When was the last time you saw a Nigerian film that you saw yourself in?
In many ways our contemporary media has failed young Nigerians. Riddled with tropes and cliches, and prone to telling repetitive but financially lucrative narratives, we leave studios entertained but unchanged. That’s why it’s always a thing of beauty to see young Nigerians take up film making as a medium to tell their own stories. This is why film makers like Gbenga Saka matter. Saka’s independently made short films are hypervisual snapshots of millennial life, exploring themes of love, loss and mental health, never telling us what we should think, only presenting us with scenarios on which we can imprint our emotions.
Saka has made a handful of short films, but his newest, Jump! adapted from a short story creates an allegory for the complexities of failing mental health and the isolation it creates in young black men. Shot in grayscale (perhaps to suggest the perpetual gloom of depression and self loathing), the film principal character (played by Dapo Adeputo) struggles to find himself in a gloomy city tenement, hiding his illness from a lover and contemplating death. He cycles through emotions in seconds, runs from confrontations and wanders the city alone, looking for something, what exactly, we are never told. The film ends with a surprising twist (impressive that they were able to slip a twist when the vignette is only 3 minutes long).
Jump!‘s only failing is that Gbenga Saka paints mental illness in broad swaths and never truly specifies what exact mental illness the main character is suffering from. It is part of the problem surrounding mental illness in Nigeria, that exact ailments are never diagnosed and named. But that’s the only mar in an otherwise interesting film. You should watch it here.
Whenever I stumble on a new short film by an emerging Nigerian filmmaker, I’m always cautious. Like short stories, short films are either spectacular or horrible, almost never just average or mediocre. There is just so much you need to get right, especially with the time constraint that often the whole thing ends up an overambitious mess that falls short, or an underwhelming montage of scenes. Seun Opabisi’s debut short film ‘Rahman’ is neither.
I’ve kind of followed Opabisi ever since I stumbled on his digital illustrations as part of a short stories on the Naked Convos with Tokunbo Aworinde and since then I’ve waited to see how his very developed aesthetic would translate to film. Pretty well it turns out.
Rahman has one of the most original premises I have seen in a while. The premise revolves around two Muslim boys of indeterminate tribe. We can tell they are Muslim because of their attire and at least from Northern Nigeria because they exclusively speak Hausa the entire film. The brothers are homeless and live in a shack with their blind beggar father. The boys are simultaneously aware of and oblivous to the biting poverty in which they live. The father braves family ridicule to see a brother (not shown in the film) who gifts him a ram for Sallah. This is the first clue we get that their father seems to be struggling to raise our young protagonists independent of his rich extended family, rich enough to gift whole rams for Sallah.
The boys are asked to care for the ram, now their most expensive possession in the days leading up to the celebration and an older cousin comes to visit them. He baits the boys into a racket and lures them into a bet that set up the film’s twist and it’s subversive ending.
Hassan Mohammed and Kamsulum Bishara. Photo credit; Youtube.
First, it is a relief to see a film set outside Lagos. So much of our cinematic story telling revolves around Lagos that I can even forgive the broad strokes with which Opabisi paints the North (guys Hausa =/= Muslim). The cinematography is gorgeous and Opabisi’s casting choices are inspired, his young leads Hassan Mohammed and Kamsulum Bishara carry the film with surprising ease. The ending was a little ‘eh’ and waves away how their father is supposed to believe one teenager and two children managed to butcher, cook and fry a whole ram but as a whole Rahman shines.
I’m just about ready to see what else Opabisi comes up with.
2016 was quite a year for Santan Dave. He dropped street-anthem “Thiago Silva”, Drake jumped on his track “Wanna Know”, and he sold out his first ever headline tour in 15 minutes. J Hus had a crazy year too. He dropped the infectious banger “Friendly” and killed his set our NATIVELAND Festival with one of the best performances of the year in Lagos, Nigeria.
Dave and Hus have linked up on new track “Samantha”, produced by Jae 5, with the video shot and cut by Director LX. The two rappers trade hook responsibilities across the track with J Hus delivering with his distinctive cadence. Dave as always came through with hard-hitting bars, and we hope the two have more in store together.
Last year, the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) began accepting digital streaming as part of metrics to measure album gold, platinum and diamond certifications. This marked a definitive switch from sales to a consumption based rewarding system.
Earlier this week, Billboard announced it would also begin to accept streaming for its chart ranking. This decision will convert the chart to a multi-metric ranking, including traditional album sales and streaming equivalent albums (SEA) . The implication of this for independent artists outside of the American mainstream is the possibility of charting officially on Billboard’s famous Top 200.
“Adding streaming information makes the chart a better representation of music consumption activity,” says Silvio Pietroluongo, VP of charts and data development at Billboard. “While an extremely valuable measurement, album sales would mostly capture the initial impulse only, without indicating the depth of consumption thereafter. Someone could listen to the album just once, or listen to one track or a number of tracks 100 times. We are now able to incorporate those plays as part of an album consumption ranking throughout one’s possession of an album, extending beyond the initial purchase or listen.”
To give a hint of what this means, Wizkid, became one of the most streamed aritists on Spotify Worldwide after his feature on Drake’s “One Dance”. Maleek Berry’s 2016 summer jam “Kontrol”, off his Last Daze of Summer EPhas been streamed over two million times on Soundcloud and “Eko Miami”, another single off the same EP topped Billboard Twitter barely twenty-four hours after its video was released. Tekno’s “Pana” was catapulted to mainstream glory largely by Apple Music charts and playlists. Even underground breakthrough artist Odunsi, scored the fifth spot on Billboard’s Spotify viral list. This new switch to consumption-based ratings means indie artists who had no chance against major record labels with resources and wherewithal to influence album promotion and sales can now climb up Billboard charts.
Last year, Chance The Rapper, an independent artist made music history with Colouring Book in May when it became the first streaming-only album to chart on the Billboard 200. Though many African artists will still have to fine tune their sound and pay attention to detail of craft, but now there is a greater incentive beyond social media virality and Billboard Twitter charts. In the real sense of things, the playground has merely been shifted and not exactly elevated and competition will be stiffer on a global front, but now homegrown sounds stand a chance and that’s all that matters really.
Serial hitmakers Major Lazer have just dropped their follow up to summer staple “Cold Water”, and it’s an absolute banger.
PARTYNEXTDOOR seems to be on one-man-mission to bring the whine back to the dance(see: “Work & “Not Nice”), and he carries on his noble cause on this track. On a beautiful sonic bed made by Major Lazer, he delivers a great hook and verse about being the happy go-to for his paramour. He is joined by newly-single Nicki Minaj – surprisingly their first track together – who switches between various characters whilst proclaiming her name is simply a moniker for Queen.
Check out the lyric video for the undeniable hit below.
“With the success we have made with Ycee, we see the need at this period to put out more talents, we are dynamic and can absorb artist of different genres who make good music. We feel this is the right time to that and we believe that the new signings will bring a lot of accolades to the label and give Nigerians more good music” – Arokodare Tinny Timilehin, CEO and Founder of Tinny Entertainment
It’s draft day and YCee’s Tinny Entertainment just signed up Rapper Bella Alubo and Afrobeats singer Dapo Turburna. With kind of success YCee has had in the last year, it only makes sense that he’s in the market to expand his retinue with emerging talent for two reasons. After the consecutive successes of Olamide’s OLIC concerts largely acclaimed because of YBNL’s talent roster, having a roster of supporting/opening acts makes revenue from dedicated concerts more viable. Plus more artists means more streaming services and more revenue.
Bella Alubo as Tinny Entertainment’s first female signing inverts the stereotype of labels signing a singer as their female on a roster full of rappers. Ycee and Dapo Turburna, the other Tinny Entertainment signing, are traditional afro-pop singers with Turbuna’s latest single ‘Nothing’ finally breaching the mainstream. It will be interesting to see how they work this dynamic, especially as Alubo already has two independently released EP’s to her name.
Congratulations to the both of them. Now give us some music.
It’s great, no fantastic to see Bankole Oluwole making music again, under his new avatar Oga Sudo. Oluwole was one of the first Nigerians to truly embrace electronica as a genre with his mixtape EPDon’t Tell Mother under his former stage name The Ises. He reworked instrumentals by The XX and Ill Angelo, former producer for the Weeknd into wholly original songs, including the striking Set Fire and the subversive Iron Maiden, which gave me one of my favorite lines in Nigerian music.
Slim like a cigarette, dirty like the internet.
The EP is no longer online, but you can check out Set Fire here and Iron Maiden here. There were a couple of original singles under the The Ises name, before Oluwole took a break to explore other creative channels.
Dont Tell Mother’s album art.
But now he’s back as Oga Sudo and fully embracing Alternative Electronica as a Nigerian artist. His comeback single Lose You has all the trapping of a traditional torch song; longing lyrics, throaty melodies and a falsetto run through a vocoder and layered to create a wall of sound but then the EDM breaks shake things up, reminding you that Oga Sudo is here to make heartbreak songs you can dance to. There couldn’t be a more appropriate return single.
Poe is already making moves this year with his new release “Lifelines”.His new single rides on a riff off Kwesta’s late 2015 hit “Ngud”, originally produced by DJ Mariphosa. On “Lifelines”, he raps about going through the motions of slowly finding his strength and growing into his own sound.
His narrative fits his progress from last year perfectly. He kicked off 2016 with a feature on Chocolate City boss, M.I’s “All Fall Down” off his final Illegal Music 3 mixtape and remained in our faces with videos for his collaboration with Falz for “Chardonnay Music”, and Funbi for “Adore”.
“Lifelines” is his first mark of 2017, and the rapper has dropped hints on his twitter telling us to expect new stuff from him this year. We don’t exactly know what he’s cooking up at the moment, but we’re looking forward to it.
We already knew L.A.X was onto something when the singer rolled out his own independent print, Rasaki Music, last year. After “Gimme Dat” became a viral hit early in 2016, he released “Awon Da” in September, and to close the year, a feature on Jul’s “Give You Love”.
“Big Daddy” is his first official single of the year and it comes pre-prepared with all the brag, new afro-wave fire and drum swings we expect many tracks to have this year.
Nigerians producers are tired, and we mean tired of hiding behind in shadows of our recording artists, crafting their beats while they get all the credit, fame and mullah. And it isn’t enough to ‘watermark’ songs with their signature catchphrases, they’re taking it one step further by creating and releasing instrumental EP’s that show the range of their abilities and the scope of their interests and influences. We started 2017 with GolddrumMachine’s masterful 808 CRand now the movement is spreading into the mainstream with in-demand producer Oluwasesan Salami Abbas (known to you as Sess Beats) dropping a mixtape of his own.
Sess Beats is far more commercial in his creative leanings and is best known for the superb work he did on Falz the Bad Guy’s sophomore album Stories That Touch, especially Bad, Badd0, Baddest that went on to become a cultural anthem. Considering Sess Beats works largely as a freelance producer untethered to any labels, it is amazing the amount of ground he has managed to cover since then. It makes professional and creative sense that Abbas would choose as his next project to take on an independent project.
On the PRBLM instrumental EP, Abbas works with a number of now saturated musical themes, using chopped and screwed vocal adlibs as percussive instruments and layering synths to shake things up. The production is lo-fi and a lot of the instrument sound decidedly electronic but on songs like Matter and Wind (Gimme More) it works to his favour, giving the music a nostalgic feel. Life is easily the most commercial song on the album, with native drums and a repetitive gong sprinkled through the entire thing for that high life feel that artists like Flavour N’abania always return to. He doesn’t stray too far from afrobeats, afro-trap and mild European EDM strains. It is a decent EP, but definitely not his best work.
Nigerian-American actress, Yvonne Orji, who plays “Molly”, Issa’s crazy, sexy, cool friend on HBO’s hit series ‘Insecure’, announced her new role on award-winning comedy TV series, ‘Jane The Virgin’ earlier this week.
The actress recently started preliminary interviews to promote her soon-to-air sitcom, The First Generation Show , focused on telling the first generation Nigerian-American story to a broader audience is set to air soon. Her role on on ‘Jane The Virgin’ will be her third appearance on a major network series, and we’re looking forward to it.
Near-legendary singer 2Baba, is calling for Nigerians to take to the streets on February 5th, 2017 for a Nationwide protest. 2Baba, made a lengthy rant post on his Instagram this morning rebuking all the arms of government, demanding answers for why a variant of social issues still persist in Nigeria despite a change of government.
It is unclear if 2Baba was spurred by the series of social justice protests that have taken place all over the world recently, but we all know he has always been vocal about his opinion on society.
Besides, the lifespan of every career is characterised by different phases. For a man like 2face who has crossed all the milestones and set all the landmarks needed to leave a lasting imprint on the industry in his younger years, edging towards a politically vocal mid-life, makes perfect sense even though his intent seems skewered by perspective (I mean, we all heard about the cars and gift monies he got from a state Governor for his wedding).
Still, it may be childish to underestimate the power of a single voice in sparking real radical change. I’m just sipping tea, looking forward to 5th of February to see what happens. And if I’m permitted to dream, I am also looking forward to a free performance at the eventual rally and the release of a truly classic album.
Rapper AT, hit another year mark today and to celebrate her birthday, the rapper released visuals for a freestyle of Drake’s “10 Bands” instrumentation titled, “Call Me”.
With the industry finally shifting its ears to more mainstream sounds, AT is doubling up efforts to remain on our playlists. Two days ago, she released a heavy new single, “No Way Around That” via her SoundCloud, a follow-up appearance to her collaboration with BankyOnDBeatz for “Pensive “ earlier this year.
For “Call Me”, AT keeps it simple with clips of her in open woods edited on greyscale with a soft hazy blur. The execution is not without flaws, but it works perfectly for what it was intended.
A few weeks ago, Verge ran an article about a trend of surreal humour videos that require hours of physical work to create. These viral clips reveled in inherent oddity of concept; from skewered vocals layered over fx to shock art imagery animated into one hilarious mess.
Elsewhere, Young Thug’s label released an unusual music video for “Wyclef Jean” off his already controversial Jeffery mixtape. For starters Young Thug never actually showed up for the video shoot. After apparently demanding to be made co-director and giving a series of bizarre suggestions for a set design, he simply refused to go in front of a camera because his Instagram page was “hacked”. According to filmmaker Ryan Staake, despite the nightmarish shoot, Thugger’s label decided to put the video out anyway with a last-minute narrative tied to the rapper’s absence.
Odd as it that Thug didn’t show up to shoot a video he supposedly co-directed, it is easy to sweep under the carpet heap of all the times celebrities have done outrageous shit. What nobody—even director, Ryan Staake—anticipated was positive responses it received and instant sensation it became upon release.
Trolls will be trolls, but for “Wyclef Jean”, there seems to be a genuine internet-wide acceptance of its direction and execution. Words like “creative” and “ingenious” were thrown around on social media and over the weekend, Noisey UK tagged it an early contender for video of the year. And they just may be onto something.
On the surface, the video for “Wyclef Jean” highlights a crass celebrity culture in an age of self-publishing and social media boosted self-esteem. The eventual release of the video in itself is a triumph for the often underappreciated hands that work behind the scenes to make these new-age idols look worthy of worship. But looking beyond the narrative and the message it carries, a gaping hole of actual conceptualization still exists and the question of how absurdities like this one have become critical and commercial successes remains unanswered.
The lewd infinitely dark and bizzare underbelly of the internet has existed since the beginning of time itself; from dedicated goth-Satanist pseudo-S&M forums to websites where users masturbate while getting auto-erotically asphyxiated on live cam. Much of the mainstream web has run parallel of the internet’s shady corners, but the increasing impact of social media on our everyday lives has allowed some of these sub-cultures seep into creative media. Often, this is a direct implication of artistic desire to stand out from the crowd and (or) the obsessive need to be the topic of conversation by raising the bar for controversy. This is the world we live in now.
“Weird is the new cool” – unknown
Last year, the widely accepted notion that Nigeria is a ‘conservative’ society was unintentionally debunked by a social media that allowed Pretty Mike, Bobrisky and their half-done clones rise to fame for simply existing on the same interweb, with normal people. They way I see it, we’re in the end of days (or beginning of it, depending on where you stand) for what’s real and what’s not. What is deemed as popular is becoming stranger, the resistance for sanity has fallen and the trolls have won.
The other way to look at this, however, is to allude the growth of troll culture to how performance art morphed from being a running joke of the art world to becoming a respected craft exhibited in theatre, music and dance. Who knows, there just may be a final thesis on Young Thug’s dresses of many colours waiting to be written many years from now. In the meantime though, you probably should stop feeding your neighbourhood troll all those retweets and comments.
The 89th Oscar Academy Awards nominees have just been announced and we can not be more excited about this. The movies last year had superb Original Soundtracks and we’ve all been rooting for our favourites to get nominated. On the list of nominees for Music (Original Song), we have:
“Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” from La La Land
Emma Stone truly captured the life of struggling artists in a city known for crushing hopes and breaking hearts (Read Lagos. And Los Angeles). This musical explores the joy and pain of going after your dreams especially when everything seems to go awry. The score was composed by Justin Hurwitz and written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
“Can’t Stop The Feeling” from Trolls
This ultimate feel-good song by Justin Timberlake was also nominated for the Academy Award. It’s hard to fight the feeling to bust a move when this song comes on. Although Justin Timberlake has won several Grammies, this is his first Academy Award nomination. It’s a first for Maxin Martin and Karl Johan Schuster–the other contributors, too.
“City Of Stars” from La La Land
Back on this list is another song from La La Land. “City of Stars” captures the story of a glittering ideal Ryan Gosling (and every other struggling artist) is trying to reach. Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul put the song together and made a masterpiece.
“The Empty Chair” from Jim: The James Foley Story
This sober song drove the message of longing and self-awareness far deep into our hearts. Sting’s vocals combined with J. Ralph’s songwriting skills made this perfect Academy Award nomination-worthy song. This is the 3rd Academy Award nomination for J. Ralph and the fourth for Sting.
“How Far I’ll Go” from Moana
This song about longing for the forbidden struck a chord with us and apparently, it did with the selection board at the Oscars. This beautiful song was originally by sung by Auli’i Cravalho and was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Alessia Cara also made a cover of this song and we love it too.
The 89th Academy Awards will take place on February 26th.
The 2017 Oscars nominations just got announced and I have never been more in my feels. After the outrage and backlash over the best actor and actress nominations at the 2016 Oscars and the #OscarsSoWhite campaign that followed, not only did more films with central black characters and ensemble black casts get made, we also saw some of our favorite black actors give the performances of their lives. And this year’s nominations recognized that, by God they did. From Barry Bandry’s Moonlight and Denzel Washington’s Fences, to Hidden Figures, Loving and surprisingly Arrival. These are all the nominees we’re rooting for.
Ruth Negga
Most people know Ruth Negga from her phenomenal role in AMC’s Preacher, but Negga is as versatile as she is talented. In Loving she brings to life the controversial story of Mildred Loving, the face of the fight to legalize interracial marriage. Negga is almost avian in the film, head slightly cocked, taking the world at angle. She is mesmerizing to watch in the film and I’m glad that she at least gets the recognition even though the film itself was snubbed.
Viola Davis
With this Viola Davis becomes the most nominated black actress in history, amazing considering she started her career on the wide screen in her forties. Fences was a film with an ensemble cast giving some of the best performances we’ll see in a long time, but Viola as Rose Maxson was pure lightning. All I had to see was one minute of the trailer for this film to know that no one else was winning that Oscar. Go home folks, Viola has it in the bag.
Mahershala Ali
Mahershala Ali has come a long way from his beginning as teenager converting to Islam in New York. After a decade as a comedian and actor and several powerful roles, joining the cast of Netflix’s House of Cards legitimized him as a bankable actor and gave him the freedom to choose the roles he wants. After a great year that includes another role as the unforgettable Cottonmouth in Netflix’s Luke Cage adaptation, and supporting roles in oscar nominated films Hidden Figures and Moonlight (for which he is nominated) Ali might be the first openly black Muslim American actor to win an Oscar, important in these volatile times.
Octavia Spencer
Octavia Spencer suffered the sophomore curse after winning her first Oscar for her supporting role on The Help (Emma Stone who got her second nomination for La La Land was lead on that film) and segued into television for a season of Red Band Society. Hidden Figures marks her triumphant return to the big screen, telling the important story of the black women who sent the first man to space. Alongside Taraji P Henson (who was cheated out of a nomination, I love Meryl Streep but goddamn) and Janelle Monae (who has become this year’s acting revelation) Spencer delivered a stellar role. Glad to see her recognized for it, sad that its the year where Viola is definitely going to win.
Naomie Harris
It’s near impossible to tell that Naomie Harris is British the first time she comes on screen in Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight. Harris completely inhabits the role of a drug addled, slurring southside mother set adrift by her addiction, unable to care for her struggling child. Harris shot the entire thing in less than a week, between shooting for the bond film Quantum of Solace and man is it a masterful performance. I want everyone in Moonlight to win everything, so I’m stoked, STOKED to see her performance didn’t fall through the cracks.
Denzel Washington
If there’s any justice in the world, Denzel will win this and tie with Daniel Day Lewis as one of the best actors in the world. Casey Affleck’s rape charge has seriously dented his chances of winning this so Denzel better come through yo and tie that record.
Barry Jenkins
There have been so many think pieces and interviews on Barry Jenkins that I practically feel like I know him. But all words pale in comparison to a scene in Jenkin’s auto-fictive Moonlight. adapting the work of critically acclaimed playwright Tarell Alvin Craney’s In The Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue. Through music that applies contemporary hip-hop production techniques to classical music, gorgeously sparse sets and deliberate colour schemes and superb acting from Ali, Naome and veteran Andre Holland, Jenkins creates one of the most beautiful pieces of black cinema. Moonlight should win everything if there is any justice in the world.
Dev Patel
Dev Patel got thrust into the limelight with Slumdog Millionaire, British filmmaker Danny Boyle’s oscars winning Opus. It was the kind of film that was so stereotypically Indian that it took a few years for Dev Patel to shake off the stereotypical roles that were offered to him and prove himself as an actor in any capacity. So when he returns as a supporting actor in 2016’s adaptation of Lion, he does so on his own terms, fully inhabiting the role and forcing us to consider questions of identity and the far reaching effects of migration. He might not win, but it is great to see him finally recognized at the Oscars as an actor in his own right.
Ava Duvernay
After the oscars snub for Selma, Ava Duvernay has gone on to produce critically acclaimed tv series Queen Sugar and the documentary 13th for which she has been nominated for her second Oscar. 13th which looks closely at the United States’ Thirteen Amendment and how it skewers in against African Americans, increasing conviction and incarceration rates. It is an important film in light of Trump’s America and deserves to win an Oscar for the important work it shows, and also as a salve for that Selma snub. Fix up Academy.
Bradford Young
Now Bradford Young’s nomination for Best Cinematography is especially important to us at Native because of how much he has done to promote films that specifically tell Nigerian stories. His first film was 2011’s Pariah with Adepero Oduye and 2013’s gorgeously shot Mother Of George that explores Nigerian values around marriage, ethnicity and fertility. Arrival sees him finally get recognized on the highest of stages, and with all the snubs that the film received (they replaced Amy Adams with Meryl Streep, Ugh!) it would be fantastic to see Young win. We are all rooting for him.
Riding the buzz of last year right into this one, Naomi Zeichner of The FADER spoke to Migos about their hunger for recognition and being a definitive voice for the younger generation. During the interview, they explained their close bond as a family and how the attention from the media could be distracting even when it’s positive.
Migos were vocal about their influence on popular culture, using the widespread use of “The Dab” and “Bad and Boujee” as examples of their impact on a wider audience. Takeoff said:
“All the groundwork we put in added up to people finally putting their eyes on us. We’ve been putting out hits. It’s been like “Bad and Boujee.” But the attention wasn’t focused on us how it is now. Now, they actually opening up their ears. The girls, they was on fleek. But now the girls feel like they’re bad and boujee.”
After the much publicised performance clip from their headline show in Lagos, the Atlanta trio also spoke about the reception they received, and touched on the stereotype that Africa as a continent may not be culturally and musically exposed. Quavo explained:
“That was our first time ever being in Africa. The red carpet they laid out for us while we was out there — they showed us so much love, it felt like we were still in the States. They know music, they know our songs, and they’re hip to what’s going on. It’s not like they behind or anything.”
Migos went on to discuss the making of “Bad and Boujee”, their individuality and their short term gratification from awards and plaques.
One of the pleasant surprises from the 2016 Lagos Fashion and Design Week was the return of Elite Model Look Nigeria winner and budding international model Mayowa Nicholas to Nigerian runways. Walking for select designers alongside home favorite Uju Marshall Nwobodo, Nicholas proved over and over why the international fashion world was so in love with her. We were sated with having her walk for home grown brands but it turns out she still had one more ace up her sleeve. Irene Ojo Felix of international e-zine Models Dot teamed up with Nigerian photographer Lakin Ogunbanwo and both models to create a lush editorial of the most interesting looks from the Spring Summer 17 showcase.
Shooting at luxury retail store Alara Lagos, Ojo-Felix taps old faithfuls Lisa Folawiyo, Lanre Da-Silva, Washington Roberts, Tsemaye Binitie, Loza Maleombho and Bridget Awosika beside alt labels Kenneth Ize, Re Lagos, IAMISIGO, Ladunni Lambo, Rayo by BLS, Nkwo and Grey Projects. The styling is edgy but wearable, the models resplendent in the Lagos sunset, and the clothes world class. Ogunbanwo even abandons his signature minimalist aesthetic of bare walls and heavy staging for a more organic feel, allowing the models a certain ease. Each shot feels like you could just walk into the frame and share a glass of wine with them.
I’m particularly stoked to see Uju finally getting international attention, for years she’s stood heads and shoulders above everyone else, walking a record number of shows each season and inspiring a new generation of girls each season. Holding her own beside Nicholas was a walk in the park.
Top – Sophie Zinga, Pants – Bridget Awosika, Left earring – Tsemaye Binitie, Right earring – Orange Culture
Dress (worn underneath) – Washington Roberts, Dress – Nkwo, Bag – Lolita Lorenzo (from OXOSI)
Mayowa: Striped Tunic – Kenneth Ize, Top – Tsemaye Binitie, Skirt – Bridget Awosika, Choker (work as bracelet) – Loza Maleombho, Hat – Ugo Mozie (from OXOSI) Uju: Shirt (worn on top) – Nkwo, Top – Re’, Skirt – Tsemaye Binitie, Box clutch – Zashadu, (from OXOSI), Hat – Ugo Mozie (from OXOSI)
Hat – Orange Culture, Top – I.Am.Isigo, Jumpsuit (worn underneath) – Re’
Indie artist BOJ is starting 2017 making a play for the mainstream with his first single for the year “Wait A Minute” with a feature by YBNL boss Olamide. “Wait A Minute” marks a definite shift from the stream of independent singles the rapper released last year, each one featuring an underground or indie rapper or singer.
The new single is produced by Magik and already has a video, shot and directed by Moe Musa, in line with BOJ’s digital media roll out. BOJ doesn’t really step out of what we already know him for, neither does Olamide but together they prove a pleasant listen.
2016 was the kind of year where we sorely needed protest music. We needed someone with the fervor of Fela, the angst of African China, the rage of Eedris Abdulkareem to document our fear and disappointment at the government we’d democratically elected into power. We needed protest music we could march to, songs that we could weep to, proclamations of hope that to which we could dance and sweat away our worries. But no one would step to the plate, forgo a cushy cheque and a couple of island gigs. It was so bad that there wasn’t a single protest song recorded by a high profile Nigerian musician in 2016. This is why it’s amazing that our spoken word artists are taking charge and filling the void. None quite like Titilope Sonuga.
As far Nigerian spoken word poets go, there are few as accomplished as Titi Sonuga. The unique honour of being the only poet to perform at presidential inauguration, invited to speak at TEDx Edmonton, international awards for poetry in Canada and Nigeria and an ambassador for ‘She Will Connect’, Intel Nigeria’s female empowerment CSR scheme are just notches on a tableau of achievements that are pages deep. But Titi really comes alive when she performs, and she finds opportunities to do it often. At the Ake Festival, where I first saw her take a stage in person, she wove stories of the girls and women, speaking for their rights, telling of their inner lives, issuing the challenge that we see them as more than the two dimensional stereotypes we are taught to believe.
But her poetry isn’t limited to women’s issues. On Icarus, recorded for Badilisha poetry, she immortalizes the victims of Nigeria’s litany of airplane disasters, asking that we remember them, asking that we don’t become complacent and look away while incompetence continues to take lives. She reminds us one day it will be us, in those seats. A protest call, if I ever heard one.
Here are few more of her more popular poems.
On I AM, she traces her roots, celebrating them in the face of her status as an immigrant in Canada.
Her TEDx talk, Speaking Into The Void chronicles her history as a poet and how it has changed her life.
And of course, a medley of poems from a poetry festival in Calgary.
There are voids to fill, and Titi is speaking into them, one heart wrenching poem as a time.
Edwin eats his rice and cabbages. Tweet at him@edgothboy
With Tiwa Savage distracted by motherhood and Yemi Alade too cautious to rattle her current fan base with the fact that she has sexual urges, we’ve been starved for a new pop princess in control of her sound and her image and unafraid to embrace her sexuality. Turns out Ezi Emela is the girl we’ve been waiting for.
The first time most people came in contact with British Nigerian singer Ezi Emela, it was on her official debut single under her new label All About the Melody, No Lele and the video put out to promote it. It was obvious that Ezi was literally dripping sex appeal, but the business of the instrumental and the lack of a discernable hook all but ensured that the song made little headway, . It was the kind of first misstep that ends other careers, but Ezi had other ideas.
She went underground and refocused, collaborating with British producer P2J. Together they streamlined her sound, tuning out all the extraneous noise. Stripping down the sex pot vibe she’d played around with on No Lele, Chineke Meh’s premise is simple, a woman in control of her sexuality and unafraid to speak on it. Braggy lyrics about sexual prowess are something we’ve come to expect from male singers, but to hear it from a relatively new artist is refreshing.
There is never a point in the song where Ezi is not in control as she rides the synth heavy afro-trap wave turned mainstream by Drake and Wizkid and hopped on by everyone from Davido to Yemi Alade, peppering the song’s trap break down with sultry adlibs. What really sells Chineke Meh is that chorus, layered in places for effect and never not sexy.
Who ever it is that crowns Nigeria’s pop princesses needs to get it right away because Ezi Emela is READY!
