About 6 months ago when my cousin,an equally under-employed young man with way too much time on his skinny hands,and I came across KC's song 'Limpopo',he swore to me in between fits of raucous(not too sure what that means but it sounds like something a jobless guy would do) laughter that the Nigerian music industry had finally reached its Nollywood moment.
It just could not possibly get any worse!
His verdict was,anyone one who bought the CD would be using it as a make shift rear-view mirror(just ask the bus drivers in Lagos) not too long after purchase.
I,on the other hand,due to numerous life experiences,I'm always a lot slower in over-rating the Nigerian youth.
I believed the song had three essential elements of a Nigerian hit.
First,an absolutely jamming beat!It might seem like what any half-wit with a barely charged Acer laptop and an even less charged brain m ight be able to come up with but to the Nigerian music scene,that's pure gold wearing a pair of Nike sneakers and jumping into your pocket!
Secondly,3 or 4 lines,and if you are an aspiring high school drop out and thinking of taking the next logical step into the Nigerian music industry,never more than 5 dear,of absolutely senseless and meaningless lyrics repeated over and over again.
Daddy Showkey had that revelation in a dream almost 20 years ago and it has been passed on to generations on end after him.
Thirdly,a one-word title.Which must and I dear say this is the most important,mean absolutely nothing.
Just ask Kukere,Tongolo,Nogede and Alanta before him.
Fast forward to 6 months and the song is an absolute monster.
Club,radio and video.
My faith in the rabid ability of the Nigerian youth to soak up all sorts of nonsense around it like a cheap Chinese sponge was eventually not misplaced.
Anyways,I've just completed a two weeks break from work,the real one and this one,and I feel completely refreshed though some parts of my brain is still dulled from watching too much of the Nigerian music channel Sound City.
It was tedious 8 out of 10 times.I really could not tell Sean Tizzle,Ketchup,Rayce or Davido and a host of others apart.
It seems they all just sleep at the front gate of the same producer and tell each other "You know what?when the guy drops the beat in the morning,we'll all just drop our lyrics on the same beat and hope for the best!"
It wasn't all that bad to be honest.There are some good young Nigerian musicians doing good music.
The boy Black Magic springs to mind with 'Repete' and 'Confam'.
Shank with 'Ghetto'(not a new song but vastly under-rated).
Mode Nine's 'Let it go' is hot.True rap music.
By the way,somebody help Mode Nine with an endorsement deal;Glo,Mtn even Loya Milk,any one please!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dude's been dropping good rap music for the past 10 odd years but his records sell less than the chap who hawks 'I love Boko Haram' T-shirts down my street.
Then the videos!!!It's like porn on daytime T.v.
There are more half naked girls on those videos than a Swaziland wife choosing ritual.
My representation of the music industry might be a tad unfair but it's what I saw in 2 weeks and if you don't agree with me,go get yourself a blog and write what you think.
At least before President Jo shuts the Internet down!
Follow @doctorrotcod
It just could not possibly get any worse!
His verdict was,anyone one who bought the CD would be using it as a make shift rear-view mirror(just ask the bus drivers in Lagos) not too long after purchase.
I,on the other hand,due to numerous life experiences,I'm always a lot slower in over-rating the Nigerian youth.
I believed the song had three essential elements of a Nigerian hit.
First,an absolutely jamming beat!It might seem like what any half-wit with a barely charged Acer laptop and an even less charged brain m ight be able to come up with but to the Nigerian music scene,that's pure gold wearing a pair of Nike sneakers and jumping into your pocket!
Secondly,3 or 4 lines,and if you are an aspiring high school drop out and thinking of taking the next logical step into the Nigerian music industry,never more than 5 dear,of absolutely senseless and meaningless lyrics repeated over and over again.
Daddy Showkey had that revelation in a dream almost 20 years ago and it has been passed on to generations on end after him.
Thirdly,a one-word title.Which must and I dear say this is the most important,mean absolutely nothing.
Just ask Kukere,Tongolo,Nogede and Alanta before him.
Fast forward to 6 months and the song is an absolute monster.
Club,radio and video.
My faith in the rabid ability of the Nigerian youth to soak up all sorts of nonsense around it like a cheap Chinese sponge was eventually not misplaced.
Anyways,I've just completed a two weeks break from work,the real one and this one,and I feel completely refreshed though some parts of my brain is still dulled from watching too much of the Nigerian music channel Sound City.
It was tedious 8 out of 10 times.I really could not tell Sean Tizzle,Ketchup,Rayce or Davido and a host of others apart.
It seems they all just sleep at the front gate of the same producer and tell each other "You know what?when the guy drops the beat in the morning,we'll all just drop our lyrics on the same beat and hope for the best!"
It wasn't all that bad to be honest.There are some good young Nigerian musicians doing good music.
The boy Black Magic springs to mind with 'Repete' and 'Confam'.
Shank with 'Ghetto'(not a new song but vastly under-rated).
Mode Nine's 'Let it go' is hot.True rap music.
By the way,somebody help Mode Nine with an endorsement deal;Glo,Mtn even Loya Milk,any one please!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dude's been dropping good rap music for the past 10 odd years but his records sell less than the chap who hawks 'I love Boko Haram' T-shirts down my street.
Then the videos!!!It's like porn on daytime T.v.
There are more half naked girls on those videos than a Swaziland wife choosing ritual.
 |
| Maybe I exaggerate a little! |
My representation of the music industry might be a tad unfair but it's what I saw in 2 weeks and if you don't agree with me,go get yourself a blog and write what you think.
At least before President Jo shuts the Internet down!
Follow @doctorrotcod
