MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY AND FULFILLING NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL !
Back in the day,Christmas season used to be characterised by Church Service (for Christians ),harmattan weather,empty highways from late November,endless and assorted bangers,and of course rice and chicken !Now apart from the religeous rites which remains a constant,a lot has changed:The harmattan which gave the season a distinctive and very welcome feel is not there while traffic jams continue right up till Christmas eve.
Notwthstanding these however,Christmas still remains Christmas,a unique occassion when everyone somehow manages to wear a glowing face and shares good tidings with his/her neighbours. In this spirit therefore I wish you all a merry Christmas and a wonderful and blessed new year ahead.
THE BEEF MASTERS
Well the beef game is not in any way new to Naija music;what's new is the immaurity that some of our young hip hoppers are displaying.I mean the juju music scene in the 70s was laden with beef.The fuji music scene is characterised by beef till this day,and I'm sure that there'll always be beef in music.The hallmark of the great artistes is the fact that they craft beef into a veritable art form - a classic!In these songs the listener,despite strong suspicion of the subject under reference is still at ease to interprete the lyrics in a thousands of other positive ways.
But when an artiste records lyrics directly mentioning a competitor's name within extremely uncomplimentary statements (e.g "why you too dey rap like mumu?"),it is exactly like approaching that person face to face on the street and asking for a fight.That is not art;not even freedom of speech.That is violence,and therefore a crime!And that was exactly what Ruggedman did with his 'song' Ehen a few years back.It is to Ruggedman's credit however that,with the passage of time he has refined his ways and even did a collabo with one of the subjects of his beef,Eidris Abdulkareem (who in any case is a much more accomplised and successful recording artiste).His (i.e Ruggedy's) last album was clean, refreshing and very creative.
Unfortunately,the problem with sowing a bad seed is that you may not be able to control its fruits.In an ironic twist,Ruggeddy himself has become the prey in the latest edition of the beef game,with Modenine the predator.Death Blow is as scary a title as any song could get;and when the words pt 1 is added it becomes even scarier because you never know what will follow!The lyrics are indeed strong,to say the least:One of the lines describes the subject as having "cocoayam head,long neck - like a guinea fowl " !Thankfully Rugged's name is not mentioned.
While this madness is going on however,some other rappers are elevating their game and pushing rap closer to mainstream acceptance in the country.Naeto C and Kel fall into this category,with DJ Jimmy Jatt also contributing.In any case,instead of going about copying yankie rap hook,line and sinker,our self-ordained master lyricists should take a cue from Lord of Ajasa's So Fenuso which is not only original but very successful commercially.
I further advise our young 'beefmasters' to also learn from the Faze/2Face diatribes.It spawned two classic songs that will most certainly join the list of evergreens in Nigerian music:Faze Alone and See Me So:That is talent for you.The production quality of most of these beef songs is so appalling that you begin to wonder if the artistes involved are serious with their art in the first place.
My advice: Don't kill your career before it is born .
FUJI GREATS
Still on the subject of hip hop,VH-1 an influencial magazine recently released its list of the 100 greatest hip-hop songs ever,and it's been controversy ever since.What else do you expect in a list that does not include Carlifornia Love (Tupac),Rebel Without A Pause (PE),or Ice Ice Baby (Vanilla Ice).On my part,I only think Jay Z should be higher up,while Sugarhill Gang's Rappers Delight is my No. 1 any day.That was the song that took our (my ?) virginity away !
Vh-1's list gave me inspiration to think of the greatest Naija hip hop songs,of which only the Remedies' Shakomo and Sade seem sure in my head for now.The list that however clearly forms itself is that of the 10 greatesat fuji songs of all time.Here we go from bottom up:
10.YOBOROYOBOSIN - Fuji Sandoka.
Never mind if he never did any other thing as close,this was a masterpiece for Bobo Sandoka.
9.OPON APALA .... - Musiliu Haruna Ishola
Well this should be Apala really,but since the word is hardly mentioned anymore I guess we'll have to give this son-of-a-legend's huge hit a place among the fuji greats.
8.LAKUKULA - Kollington Ayinla
This was a huge hit for kollington,and won for him many of his big rival's fans at the time.
7.ASAKASA - Obesere
Real and down to earth lewd in the classic 2 Live Crew sense; shot omo rapala to limelight.
6.FUJI GARBAGE - Ayinde Barrister
The master himself.This was the beginning of many more great things to come for the undisputed king of fuji.
5.OROBOKIBO - Pasuma Wonder
This motorpark anthem of the 80s paved the way for arambabi's immense success till date.
4.FUJI REGGAE - Ayinde Barrister
The song that first gave fuji a cross-over appeal, way back in the 70s
3.IYO YOYO - Kollington Ayinla
A wild dancefloor hit that stunningly broke into mainstream niteclub DJ's playlists,competing
with american disco songs.Awesome!
2.BUBBLE - Adewale Ayuba
This song completed the cross-over journey started by Ayinde Barrister's Fuji Reggae,and
finally gave Fuji nationwide acceptance.Ayuba's urban popstar looks and electrifying dance
contributed immensely to the success of the song.
THE NUMBER ONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSS..............................
1.The greatest fuji song of all time is Wasiu Ayinde Marshall (now K1 The Ultimate)'s FUJI COLLECTION .Simply put,it was more popular than anything before or after it!
I must however add that there are a lot of other talented and exciting acts in the fuji world.If you are a fan of Malaika,Saheed Osupa,Sunny T,Remi Aluko,Atawewe,etc etc,don't worry.Your acts will certainly feature in the sequel sometime in future.
HARUNA ILERIKA
If you have been following this blog you would have known by now that I started following Nigerian football at a very (very!) early age in the 1970s.You know that I grew up in Lagos - Surulere to be precise.You know therefore that Stationery Stores was my darling team !
I witnessed the second generation of Stores,which developed from the all-conquering 'olympics' team of 1968,and there were still a lot of exciting players in the team who also played for The Nigerian National Team.But something unique was happening: A truely exceptional young talent had emerged,and he was the most popular secondary school student in lagos at the time.Like Pele and Maradona did in Brazil and Argentina,Haruna Ilerika took Nigeria by storm very early in his life.Stores signed him straight from school,while The Nigerian National Team followed suit.What was the attraction in a petite,thin and short footballer?
Answer: His left foot !!!!! There is no doubt that Ilerika's left foot was made from the same heavenly factory as Maradona's.Only that Maradona's was much thicker ! Ilerika must go on record as the only dribbling centre forward ever.He was nicknamed the 'tailor' because of the way he measured his 'victims' on the pitch before 'heighting' them or passing through their 'window'! For a spell of almost ten years,he personified the phenomenen called Stores,the Flaming Flamengoes,and multiplied the attraction and popularity of the team.
Although officially recognised as one of Africa's best players of his era,his retirement years were tinted by poverty until very recently when Governor Fashola's government absorbed him into the hierarchy of the Lagos State Sports adminisration ( a local magazine,Style Africa was the first to expose his life of squalor some years ago).Haruna Ilerika passed on a few weeks ago.
As I weep,I wish to join in condoling his family and to pray to alAlmighty God to grant them the fortitude to bear the loss.
May his Soul rest in Peace.
BAFANA BAFANA,SUPER EAGLES AND WORLD CUP 2010
I'm often baffled when when I hear people talk about the South African National Team,Bafana Bafana as if they are minnows in African football.Well,they are certainly not.As far back as 1996 The Bafana Bafana were already African champions,and followed up with an inspiring performance at the World Cup.They've also produced some of the most exciting players in the African continent:Mark Fish,Phil Masinga,Lucas Radebe,and Doctor Khumalo the dribbling maestro,to name but a few.
Although results have been poor in the last few years,there has been a timely rejevunation in the team as they build up towards the 2010 World Cup to be held in their country.The SAFA should therfore continue to support the current technical crew of the team and take no action that will destablise the group.I believe South Africa as hosts ,stands the greatest chance of doing Africa proud at the tournament.
The Nigerian Super Eagles also stands a big chance of doing well at the competition,although they will have to qualify first.Immensely talented and vastly experienced coach Amodu Shaibu has to be given due credit for turning the character of the team full cycle at so short a time;from the 'super chickens' of the Nations Cup to record breakers in the World and Nations Cups qqualifiers.Indeed,Amodu's Eagles' performance has turned out,together with the Olympic outing, to be the only good thing about Nigerian football in 2008.
Unfortunately,as often the case in Nigeria the armchair critics seem determined to derail
the smooth sail of the team,just because they don't like the coach's face.They say the team is not playing well:That they were only lucky to have played the minnows of African football.They say the coach must replace the current 'tired legs' of the team with the fresh legs of the Olympic team.In fact,they even want the team's captain Yobo to be replaced (with immediate effect !) by the Olympic team's Dele Adeleye - the new found defence stalwart and saviour of Nigerian football ! As a matter of fact the all-knowing critics ,after the second round World Cup draws,declared Nigeria's imminent qualification no big deal,a fait accompli ! They want the Olympic coach Siasia to replace (or at best be drated to work jointly with) Amodu immediately so Nigeria can be guaranteed victory at the World Cup proper.
So while South Africa is gradually putting her acts together for a sussessful World Cup outing,Nigeria's self-destruct elements are threatening her own path to glory.
Please leave Amodu alone to do his job as best as he can.
2FACE THE UNSTOPPABLE, MAJEK FASHEK NEGLECTED
Despite his growing noteriety for 'enterring the place',2face Idibia continues to impress me as an artiste and as a professional.His latest album is world class in terms of production,and true to his word,it features an R.Kelly - written and produced track,Flex.This therefore not only extends Tu's impressive list of firsts,but represents a huge leap forward for Nigerian hip hop as a whole.
On the other hand,I've observed with huge dissappointment the near total neglect of reggae icon,Majek Fashek since he came back to the country about two months ago.It's unbelievable that one of Nigeria's true true living legends is around but does not feature in any of the big Christmas concerts.Instead,it is the same old bad press about his 'new look' (which has been 'new' for over ten years now !) and the stale speculations about drug use that we see in the press on a regular basis:One writer even made a veiled prediction this week that the old man may just be on his way...They are doing this to a man who has already confessed to having emotional and spiritual problems of which he has been battling to come out of.Is this the way to help him out ?
Yet Majek was at the Afrika Shrine recently to honour Fela with a superb performance with his voice and guitar to the delight of all.Are MTN,Nigerian Breweries,Glo and the rest of them saying they are not aware of Majek's pedigree as a performer?
Wake up Nigeria.Let's honour,not kill our heroes.
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