Entertainment
Opinion: On the Music That is #MadeInLagos
By Jane Efagwu
When Wizkid suddenly tweeted that his next tweet will be the official drop of his long awaited fourth studio album, I kid you not, I had certain doubts in mind. What was going on? Was this the moment? Somebody pinch me! Rightfully, Twitter was going nuts over the surprise announcement but I refused to fully believe it. This shameful doubt organized a call to my fellow Starboy FC members because we were the core fans who low-key feared that it could just be Starboy doing normal Starboy things.
I mean, he is Wizkid for God’s sake. We think he can do music however, whenever and it will pop severely. Whatever him and his team were cooking up, one thing was sure- everywhere must definitely stew. E no get how. That was why when I first heard the project, I wasn’t even surprised. He had done it again. For any dedicated observer of the Starboy’s decade old magic, you would know that “it” changes from time to time. Single to single. Era to era. Ayodeji Balogun’s career has been a thrilling movie where the watchers are constantly dazed yet inspired by how often the entertainer is able to top himself over and over and…
The arrangement of the tracks on Made In Lagos is quietly poetic as it is peacefully progressive. Like every life or career journey, it starts out “Reckless” and ends with “Grace”, a silent point made by Starboy regarding his current position in his music and music worldwide. This point echoes loudly throughout the project as we hear a peaceful and permanent replacement of the expected way of delivering Nigerian music with the continuous championing of a new dawn in album creation: creating genre bending music that dare to take up spaces bigger than a genre box or even your radio set.
With his last LP, Sounds From The Other Side (2017), his innovative delivery faced heavy criticism from the Nigerian public.The UK and the U.S ate the project up but Nigerians remained tongue tied. What happened? A timeless album that was grossly misunderstood because of its renovation of the Afropop genre. This same approach to sound heavily punctuates MIL but what’s different this time is instead of misplaced criticism, all we hear is thunderous praise for its effortless delivery. What changed? When did Nigerians start to fully embrace unconventional, refreshing approaches to the beloved Afropop genre?
The music on Wizkid’s fourth studio rollout crosses and merges dominant cultural influences on Starboy’s ever changing sound over the years. He reimagines modern day Afrobeats alongside fellow genre giant, Burna boy while acknowledging his extended family in the U.S. and the UK with features from heavyweights like H.E.R, Ella Mai and frequent collaborator and ‘brother’, Skepta and exploring his old soul by kicking back senior citizen style to jam spiritual raggae with Jr Gong himself, Damian Marley. This he does while hosting the popping new kids on the Nigerian block: Tems, Terri and Jamaican newbie, Projexx, a valid endorsement for their promising catalogues.
One move that seals the project and lends it its cohesive flow is his clever choice of producers. Starboy employs the award-winning P2J as executive producer as well as other hood family acts like Sarz, Blaqjerzee, Mut4y and balances it up with British composers like Juls and Kill September. This cross country family affair births 14 solid tracks that have inspired ecstasy for the notoriously versatile Afro sound and how far it can be pushed, bent or merged to create nothing but magic.
However, some Twitter critics have maintained that while the album is titled Made In Lagos, it is regrettably not made for Lagos. With honey tracks like Sweet One which serves as a perfect play for a sunday evening stroll to one of the many beaches in Lagos and the enchanting, alté raggae merge that is True Love, a fitting dance ballad for a light intimate session with a lover on a beach house balcony over looking the waves, it is hard to understand where that take comes from. You can almost picture a dimly lit beer parlor complete with its regular cast and crew, spirited drinks exchanging hands and the Terri contribution, Roma, playing softly in the ambience while steaming pepper soup fingers your nostrils and lifts your spirits.
The album has been aptly described by its listeners as “rich people music”. Not a lie at all. To create this empowering effect, the creator employs his signature lush velvet saxo that lends an easy air of affluence to the songs and we all know that if it’s one thing about affluence, it is that it’s certainly not for everyone. You can feel this on the spiritually charged Blessed, where Damian Marley breezily samples his unique wealth (of experience) as he explores the unbeatable knowledge of self, the joys of fatherhood, a burning passion to do better and of course, great gratitude to be able to live this life.
This vibe runs over to the next track, Smile, a guaranteed anthem for positive vibrations while acknowledging life’s battle throughout the years. Smile comes from a place of relaxed reflections which ultimately leads to unconditional acceptance and gratitude for where you are right now. Clocking 30 this year, the track is dedicated to his three beautiful kids. Some might call it a simple dad move but followers of his journey especially his controversial fatherhood would agree that this is his own way of owning his shit loudly. Took him long enough but we’re glad he’s finally there.
With #MadeInLagos, Wizkid popularizes his signature effortless approach to everything. Usually mistaken for lazy, this style champions the less is more mantra and places strategy/smart work above hard work. From the second album cover which features a muted color palette that instinctively creates a warm sensation that somehow makes you want more than you’re seeing, to his cool and cohesive execution on an intro track ironically titled Reckless, he seems to never lose his chill and still manages to make several points throughout the album.
Infact, it is because of how relaxed he sounds that makes his lyrics more believable. No Stress isn’t just the second promotional single off the project, it’s actually a perpetual state of mind for the entertainer. He coyly samples the Lagos struggle while reminding us why we’re struggling in the first place. Why are women selling ‘cold mineral, cold pure water’ under the hot sun in the first place? Fela’s “suffering and smiling” is remixed to sound like: “say the people dey suffer but they smile for face but if Starboy talk Dem say Starboy craze” on Grace. Even dragging Nigerians and their government is done in the most chill way possible. No stress indeed.
For where Afropop is right now, an album like #MadeInLagos is nothing but a cheat code to the cutthroat game. It might feel so fresh and irresistible right now but we all know good music ages like fine wine and only gets better with time. The days are coming when we’d listen to it in time capsule style and the sonic wave will hit us a bit harder than it does now. When its true essence would make us smile. But for now we enjoy, we gyrate and we stream the project on every platform as we all beam with pride to be from the city that never sleeps.
Quincy Jones, the multi-talented music titan whose vast legacy ranged from producing Michael Jackson’s historic “Thriller” album to writing prize-winning film and television scores and collaborating with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other recording artists, has died at 91.
Jones’ publicist, Arnold Robinson, says he died Sunday night at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles, surrounded by his family.
“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” the family said in a statement. “And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him.”
Jones rose from running with gangs on the South Side of Chicago to the very heights of show business, becoming one of the first Black executives to thrive in Hollywood and amassing an extraordinary musical catalog that includes some of the richest moments of American rhythm and song. For years, it was unlikely to find a music lover who did not own at least one record with his name on it, or a leader in the entertainment industry and beyond who did not have some connection to him.
Jones kept company with presidents and foreign leaders, movie stars and musicians, philanthropists and business leaders. He toured with Count Basie and Lionel Hampton, arranged records for Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, composed the soundtracks for “Roots” and “In the Heat of the Night,” organized President Bill Clinton’s first inaugural celebration and oversaw the all-star recording of “We Are the World,” the 1985 charity record for famine relief in Africa.
Lionel Richie, who co-wrote “We Are the World” and was among the featured singers, would call Jones “the master orchestrator.”
In a career which began when records were still played on vinyl at 78 rpm, top honors likely go to his productions with Jackson: “Off the Wall,” “Thriller” and “Bad” were albums near-universal in their style and appeal. Jones’ versatility and imagination helped set off the explosive talents of Jackson as he transformed from child star to the “King of Pop.” On such classic tracks as “Billie Jean” and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” Jones and Jackson fashioned a global soundscape out of disco, funk, rock, pop, R&B and jazz and African chants. For “Thriller,” some of the most memorable touches originated with Jones, who recruited Eddie Van Halen for a guitar solo on the genre-fusing “Beat It” and brought in Vincent Price for a ghoulish voiceover on the title track.
“Thriller” sold more than 20 million copies in 1983 alone and has contended with the Eagles’ “Greatest Hits 1971-1975” among others as the best-selling album of all time.
“If an album doesn’t do well, everyone says ‘it was the producers fault’; so if it does well, it should be your ‘fault,’ too,” Jones said in an interview with the Library of Congress in 2016. “The tracks don’t just all of a sudden appear. The producer has to have the skill, experience and ability to guide the vision to completion.”
The list of his honors and awards fills 18 pages in his 2001 autobiography “Q”, including 27 Grammys at the time (now 28), an honorary Academy Award (now two) and an Emmy for “Roots.” He also received France’s Legion d’Honneur, the Rudolph Valentino Award from the Republic of Italy and a Kennedy Center tribute for his contributions to American culture. He was the subject of a 1990 documentary, “Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones” and a 2018 film by daughter Rashida Jones. His memoir made him a best-selling author.
Born in Chicago in 1933, Jones would cite the hymns his mother sang around the house as the first music he could remember. But he looked back sadly on his childhood, once telling Oprah Winfrey that “There are two kinds of people: those who have nurturing parents or caretakers, and those who don’t. Nothing’s in between.” Jones’ mother suffered from emotional problems and was eventually institutionalized, a loss that made the world seem “senseless” for Quincy. He spent much of his time in Chicago on the streets, with gangs, stealing and fighting.
“They nailed my hand to a fence with a switchblade, man,” he told the AP in 2018, showing a scar from his childhood.
Music saved him. As a boy, he learned that a Chicago neighbor owned a piano and he soon played it constantly himself. His father moved to Washington state when Quincy was 10 and his world changed at a neighborhood recreation center. Jones and some friends had broken into the kitchen and helped themselves to lemon meringue pie when Jones noticed a small room nearby with a stage. On the stage was a piano.
“I went up there, paused, stared, and then tinkled on it for a moment,” he wrote in his autobiography. “That’s where I began to find peace. I was 11. I knew this was it for me. Forever.”
Source: APnews
Digital solutions provider, Globacom, has announced an entertainment tour for its youth-centric product, My-G. The show will be hosted across major cities in Nigeria.
Globacom disclosed at a press briefing on Thursday that the youth-focused entertainment tour is geared towards highlighting the huge benefits of My-G, a product which addresses the entertainment and connectivity needs of young Nigerians.
Globacom’s Director of Creativity, Mr. Chuka Obi, explained that My-G offers unique data bundles which enable customers to access their favourite entertainment sites, social media platforms, and streaming services at affordable rates.
According to him, “With My-G, Glo customers are able to enjoy WhatsApp, TikTok, Snapchat, BoomPlay, Audiomack, Instagram and GloTV without sweating on data cost”.
He added further that, “My-G package is awesome, and customers are assured of getting the best data deals to spend more time on entertainment sites that they love to surf. That necessarily means they won’t get their pockets emptied just because they want to have fun”.
Obi also added that the experiential engagements in these cities will be garnished with undiluted entertainment, while “the pass to enjoy this, will surely be their uptake of My-G data bundles”.
Youth leaders who graced the unveiling of the entertainment tour gave thumbs up to the initiative from Globacom saying that “it would create a great opportunity for young people to engage with the brand that has remained focused at connecting young people to their passions and empowering them at affordable costs”.
President, Students Union Government (SUG), Yaba College of Technology, Morakinyo Olaolu, noted that, “This is a good initiative for youth development. We thank Glo for My-G which is for us the Youth.”.
In the same vein, Adebobola Ayomide, SUG President, Lagos State University, opined that “My-G will help the youth to stay more active online. It will be useful to us in both academic and social activities. We are happy with the plan and we also call on Glo to provide other packages that will help improve student lives on campus. We appreciate the company at all times”.
Adekanye Ibukunoluwa,who represented the University of Lagos SUG, said, “Thanks to Glo for putting the Youth into consideration. Online is where we do most of our academic work and My-G will help us greatly with affordable data. We hope Glo will start bringing more activities to the campus so that the students can benefit from them from time to time”.
Globacom also seized the opportunity to reintroduce its competitive tariff plan, Berekete, which has now been reloaded as Berekete 10X, and offers more benefits including ten times the value of every recharge, double data value, and amazing benefits on voice calls.
The company also highlighted the benefits of Glo Café app, a one-stop shop for all digital services and other Glo products and services. Glo Café is available for download on the Google App Store where customers can get 100 GB Bonus Data which includes instant 75GB and 5GB data installments for the next 5 months.
In addition to these, an app exclusive recharge offer of 100 per cent and app exclusive data bonus of 10 per cent are also available on Glo Café. Similarly, the app offers an in-App exclusive digital data bundles on special data.
Glo Café was launched to offer users self-services like Data Purchase, Data Gifting & Sharing with utmost ease. The app also addresses self-care needs like balance checks, Recharge, Borrow, Credit/Data, PUK code, NIN number details.
Social Media activist, Martins Ortse also known as VeryDarkMan, on Monday alleged that popular crossdresser, Idris Okuneye aka Bobrisky has been arrested by security authorities.
VeryDarkMan alleged that Bobrisky was arrested at the Seme border while attempting to escape to Benin Republic to evade the House of Representatives investigative hearing.
In a video on his Instagram page, VDM as he is referred to said: “Bobrisky has been arrested this morning at Seme border while trying to enter BENIN REPUBLIC to escape the current investigation by the house of reps, he is allegedly being held by the Nigeria immigration.”
Recently, VDM released an audio recording of Bobrisky claiming to have allegedly bribed EFCC officials with the sum of N15 million.
During his conversation, Bobrisky also claimed not to have spent his six-month jail term in Kirikiri prison due to the influence of his godfather.
The revelation led to an investigative hearing by the House of Representatives but Bobrisky failed to appear before the committee, claiming to be sick.
Source: The Post
