LEG OVER (REMIX) BY MR. EAZI

If anyone told me that I'd have playing 'pon deh replay, a song that starts with "Zagadat, Gbim Gbam Gbadi Ten Teh!", I'd laugh the person off like you'd do a stupid fellow, but I guess you wouldn't if it's the LEG OVER remix by Mr. Eazi featuring Wizkid, Eddie Kadi and Maleek Berry you're listening to. I haven't had the best of the last few days, and as is norm when I'm depressed, I turn to music, many times to the Hard Metal Rock, slow Rock, sometimes Rap music for the intensity, and lyrics that I can relate to. African  traditional music also, including those done in languages I don't understand helps take my mind of things a great deal. Nigerian music, especially by the young acts don't feature here because of their shallowness mostly in terms of lyrics, they find space when I'm in celebratory mode.


I'd heard LEG OVER the remix before, but really never paid it any attention, beyond believing that at some point, I would download it for my listening pleasure. It will interest you to know that I haven't heard the original, despite my madness for the remix, and that's for fear of getting disappointed, as it's been with other songs of his that followed immediately after this remix, the day I watched it on YouTube and fell in love with it, as I'm sure many others did going by the volume of covers it has already birthed, as well as videos of imitators of the dance steps on YouTube, with close to a million viewers of the remix video in such a short time since the release of the video online. I'm just content with the fact that the song did for me what I needed it to do for me, which is to distract me from issues bugging me, helping me clear my mind to channel thoughts to more productive things, even when I may not readily act on them.


Now don't look at me like I fell for the lyrics, because that didn't even happen. Though I know what's been talked about in the song, the lyrics formed part of the beats for me, as nothing in it could've helped assuage my situation in the first place. It's slow rhythm must be what drew me to it, and the simple ways the beats waltzes into one another. The intermittent percussion and the ever present string work, as well as the cymbal or shèkèrè-like accompaniments, not forgetting the "ekwe" (dunno what it's called in the English) somewhere in the mix.

You could also feel the influence of the Ghanaian HIP-LIFE sounds within it, with what sounded like Sarkodie's "Whi" chant spotting key junctions in the song. It wasn't difficult hearing Wizkid's voice on autotune during the hook with Mr. Eazi, a surprise for me in finding other listeners online insisting he wasn't in the song at all. Interestingly, not only was he in the audio, he also did a cameo in the video, which in itself wasn't bad. The girls looking to show everything in their dance style, showed very little, such that if you were apprehensive about having kids around while watching it, you might just end up being thankful that you hadn't rushed to jump to conclusion in changing the music channel because of the kids around you.


That was how I managed to distract myself from an awful week, by making this song my soundtrack. I just bopped my head to it, and all the weight simply dropped off, so I simply played it over and over again, until the weight didn't seem too heavy to carry anymore. That's usually what music does to and for me, the unusual thing about this one though, was that I didn't need the lyrics to minister to my soul, as the sound did just quite enough to levitate me from the depth of the sea, till I could float.


'kovich

I'M THE MAN

I spent much of yesterday watching the remix of 50 Cents' "I'M THE MAN" featuring the very talented Chris Brown, 'pon the replay on YouTube (https://youtu.be/ZB7Xjd34pjo). Even as I write this, it plays in the background in my ears. This is like the best I've gotten out of this duo together, most likely my first collabo from them if memory serves me right, unfortunately it had to be of a song that would make feminist the world over whimper with righteous anger. The male masochism isn't just evident in the lyrics, but even in the video.


The four females or video vixens as they call 'em these days in the video, did nothing but waltz lazily in the pool and bedroom, moving sensually and seductively, when not smoking shisha, or e-cigarettes, they are semi-nude and saying zilch (not even the usual dancing or twerking allowed them)", while the "MEN" (Fi'ty and Chris) fully clothed, non-smoking nor drinking, serenade them and us with lyrics about what art they could sculpt with female bodies in ways that couldn't even be directed at inanimates, such as property we own, just to show us how "manly" they both are.


Even in the hook (which in fact is the closest attempt both made at keeping the song "clean", repeated resoundingly thrice, so you don't miss anything) we aren't spared the inanities, they both croon -
       "Bitch, I'm the Man,
         Hoe, I'm the Man,
         You know I'm the Man...."
And you wouldn't but agree with me that this particular song is the anthem in waiting for acceptance by sexists.

CHRIS BROWN AND 50 CENTS IN "I'M THE MAN"

Interestingly, Chris Brown did something similar with 50 Cents' arch nemesis, Rick Ross in "SORRY", almost making me think both artistes, who have no love lost for each other, intended through their songs featuring Chris,  to prove to male folk their "manliness" (though not unusual in their hip-hop and rap music world), in how far they can go to degrade women, in order to win over to their sides the core of their misogynist audience, who see nothing in women besides bed warmers or at best a play things or sex toys. I couldn't help but imagine that in carrying out their mission, they employed one of the best male voices in the industry, with a history of battery (well, against Rihanna mainly), who was supported by male industry peeps from going under when the world turned on him (besides the fact that no one with a gift as he possesses can simply go under just like that).


Now, you may want to ask why the same song has been 'pon the replay in my ears since I stumbled upon it yesterday, and why before that "Sorry" had been for weeks on end? It's because of the great beats, even the word play is head shattering, hence difficult for me to ignore. If only gospel music could sound like that, but unfortunately this is how things are, and I've heard it said severally that Lucifer was a great musician while in heaven, and if he's at the heart of the great secular music been churned out these days, then it is hardly surprising what we get, as well as the effect these songs are having on impressionable tabula rasa minds, and by extension in relationships with the opposite sex.


It doesn't even look like this song is going to get the kinda negative publicity that greeted Rick Ross' "molly..." verse in U.O.E.N.O., that appeared to condone rape, which almost cost him a Reebok endorsement, and kept that version of the song by Rocko off some airwaves for sometime. Feminists the world over should probably shudder at this but would probably be too overcome by the silky sound to give a Damn about raising their voice against it (one amongst just so many for that matter), but what do I know? Okay, that's it! My thoughts out there for you, about how I feel about this great slow, rap and R&B song blasting my ear drums away right now, as I make my way through Lagos traffic to work. Do have yourself a fun filled day y'all.


'kovich


PICTURE CREDIT:
- http://www.magugudi.com

R.I.P PRINCE & PAPA WEMBA

I think myself an eclectic because I listen to and enjoy all kinds of music, many times without understanding what's been said or sung about. Sometimes I purposely don't rush to learn the lyrics of songs or rap music in English, because I fear I might lose interest in the song, especially when the song is still "pon da replay".


When I learnt about the death of "Prince" I wasn't devastated. I doubt I had heard any of his songs recently, but I felt bad that he had to go still so young with what many consider enough time to continue to churn out the kinda music that made him peculiar. Back in the day, Prince' music was thrown at me by the TV and radio without much I could have done about it. Eventually, his music grew on me as long as I saw or heard it before I began to have much of a choice about what I heard or saw, with my TV and Radio, and my remote control, and began to hear and see less and less of Prince, not because I didn't enjoy his music while it lasted, but because most of the time I was confused about him, what he tried to say, how he tried to say it, and how he expressed himself.

PRINCE WITH ONE OF HIS GUITARS

Much later, I guess on discovering he was black (after seeing him as white in our Black & White TV many time as a kid), and didn't look it, also began to affect how I felt about him, though Michael Jackson who was also black and looked whiter than Caucasians was never diminished before me. Also, it was such that each time I saw a Prince video, I was easily distracted by the shape of his guitar, or the feminine way he went about gesticulating while singing, as well as all of the lights, that before I had the chance to pick the lyrics the music was over. That honestly, was how it had been between me and Prince before I took control of TV and Radio, saw and heard less of him, except for a few times in recent years and then last week when he died.


It was different between me and Papa Wemba, who also came to my consciousness about the time Prince was riding the waves. In his case however, I continued to see and hear him after I had my remote control. It didn't matter that I understood no word he spoke in French or the local Congolese language he often used in his Makosa. Somehow I felt I got the message he was passing in his songs in that very peculiar soprano of his, even when I had no idea what he was singing about, like in my best of his, "YOLELE". It was a great relief for me when he did a collaboration with another artiste in English, unfortunately the song didn't resonate with me as did the ones in lingua I didn't understand.

PAPA WEMBA DURING A SONOROUS RENDITION

His death late last week didn't shock me, but I felt bad, just as with Prince'. Apparently, both of them left right in the middle of doing what they loved most. Prince found dead at an elevator, days just right after a tour promoting his latest work, and Papa Wemba after he collapsed while performing at a show in the Ivorian capital, Abidjan. Both weren't retired from their careers when the grim reaper visited, rather they left while in very active service, associated with what both have always been known with and for. I definitely may not miss them as much as those close to them, but having played some roles in my formative years musically, I will notice their absence, especially their peculiarity, especially in an age where almost every singer sounds the same, killing the very essence of music.


May the souls of Prince, and Papa Wemba Rest In Peace, and their works Live Forever!


'kovich


PICTURE CREDITS:
- http://www.laineygossip.com
- http://www.thecitizen.co.tz

VYBZ KARTEL'S "LIFE" TO LIFE

I grew up loving REGGAE under the influence of BOB MARLEY songs and still do, following it up with offshoots such as RAGA, then DANCEHALL, though Reggae never lost its pride of place with me. Dancehall doesn't cut it for me most times because of the lyrics, which unfortunately seem to be the foundation 'pon which it is built, or if not but apparently so because of the direction of the purveyors of the game. The beats of dancehall and the miracle the DJ's are wont to perform with the beats usually is what draws me to the genre once a while, and seriously you don't want to see me in the club when any of those become the choice of the DJ for the night.

VYBZ KARTEL (Real names, Adidja Azim Palmer) is one of those I took a liking for and actually still pay some attention to in the Dancehall genre, alongside others like Bennie Man, Bounty Killer, Mavado etc. Although, many times I'd rather not hear the lyrics of most of his songs because of their explicitness (for which his songs have at various times received bans across much of the Caribbean), but each time I heard any of his songs devoid of the trademark luridity I do my best to enjoy them to the fullest. Indeed, while at it I followed his meteoric rise from the days of collaborations with already established acts like Bounty Killer back in the day, to equal collaborations with Mavado before they fell out, and their reconciliation involving even the Jamaican government at the time, and how that also broke down. I was intrigued at how government at the highest level could be involved with street battles amongst dancehall artistes, juxtaposing that with how Bob Marley intervened between politicians when he was alive to calm tensions ahead of national elections in the late seventies.

VYBZ KARTEL

I haven't been to Jamaica before and stories like that make me wonder if that Island of a country is so small as to require the Prime Ministers' involvement in such trivia (but sounds more reasonable in the light of the fact that lives have been lost, blood shed, innocents and others alike maimed, and property worth millions of dollars destroyed in such duels, and negatively impacting on Jamaica's tourism industry), even including that of the extradition of the drug dealer Christopher Dudus Coke, whose attempt at arrest by the Jamaican forces led to days of standoff between his loyalists and government troops. With what I gathered back then, it appears that there's an unholy alliance among street gangs, musicians/artistes and the government, as highlighted by a BBC documentary I was privileged to see months back, at the time Vybz Kartel's murder trial was ongoing, and it was stressed that the situation had always been such, so much so that even Jimmy Cliffs movie debut highlighted it in the 1972 movie, "THE HARDER THEY COME".

Vybz Kartel's "LIFE" remains to this day for me, the best of his songs. As it ministers to the youth of Jamaica, and indeed the world to do the right things to especially make ends meet and survive. Many times, as today it has come up as my SONG OF THE DAY, or NOW PLAYING, not only on my social media platforms but most importantly from my earphones to my ears, and days that I am less busy, the whole day it is 'pon dah replay! It is disheartening how it is, that someone who managed to articulate such life impacting message in his own rudebwai/street way in LIFE still managed to get himself in so much trouble as two counts of murder (apart from other cases mainly involving drugs and the likes) for which he is now serving a LIFE SENTENCE for one, i.e. the murder of a former associate Clive "Lizard" William, and now due for parole in thirty-five years, with possibility to record from incarceration amongst other freedoms he may be able to afford.

I suppose that jail time for him may be slightly different from that of his compatriot BUJU BANTON (who didn't even help himself with his 2007 "DRIVER A" offering, which glorified drug trafficking) held for drug trafficking in the U.S. as he may be allowed some freedoms that the latter will definitely not have, though it appeared like Buju's cameo for the remix of Steve Marley's "JAH ARMY" was done from jail. Regardless of how "free" Vybz Kartel can be in jail, it doesn't remove from the fact that he's a convict and for a crime as murder which isn't so good considering that many youths see him as a model (regardless of what you think of him).

With Buju Banton (doing 10 years for drugs) and Vybz Kartel (at least 35 years for murder), and a host of others out of circulation for one offense or the other, and easily replaced (though sometimes with less artistry and mastery of the dancehall genre, for which they get better later) by new kids on the block. It has become pertinent that the industry do some soul searching so that situations where the best that Jamaica's music industry has to offer, as well as their biggest exports are whisked away to jail, in or outside of the country for one offence or the other, are either  drastically reduced or nipped in the bud to make such a thing of the past. The BAD BOY image of the dancehall genre must be shed, if that brand of music is not to face impending doom and extinction. It isn't enough to just put out a good one like "LIFE" and live a life that suggests to ones' fans that they are to live as one says but not as one does. Na my two cents be dat.

'kovich

PICTURE CREDIT:
- http://www.herald.co.zw

NOW PLAYING: "OYEA RAPPERS" (REMIX) BY MODENINE FEATURING REMINISCE

I saw the end of the musical video on TV late last month for the first time. It sounded nice and I wasn't surprised when I noticed that the song was a MODENINE piece. I had always maintained that he is Nigeria's only true rap artiste, if you think about RAP in the real sense of it, you know, how Tupac and Biggie did it back in the day.

Anyway, back to my tale, then yesterday while having my bath, the song came up again on the radio station I was listening to, that was when I knew I must add it to my collections. Unfortunately, because of the poor data network in my bathroom, I had to keep reminding myself of what I needed to do so I could do it once I finished having my bath.

I couldn't also shazam the song because of the poor network so I didn't know the title, but I simply googled Modenine and it appeared that the Nigerian social media world had been abuzz many weeks before about Modenine's latest offering, so I simply trusted my hunches that it must be the OYEA RAPPERS bandied about majorly online, where he featured (or as most of the columnists said, sampled) REMINISCE's voice, that I was looking for.

I hadn't only been impressed with Reminisce in LOCAL RAPPERS where he featured OLAMIDE and PHYNO, but I blogged about it in - noesis: NIGERIA'S LOCAL RAPPERS http://madukovich.blogspot.com.ng/2015/10/nigerias-local-rappers.html?m=1  (though I was disappointed with his collabo with Davido in "DADDY"), so when his name appeared here again, I followed my hunch and downloaded it, and that was how the whole of yesterday I shut out the world while "Oyea Rappers" alone blasted in my ears, 'pon da replay.

Initially, I thought that it was a response to LOCAL RAPPERS, but seeing that Reminisce was featured in it, I figured otherwise, till it began to appear like "Oyea Rappers" had been done before the former, then I perished the thought, even though I had read several commentaries suggesting that even the former was done in response to the latter, I decided not to be bothered about it. Even if they were indeed rap joints borne out of rivalries and envy, the fruit it yielded only ended up advancing the cause of rap music in Nigeria.

I have always seen Mode9 as/like one of those guys I knew in secondary school who were members of the debating society in the junior school days, but joined so called "bad" gangs in the senior secondary  years, veering into rap. I say this because of the kind of words he uses in his raps, words the normal Nigerian rap artiste wouldn't use, not because they aren't educated enough, but because the normal Nigerian, regardless of academic levels attained, have a limited English language vocabulary (even compared to our Ghanaian counterparts), hence why I feel they tend to easily hide under curse and swear words when they rap, but I later put that to the fact that Modenine is British born (and bred for a while I suppose), though of Osun State parentage in Nigeria.

This offering, a remix I now gather, is quite phenomenal. I have always felt that the mix of reggae and rap will definitely have an edge that sets it apart, when a rapper decides to exploits the benefits in reggae beats to vomit lyrics, and there are very few mixes like that which I have not fallen in love with. When Tupac's "MY BLOCK" was given Damien Marley's "WELCOME TO JAMROCK" beats, I stopped listening to the original, just like how Guerrilla Blacks "COMPTON" featuring Bennie Man is the only rap song of his I know, something that till this day I consider as his "lightning strike"/eureka moment in music, that may see him having difficulties (apparently so) in years to come to replicate the dope beats and rap (which was more of "spelling" exercise) he dropped there, amongst many others that time and memory would hardly permit me to begin to itemize right now.

Interestingly, it was a slightly modified version of the "COMPTON" beats, that Modenine latched upon to do the beats for his "Oyea Rappers", only that unlike the former he introduced his with the original from the Jamaican song, like Reminisce did in Local Rappers when he sampled a Brenda Fassie (late South African musician) song as intro (possibly lifting what he learnt from his short foray into the world of Modenine), and Jay Z in the Lucifer Remix (featuring Kardinal Offishall) did with a reggae beat and making the original (Dennis Brown's "Wolves And Leopards") his outtro, reinforcing my views that a good rapper can never go wrong with a reggae beat in the background. Even Nas can attest to this after journeying with Damien Marley in DISTANT RELATIVES, where I hate to think that Nas' career would've absolutely hit the rocks had he not explored and exploited that window for all it was worth, at the time he did.

I am just glad to know that Modenine is back, and not just back like many of his contemporaries attempted to without regaining their former position in the industry, but that he's back like there was never a hiatus in the first place. Gladly, though he claims that his latest album is more commercial (and I felt a tinge of it in "Oyea Rappers") it didn't lose the quality of hardcore rap associated with him over the years, and for that I am so very grateful.

'kovich 

PHOTO CREDIT:
- http://www.spellsmusic.net