Dare Art Alade!

To be real with you I used to playa hate on the guy. I was like dude wants to use his charm and fame to sell records. Saw his well attended album launch on TV and I was like fuck it, he doesn’t deserve it. Yeah I’d heard a few of his songs but still wasn’t tripped, it’s until I saw his stage performance at the African Movie Academy Awards in Bayelsa State that I was won over. Excellent stage presence/performance and the songs weren’t bad either. After that I didn’t need much persuasion, I copped son’s album like it was drugs. After enough listens I can say the boy definitely has talent…plus a wonderful voice.

Being the son of one of Nigeria’s late musical greats Dare had a solid music foundation. Sang in the choir, started performing at shows early, worked on the radio and participated in an African reality-TV talent show: Project Fame. Finally some months back he came out with his 17-track debut from the stable of his Storm Records family. One thing to note about Dare is that although he sings he does so through a variety of genres. Rhythm and Blues, Hip hop, Fuji, Jazz etc nevertheless the album has a general theme of love, inspiration and dance. Production wise the tracks were laced mainly in Nigeria and South Africa.

Personally the tracks that appeal to me are (in no particular order): escalade, original Naija 1, fuji 1, sijioni, escalade part 2 and Youngman 1. “Escalade” is a soulful ballad that talks of a young man’s desire to have a meaningful relationship with a lady regardless of his small cash flow. On “Original Naija” he’s simply saying he’s proudly Nigerian till the grave. “Fuji” is a certified party track expectedly with some fuji flavour. “Sijioni” is a love song to that special girl; the chorus is taken in some South African language and the verses in Yoruba and English. On “escalade part 2” along with some featured artists he’s saying something like this: “if you don’t like me because of my low cash flow, then to hell with you”. “Youngman” which was recorded years ago basically says yes I’m young and I’m African but best believe that I’m musically skilled.

On the down side, the album had a little too much variety. Reggae, Jazz, Hip Hop, Rhythm and Blues etc. it’ll really benefit him if on his next album he tries to be the master of one trade and not the jack of all. Also he seems to have been bitten by the Nigerian remix craze. Having two versions of Fuji with the only difference being the featured rapper is kind of dumb. The same thing applies to “Youngman”. Why remix it a second time with just a new set of rappers? What’s the point? The first version with El Dee and KB was just ok. The “original Naija” remix without the rap was to fill up space abi? But the thing that really ticks me off about the album is that it isn’t well mastered. Some of the songs are of different volumes and adjusting your radio while playing the CD can be annoying. After all said and done I give the album three and a half stars out of five.

Listen to “escalade”. More info on the artist and album available at www.dareartalade.com

Note: This post is used for the purpose of cultivating interest in the featured musician. It is more of a promotional tool rather than an illegal file sharing means. However, if you are an artist or a label represented here and you would like your music removed let me know and it will come down immediately.

Paul Play on one of his former album covers.

After learning from Laide of the exschoolnerd’s Xanga fame that “forever” by Paul Play Dairo was her and her boyfriend’s official song I kept my ears on alert. I finally heard the song on radio, fell in love with it, consulted with the gods and before you knew it Paul Play Dairo’s third offering since he blew up in 1999 was mine.

The songwriter, producer cum musician and son of the late Nigerian music legend I.K. Dairo must have been up to two things prior to recording the album. Firstly he must have been listening to a lot of Brian Mcknight, Carl Thomas and some old school Hip hop joints from the early nineties. And secondly he must have been like “to hell with the critics who said you can’t score unless you come in a traditional genre while singing in vernacular or pidgin”. That’s because unlike his former albums which had a fair share of Highlife, Juju, Ragga and Nigerian flavour on this album he was strictly Rhythm and Blues with one Hip hop track for effect. What more if not for the guest raps and the accent you probably wouldn’t know the album was Nigerian. Dude just did what was on his mind, the end product of which is a nine tracker released under the playgroundentertainment label (which includes two remixes) with a general theme on love.

Propelled by the smash hits “angel of my life” and “forever” (both of which have remixed versions) which are sure to send any listener into a love frenzy Paul Play shows with this album the depth of his talent in song writing and production. The voice is also great and couples are warned that after a night of hitsville, babyville often follows. As can be expected a few of the songs contain rap verses, Paul Play even dropping some himself in “crying in the rain”. The track “playground anthem” is the exception. It’s a rap song with Playground Entertainment’s own artists: Ruff Rugged and Raw having the rap honours and being on point while Paul takes the chorus. It’s a perfect Hip Hop song and along with “forever” it’s my favourite on the album. This ain’t really a biggie but for Nigerian standards the album design was tight.

Talking about the cons of the album I must say that for a producer an album with just seven tracks is quite pitiful. The two remixes on the album also sucked. They weren’t much different than the originals, just a minor instrumentals adjustment (to make it party worthy) and a change of rap verses. Seems it’s the latest Nigerian fad…oh dear. On the whole though the album rocks for me, on a scale of five I’m giving it four stars.

Listen to “forever” featuring Alibu and B Rite. More info on the artist and album available at www.playgroundentertainmentng.com

Note: This post is used for the purpose of cultivating interest in the featured musician. It is more of a promotional tool rather than an illegal file sharing means. However, if you are an artist or a label represented here and you would like your music removed let me know and it will come down immediately.

A few days ago I was checking my blog stats like I normally do and I saw I was getting crazy hits from the BBC. I put on my imaginary glasses and discovered I was quoted in an article titled: “Blogging Africa’s World Cup”. The article is basically a collation of a few African bloggers take on the ongoing WorldCup. Damn, that’s totally righteous man. It’s nice to get the chance to represent Africa at something.

I swear it’s cool watching football with no strings attached. Patriotism can be a real muther******. I remember our loss to Côte d’Ivoire at the ACN2006 semi-finals; I’ve never been as annoyed because of a match as I was then. I was raving and yelling through out the game and at blast of the final whistle I felt like crying. Added to that Momsie teased me after the loss and I stormed out of the house angry. But you should see me now; I’m a big flirt football wise and its fun!

As much as the WorldCup is a melting point of cultures, the national teams are melting points of another kind. You can find peeps of all types repping one country. And it’s courtesy of the mix-raced thingy, immigration and emigration, acquired citizenship and footballers playing for the countries of their parents. Checkout Figueiredo and Ricardo of Angola or the black dominated French squad with space sef for the Indian like Dhorasoo to fit in. it’s a beautiful thing ain’t it?

I think it’s about time God sent me a laptop. Computers are so much a part of my life that it’s criminal for me not to have one. There’s only one PC at my crib and PHCN issues coupled with sharing issues often deny me the chance of enjoying the damn thing to the max. I swear PC waiting is worse than TV waiting (sitting through a boring program on TV and not being able to change it cos someone else is watching it). Just as some Nigerians like to say “South South for Presidency in 2007, non negotiable!”; I’m saying I need to use the PC when I need to use the PC, non negotiable!

I’m tired of reading/hearing stuff from people (arguing with people) at the opposite end saying Hip hop is bad, Hip hop is dead, Nigerian artists sound and sing too Westernized, Hip hop artists swear too much, TRAE stop swearing…whatever man. “That’s how it is” by OD is just what the doctor recommended. Over and out.

The Black stars of “Africa”, una well done

I’ve been being shuffling/reediting my posts of recent. The first two comments of this post are testament to that. But any which ways no think am, just enjoy the writing.

Dey don mark am say we go make am
Papa God don sign am say we do am
Na my destiny, so make you no think am

Have you heard that song? It might be rhymeless and might be the latest hit by a fluke-one hit wonder-Lagos ghetto boy but I sure am feeling it.

Translation:
It has been declared that we’ll make it in life
God himself has signed It that we’ll succeed
It’s my destiny so don’t even think about stopping my progress

Was feeling iree yesterday so I copped four albums. Dare Art Alade’s “from me 2 u”, Paul Play Dairo’s “hitsville”, Sound Sultan’s “the compulsory text-book” and Rymzo de Gusto’s “mysterious”. Oophs, they’re all Lagos based artist, anyways good music is good music. But I’m still waiting on a tight “rap” Nigerian album, I’ve seen no one worth coping yet (I’ve been meaning to buy El Dee of the Trybesmen’s album, but I can’t seem to find it). So is it a case of no one keeping it real rap-wise again, poor marketing or maybe I’m not checking the right music stores? By the way I recorded a song last week with a bunch of guys. But I haven’t been able to get my hands on a copy. When I do I’ll upload it. Watch this space for follow ups.

The WorldCup starts today! But the problem is that the power situation in Abuja is at its all time worst. PHCN are so fucking unpredictable, they seize the power almost every day for at least five hours. Some years back we were really living it up in AMAC (Abuja Municipal Area Council) but now I’m sorry to say I enjoy more power at UNN than I do here. Kai! Anyways make I no think am, match viewing center na de very place to hit.

I know say you get issues and worse still Naija no go dey WorldCup but no think am, just enjoy the football

Why is it that we keep complaining that it’s bad news that we always hear? Have we ever wondered what good news would be like? It’d be boring, and life would be uneventful. I’m not a sadist it’s just that it’s just the way of the world, shit happens. Shit makes you think, talk and debate. It puts the media all up in your face and enables them make a killing from adverts. If we heard only good news we would be like “oh really…cool” but in our minds we’d be like “who gives a fuck”. This is how horrible good news would be:

-MTN gives new SIM packs to customers who’ve purchased at least one thousand Naira worth of airtime in a month.
-John Mikel Obi falls in love with daughter of Nigerian politician while on vacation in New York. Now set to be her High School Prom date.
-Federal government pumps money into power industry; repaints PHCN offices nationwide.
-Former head of State Yakubu Gowan takes “Nigeria Prays” initiative to Aba. Abia State governor Orji Uzor kalu gives life to Christ; subsequently speaks in mysterious tongues.
-President Obasanjo has a hard day at work and relaxes by playing golf with his son Gbenga at the IBB Golf course.

It seems to me like all work is dishonest. It appears as if businessmen are your friends who’re out to help you but in reality they’re only ripping you off by selling you shit. They put you in a hypnotised state that you believe you can’t do without their goods/services.

Look at the ICT/IT industry it’s like the new craze is ICT/IT and employment seminars. And man it sure does pay. Give a “go get em” speech for a small fee to thousands of knowledge eager and prosperity dreaming students and smile home to the banks. But being that everybody can’t be at the top at the end of the day those that use the skill to really progress in life are very few.

Cable TV channels are also shady. They constantly call on you to subscribe to them and get unlimited viewing and infotainment. It’s like E! is an essential and you’re not worthy to be alive if you don’t know the latest celebrity gossip or the life history of the stars. Yeah right, like I have nothing else to do than engaging in brain rot by living in front of my TV.

HYIP Schemes too are shit. Buy stuff from me and sell to others, get a commission for each sale. Those others would also sell to others and you’d get a profit from their sales etc. Truth is the more you buy the more they get rich and if you’re unable to find someone to in turn sell your stuff to then God help you.

HIV/AIDS NGOs belong to this same pack. Person no go hear word again with their ubiquitous adverts. At they rate they pump them out it makes you scared to even think about sex. You start to wonder if the activists are all life time virgins. But the real deal is that the fight against AIDS ain’t all that much in their hearts as they try to portray. It’s just their fucking job; it’s how they make a living. Sell more condoms and get more foreign grants. Pocket a nice amount of it and start a support group with the leftovers. By distributing drugs to peeps you make your benefactors think you’re on your toes so they’ll pump in more dough.

Damn…I need a job, any offers?

We’re all a bunch of dishonest folks out only too make that money

Why is it that we can always identify an ajebota or an ajepako kid/person by face but we just can’t put our finger on those features that enable us distinguish them physically? Take a look at these pictures. The firsts of ajepakos and ajebotas at childhood. And the second of them when grown up.

Ajepakos

Ajebotas

An ajepako and ajebota when grown up

Ajebotas are like this: they’ve got DSTV at home thus they hardly watch local channels, spending time at Mr Biggs and Silver Bird Cinemas is the norm and not the exception, spend holidays abroad, have loads of clothes and electronics, are driven to school in air conditioned cars, eat lots of snacks, listen mainly to hip hop, rock and pop music, are strictly into foreign movies, attend what’s up churches like Christ Embassy, hardly visit their villages and when they do go as the big guns, don’t speak their native language etc.

While ajepakos are like this: they contribute to the household income by hawking and helping out at the farm, week’s high is going to church with Dad on his motorbike, own very little electronics and recreation mainly involves playing street football, music wise get high on galala, swo, gospel music, high life and fuji, think Naija movies are the shiznit, go to churches like Deeper life and Cele, are home town regulars and speak their native language well etc.

Psychologist and doctors need to step up on their research. For reals the issue has really been bugging me.

Nigerian speech patterns also tend to be decided along ajebota and ajepako lines. Ajebotas are often intellectual, reason well and speak eloquently while the ajepakos grow up to be slow breeds with slurred speech and illiterate like flow. This division can be seen when people are receiving phone calls. Sharp people keep it simple: hi…what’s up man, e go be now…later. Dullards are like hello! Onye ne kwu/who be dis/who are you! (They don’t even wait for the caller to introduce himself) I no dey hear you oh! Even during call in programs on TV/radio. Sharp guys put their call in smoothly and make their request/contribute sweetly. Dullards make you want to reach through your TV/radio and strangle them for time wastage and stupidity. Sharp guys are a CNN interviewer’s joy as they speak fast and intelligible. They’d do the summarise your points in one minute thing well. Fani Kayode would be a joy to watch on CNN or listen to on BBC Network Africa. But our over weight slow-Joe politicians would be like: eh eh eh…clears throat…thank you for that question…I like intelligent questions…Aaas iiiive beeen saaaaying…

As for me, I’m simple like Gandhi, you gotta love me. Speech wise I’m kind of fast, people always complain at first but soon they get the hang of it. I think I developed the fast flow in my teenage years when I was still working on my chatting up girls’ skills. The awkwardness made me rush and jumble things up. Now it’s part of me but it’s developed in a nice way. It’s kinda cool, makes me unique.