Pacesetters of Africanhiphop!

The admin of foremost African hiphop site recently gave me props on a public online forum where I was listed as one of the pacesetters of African hiphop. I really feel humbled. Big ups to Juma Nne and the Africanhiphop.com team. Read the full article here.

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Swaghili, Tanzania special and a beats excursion: African hip hop radio

African hip hop radio – broadcasting via the web since 1999 – is back with a double update, combining our shows recorded at Amsterdam’s Red Light Radio in May and June 2013. Three hours of fresh tunes and classics, some new hits and underground gems from Tanzania, cross continent collabos like Fecko’s ‘Real African poetry 2.0′, rare grooves from Somalia and Cape Verde, and a track suggesting that Kanye West’s contribution to the new D’Banj album might be more appealing than his entire new album ‘Yeezus’. Anyone speak Swag-hili out there?**

  

Playlist African hip hop radio – June 2013
Tanzania special
AY Ft Fid Q – Jipe Shavu
Wakazi – Abacus
Bob click ft Micharazo – Wamekaa
Izzo B ft Barnaba & Shaa – Love me
P the MC – Huna jipya
Langa – Am suppying
KR & Nature – Tupo Tayari
Sugu – Hakuna Matata
Fid Q ft Bi Kidude – Juhudi za wasiojiweza
Pan African set
Blitz the Ambassador – Dikembe (Ghana)
Fecko feat. Khaligraph, Dominant-1, The Holstar and Raiza Biza – Real African Poetry 2.0
Rhyme Like A Girl Feat Nasambu – In the Congo (USA)
Camp Mulla ft M.anifest – All In (Kenya / Ghana)
D’Banj – Scape Goat (The Fix) feat. Kanye West (Nigeria)
Madee – Nani kamwaga pombe yangu (Kenya)
Bulimundo - O Mundo Ka Bu Kaba

Half of a Yellow Sun

Ever since the trailer for Half of a Yellow Sun surfaced on the internet, it has generated a lot of controversies and arguments. I stumbled upon a thread on Nairaland which was really an interesting read. A lot of topical issues were raised as touching the film industry in Africa.

Every few years, a film with a variation on this plot comes around: “Social strife is happening in x African country...and all that" You know these films. They’re your Sarafinas Blood Diamond s, Hotel Rwanda s, and Last King of Scotlands. Half of a Yellow Sun, from playwright-turned-filmmaker Biyi Bandele, is a drama that brings together the lives of four people during the struggle to establish an independent republic in Nigeria in the 1960s. Chiwetel Ejiofor (who also stars in 12 Years a Slave) and Thandie Newton play two lovers that are part of a wealthy family dealing with the turbulence of war. Co-stars Anika Noni Rose, Joseph Mawle & John Boyega (from Attack the Block).

Acclaimed actors Chiwetel Ejiofor (seen in this year's 12 Years A Slave as well as Children of Men, Serenity, Redbelt, 2012, Salt) and Thandie Newton (seen in W. , Crash , The Pursuit of Happyness , RocknRolla, For Colored Girls ) star in this epic chronicle of family ties and war from celebrated Nigerian playwright Biyi Bandele.

Half of a Yellow Sun is both written & directed by Biyi Bandele, a Nigerian novelist and playwright making his feature directing debut. He's adapting a novel written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I am still hooked to her novel Purple Hirbiscus, which is now the WAEC syllabus.

The film was premiered at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, where it's seeking distribution. This is one movie I have really been anticipating. Newton and Ejiofor are great actors. I can' wait to see it in cinemas. Honestly it is a good look for Nigeria and Africa at large.

Why the Phobia for Lecturers?

Is it just me or are most students in Nigerian higher institutions somewhat scared of their lecturers? In the U.K for example (where I would have been studying if not for certain circumstances), it is difficult to differentiate a student from an academic staff due to the way they relate with one another. What do you expect when these folks pay over 3,000 pounds per session? Over there, it seem as though the lecturers work for the students. Same can be said of some private universities in Nigeria. 

Our case study is Yabatech, Epe campus. In my school it is a taboo for some lecturers to get to the class before the students. More so, only a couple of them entertain questions during lectures. The other day I could not help but laugh out loud when I saw a female student with a baby bump trying to outrun a lecturer. Thank God the pregnant lady did not miss the class after all. 

I decided to conduct a public poll as touching the topic and I asked my fellow students who their favourite lecturers were. Only two students answered me boldly while the rest chickened out. Hey, I would have done the same if I were in their shoes. Well, check out some of the responses bellow.

"I like the way Olayemi lectures. He has a nice smile too. I feel if you know what to do, you can get in his good books and stay there. Because of him, i held my first rabbit. Adebayo likes to think optimistically, he has a nice dress sense and he encourages everyone. He is like a father to me and i like the fact that he finishes his lectures on time. Both of them are almost alike." - Uchechukwu Okwara.

"I like Mr Balogun, because he's straight forward and transparent. Rosulu and Doctor Akinfemi also make my list" - Balikis Akodu.

"I'll tell you after my final exam, I don't want to come back for farm practice. YCT Epe campus is an advanced secondary school and the teachers and not lecturers this time use invisible cane on us." - Anonymous

"I don't have any favourite lecturer...I don't know why" - Tolani Banire

Seriously I miss my former Citizenship Education lecturer. He is the only academic staff I know in Yabatech that chops knuckle. Confam guy! Lol. As far as I am concerned, fear is a prison and the moment we stop perceiving our lecturers as deities or Greek gods, the closer we will get to them, and the more we would learn from these knowledgeable people. Just a thought!

VIDEO | Xtatic - WILD!

 

She is one of Kenya’s illest female rappers. Check out her new video. By the way, she was nominated at this year’s Channel O Music Video Awards. She will also be making a cameo in my next music video.

Soundcity Lyricist Lounge Cypher

eLDee's TRYBE RECORDS STUDIO in Lekki was the venue for the cypher. It almost took me forever before I could locate the place. I had to call Boogey on the phone and he gave me a more detailed description. Shout out to him though. I would have kept on going in circles. (Laughs).

On getting there, I bumped into some rookie rappers that seemed to have been following my music for long. I was humbled. When it was time to record I tagged along two of them named Olivia and E-eze. It was a dope session. It will be aired on Soundcity later. Watch this space for update.

No Time for Beef

I must be a vegetarian, because I have no time for beef these days. Last year, A-Q (my homie turned hater back then) took shots at me on one of his songs for no damn good reason. 

Apparently, Nigerian hiphop not only thrives online, but also on beef. So most hip hop heads were anticipating a response from me at the time, but like Modenine, I had to let it go.

It seemed as though the diss record wasn’t enough to piss me off, so dude kept pushing me to the wall, and then he dissed me again in an interview I stumbled upon on Nigeriansounds.

I am focused and as far as I am concerned that was just a DISTRACTION. I kept on doing my thing. Perhaps, although I sneaked in a sub to get back at him on “Cant Hold Us”, but that was just by the way.

Surprisingly, A-Q apologized to me publicly on Twitter a while back. It’s all good! Well I decided to blog about this so I can clear the air once and for all. So if you ever thought of me as being the villain, I hope y’all get the big picture now?

All I wanna do is make this showbiz money so I can buy my mama cars. No time for beef, the movement is still moving!

Cameo Snapshots

If you are a true BANS fan, then by now you must have seen my cameo appearance in the Fans Mi video. Check out some screen shots bellow.

 

 

Interview With Farmer's Quest Last Lady Standing

 

So I recently caught up with the Last Lady Standing in the Farmer’s Quest reality competition which took place in my school. Her name is Tolani, and she is a student of Agricultural Technology in Yabatech. I asked her few questions as touching the show. Read on bellow.

Hello Tolani

Hello

Okay, so the Farmer’s Quest is over. The stress is over. Life in the jungle is over. You are back to civilization. I bet you are enjoying now. So what was the experience like when you were in the jungle?

The experience was terrible. (laughs). Like big time terrible. We had to fight for food, as in, food without salt. We did not have our bath. It was crazy. Rain fell. We were under the rain, trying to fetch fire. It was really crazy.

So what made you participate in the contest?

Actually I didn'’t want to participate

Why?

I was like I can’t go for it. I knew it was going to be stressful for me. Someone purchased the form for me actually. The person encouraged me to go, and told me that I was strong.

So in other words, someone motivated you to go for it?

Yeah

So how do you feel being the last lady standing?

It wasn'’t easy. I had many competitors such as Balikis and Tosin. Actually Balikis really discouraged me. It got to a point she was behaving so weird. Even when she got evicted, she told me I couldn'’t win.

Did you feel like punching her in the face?

It got to a point when I felt like that sha

And you think you would have beaten her?

She would have beaten me, but at least I would have tried my best.

So how do feel being the last lady standing?

It is okay, in terms of popularity. People walk up to me and are like ‘you are the last lady standing’.

I have known you to be the reserved type, but you startled me on the day of the last task. When you guys were asked to climb the rope, where did the strength come from? Have you been undergoing some form of military training prior to the competition?

Actually I am this type of athletic person. Before I came to Yabatech, my church took us to a sea school. That is where they do their training for Ultimate Search too. We went through all these kind of training there. Being flexible again helped me. I am the kind of person that does no’t eat much. So it was easy for me to climb the rope. And I like climbing things, naturally.

PS: Also feel free to check out an interview with the winner here.

Diary of a College Kid: Working Behind The Scene

Who said farmers can’t think outside the box? Innovation and creativity is power, First of all, it was an idea conceived by an A.A.T.S executive, and now this dream is gradually unfolding into a reality.

Farmer’s Quest is a unique project spearheaded, organized and planned by the Association of Agricultural Technology Students of Yabatech (2012/2013 tenure) in association with the lecturers and army cadet of the institution. Over 30 students of the department showed interest, and only 15 students made it through to the competition.

I am an adventure seeker like Indiana Jones. So it was a fun filled experience for me when I had to assist the production crew that filmed the Farmer's Quest reality competition. As part of the organizers and planning committee, I was not just a mere spectator wandering about in the forest, watching my fellow students search for the quintessential hoe. I also participated in the demonstration process so as to ensure that the obstacles and physical tasks being set by the army cadets were somewhat civilian friendly. So I inevitably ended up jumping tires, crossing over bamboo sticks and climbing trees with the aid of a rope. At some point I felt like Vin Diesel pulling dangerous stunts on set of XXX. "These guys that participate in Ultimate Search dey try o", I said to myself.

 

When it was time to shoot, I and my colleagues had to hide in the bush like Vietnamese soldiers laying ambush, so that we won't be captured on camera. I recall during a late night shoot, the social director who was also a member of my association stepped on a nail accidentally and it resulted to severe bleeding. Thank God we had a first-aid box. Unfortunately, the key to open the lock was kept somewhere else. So I was accompanied by an army cadet, and immediately we dashed off in search for it. Some minutes later, we arrived and made sure the victim was properly treated.

The burning torch at the place of the talking drum kept us warm. It was a cold night. The contestants were drenched in the rain before arriving at the location. I really admired their endurance. The anchor whom we referred to as Uncle Steve would give Chidi Mokeme a good run for his money. Honestly, he wore a very stern look on his face that succeeded in instilling fear in the mind of all the contestants. His diction could have been better though.

We are in the post production phase of the project and I am most likely going to handle the narration. Our vision is to premiere the final cut in various higher institutions across the country, ‘Farmer's Quest Season I’’ may not be a high budget production as most critiques would expect. We started small. A lot of improvisation was done. However, we did not compromise standards. It can only get bigger and better.