Shortly after I blogged on the fading profile of afrobeat music in Nigeria earlier this year,I found myself discussing the same issue with some friends at high profile celebrity joint,The Coliseum in Ikeja.It was there that someone drew my attention to the dogged efforts that a mutual childhood collleaque, Dele Sosimi has been making over the years in popularising the genre far away in the United Kingdom.I found myself unconsciously gasping aloud,momentarily attracting everybody's attention to myself:How on earth could I have forgotten Dele?
My first thought was to go edit that post and add a line or two on Dele,but on further reflection I decided that the guy deserves much more than that.I'll explain why.
When Fela's son and now the torchbearer of afrobeat music,Femi Anikulapo -Kuti relocated from the great Baptist Academy to (the greater ?) Igbobi College in the late 1970s,he met a very vibrant social scene largely propelled by the lively and immensely popular college band (ask the old students of Methodist Girls High School for instance!).The band at that time was fronted by Dele Sosimi who already had a reputation of a genius on the keyboards, Femi Elias (who has probably taken after his father as a law guru) who displayed similar dexterity on the bass guitar,and a few others I cannot immediately remember.
Femi Kuti and Dele Sosimi took to each other like siamese twins instantly,and they complemented each other perfectly.Femi the tall,quiet,genteel,aje-butterish looking fellow,and Dele the very typical tough-looking,street smart type.Both shared a common deep-rooted passion for afrobeat,and Dele was soon jamming with Fela's Egypt 80 band-even as a teenager.Yes,both Dele Sosimi and femi Kuti were nurtured together directly by the legend himself,Fela Anikulapo-kuti!They went on to perform on several of Fela's albums and tours.
It was little surprise then that Dele Sosimi would play a major role in the evolution of Femi's own band,the Positive Force.His influence on Femi could easily be felt on the hyper-charged,energy sapping pace of the group's earlier albums.Perhaps it was this free spirit and youthful zest that attracted so much European interest in the group.While Femi preferred to shuttle between Europe,America and Nigeria,Dele Sosimi settled permanently in the UK and has been there for so so many years - which explains why those of us in Nigeria may easily forget him occassionally.
While in London sometime ago,I got gist of Dele's growing popularity,but I never got the opportunity of watching him.My friend at the Coliseum (himself also a london self-exiled) however intimated us that Dele Sosimi is in massive demand in queen's land.I had mixed feelings though.I'm happy that Dele is keeping the flag flying abroad,and in the process obviously doing well for himself,but on the other hand I feel bad that we have someone like that yet afrobeat is losing its soul locally.
Dele Sosimi should come back home and bring life back to afrobeat.His presence is exactly what Femi himself needs to jolt him back to action.Both are still under 50,and still have several active years ahead of them.I also wonder why kennis Music and others have not looked their way,because in afrobeat is hidden the real big money that can galvanise the entire music industry in Nigeria,in fact Africa.Replicating American hip hop and other foreign genres in whatever guise can only go as far as the tide,believe me!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
ADIEU SONNY OKOSUNS
With the possible exception of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and King Sunny Ade,I doubt if there is any musician that has made more contributions to the spread of Nigerian music across the world than the late Sonny Okosuns.He was a creative artiste per excellence.Like Majek Fashek who came many years later,Okosuns started with a passion for reggae music,and made an immediate impact with a song called 'rain' in the 1970s.He however did not rest on the success of that effort,but tasked his creative endowments to the limit;the result being oziddizm - an infectious blend of African riffs on Jamaican roots reggae.
Interestingly,oziddizm was created at the same time that Fela was cooking afrobeat,which meant an inevitable (but healthy) rivalry of sorts .I recall in the latter years when we used to do Lekki Sunsplash (actually I used to assist Olumide Esho's boys led by the indefatigable Dapo Adelegan),Okosuns once challenged Fela to an open contest to determine who was more popular (don't ask me if abame eda accepted the challenge)!
It is a pity that many youths under 25 may not even faintly understand the extent of Okosuns accomplishments as a musician.But let it suffice to say that in his heydays,which ran between the early 70s and 80s,the guy was not only a massive seller in Nigeria,but in the entire African continent.He was singularly outstanding in writing potent songs against the apartheid scourge that ravaged virtually the entire southern part of the continent .If Billboard magazine had a presence in Nigeria,they would have had ample figures to prove that 'fire in soweto' was the biggest hit out of the Afican continent for many years.
On stage,Sunny Okosuns was blazing hot, while his concerts were usually of international quality.In fact his unigue charisma attracted some of the world's greatest reggae icons to Nigeria,with his home then in the ghetto area of Lagos a favorite abode:I'm talking here of the likes of Jimmy Cliff and Peter Tosh!
The volcanic emergence of Kris Okotie and later Majek Fashek somehow took the focus off oziddizm for a period of time,eventhough many aficionados would more readily point to the elimination of apartheid as the turning point in Sonny Okosuns' career.They may have a point.
Those distractions merely served to bring out the versatility in the artiste.In the 80s,he scored big with a yoruba dancefloor thriller "t'ire ni Oluwa',while during the tempestous Nigerian political impasse he lent his voice with 'which way Nigeria' and other strong political statements.
But by far Sonny Okosuns greatest accomplishment was his acceptance of Jesus Christ into his life.He discarded the 'gospel' of oziddizm for the true Gospel of Christ,and he did not have to wait until Heaven for his reward: His 'Songs Of Praise' became one of the highest selling Gospel records ever recorded in the history of that genre in Nigeria.He followed up by establishing a Church to propagate the Gospel.
Little wonder then that when,for many years, the gossip mill went agog with speculation on his frail-looking physique,the guy simply waived all the insinuations aside,continuing with his life ever- filled with life,zest and fulfilment.
The music industry will miss Sonny Okosuns big time.But we should take solace in the undeniable fact that he lived a fulfilled life and left his mark on the sands of time.As he journeys to the ultimate Papa's Land,I wish his gentle soul a peaceful rest in the bossom of The Lord.
Interestingly,oziddizm was created at the same time that Fela was cooking afrobeat,which meant an inevitable (but healthy) rivalry of sorts .I recall in the latter years when we used to do Lekki Sunsplash (actually I used to assist Olumide Esho's boys led by the indefatigable Dapo Adelegan),Okosuns once challenged Fela to an open contest to determine who was more popular (don't ask me if abame eda accepted the challenge)!
It is a pity that many youths under 25 may not even faintly understand the extent of Okosuns accomplishments as a musician.But let it suffice to say that in his heydays,which ran between the early 70s and 80s,the guy was not only a massive seller in Nigeria,but in the entire African continent.He was singularly outstanding in writing potent songs against the apartheid scourge that ravaged virtually the entire southern part of the continent .If Billboard magazine had a presence in Nigeria,they would have had ample figures to prove that 'fire in soweto' was the biggest hit out of the Afican continent for many years.
On stage,Sunny Okosuns was blazing hot, while his concerts were usually of international quality.In fact his unigue charisma attracted some of the world's greatest reggae icons to Nigeria,with his home then in the ghetto area of Lagos a favorite abode:I'm talking here of the likes of Jimmy Cliff and Peter Tosh!
The volcanic emergence of Kris Okotie and later Majek Fashek somehow took the focus off oziddizm for a period of time,eventhough many aficionados would more readily point to the elimination of apartheid as the turning point in Sonny Okosuns' career.They may have a point.
Those distractions merely served to bring out the versatility in the artiste.In the 80s,he scored big with a yoruba dancefloor thriller "t'ire ni Oluwa',while during the tempestous Nigerian political impasse he lent his voice with 'which way Nigeria' and other strong political statements.
But by far Sonny Okosuns greatest accomplishment was his acceptance of Jesus Christ into his life.He discarded the 'gospel' of oziddizm for the true Gospel of Christ,and he did not have to wait until Heaven for his reward: His 'Songs Of Praise' became one of the highest selling Gospel records ever recorded in the history of that genre in Nigeria.He followed up by establishing a Church to propagate the Gospel.
Little wonder then that when,for many years, the gossip mill went agog with speculation on his frail-looking physique,the guy simply waived all the insinuations aside,continuing with his life ever- filled with life,zest and fulfilment.
The music industry will miss Sonny Okosuns big time.But we should take solace in the undeniable fact that he lived a fulfilled life and left his mark on the sands of time.As he journeys to the ultimate Papa's Land,I wish his gentle soul a peaceful rest in the bossom of The Lord.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
A LESSON FOR ABRAMOVICH
Don't ask me why I'm blogging about England's Chelsea Football Club.You ought to know. Chelsea has perhaps the largest number of Aftrican first team players among the elite clubs in Europe,and this includes Nigeria's brightest star - John Mikel Obi,and as happened with Arsenal in the heydays of 'king' Kanu,Chelsea is embraced as an african team by most Africans.
You can then imagine how proud we Africans were in the last three years when Chelsea upturned the formbooks to wrest the dominance of English football from Manchester United and Arsenal.You can now further imagine how deeply dissappointed most of us were when in the first few weeks of the outgoing season,the club decided to sack Jose Mourinho,the 'special one',the manager who led the new revolution in English football.
Well, rich people think differently from ordinary folks,but Abramovich's decision to offload Mourinho beggars explanation.I mean here was a coach that came with a pedigree of success,and achieved instant success.What then was the reason?Failure to win the Champions Leaque?The fact that Liverpool,with only modest domestic success in recent years could be so successful in Europe should confirm that European success is not necessarily a yardstick to measure the strength of any team:Otherwise Man U would not have waited for 9 years to lift the trophy.In any case if Chelsea could get to the semi-finals twice , victory surely could not have been too far away.
Or was it the lure of the so-called attractive football?Did we forget so soon that the original masters, Brazil , have long ago jettisoned the samba game for a more direct,result oriented style?In any case a neutral review of English football in the last 3 seasons would reveal that some of the most exciting games involved Chelsea.Rewind to the gruelling duels with Man U in 2006,and the epic UEFA battle with Barcelona at Stamford Bridge, for instance.
Was it then the string of drawn matches at the beginning of the season?I'm sure Abramovich is not so ignorant about football.Look at where all the teams that were top 4 at that same period ended the season;for example Arsenal's run in the last three months of the season was by
comparison a disaster.In fact if all team proprietors acted like Abramovich,Sir Alex Ferguson would have been sacked at least 3 times in the last 9 years.I would not even want to talk about the effect that Drogba and Lampard's injuries had on the team.
Abramovich had the rare luck of employing a winner as Manager,then took the resultant success for granted.He failed to realise that what differentiates Sir Alex and Arsene Wenger from other good coaches is the winning mentality.Mourinho was not necessarily better at coaching than Ruud Gullit,but he brought a winning mentality to Chelsea.
And most unfortunately,that was the missing attribute in his successor,Avram Grant ( although I wouldn't want to join other Chelsea supporters in renaming him 'Average Grant' because I actually think he is a good coach ).Under Mourinho Chelsea soared when the big occassion beckoned; under Grant they crumbled like water mellon.Take a closer look at the final premiership game against Bolton, and the closing stages of the Champions Leaque in Moscow.
I started to have serious doubts about Avram Grant's mental strength and Chelsea's likely run in the season, in January when the English press started to brandish statistics showing how Grant had won so many matches since taking over from Mourinho.Grant appeared to revel in those glowing,but absolutely meaningless publicity.In the next two months Chelsea were bundled out of both the Leaque Cup and the FA Cup - the two easiest competitions of the season.
Yet the deceptive ovation continued;from how Grant had taken Chelsea to touching distance of the Premiership title,to how he 'surpassed' Mourinho in reaching the Champions Leaque final.Now Grant could not hold back:He demanded to be recognised as the real 'special one'.Yet both battles were still in progress.He had won nothing.
In the end he won nothing.More succintly, Chelsea Football Club,for the first time in 3 years ended a season without a single trophy.Her proprietor,Roman Abramovich would reflect on that calamity,and realise that it was all down to one irrational,perhaps reckless decision he took at the beginning of the season.
You can then imagine how proud we Africans were in the last three years when Chelsea upturned the formbooks to wrest the dominance of English football from Manchester United and Arsenal.You can now further imagine how deeply dissappointed most of us were when in the first few weeks of the outgoing season,the club decided to sack Jose Mourinho,the 'special one',the manager who led the new revolution in English football.
Well, rich people think differently from ordinary folks,but Abramovich's decision to offload Mourinho beggars explanation.I mean here was a coach that came with a pedigree of success,and achieved instant success.What then was the reason?Failure to win the Champions Leaque?The fact that Liverpool,with only modest domestic success in recent years could be so successful in Europe should confirm that European success is not necessarily a yardstick to measure the strength of any team:Otherwise Man U would not have waited for 9 years to lift the trophy.In any case if Chelsea could get to the semi-finals twice , victory surely could not have been too far away.
Or was it the lure of the so-called attractive football?Did we forget so soon that the original masters, Brazil , have long ago jettisoned the samba game for a more direct,result oriented style?In any case a neutral review of English football in the last 3 seasons would reveal that some of the most exciting games involved Chelsea.Rewind to the gruelling duels with Man U in 2006,and the epic UEFA battle with Barcelona at Stamford Bridge, for instance.
Was it then the string of drawn matches at the beginning of the season?I'm sure Abramovich is not so ignorant about football.Look at where all the teams that were top 4 at that same period ended the season;for example Arsenal's run in the last three months of the season was by
comparison a disaster.In fact if all team proprietors acted like Abramovich,Sir Alex Ferguson would have been sacked at least 3 times in the last 9 years.I would not even want to talk about the effect that Drogba and Lampard's injuries had on the team.
Abramovich had the rare luck of employing a winner as Manager,then took the resultant success for granted.He failed to realise that what differentiates Sir Alex and Arsene Wenger from other good coaches is the winning mentality.Mourinho was not necessarily better at coaching than Ruud Gullit,but he brought a winning mentality to Chelsea.
And most unfortunately,that was the missing attribute in his successor,Avram Grant ( although I wouldn't want to join other Chelsea supporters in renaming him 'Average Grant' because I actually think he is a good coach ).Under Mourinho Chelsea soared when the big occassion beckoned; under Grant they crumbled like water mellon.Take a closer look at the final premiership game against Bolton, and the closing stages of the Champions Leaque in Moscow.
I started to have serious doubts about Avram Grant's mental strength and Chelsea's likely run in the season, in January when the English press started to brandish statistics showing how Grant had won so many matches since taking over from Mourinho.Grant appeared to revel in those glowing,but absolutely meaningless publicity.In the next two months Chelsea were bundled out of both the Leaque Cup and the FA Cup - the two easiest competitions of the season.
Yet the deceptive ovation continued;from how Grant had taken Chelsea to touching distance of the Premiership title,to how he 'surpassed' Mourinho in reaching the Champions Leaque final.Now Grant could not hold back:He demanded to be recognised as the real 'special one'.Yet both battles were still in progress.He had won nothing.
In the end he won nothing.More succintly, Chelsea Football Club,for the first time in 3 years ended a season without a single trophy.Her proprietor,Roman Abramovich would reflect on that calamity,and realise that it was all down to one irrational,perhaps reckless decision he took at the beginning of the season.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
EIDRIS,ETCETERA
LET THE (SWEET) MUSIC FLOW
It is incredible the quality of music coming out of Naija these days;if you thought it was just a copycatish hip-hop thing,better take a closer look.These guys and babes are really firing on all cylinders.
Asa and TY Bello crept quietly into our consciousness last year,and are now more addictive than breakfast.9ice's cross fuji-hiphop sound is defining the new street culture,and suddenly the american sound seems extinct.
I've played Etcetera's 'land of the rising sun' over three times already this evening,and I'm scared because the melody is still reverbrating in my head and I know I will have to play the song again.And again!.Forget that the title and words connote an Ibo anthem - that's not my concern at all.Etcetera's album is a powerful soft rock compilation;probably the best since Gbubemi Amas' 'grill' back in the 80s.In fact 'land of the rising sun' brings back refreshing memories of the mint fresh 'ereyon';great accoustic guitar,so cool.This is good music.
YES,THE KING IS BACK !
Please let's just give it to this veteran of the hiphop game,Eidris Abdulkareem.With his buddies Tetuila and Eddy they brought hiphop to the forefront.Then as if to make a statement he went solo and placed himself at the very top with that song we loved to hate,'mr lecturer'.Eidris made his mistakes with his clash with 50 Cent,but has displayed tremendous maturity in reconciling with both 50 and hitherto pain in da ass,Ruggeddy baba.Now,after a long long hibernation,the kano boy returns with a precise album that is exactly what you want to hear.Eidris shows he has been a good student of Fela.He makes a bold attempt at infusing afrobeat and Majek's pangolo
vibes into his hiphop music.I don't know how many copies this will sell,but Eidris Abdulkareem has earned my respect.
It is incredible the quality of music coming out of Naija these days;if you thought it was just a copycatish hip-hop thing,better take a closer look.These guys and babes are really firing on all cylinders.
Asa and TY Bello crept quietly into our consciousness last year,and are now more addictive than breakfast.9ice's cross fuji-hiphop sound is defining the new street culture,and suddenly the american sound seems extinct.
I've played Etcetera's 'land of the rising sun' over three times already this evening,and I'm scared because the melody is still reverbrating in my head and I know I will have to play the song again.And again!.Forget that the title and words connote an Ibo anthem - that's not my concern at all.Etcetera's album is a powerful soft rock compilation;probably the best since Gbubemi Amas' 'grill' back in the 80s.In fact 'land of the rising sun' brings back refreshing memories of the mint fresh 'ereyon';great accoustic guitar,so cool.This is good music.
YES,THE KING IS BACK !
Please let's just give it to this veteran of the hiphop game,Eidris Abdulkareem.With his buddies Tetuila and Eddy they brought hiphop to the forefront.Then as if to make a statement he went solo and placed himself at the very top with that song we loved to hate,'mr lecturer'.Eidris made his mistakes with his clash with 50 Cent,but has displayed tremendous maturity in reconciling with both 50 and hitherto pain in da ass,Ruggeddy baba.Now,after a long long hibernation,the kano boy returns with a precise album that is exactly what you want to hear.Eidris shows he has been a good student of Fela.He makes a bold attempt at infusing afrobeat and Majek's pangolo
vibes into his hiphop music.I don't know how many copies this will sell,but Eidris Abdulkareem has earned my respect.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
A PLEA
I appreciate and respect everyone's opinion on any issue,irrespective of whatever I think;but it's important to stress that this blog is focussed on entertainment and sports.Let's stick to that.Words cannot adequately express my love for you my readers.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
FROM 9ICE TO OFEGE:THE RAVES THROUGH THE YEARS
9ice's music is all over the place - clubs,homes,streets,even offices;entertainment writers call him the 'rave of the moment',and that is one thing I like about music.At every point in time there is always a stand out artiste around whom the entire scene is focussed,i.e the reference point.Listening to 'Gongo Aso' blaring from the mobile CD Player of a CD hawker on my street this hot afternoon and the huge number of kids trailing him like bees and honey,my mind wanderred into the past,and with a tinge of nostalgia,I recalled some exciting 'raves' who made the Nigerian music tick at different times.
My earliest memory will be sometime in the 1970s,during an era when highlife was at its peak of popularity,but the american disco music was fast catching on the youths.A group of secondary school students from 'Gregs' (which by the way has probably created more showbiz gurus than any other school) unleashed a very American sounding album,self-titled Ofege.It was the anthem of the youths all over the country for the next couple of years.
Ofege of course reigned the same time that Fela was constructing afrobeat.Little wonder then that it was a medley of street-friendly,but radical -themed hits from Fela,such as 'alagbon close','lady',yellow fever' etc etc that blew ofege off the top.Incredibly every new Fela song seemed to achieve even greater popularity (and controversy),as the afrobeat hurricane continued,culminating in the ultra-massive 'zombie' which was followed by the sad razing of the Kalakuta 'republic'.
Sunny Okosuns then took his chance with his fiery ozzidi music.It started with 'help', then 'fire in soweto'.But Okosuns' best ever was 'papa's land' which took the whole country by storm.
The ladies have been few and far between,but I can't forget Theodora Ifudu whom I believe was Nigeria's first female superstar.She had two massive pop albums,and a real sexy and awesome stage presence.The titles of both,unfortunately have slipped off my memory for now (hmmm let's see - I guess a song titled 'the way we(or 'you') are',and something like 'gbatangua',well..!)
Then came Christy Essien,the great great actress in the immensely popular comedy ,Masquerade.Her 'seun rere' has remained an evergreen,and even when played today still moves any listener.
Oby Onyioha's 'i want to feel you love' was massive,but a hit-and -run,just like Mandy Brown-Ojugbana's 'taxi driver'.Both ladies came,saw,and.........ran away,back to onyiboland where they came from.Mandy however made a huge impression as an awesome stage performer,and I dare say that today's naija 'hip-hopresses' should watch her old tapes or see her for very useful tutorials on how they can overcome their stage timidity.
The 'elegant stallion',Onyeka Onwenu was an instant hit as a newscater on the NTA screens,and followed up with an ok debut album.It was however her next recording 'one love' that sealed her acceptance as a bonafide singer.The song is still recognisable to todays youths.
The pop music scene in the 1980s was defined by the production dexterity of Odion Iruoje,Larry Ifedioranma (late),Jake Solo (late) and the BLO trio (Berkley Jones,Laolu Akins and Otu Lemmy Jackson).Odion's big contribution was in grooming a UNN law student by name Kris Okotie.With a rare combination of good looks,intelligence,and a knock-out voice ( which many critics still maintain he did not use well),Kris' album 'i need someone' became one of the all-time best-sellers in Nigeria's recording history (thanks also to the late Haruna Ishola's innovative Phonodisk Records).The follow-up album was even more successful,with the emotionally-charged girlie song,'take it to stella'.
One of the key instrumentalists in Okotie's recordings was a talented guitarist named Felix Lebarty.He waited patiently for his turn,and no sooner had Kris abandoned music for evangelism
did Felix unleash 'loverboy'.If Kris had the upper 'aje butter' class in his palms,Lebarty was king of the ghettos.'Ngozi' and later 'Ifeoma' were legitimate ghetto anthems for years.Curiously 'ifeoma' is still played in several upscale night clubs today!
Another offshoot of the Kris Okotie era was Jide Obi,another law student who actually partnered Kris in a group at UNN.Not wanting to languish in Okotie's shadows,Jide Obi released the album Front Page News,which featured several hits such as 'tonight'.Interestingly it took about a whole year before people took notice of Front Page News,but once the album got off the mark it became real real massive.
Then reggae took over.Lemmy Jackson crafted Tera Kota's Lamentation For Sodom,which instantly became naija's first massive reggae hit.He followed with the Mandators' Crisis,Ras Kimono ,and several other successful recordings which made him the rave producer of the 1980s.
Without doubt however,Lemmy's best production (some argued though that he did very little,considering the extraordinary talent of the artiste) was Majek Fashek's Prisoner Of Concience album.The song 'send down the rain' was more massive than massive.Majek actually described the song as a special Gift from God,and I agree:Many testified that drops of rain actually fell whenever the artiste performed that song on stage!
The Majek era and its mystiques was punctuated by the coming of Sir Shina Peters and the sexually-charged Ace.The term 'rave of the moment' was first used on Shina Peters by the press.'Ijo shina' held the country spell-bound for all of four years,until an unlikely fuji artiste with an urban personae and fascinating choreography took the scene.That was Adewale Ayuba,and the music was bongue-fuji,'traditional music with modern touch'.
Remember though that Sikiru Ayinde Barrister had popularised fuji in the '80s with 'fuji reggae',while Kollington complemented with a string of club (believe it!) hits some years later.Wasiu Ayinde Marshall's 'fuji collection' and later Pasuma's 'orobokibo' were also very popular outside the strict yoruba market.
Blackky brought the 'blackky skank' and was on direct collision with Daniel Wilson's 'mr raggamuffin' for the latter part of the reggae era.Working hard to break out of the reggae grip were pop artistes like Alex O ('do it in the name of love'),Charly Boy ('nwata miss') ,Emphasis and Sweat ('television').These were the true forerunners of today's hip hop crowd.Emphasis and Junior and Pretty were even rappers.
Femi Kuti finally eatablished himself with the afrobeat hit 'wonder wonder',and followed up with an even bigger hit 'sorry sorry'.
After the long lull brought about by the folding up of the big recording companies,Kennis Music intervened,and the hip hop era as we know it today was born.The first great act were the Remedies,consisting of Eidris Abdulkareem,Eddy Montana and (the relegated) Tony Tetuila.'Sakomo' was the song.
Tetuila later turned the table on his former group when his 'omode meta n'sere' and later 'my car' established him as king.Only for a while though as Eidris soon dropped 'mr lecturer' and took the crown.
Paul Play (who seems genuinely confused on what brand of music to stick to) had the market with his father's 'mo s'ori re',but the boys from Benue had arrived Lagos and had ideas of their own.The Plantation boys should be in the Guinness Book of Records for being on top of the charts for almost two years without an album in the market!In fact by the time the album was released vitually all the songs had become archive materials.
Daddy Showkey left his more critically acclaimed friend,Daddy Fresh behind to claim a rave spot with his emotional song,Dynah',While Lagbaja tasted royal treatment for the dance spectacular,'konko below'.
Already massively popular from his time with the Plantation Boys,Tu Face Idibia's debut album was a guaranteed success.Only that 'african queen' made it the biggest album of the hip hop era.
African China stormed the ghetto with his social commentary 'crisis' and later 'mr president',while Faze,whose 'faze alone' was overshadowed by the strength of 'african queen',finally had his big pay day with 'kolomental'.P Square on their part danced their way to
fame with 'busy body' and later 'do me'.
Olu Maintain's 'yahoozee' ensured that there were more than one raves in 2007,before 9ice also latched in with 'gonso aso' to start 2008 as the rave of the moment.
Did I miss or omit anyone?Please let me know.
My earliest memory will be sometime in the 1970s,during an era when highlife was at its peak of popularity,but the american disco music was fast catching on the youths.A group of secondary school students from 'Gregs' (which by the way has probably created more showbiz gurus than any other school) unleashed a very American sounding album,self-titled Ofege.It was the anthem of the youths all over the country for the next couple of years.
Ofege of course reigned the same time that Fela was constructing afrobeat.Little wonder then that it was a medley of street-friendly,but radical -themed hits from Fela,such as 'alagbon close','lady',yellow fever' etc etc that blew ofege off the top.Incredibly every new Fela song seemed to achieve even greater popularity (and controversy),as the afrobeat hurricane continued,culminating in the ultra-massive 'zombie' which was followed by the sad razing of the Kalakuta 'republic'.
Sunny Okosuns then took his chance with his fiery ozzidi music.It started with 'help', then 'fire in soweto'.But Okosuns' best ever was 'papa's land' which took the whole country by storm.
The ladies have been few and far between,but I can't forget Theodora Ifudu whom I believe was Nigeria's first female superstar.She had two massive pop albums,and a real sexy and awesome stage presence.The titles of both,unfortunately have slipped off my memory for now (hmmm let's see - I guess a song titled 'the way we(or 'you') are',and something like 'gbatangua',well..!)
Then came Christy Essien,the great great actress in the immensely popular comedy ,Masquerade.Her 'seun rere' has remained an evergreen,and even when played today still moves any listener.
Oby Onyioha's 'i want to feel you love' was massive,but a hit-and -run,just like Mandy Brown-Ojugbana's 'taxi driver'.Both ladies came,saw,and.........ran away,back to onyiboland where they came from.Mandy however made a huge impression as an awesome stage performer,and I dare say that today's naija 'hip-hopresses' should watch her old tapes or see her for very useful tutorials on how they can overcome their stage timidity.
The 'elegant stallion',Onyeka Onwenu was an instant hit as a newscater on the NTA screens,and followed up with an ok debut album.It was however her next recording 'one love' that sealed her acceptance as a bonafide singer.The song is still recognisable to todays youths.
The pop music scene in the 1980s was defined by the production dexterity of Odion Iruoje,Larry Ifedioranma (late),Jake Solo (late) and the BLO trio (Berkley Jones,Laolu Akins and Otu Lemmy Jackson).Odion's big contribution was in grooming a UNN law student by name Kris Okotie.With a rare combination of good looks,intelligence,and a knock-out voice ( which many critics still maintain he did not use well),Kris' album 'i need someone' became one of the all-time best-sellers in Nigeria's recording history (thanks also to the late Haruna Ishola's innovative Phonodisk Records).The follow-up album was even more successful,with the emotionally-charged girlie song,'take it to stella'.
One of the key instrumentalists in Okotie's recordings was a talented guitarist named Felix Lebarty.He waited patiently for his turn,and no sooner had Kris abandoned music for evangelism
did Felix unleash 'loverboy'.If Kris had the upper 'aje butter' class in his palms,Lebarty was king of the ghettos.'Ngozi' and later 'Ifeoma' were legitimate ghetto anthems for years.Curiously 'ifeoma' is still played in several upscale night clubs today!
Another offshoot of the Kris Okotie era was Jide Obi,another law student who actually partnered Kris in a group at UNN.Not wanting to languish in Okotie's shadows,Jide Obi released the album Front Page News,which featured several hits such as 'tonight'.Interestingly it took about a whole year before people took notice of Front Page News,but once the album got off the mark it became real real massive.
Then reggae took over.Lemmy Jackson crafted Tera Kota's Lamentation For Sodom,which instantly became naija's first massive reggae hit.He followed with the Mandators' Crisis,Ras Kimono ,and several other successful recordings which made him the rave producer of the 1980s.
Without doubt however,Lemmy's best production (some argued though that he did very little,considering the extraordinary talent of the artiste) was Majek Fashek's Prisoner Of Concience album.The song 'send down the rain' was more massive than massive.Majek actually described the song as a special Gift from God,and I agree:Many testified that drops of rain actually fell whenever the artiste performed that song on stage!
The Majek era and its mystiques was punctuated by the coming of Sir Shina Peters and the sexually-charged Ace.The term 'rave of the moment' was first used on Shina Peters by the press.'Ijo shina' held the country spell-bound for all of four years,until an unlikely fuji artiste with an urban personae and fascinating choreography took the scene.That was Adewale Ayuba,and the music was bongue-fuji,'traditional music with modern touch'.
Remember though that Sikiru Ayinde Barrister had popularised fuji in the '80s with 'fuji reggae',while Kollington complemented with a string of club (believe it!) hits some years later.Wasiu Ayinde Marshall's 'fuji collection' and later Pasuma's 'orobokibo' were also very popular outside the strict yoruba market.
Blackky brought the 'blackky skank' and was on direct collision with Daniel Wilson's 'mr raggamuffin' for the latter part of the reggae era.Working hard to break out of the reggae grip were pop artistes like Alex O ('do it in the name of love'),Charly Boy ('nwata miss') ,Emphasis and Sweat ('television').These were the true forerunners of today's hip hop crowd.Emphasis and Junior and Pretty were even rappers.
Femi Kuti finally eatablished himself with the afrobeat hit 'wonder wonder',and followed up with an even bigger hit 'sorry sorry'.
After the long lull brought about by the folding up of the big recording companies,Kennis Music intervened,and the hip hop era as we know it today was born.The first great act were the Remedies,consisting of Eidris Abdulkareem,Eddy Montana and (the relegated) Tony Tetuila.'Sakomo' was the song.
Tetuila later turned the table on his former group when his 'omode meta n'sere' and later 'my car' established him as king.Only for a while though as Eidris soon dropped 'mr lecturer' and took the crown.
Paul Play (who seems genuinely confused on what brand of music to stick to) had the market with his father's 'mo s'ori re',but the boys from Benue had arrived Lagos and had ideas of their own.The Plantation boys should be in the Guinness Book of Records for being on top of the charts for almost two years without an album in the market!In fact by the time the album was released vitually all the songs had become archive materials.
Daddy Showkey left his more critically acclaimed friend,Daddy Fresh behind to claim a rave spot with his emotional song,Dynah',While Lagbaja tasted royal treatment for the dance spectacular,'konko below'.
Already massively popular from his time with the Plantation Boys,Tu Face Idibia's debut album was a guaranteed success.Only that 'african queen' made it the biggest album of the hip hop era.
African China stormed the ghetto with his social commentary 'crisis' and later 'mr president',while Faze,whose 'faze alone' was overshadowed by the strength of 'african queen',finally had his big pay day with 'kolomental'.P Square on their part danced their way to
fame with 'busy body' and later 'do me'.
Olu Maintain's 'yahoozee' ensured that there were more than one raves in 2007,before 9ice also latched in with 'gonso aso' to start 2008 as the rave of the moment.
Did I miss or omit anyone?Please let me know.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
EASTER,AFROBEAT,HHWA ,P SQUARE,100 MAN MARCH,AYO SONAIYA..
THE JOY OF EASTER
Hope you had a swell Easter? O course I realise this may be an unnecessary question:This year's Easter period will go down as one of the most action-packed,entertainment-wise , particularly l'Eko!Big shows,this and that Awards,all the big acts on parade,etc,etc.Let's therefore appreciate and thank God for the Gift of Easter;it's the reason we're all alive and smiling.
ARISE OH AFROBEAT ARISE !
I felt sad when I realised that in the midst of all the musical action during Easter,afrobeat - Naija's own authentic original music was hardly heard.In fact in the last few years afrobeat had virtually dissappeared from our air waves,with the exception of the routine Fela's oldies at lunch time.
This is surprising,considerring the massive upsurge in the genre's popularity in the immediate aftermath of the abami eda's death.Where is Dede Mabiaku (and his forever expected debut)?;Kola Ogunkoya was becoming a huge afrobeat act before he fizzled out.Alariwo,Seyi Solagbade,etc etc,same story.
Not surprisingly,the leading light in the afrobeat expedition has been the crown prince (who is now in all parameters the king),Femi Kuti.Unfortunately the man seems to have taken a sabatical from music,over the last few years,in favour of procreational activities.The positive thing about the Positive Force is that they have kept the africa shrine busy all the way.Then,one can't but applaud Femi for reconciling with his kid brother ,Seun.
Will the forces that be now Clear Road for Jagajaga in the Big Blind Country?Most shrine aficionados will readily state that Fela's best works were the unrecorded ones which he frequently unleashed at the shrine just before his death.A joint recording of these works by Femi and Seun will provide the big tonic that afrobeat desperately needs for revival.I earnestly hope that those songs,as legacies,will not go the way of Bobby Benson's Hotel.
Then there is this issue of the Lagos Mega City project.A revival of afrobeat will immensely boost the tourism credentials of that project; and I know Governor Fashola can make a positive intervention if his advisers make a case before him.Eko o ni baje o !
So arise afrobeat! Take your rightful place as Naija's one and only original,authentic,world class
music.
35 MM NONSENSE
It was becoming embarassing the rate at which Naija artistes travelled or sought to travel to Nelson Mandela's country just to shoot musical videos.And the excuse often given was that they wanted to shoot with the 35mm camera.This of course was taken to extra-terestrial boundaries after P Square's run-away hit, Do Me.
I've always found something curious and terribly wrong with this craze,but could not really comment on it.Not until a most distinguished cinematographer,director and film expert decided to make a categorical but most instructive comment to put the matter to rest once and for all.According to Ayo Sonaiya,a good musical video is a result of a combination of factors,largely on the creative side and not so much on the economic.I couldn't agree more.There's a particular local musical video that always trips me since like five years ago.Sometime recently I had a chance meeting with one of the crew and a bombshell!I was told that that video was actually recorded with a camcorder!This might be an extreme example, but I stronly recommend Ayo Sonaiya's article ( which by the way was all over the press some three weeks ago) to all Nigerian artistes.To Sir K though,I say congratulations on his new acquisition;At least in his own case we know he's always been a creative guy.Sorry SA embassy,to Klink Studios we head!
THE 100 MAN MARCH TO ALAUSA
A few weeks a group of top celebrities led by smoking hot D'Banj and highly regarded writer Ayeni Adekunle staged a peaceful march to the Lagos government secretariat to protest the security situation.I commend them.Each one of us citizens has a big role to play in combating crime.The artistes that marched with D'Banj played their part.Sometime this role may entail 'little' things like counselling our kids (which seems to have gone out of fashion),or asking questions about a neigbour's sudden wealth.But by and large,I think it's imperative that we reverse our value system to what it was many many years ago:stop worshipping the rich as if they are gods.Secondly,the manner in which our successful musicians flaunt their wealth these days does not help matters at all:An artiste records his very first hit song,and suddenly his home is decorated with all the known exotic cars in the market.Yet,as has happened severally in the past,he may never achieve another hit status for years to come;yet he still lives in the same poverty-stricken environment,and still mingles with the same poor 'hommies' that his life has been built around.Modesty is the key word here, eventhough this should not in any way diminish the message of the 100 man march.
HIP HOP WORLD AWARDS SCORE-CARD
I'm sure you read my predictions on the 3rd Hip Hop World Magazine Awards.I'm equally sure that you noticed I was spot on in several categories:Tuface,Ruggedman,Timaya,Jimmy Jatt etc,etc,et cetera!!!Congratulations,Ayo Animashaun.Congratulations Asa,9ice and everybody else that won.As for the controversisies,there's nothing to say.It comes with all and any awards event anywhere in the world.I've always had the impression that any awards list merely represents the opinion of the organizers,simple;if you don't like their choice,then organize your own show and 'right' the 'wrong'!Meanwhile,the yellow carpet event was something else.Splendid.
P SQUARE'S REACTION
If there was anything I didn't like about this year's HHWA,it was the unwarranted and absolutely unnecessary negative publicity given to the apparently unhappy reaction of members of P Square to their inability to win a single award at this year's show.What these writers failed to remember was the fact that the Okoye brothers are human beings like everybody else;and I daresay that 8 out of 10 of us would have felt the same way if we were in their shoes.Let's consider the facts:In 2006,P Square's Get Squared (Busy Body) album which only crept slowly to the top of the charts, won a sensational 6 awards at the same HHWA.In 2007,the follow-up,Game Over was an instant chart-topper,breaking (as the press reported) all known sales records in the process:Indeed christmas 2007 was dominated by one song - Do Me.How would members of the band then ever imagine that they would achieve anything less than the 100% haul of 2006 in 2008, not to talk of going home EMPTY-handed?
What really dissappointed me was a certain instance where an innocuous personal phone call from one of the group members to a writer on the issue was not only revealed to the whole world,but also made the source of a very damning article against the group.However,I'll advise the group to take these things calmly.Remember that it's easier to get to the top than to stay there.
Hope you had a swell Easter? O course I realise this may be an unnecessary question:This year's Easter period will go down as one of the most action-packed,entertainment-wise , particularly l'Eko!Big shows,this and that Awards,all the big acts on parade,etc,etc.Let's therefore appreciate and thank God for the Gift of Easter;it's the reason we're all alive and smiling.
ARISE OH AFROBEAT ARISE !
I felt sad when I realised that in the midst of all the musical action during Easter,afrobeat - Naija's own authentic original music was hardly heard.In fact in the last few years afrobeat had virtually dissappeared from our air waves,with the exception of the routine Fela's oldies at lunch time.
This is surprising,considerring the massive upsurge in the genre's popularity in the immediate aftermath of the abami eda's death.Where is Dede Mabiaku (and his forever expected debut)?;Kola Ogunkoya was becoming a huge afrobeat act before he fizzled out.Alariwo,Seyi Solagbade,etc etc,same story.
Not surprisingly,the leading light in the afrobeat expedition has been the crown prince (who is now in all parameters the king),Femi Kuti.Unfortunately the man seems to have taken a sabatical from music,over the last few years,in favour of procreational activities.The positive thing about the Positive Force is that they have kept the africa shrine busy all the way.Then,one can't but applaud Femi for reconciling with his kid brother ,Seun.
Will the forces that be now Clear Road for Jagajaga in the Big Blind Country?Most shrine aficionados will readily state that Fela's best works were the unrecorded ones which he frequently unleashed at the shrine just before his death.A joint recording of these works by Femi and Seun will provide the big tonic that afrobeat desperately needs for revival.I earnestly hope that those songs,as legacies,will not go the way of Bobby Benson's Hotel.
Then there is this issue of the Lagos Mega City project.A revival of afrobeat will immensely boost the tourism credentials of that project; and I know Governor Fashola can make a positive intervention if his advisers make a case before him.Eko o ni baje o !
So arise afrobeat! Take your rightful place as Naija's one and only original,authentic,world class
music.
35 MM NONSENSE
It was becoming embarassing the rate at which Naija artistes travelled or sought to travel to Nelson Mandela's country just to shoot musical videos.And the excuse often given was that they wanted to shoot with the 35mm camera.This of course was taken to extra-terestrial boundaries after P Square's run-away hit, Do Me.
I've always found something curious and terribly wrong with this craze,but could not really comment on it.Not until a most distinguished cinematographer,director and film expert decided to make a categorical but most instructive comment to put the matter to rest once and for all.According to Ayo Sonaiya,a good musical video is a result of a combination of factors,largely on the creative side and not so much on the economic.I couldn't agree more.There's a particular local musical video that always trips me since like five years ago.Sometime recently I had a chance meeting with one of the crew and a bombshell!I was told that that video was actually recorded with a camcorder!This might be an extreme example, but I stronly recommend Ayo Sonaiya's article ( which by the way was all over the press some three weeks ago) to all Nigerian artistes.To Sir K though,I say congratulations on his new acquisition;At least in his own case we know he's always been a creative guy.Sorry SA embassy,to Klink Studios we head!
THE 100 MAN MARCH TO ALAUSA
A few weeks a group of top celebrities led by smoking hot D'Banj and highly regarded writer Ayeni Adekunle staged a peaceful march to the Lagos government secretariat to protest the security situation.I commend them.Each one of us citizens has a big role to play in combating crime.The artistes that marched with D'Banj played their part.Sometime this role may entail 'little' things like counselling our kids (which seems to have gone out of fashion),or asking questions about a neigbour's sudden wealth.But by and large,I think it's imperative that we reverse our value system to what it was many many years ago:stop worshipping the rich as if they are gods.Secondly,the manner in which our successful musicians flaunt their wealth these days does not help matters at all:An artiste records his very first hit song,and suddenly his home is decorated with all the known exotic cars in the market.Yet,as has happened severally in the past,he may never achieve another hit status for years to come;yet he still lives in the same poverty-stricken environment,and still mingles with the same poor 'hommies' that his life has been built around.Modesty is the key word here, eventhough this should not in any way diminish the message of the 100 man march.
HIP HOP WORLD AWARDS SCORE-CARD
I'm sure you read my predictions on the 3rd Hip Hop World Magazine Awards.I'm equally sure that you noticed I was spot on in several categories:Tuface,Ruggedman,Timaya,Jimmy Jatt etc,etc,et cetera!!!Congratulations,Ayo Animashaun.Congratulations Asa,9ice and everybody else that won.As for the controversisies,there's nothing to say.It comes with all and any awards event anywhere in the world.I've always had the impression that any awards list merely represents the opinion of the organizers,simple;if you don't like their choice,then organize your own show and 'right' the 'wrong'!Meanwhile,the yellow carpet event was something else.Splendid.
P SQUARE'S REACTION
If there was anything I didn't like about this year's HHWA,it was the unwarranted and absolutely unnecessary negative publicity given to the apparently unhappy reaction of members of P Square to their inability to win a single award at this year's show.What these writers failed to remember was the fact that the Okoye brothers are human beings like everybody else;and I daresay that 8 out of 10 of us would have felt the same way if we were in their shoes.Let's consider the facts:In 2006,P Square's Get Squared (Busy Body) album which only crept slowly to the top of the charts, won a sensational 6 awards at the same HHWA.In 2007,the follow-up,Game Over was an instant chart-topper,breaking (as the press reported) all known sales records in the process:Indeed christmas 2007 was dominated by one song - Do Me.How would members of the band then ever imagine that they would achieve anything less than the 100% haul of 2006 in 2008, not to talk of going home EMPTY-handed?
What really dissappointed me was a certain instance where an innocuous personal phone call from one of the group members to a writer on the issue was not only revealed to the whole world,but also made the source of a very damning article against the group.However,I'll advise the group to take these things calmly.Remember that it's easier to get to the top than to stay there.
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