstances around their ill-timed physical attraction with little or no emotional attachment. The different perspectives of all three narratives creates the perfect blend of neo-R&B psychedelia and the experimental minimalism of the Afro-wave.
MMG rapper, Wale has never shied away from his Nigerian roots. In the past, he has delivered guest features and ambitious freestyles on songs with afropop origins. Though they were relatively unpopular, Wale continues his affiliation with the Nigerian soundscape with his latest freestyle on Burna Boy’s “Soke”.
Wale jumps on the laid back vibe of the song and brings his DMV swagger to the 2015 sleeper hit. He starts off with a few bars as if trying to get familiar with the beat while Burna Boy’s melodic ad-lib plays over the beat. His more energized bars are spaced between each kick and he relies on clever wordplay to create a feel good rap song that matches the song’s original vibe.
The freestyle was released as part of the promotion for his forthcoming Shine album. Listen to Wale’s freestyle cover for Burna Boy’s “Soke”.
It’s Women’s History Month again and over the next couple of weeks, there’d be a slew of girl power anthem playlists and singles everywhere. In honour of the month, Waje and fellow The Voice coach, Lira have released the video for “Mountain”, a self-motivational anthem aimed at spurring women to subvert the patriarchy. Part of this narrative is an accompanying video with no male characters and women showcased in stereotypically male positions.
Oddly enough, the video is directed by Clarence Peters whose dearth of ideas for a ‘woman empowerment’ video is obvious from the cliche ‘women solidarity march’ and slow motion shots of ‘everyday black women’ (basically all the things you’d expect from a video like this). It’s hard to say why Waje’s “Mountain” video was directed by a man especially with inventive female directors like Kemi Adetiba,Ifeoma Chukwuogo amongst others who already have impressive portfolios.
“Mountain” is full of textbook shots but we have to take what we get as most women issues go largely undiscussed already. The video still manages to highlight individual personal struggles and celebrate triumph, keeping in line with Waje’s message on the song. If anything, Waje and Clarence Peters will get points for trying.
“Mountain” is the lead single off Waje’s forthcoming album set for release later this year.
There is a saying that you never actually find good music, you stumble upon in it, in the same manner one would find true love or money lost on the ground. But when you do find good music, nothing in that perfect moment will sound more right than the fusion of drums, synths and snares streaming into your ears. This is one way to surmise Riton’s latest single “Money”, (but only because it would be inappropriate to just type “fucking amazing!” in all caps).
To give a bit of context, Riton is a British house music DJ who got nominated for a Grammy last year for his feature on Kah-Lo‘s single “Rinse and Repeat”. “Money” is Riton’s eclectic new single and it already sounds like another win for the DJ.
Riton uses the same after-hours acid house style you hear on “Rinse and Repeat”, but unlike the former track’s mantra style chant, Mr Eazi and Kah-Lo bring melody to the tempo. There are beautifully layered vocal samples, a shiny verse from Davido and when it fully comes together, “Money” is an unusual but lush variant of Afropop like we have never heard before. It’s a long 9 month run till the end of the year, and Riton’s “Money” is already an early contender for song of the year with no competition in sight.
See the colourful lyric video for Riton’s “Money” featuring Mr Eazi, Davido and Kah-Lo
So now, it’s been sort of confirmed that the first season of Our Best Friend’s Wedding will only have 12 episodes in it’s first season. In light of this bit of information, let’s do a little book keeping.
Here’s what we know about Our Best Friend’s Wedding.
Charles, perennial playboy and all around douchebag, eavesdrops on his mother’s private conversation and snoops through her personal shit and jumps to a premature conclusion that his mother has cancer.
Instead of taking her to the hospital, he instead decides to give her a wife and children. More douchebaggery.
He tells his druggie, irresponsible male best friend that his mother has cancer, then withholds this vital information from his oft-jobless but very responsible female best friends, and instead co-opts them into finding him his mail-order bride.
They draw up a list of 8 of Charles’s exes, and potentially set up 8 dates for him to find his ‘true love’.
So far he has been on a date with two of the eight girls on the list, Thirsty Tara and “I had an abortion and became a bad girl” Shayo. Of course there was also Dr. Darlene, who is already married and Aunty Jade who we all know is eventually going to end up with douchebag Charles.
Now you’re all caught up, let’s dig into episode 6.
SPOILER ALERT
If you haven’t seen the episode, do so here.
After disastrous S&M date with Shayo, Charles is back to being a regular ass, poorly acted douchebag and the show’s finally zeroing on the Jade subplot. After all she is the other ‘main’ character and so far she’s been largely neglected. Jade’s been aired for the last few days since her first date with Tunde and when he finally calls her, he apologizes and tells her he’s been unable to even look away from his laptop because one of the servers at his startup crashed. Jade’s understandably remorseful after hearing this. Then inexplicably, the director decides to create fake tension by using framing and dramatic music to cast Tunde’s secretary as some kind of side chick.
There are actual plot points that are being ignored for this, cut it out.
Tunde tells Jade he’s got her a present as a peace offering for airing her and offers to come over to hers to drop it. You go fear format.
Meanwhile, Charles is at Promise’s who apparently has been released from the hospital. Promise is getting all dressed up to go to Church (hey Nollywood plotline) and he tries to convince Charles to come with. But Charles won’t because he has to go see Kemi and Jade. Bringing them up gives Promise the opportunity to ask him (again) why he isn’t just asking Jade out. Of course douchebag Charles is all like ‘Jade’s married to her work’ and ‘This is awkward’. Boy, if you don’t get the fuck out of here with the fucking excuses.
While Charles is going to great lengths to keep Jade in the friendzone, Jade is at home hostessing her guest Tunde. His surprise is apparently a bottle of tequila and he quickly sets up a game of beer pong (perhaps to soften her up). By the time they’re done, he’s all up in Jade’s space leaning in for a kiss.
While Jade and Tunde are being rudely interrupted, Onome from episode one is at an ATM somewhere withdrawing the money she conned out of Charles for the contract from her firm. She receives a call from some unknown number and agrees to meet someone somewhere. Oh my God, what could all this vagueness mean?
“Foreshadowing”
By the time Charles gets to Jade’s, Tunde and co are already in the thick of their hangout and Tunde, not knowing who Charles is or his pride of place in the friendzone shuts the door on him. Jade goes out and fetches him into the house and introduces Charles and Tunde to each other. They remain mildly civil but the tension between them is thick enough that you can cut it with a knife. Jade chooses to sit beside Tunde and of course, he receives yet another call requiring him to return to the office. While Charles is still trying to convince himself Jade is securely single and in the thrall of his friendzone, she kisses Tunde in full glare of Kemi and Charles.
Nobody had to tell Charles to go on his next date after that. His next babe is Yetunde, a walking stereotype for the Lagos runz geh. Yetunde is overweight, has very shouty coloured contact lenses in and is wolfing down the rice in front of her as if the waiter might come and take it away. The show’s writers at least pretended to give Shayo some nuance, with this one they literally just made a her talking plot point. The entire date last less than a minute before Charles pays the bill and ditches her for accusing of asking her to split the bill with her.
But not before she throws a glass of water at Charles and instead hits a 7 foot giant on a date at the next table. And for the first time in the entire show, our resident douchebag gets what he deserves, a black eye.
The episode should have ended there, but what is an OBFW episode without a cliffhanger, and we get one in the form of Onome at Charles’s front door at midnight with a shiny black eye of her own.
So a few questions.
Are we going to ever get a three dimensional female character? Jade is defined by whoever is or is not giving her face; Kemi is completely over it even before anyone starts talking and all the women in Charles’s past are two dimensional cardboard characters.
Our Best Friend’s Wedding is this close to redeeming itself, (even though we know the looking for love bit is irredeemable) if it can give us just ONE three dimensional female character.
There are only a few inventive sub-ground level beatmakers in the same class as TMXO. The architect turned producer is one half of production group CRNVL and over the years he has left his trail on productions for M.I, Ice Prince respectively.
TMXO is part of a latter generation of producers who rely heavily on electronic synths, heavy bass drops and complex arrangements. His latest single is a remix of Jon Bellion’s “All Time Low”, a song off the cult-favourite Human Condition album.
As usual with TMXO, there are small sounds popping everywhere on the back track. Jon Bellion’s vocals are delicately layered on a guitar riff that’s almost too good to be true (especially when the “Low Low Low” refrain sets in before easing into an electric solo). The drums and baseline are crush of island vibes and edm’s embrace of faster bounces and leaner synths.
TMXO’s final product doesn’t sound any less like the experiment that it is. But it is also fair to admit it would also have been impossible to imagine a Jon Bellion rework this ambitious that doesn’t suck.
Listen to TMXO’s remix of “All Time Low” by Jon Bellion below
Two years ago, American-born Ghanian rapper Kweku Collins, was a high-schooler undecided about pursuing music or going to college. But by the end of 2016, the 18 year old had put out a full-length project, headlined a couple of shows in his native Chicago hometown and set out on an European tour. Fittingly, the first single off his forthcoming Grey EP is reflective as Kweku recalls where he has been and where he is going to
Over the slightly off-beat drums and glistening guitar riffs on “International Business Trip”, he recounts how success has taken him across borders, without humble-bragging in a Drake-like manner about how disorienting jet-setting has become. The offbeat instrumentation is a chopped and slopped mix that mimics the hazy sleepiness that comes with a jetlag.
Overall,“International Business Trip” plays like the mood you’d be in on your way home from the airport after seeing the world and experiencing new things. It is reflective of the subtle moments that reveal how much we and the world around us has changed.
Listen to Kweku Collins on “International Business Trip” below
The dedication to roll out and promotion may have created initial hype for Mr Eazi’s Accra to Lagos (Life is Eazi Vol. 1) mixtape, but the project still sailed under water upon release anyway. For continued relevance, Mr Eazi will be looking to keep the LP in rotation with videos from the full-length debut.
The video for “In The Morning” (feat. Big Lean) is directed by Sesan and is a third in a series of loosely directed ‘Vibez Videos’ released for tracks off Accra To Lagos. For “In the Morning” Mr Eazi and Big Lean go through the motions of relationship conflicts and resolves, while managing to look cool as fuck at the same time.
It’s not exactly clear what a ‘Vibez Video’ is supposed to be, but like much of Mr Eazi’s music, “In The Morning” conveys a chunk of all the moods an emotions you’d expect to see. Who knows, maybe, Accra To Lagos may see some light of day anyway even if its for visual aesthetic.
