Legendary Folklorist, ‘Gentleman’ Mike Ejeagha Turns 92

BY AMARACHI ATAMA

A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. They all have food in their own homes. When we gather together in the moonlit village ground, it is not because of the moon. Every man can see it in his own compound. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so. Things Fall Apart.

We are here because we understand the importance of celebrating greatness. Onye fee eze, eze eru ya aka. We celebrate Gentleman for we know that if we thank a man for what he has done, he will have the strength to do more.

Gentleman Micheal Nwachukwu Ejeagha was born on 4th April 1930 in Enugu to Mr. Jacob and Jennet Ejeagha. He hails from Imezi-Ọwa in the Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State. He attended St. Patrick’s school Ogbette Enugu, came out in the year 1948 and joined Costain West Africa Limited, a construction firm. He took to music at the early age of 14. The love he has for music made him learn to play the musical instrument called guitar from two old guitarists in their 70s who lived in his neighbourhood in coal city.

In 1950, he assembled a quartet group known as the Merry Makers and in 1951 recorded a breakable disc titled, Colliery Massacre in honour of striking Iva valley Enugu coal miners killed by agents of the colonial government.

Later in 1952, Mike in a bid to reach out to more audience approached Mr Joe Atuona, Controller of Nigeria Broadcasting Service (NBS) now Radio Nigeria Enugu National Station for an audition which culminated in Mike being chosen as one of the station’s regular artists on a programme known then as “guitar playtime” a series produced by eminent and popular broadcasters like the late Egbuna Obidike, Lawrence Emeka, Charles Ogbonna, Chjioke Abagwe and a host of others. It was in 1959 that he joined the then paradise rhythm orchestra based in a popular hotel called Phonda Paradise here in Enugu. He later became the bandleader. Throughout this period, he was carving out his own style of music in the Igbo language and stood far from the maddening crowd of Ghana and Congo music copycats of those years.

Consequently, he was able then to compose and release a number of single discs under the Niger-Phone recording company at Onitsha. These include ‘Unfortunate Lady’ ‘Ofu Nwa a Naa,’ ‘Okụkọ Kwaa, Uche Echebe Onye Ugwọ,’ ‘King Solomon’s Wisdom (don’t divide the living child),’ ‘Ụwa Mgbede Ka Mma,’ ‘Gwo Gwo Gwo Gwom,’ and many others. He also released a single album in the memory of his late wife titled ‘Nwanyị Mma Anaa’ in 1964 -65.

He joined Leisure Garden Dance Band in 1964, and in the same year, he was able to form his group known as the Premier Dance Band and bought some musical instruments with the savings he made as an artist in Radio Nigeria. Just a year before the Biafra war in 1966, Mike Ejeagha got married again to Miss Susan Titil Oti, who was working with the Nigeria prison service.

Mention should also be made that he continued participating in the Radio Nigeria Enugu National Station Igbo play programme which was interrupted by the Biafra war and in 1971, he started the Akụkọ na Egwu Series with NTA and Sunrise ESBS radio station, Enugu.
He relocated with his family to Umuahia during the Nigeria-Biafra war. Returning after the war, he had lost his musical instrument which was parked in a storeroom. He became demoralized but he knew as our people say that if the hen stops clucking, what will she use to train her children so he later started all over to reorganize his band.

Gentleman Mike Ejeagha is a household name in the east of Niger and beyond. Is it not our people that said that he whose name is called again and again by those trying in vain to catch a wild bull has something he alone can do to bulls? The dexterity with which he plays the guitar cannot be mistaken for any other musician when one listens to popular tunes like ‘Omekagụ, Onye Ndidi, Onye Nwee, ọ na-ebe, onye enwero, ọ na-ebe, jaa m mma na ndụ to mention but a few. Also note that Mike Ejeagha stands out as one of the few musicians who never used his music for praise-singing as is common with most musicians.

Indeed, he has created an identity for himself yet to be matched by any. Gentleman’s music is full of proverbs and morals that philosophize aspects of everyday people in their social environment.

Scholars and artists use his wealth of experience in music and otherwise in academic exercise and research programmes. His idioms and wise sayings are used as references in our everyday social interactions. He succeeded in institutionalizing Igbo folklore music hence, ‘Akụkọ na Egwu Mike Egeagha.’

He is blessed with — children. Unfortunately, the Gentleman buried his wife Susana and later his son in the year 2020.

He is a member of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), which was founded by Christy Essien Igbokwe and Sunny Okosun in 1984.

He is a recipient of:
Silver Disc award, Polygram Records (now premier music).
Certificate of merit award by Black Power Movement.
Certificate of Excellence award, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Outstanding performance award by the Ezeagu Local government council on Igbudu day in 2001, Agbaja.

Udi/Ezeagu Merit Award in 2009.

Asides from his numerous singles, Gentleman Mike Ejeagha has over 30 albums to his credit.

Here is a Living-Legend of our time, ugo chara acha n’adighi echu echu.

Arch TV Show Interview With Amaka

ARCH TV INTERVIEW WITH AMAKA QUEENETTE

Amaka Queenette

Views from the Arch TV Show interview Amaka The Igbo Princess February 2022. The interview followed no particular guidelines and covered topics of spirituality, growing up in Saint Louis and the Illuminati.

Interviewer: Good morning Amaka how are you doing today.

Amaka: I am well today thank you so much for asking thank you so much for having me. I’m super psyched to be here.

Interviewer: That’s wonderful so tell me Amaka where exactly are you from? I know you live in Los Angeles right now but where were you born and raised?

Amaka: Well I was born and raised right here in St. Louis Missouri of course. I love my hometown and it’s just so exciting to be back home.

Interviewer: Ok because people refer to you as an Igbo princess like an African queen or something so I wasn’t sure if you were born in Africa and raised in St. Louis. What’s your African connection exactly.

Amaka: I was born and raised in America but I have Igbo heritage that I love to embrace.

Interviewer: Now, what’s Igbo?

Amaka: It is a tribe based out of Nigeria. It’s a culture and language. Most black Americans probably have some Igbo heritage.

Interviewer: Ok that’s cool and I hear you speak a little Igbo too. Let me hear you say something in the Igbo language.

Amaka: Ifunanya

Interviewer: Which means?

Amaka: When learning a new language you have to learn how to say love first.

Interviewer: I agree with this. So Amaka tell me what was it like growing up in St. Louis and how did you manage to escape some of the stereotypical things that occur to people here?

Amaka: Growing up in St. Louis was really fun and I have a lot of family here and they’ve always supported me throughout my entire life. It was always fun playing with my cousins and stuff like that but also the Saint Louis culture can be kind of rough and that definitely made me strong. Early on as a child I realized that a lot of the negatives that come with the city was something I did not want to be apart of so I was able to make the differentiation as a child regarding what I wanted and what I didn’t want and having an understanding of what you want what you don’t want can help take you down the right path so I think that’s how I was able to escape some of the stereotypical things that occur to people here.

Interviewer: Real facts spoken right there. So I listened to some of your music and I’m surprised it was actually really really good I really really like the “Love U” track and the “One Time” hits. Do you write the lyrics to your songs?

Amaka: Hahaha, yes, I definitely write the lyrics to all my songs. All my songs are written with passion and they come from my heart.

INTERVIEW: LARRY GAGA: 2Face Encouraged Me To Go Into Music

BY GBENGA BADA 

Larry Gaga Ndianefo does not like granting interviews and this, he said, is because he’s the shy type. Unknown to many of his fans, Larry holds two different degrees and three chieftaincy titles. With a name that evokes admiration and respect in the music industry, this hitmaking singer-songwriter takes ASSISTANT ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR, GBENGA BADA on his journey into creating music and how it takes him half a year or more to perfect a hit song.

So, where in Nigeria is Larry Gaga from?

I am from Anambra state.

Many people feel you just came into the music industry from nowhere, tell us the story?

Well, you need to correct yourself, I have been there for a long time. I have been in the music industry but maybe behind the scenes.

So, what have you been doing behind the scenes?

Well, there’s a record label, I don’t know if you guys remember, YSG, and had an artist then called Vector. So, I have been there for some time.

Being behind the scene, was that deliberate?

No, it wasn’t but you know this music thing started for me officially because a whole lot of artists used to meet me and request I listen to their album to choose the right songs and it was those qualities that made 2face give me the idea to do my own thing since I know how to think of exact beats that will fit a song as well as the right music act on the song and with that, I tried Gaga Shuffle with 2face and that was it. We released the song after seven months.

Why did it take that long to release a song?

That was because it wasn’t something I do. I am into oil and gas and I play big but I just like music.

So, when did you discover your love for music?

I would say from my childhood days. I have always loved music but I would say officially when I started rolling with 2face, like early 2000s.

So, how actually did you meet 2face because you speak so fondly of him?

Okay, so, I used to live like a few houses away from the Plantashun boiz in those days. I met Blackface first and we all became friends but it happened that I got closer to 2face and we have since remained that close.

So, you mentioned being a player in the oil and gas sector, has that part of you now taken the back seat?

No, it’s still there. I still do my business in the oil and gas sector.

But the music seems to be taking the centre stage?

Well, I would say it’s the passion that I have for music that makes it look like it’s taking the front seat but now, I think I am getting deep in the music.

So, for you, does music pay as much as oil and gas?

No, definitely not.

But the general belief is that entertainment – music and films – pays as we have seen with top music acts?

Well, yes but I don’t climb the stage to perform and collect the kind of money they collect. I only make and create good songs.

So, would you like to climb the stage to get such pay?

No, I am not into that but I might be giving it a shot soon because of several requests.

Egedege is a big song currently…

I have always had big songs (laughs)

Well but this is catching like wildfire, how do you feel about it?

Thank you and I appreciate the compliment but you know this song is just catching on like a wildfire truly I might have to be performing the song on stage because I have been receiving a lot of calls from the East and South South because they just want me to be on the stage and perform the song.

What inspired the song Egedege? tell us the back story

Okay, I actually went for a burial and I was sitting with my friends with kids around and they were shouting Larry Gaga then this lady walks in and I remember this same lady, Theresa Onuorah, very well growing up. My dad used to have this turntable and we listen to her songs so I saw kids shouting her name and I was surprised she was still alive and I just said it randomly to my friends that I would do something with this woman, the next thing, she called me and said she heard I wanted to do something with her and I said it’s true. So, I told her I would go back to one of her favourite songs that I used to listen to while growing up – which by the way, I was always scared of because of her voice and that was it.

Why the choice of Flavour and Phyno on the song?

I guess that’s just the Larry Gaga in me. When I listen to a beat or song, I know exactly who to put on the song and for Egedege, it was just Phyno and Flavour that could do it for me, nobody else.

Can you expatiate on that a little further?

When I listen to a song or a beat, I can tell exactly, who would do justice to the beat or the song, I just know. I think it’s innate, it comes naturally to me.

Are there other living legends that bring such memory to you?

They are all gone. People like Osita Osadebe, Oliver De Coque, so, they are all dead.

From your point of view, how big is Egedege?

I know it’s big, you know, I am used to hits. I have not felt it deep down in me as to how I should but in the East, I think it is very big due to the messages I get from there.

Are there other training you got to make you create music?

It just came to me. I listened to a lot of songs growing up, I like music, I listen to all genre of music, old music, international sounds, Nigerian music, highlife, a whole lot.

So, tell me, how did you come about the personae you have created for yourself in the music industry?

I have been like this from time immemorial. Everything I do or I set myself to do, I do it well. From my secondary schooling to university, I have always excelled at whatever I do, so I have always had that in me.

What happened with what you did with Vector and YSG?

Well, he didn’t do well. I know you guys want to ask me raw questions and I know where you are going to but basically, nobody is above mistake. I had a partner and they didn’t get along but I am neutral and cool with Vector, so we are very good friends till now.

You have these significant silver teeth, is this part of the art?

I have had this since 2005/2006. I used to do boxing and karate and one small boy finished my denture but that was by the way. I used to do boxing but my mum never liked it, she always complained so after the incident, I just quit then I traveled to Dubai to fix my teeth and that’s why I have two silver teeth.

You are have deliberately stayed on a low profile and in the background despite your huge achievements in the music industry, what’s the reason for that?

I am shy. I am a shy person. This interview is just because I felt like, let me just do it.

You said something about taking your time to get the music right like a perfectionist…

Yeah, for all my songs, I take my time to create a song. If you notice, before Egedege, I haven’t released a song for like one year. If you follow me very well, you would notice this and this new song is something I have been working on for over seven months, traveling back and forth because madam Theresa Onuorah isn’t based in Lagos, although she has been coming in and out of Lagos to perform the song with me at occasions.

Would it be right to say you take such a long time to create songs that eventually become hits because you have other sources of income?

Definitely, because I have other businesses that I do. I am also a hustler, if you bring other businesses for me you know I am an Igbo man, so basically, that’s it.

There’s an increase in the popularity of musicians from southeast Nigeria doing highlife, can you speak on that?

I think it’s just the time and we just follow the trend now that people like Flavour, and Phyno paved the way. We are just following the trend and people are enjoying the trend.

What’s the next musical conquest for you?

Just keep your fingers crossed.

Ichoku Academy On The Window Way

BY AMALUWA BENITA CHIDUBEM

It is December, the last month of the year 2021, but some events cannot be forgotten. One of such events was held in Unizik at the Awka Window on America. The Window positioned beautifully at the school of Post Graduate Studies in Nnamdi Azikiwe University offers educational resources, services and programs at no cost at all. According to the US Public Affairs Officer, Mr. Stephen Ibelli, “The Awka Window on America is a welcoming, collaborative, technology-driven centre where young people can share ideas, develop skills and grow capabilities.”

“The Window way”, hosted by Ichoku Academy was an entertainment and enlightenment program for secondary school students in Awka . It was held on the second of September,2021. The event was organized to bring children together to the Awka window on America at Unizik and engage them with music that they can relate with, ultimately educating them through music.

Ichoku Academy comprises mentors in different musical aspects. As a voice coach in the Academy, I engage pupils and students on voice training and stage performance. The Academy also has mentors in other aspects of music like music theory and indigenous Igbo music. The Ichoku Academy also has an ensemble troupe made up of children and teenagers, and their duty is to entertain and educate people in society.

The Ichoku Mission is to bring children to the realities of opportunities around them in order to maximize these opportunities as they grow in society. Indeed young people sometimes do not attain their potentials because they are not aware of an opportunity that is just at their doorstep.

My experience at The Window Way was a rather splendid one. The seminar kicked off with a simple prayer and opening speech by the founder of Ichoku Academy, Gerald Eze. He mildly introduced himself and then went on it introduce “The Incognitos”, a band consisting of some mentors of the Ichoku Academy. I couldn’t help but notice the expectations on the faces of the pupils and students as well as their parents and teachers.

I introduced myself and my bandmates made a brief speech about the seminar and went on to sing ‘Autumn Leaves’ by Nat King Cole, a cool and icebreaking song. The ambience it imbued on the environment was enough to know that the choice of song was apt. Next was Whitney Houston’s “One Moment in Time”. I saw some parents mouthing the words and even singing along. This was truly an instantly blissful moment for me and my bandmates.

While the audience was still relishing the imports of the songs they had listened to, two guys interrupted the event in a surprising manner, and right there was a drama performance that was going to take the audience around the happenings in the Nigerian society (with a focus on Awka). They linked all these happenings with how the Awka window on America was going to be of great benefit for the Nigerian child and youth.

The actors stormed the arena with hunter outfits and as if that wasn’t enough, they fought over a wife and nearly killed each other only to tell the audience at some point that they were only rehearsing. The experience was captivating and highly engaging. Eventually, when the audience was totally fixated on them, they were on to converse with themselves about the Awka Window and its benefits. Such creative minimalist performance which employs tragic-comedy to educate is indeed a special experience to behold. It was pure genius to say the least.

After the Drama, the event went on with a speech by the deputy director of The Awka Window On America, Dr. Martha Egenti. She spoke extensively on the program and activities of the window. Some students of the Ichoku Academy also had a chance to showcase their talents. The spectacular Oluoma Odimegwu, who for a while has been learning the Ubo-Aka and keyboard came up to play her Ubo and sing some folk songs with the accompaniment of Gerald Eze who played the Oja and Flute, and Nwabuogu Odimegwu who played the Ubo-aka. Oluoma played the keyboard and sang “Let It Go” from Frozen with commendable expertise.

Michael-Salem Ezenwuba strutted to the stage with confidence. The 14-year-old stunned the audience with his rib-cracking folktales, and like a master minstrel sang the accompanying folk songs while playing the Ubo-Aka.

The event ended with a round of questions from the audience about the centre and the answers were supplied by Dr Martha Egenti. To close the show, Dr Martha Egenti asked the audience to supply the answers to the questions: “What is the capital of America?” and “Who is the Vice President of America?” The answers were gotten by the 13-year-old Ikechukwu Mbagwu and he was gifted a brand new Ubo-Aka by the Ichoku Academy.

Duet performance of “A Whole New World” from Aladdin ended the event as the attendees gradually exited the seminar. A round of pictures and handshakes were taken. It was indeed amazing.

This day was a very remarkable one for me.

*Benita Amaluwa is a 200 level student of music at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

Father Omega: Reverend Father Of Revolutionary Music

BY UZOR MAXIM UZOATU

It makes for history when a reverend father appears in bowler hat and offers revolutionary music that rivals Bob Marley’s offerings for class. Reverend Father Emmanuel C. Umezinwa, aka Fada Omega, is indeed a class act. A Professor of Music at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Father Umezinwa wowed the audience with his accomplished performance in the forecourt of Testimony Place, near Arroma Junction, Awka, in the evening of Sunday, December 5.

“A Cry for Nigeria” was the first number dished out by Fada Omega. In his brief introduction of the song, Father Omega narrated that he was inspired initially by the riffs of Bruce Springsteen. Even as reggae is the underlying beat of his music, Fada Omega is quite eclectic.

The ace music prelate followed up with “Undertakers”, a no-holds-barred rendition of the state of a nation being buried in installments by the leaders.

Fada Omega upped his ante with the pulsating number “Stop Fooling Yourself” that got the audience singing along with gusto.

His rendering of the fourth number, “Revolution”, laid bare the revolutionary ethos of the priest who would not sit idly by while the underclass suffered.

There was a short interlude of a conversation between Father Umezinwa and the managing director of Anambra Newspapers and Printing Corporation (ANPC), Sir Chuka Nnabuife.

Sir Nnabuife started out wanting to know whether Father Umezinwa preferred Fada Omega or Fada Emma as his stage name. Fada Omega took the prize.

The personable reverend father revealed that he was not restricted to reggae or country music but could put to application a wide range of musical genres.

Fada Omega is not one to fall for easy labels, but insists that music helps to foster change in society, arguing that “Jesus Christ was a revolutionary.”

He informed the audience that, back in 2005, he went for voice training in a studio in the United States only for the studio manager to wonder at the Nigerian being able to sing excellently through all the ranges.

Fada Omega is a natural baritone who does not believe in the existence of falsetto or false voice in the music get-go.

He had been composing and playing music for the past 30 years or so, and in 2003 recorded highlife tunes for his age grade in his native Akpo town in Aguata LGA of Anambra State.

He had over the years been producing classical music on radio. He hardly uses notes when composing the songs. He is quite open to his music being recorded for keeps.

The Fada Omega concert was engineered remarkably by a First Class student of his in the Music Department, Gerald Eze, a winner of the coveted Christopher Kolade Music Award and the singular exponent of the Igbo musical instruments Oja and Ubo-aka. Gerald Eze talked of his intent to immortalize the musical genius of Fada Omega.

The generous hosts, Dr. Patrick and Barrister (Mrs.) Amaka Ezeno, offered to keep to the testimony of hosting the performances as ever. A sage like Fada Omega would always find a home here, Mrs. Amaka Ezeno asserted.

In a lighter mood, Igwe Chidi Onuigbo said he was very afraid that Fada Omega, without the restraining clothing of the soutane, could go on a rampage!

For Hon. Ikem Uzoezie, a former member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, “Fada Omega’s music is timeless and will go a long way in assisting the social revival needed in Nigeria.”

Rev. Father Chika Okpalike of the Ekwulobia Diocese marveled at the abiding relevance of Fada Omega’s songs, having been composed three or two decades earlier.

The evening’s performance was rounded off with the number “We Shall Overcome.” It was music that throbbed with the hope inspirited on mankind by Nelson Mandela.

Fada Omega represents a phenomenon whose time has come. Given the great influence of prelates on the people, Fada Omega carries remarkable charisma into the turf of changing the society for the better. He stands up for his beliefs, daring all dictators and the conservative types. He has built up a good following, and it aids the progress of the society that he is working with the Department of Theatre Arts of Nnamdi Azikiwe University for the release of his musical videos. A professional to the core, Fada Omega is intent on going to the last detail to see that everything is done well.

It was indeed an evening to cherish, complete with a two-man theatrical performance.

Necessary lessons were learnt from all Fada Omega’s songs, notably “A Cry for Nigeria”, “Undertakers”, “Stop Fooling Yourself”, “Revolution” and “We Shall Overcome.”

Fada Omega is a voice destined to rule the waves. Nobody who encounters him in song is ever bound to forget him in a hurry. He makes sound and meaning with an assurance that uplifts the soul. In this day and age of meaningless songs by ill-assorted youths calling themselves musicians, Fada Omega is the way to go.

When Igbo Arts And Music Meet…

Gerald Eze image courtesy of Gerald Eze

A recent collaboration between a Visual Artist and designer, Chuma Anagbado and a musician, Gerald Eze, who also doubles as a university music lecturer, is likely to bring about a revolution in the Igbo culture, writes MARY NNAH

“Oja is classical music. It is high art. It is not a bagger’s tool. It is the tool of a master performer. It does not communicate to just anybody, it is played for men of substance. Its appeal cut across cultures, and talks about connected cultures. It is spontaneous, yet it is of high essence. It is a force. It evolves and uplifts us”, these are the words of Gerald Eze, a skilled musical artist and university don, describing the Oja, a vital instrument of the Igbo music and culture.

Eze, who plays over 14 Igbo musical instruments, including the Oja, is collaborating with Chuma Anagbado, a multi-talented artist and designer, whose work cuts across traditional, digital, and emerging creative mediums.


They are both embarking on collaborative missions driving on the indigenous musical instruments of the Igbo and how they both seek to reinterpret the essence and utility of these instruments for a global audience, thereby connecting cultures. Their arts, they say, “Reimagines Igbo culture and identity.”

The collaboration is in the sense that while Eze plays the Oja (flute), at the same time, Anagbado’s laptop synchronises the songs with the digital image of the flute.

The intention, for these two Igbo creative artists, is to preserve the culture for posterity and they are willing to extend the frontiers of the culture and take it to another height with the use of digital arts while also exploring the NFT (Non-Fungible Token) Technology.

This collaboration, according to them, essentially seeks to document and promote Igbo oral musical tradition, particularly through the Oja and Ogene, among other local and contemporary musical instruments in an exhibition to be held before the end of the year.

Speaking on the reason behind the collaboration during a recent press conference, Anagbado said, “In essence both of us are reimagining our culture, which is the Igbo culture. We are actually creating this culture but we are putting it out as NFTs so as to take our culture and put it where it is supposed to be. We imagine what we have and then make it more relevant. So, I am creating the art and he is scoring the music and that becomes a video – an animated piece that is then put out as NFT.”

Speaking further on the essence of the collaboration, Anagbado posited that, “Within the Igbo culture is an embedding consciousness that you have to travel. We are all raised like that. As you grow up, there are reminders, placements and statements that will always remind you that at some point you will need to leave the geographical space of the Igbo. That essentially makes the culture a diaspora culture.

”If you look at all major events and innovation leaps, key players and influencers in Igbo land are mostly diaspora influenced and when I say diaspora, even the Igbos living in Lagos are diaspora. So, there is that consciousness that culture connects diaspora and the homeland. Within the construct of the culture, you must at some point, travel out of the Igbo geographical area to go and learn.

“Now what comes with all of that is that you then have a culture that people experience all over the world. It is likened to the Chinese and the Jews. And because the Igbos travel out a lot, everybody knows about the Igbos. So, the Igbos are like a clue connecting every other person in the world. Igbo culture is one that you would want to preserve but within all of its offering – music, arts and all of that, you have infusions of diaspora influences, like elements that have been picked up from other cultures around the world and that make the culture very robust.

“I will say it’s a universal culture and in preserving it, that culture needs to also travel into all the possibilities and places that it can be. So, it is just natural that we would go into this because we have experienced other cultures. We are doing this, as they would say, for the culture”, Anagbado explained further the essence of this uncommon marriage that brings together the brushstrokes and music.

Anagbado, whose art is driving conversations on cultural heritage, particularly the Igbo oral traditions, believes he is naturally cut out for the Igbo culture and so cannot but always be at the vanguard of stimulating the culture through his various artistic expressions.

With his experience across the world, Anagbado constantly evaluates practical ways of using both material and non-material aspects of Igbo existence in designing new structures and narratives to build a sense of identity.

For him, it is more than just an art project. “We intend to showcase the traditional art which is painting alongside playing the music instrument to show the emotions of art. We enjoin every creator out there to look for deeper meaning in whatever they do and carry an identity. We are really putting it out there that it is very important for people with like-minds to try working together: we can’t grow the culture when we are apart, we need to create a community which is what the collaboration entails.”

Beyond the fusion of music and arts and being creative, Anagbado is of the belief that they both are embarking on a divine assignment to bring the various segments of Igbos together.

“It is well known that Igbos are deeply fragmented, even though you may see a community on the surface – the Igbos are deeply fragmented and highly competitive, so what we are just trying to do is to move from competition to collaboration and from fragmenting to synergy.”

In like manner, Eze, the musician and a lecturer of music at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, also promotes and researches indigenous cultures through his music.

Using the Igbo’s traditional musical instrument, particularly the Oja, Obuaka and other 14 instruments, including Ogene, he is out to take the indigenous sound flair of Igbo to a new height.

“Igbo music has always been integrative. Even the shapes of the Oja and Obuaka are pieces of art. Philosophy, literature, music, arts and psychology are all the elements that come together in each festival that we have in the Igbo culture. So it is not out of place to collaborate with Anagbado”, the university don explained.

He noted further that one interesting thing that they both are doing in this collaboration is to explore new opportunities while reimaging the culture and connecting it.

“We explore new opportunities and that is why we are looking at the NFT space. Our ancestors explored the Oja and Igba in the village square but I try to explore the Oja in Highlife, Hip-hop, and Afro beat and these have been very successful. If you check out my videos you will see how the Oja is interacting with the violin effortlessly like it has always been there but this took years of effort.

“Anagbado has been developing his own ideas in the arts and it has taken him years, so the time eventually came for us to meet and since both of us are like minds, we felt we should come together and put out something that is collaborative- Music and Arts- in the NFT space. So, like he said, it is for the culture – to engage people and to keep the narrative going.”

For his message for people from this synergy – for the Igbo culture and other cultures, just like his partner, he said, “A sense of community is very important for the Igbos at this very moment. And the artist is always taking a lead in creating the conscience of his race in making people think critically. The artist takes it upon himself to create and to think.

“When I say artists here, I mean serious musicians, creative fine artists, those in architecture who are really breaking bounds and not just the fine artist. So for both of us to collaborate on this project, we are really putting it out there that it is very important that those of us with like minds should keep coming together because we cannot grow independently. We can develop independently but to sustain the growth, we have to come together. And we also can`t grow the culture when we are apart.”

On this note, Eze is focusing on the message of community – building a sense of community, which is what this collaboration entails.

He noted: “These are the sounds and symbols of the Igbo. They are not just coming to you from one person but from two creative persons who have travelled far and wide collecting ideas, connecting to people, integrating different forms and then we are now together to push it on. So, when these works get to people, I believe it will communicate that essence and feeling of community because whatever we have embedded in the work is also that which truly belongs to the Igbos but that which has truly evolved.”

Quote

I will say it’s a universal culture and in preserving it, that culture needs to also travel into all the possibilities and places that it can be. So, it is just natural that we would go into this because we have experienced other cultures. We are doing this, as they would say, for the culture

--------------THIS DAY

Blues, Jazz, Electronica: It All flows Through Ben LaMar Gay

BY ANDY BETA

WASHINGTON POST

 

Ben LeMar Gay Image Via Wikimedia Commons

Ben LaMar Gay's musical loves range far and wide. Steeped in the blues of his hometown of Chicago and an integral figure in his local jazz community, the cornetist and composer embraces a wide range of music, sounding it all through his horn across his vibrant, mercurial songs. And he also loves "The Alphabet Song." Like, really loves it.

"Man, it's the baddest s--- in the world!" he enthuses from a video call in his kitchen on Chicago's South Side. "The end of it, 'Now I know my A-B-Cs, next time won't you sing with me?' You're inviting someone to learn the building blocks of communication. It's so simple, yet so beautiful." Such enthusiasm soon spills over into musings on the liberation of learning another language, how the body acts as a sonic resonator ("oxygen going through this machine!") and his recent travels through Nigeria and Rwanda. More often than not, he refers to music as a portal to a new world.

The new "Open Arms to Open Us" leaps across all sorts of portals, dipping into the dawn of jazz right on through its vibrant present moment, with glints of woozy hip-hop, Prince-ly funk, wordless ululations, Tropicália and gospel yips thrown in for good measure. Fittingly, it also features Gay's own version of an alphabet song, sung in Igbo by performing artist, choreographer, administrator and educator Onye Ozuzu. "It's powerful to hear the alphabet of a different language, the things that build language," he says. "Onye is half Igbo and didn't even speak her father's language."

Despite over a decade on the Chicago scene, working with dance choreographers and as a member of the city's venerated Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), "Open Arms" could be considered his first proper album. Previously, he had recorded some seven albums' worth of music, "imagining that I had a public that would listen to it - and I really didn't care if they heard it." In 2018, International Anthem cherry-picked tracks for the far-ranging "Downtown Castles Can Never Block the Sun." (The label has since made these full albums available online.)

Gay credits his musical magpie approach to his father's record collection and loving that music. His father's family goes back generations in the Windy City, while his mother's family came up north from Alabama during the Great Migration of the 20th century. "As soon as he was gone to work, man, I'd get the JBLs cranking and just start exploring," he says, adding that his father's records became "portals for seeing the world and hearing the world." He also learned by example, in that his father's love for music expressed itself in informal jam sessions with friends and cousins on the weekend: "He gathered with his friends and had this festive environment for these amateurs to come drink, party, smoke and jam, and just make a sound together. People that work hard jobs, it's like, all right, it's Saturday. Saturdays were amazing."

Gay, like many music-fiending kids of his generation, got into beatmaking first, before pivoting to trumpet in high school. About 13 years back, he switched to cornet. At a certain point, Gay became disenchanted with life in Chicago and decamped to Brazil, whose music had always served as "the first portal to the world, to the real world, outside of the bubble United States." He fell in with local players and was reminded of his upbringing by the Brazilian notion of samba de mesa, of playing music "when everyone's at the table, the vibe, the nucleus of the party is at the table." He lived in Brazil for three years, until an invite to participate in the Red Bull Music Academy drew him back stateside.

That playful informality, that quality of playing with friends without being the focal point, continues through his solo work. It's Gay's name on "Open Arms to Open Us," but he's just as quick to cede the spotlight to a wide array of voices and instruments. George Lewis, the avant-garde jazz trombonist and tireless electronics innovator and educator, recently caught one of Gay's shows.

"He performed on cornet and various electronic objects, but the piece was not about him standing out," Lewis says. "Rather, he distributed sonic agency among the eight ensemble members and himself to produce a supple and limpid psychic counterpoint."


Opener "Sometimes I Forget How Summer Looks On You" starts with a gurgle of synths and quicksilver drum rolls, Gay's voice purring against the teeming backdrop, as nonchalant as a murmured bossa nova. But Gay is quick to add that he's actually drawing on Chicago's own blues tradition, always pulling and pushing against the rhythm. He credits fellow Chicago reedman Roscoe Mitchell and a comment he once made to him: "Don't play on the 1!" It can feel at once like a jazz song, an old Organized Noize beat from the late '90s, or a wobbly pop tune without ever settling on a particular sound. As the song builds to a full boil and an array of sweet pop backing vocals entwine with his own, it bursts into an ecstatic looped shout of "Hallelujah!"

Gay says that song is about a family member ("a low-key dedication") and most of the other songs on the album serve as portraits put into sound. Each song begins with an idea and whatever instrument is closest at hand. As he works, "sometimes I hear voices that I know, like friends and I place those voices in it and build from there," he says. The assemblage of songs and textures has the feel and flow of a beat tape, never settling in one place for long. Only four of the 17 tracks stretch past the 3:30 mark. Field recordings, electronic squiggles and spoken word bits pop up often. The brief "Mestre Candeia's Denim Hat" weds underwater blips and crisp snares to an unhinged synth solo, while "S'Phisticated Lady" could be lifted directly from a double Dutch chant on playground asphalt. It leads into the triumphant "We Gon Win." Gay roves from the "jungle" cries of Duke Ellington trumpeter Cootie Williams to avant shrieks of the AACM to the stomp of an HBCU marching band, as he and backing vocalists incant the title.

His original intent for the album was to feature a live band, though the pandemic quickly dashed that idea, leaving him to build up each song layer by layer, sometimes with a full band, sometimes with friends sending in their contributions.

The British-Rwandan singer, actress, dancer and choreographer Dorothée Munyaneza first met Gay in 2018 when both were invited to Dance Gathering in Lagos, Nigeria. "We got to improvise together one night, him on the cornet and me singing in Kinyarwanda," she recalls. "It was like he understood the rhythm of my language and the melody; it was a very powerful moment. He has a unique way of extracting sounds out of different types of instruments and objects that displaces me, moves me and inspires me every time."

When Gay reached out to her to contribute vocals to the album, Munyaneza set up in a makeshift studio in her bathroom and recorded the vocals for "Nyuzura." The title translates as "give me light" and Munyaneza sings it in her native tongue. "You're hearing some real deep Rwandan culture in there," Gay says enthusiastically. "She's flowing in Kinyarwanda and then she sticks in a 'yo!' and it's straight-up hip-hop culture. When you hear a "yo!" it's South Bronx." Fittingly, the plucked strings underpinning the track come from a citara Gay bought while traveling through Mexico.

In the notes that accompany the album rollout, Gay mentions a trip back to Alabama to visit his extended family, a great aunt noting while they walked across farmland that she could still hear the hammering of her late father out there, even decades on. That phantasmal sound, that subliminal beat, untethered to time but bound to the Earth, informed Gay's approach to the album. "I've played in small villages in Western Europe, in Africa," he says. "When you go to these small places, especially when you travel with sound, it makes you realize most folk cultures are the same. These people gather up instruments from their environment and try to imitate their environment. "

Ultimately, he sees "Open Arms to Open Us" as something for his nieces to discover when "they're like 40," never mind that they're barely 6 now. The embedded snatches of Igbo, Kinyarwanda, the spoken word interludes and overheard conversations, held together by the voicelike tones Gay elicits on his muted cornet, all speak to an as-yet unnamed future: "When they get older and they become between 35 and 40 and they put this record on like, 'Oh, that's Uncle Benji saying this to me.' It's this little thing for these special people to catch on at a certain time when they may need it."

It's a transmission as simple and universal as A-B-C.

Chika Confronts Music 'Industry Games' With Candor & Confidence On Her Major-Label Debut

Chika. Image via Time

The rising 23-year-old Alabama rapper aims to tell her story as a queer, Gen-Z woman in rap who is growing and learning more about herself each day

BY J'NA JEFFERSON

Chika has always been aware of the power of her words, and she continues to hone in on that gift to make a difference. The 23-year-old Alabama-bred rapper (born Jane Chika Oranika) got her start in the game writing and performing slam poetry since she was young. After dropping out of the University of Southern Alabama to focus on her music career, she’s steadily carved out a lane of her own as a "professional truth-teller" with "a pen that's tactical."

After inspiring Internet freestyle crazes like 2017’s #EgoChallenge promoting body positivity and self-acceptance, Chika was catapulted into public consciousness in 2018, when she self-uploaded a freestyle aimed at Kanye West after his doting and incessant tweets about Donald Trump. Over the Chicagoan's iconic "Jesus Walks" beat, Chika says what we were all thinking, with lines such as "It don't matter how much money you got or you lack, when that check clear, don’t forget your children are still Black, and your music has been wack, and your views are movin' back…" She's also covered relevant topics ranging from Pride (she remixed Ed Sheeran's "Shape Of You") to strict abortion laws ("Richey Vs. Alabama").

Throughout the years, her abilities have won high-profile fans such as Erykah Badu, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ice-T and Diddy, and as jam-packed as her rise has been, she’s just getting started. In 2019, she was featured on JoJo's track "Sabotage," and was featured as a musical guest during Lena Waithe's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" hosting stint. She dropped her vulnerable, retrospective track “High Rises,” as well as the Charlie Wilson-assisted song "Can’t Explain It,” which finds her fantasizing about a magnetic woman who she can’t stop thinking about, all while seamlessly interpolating Tamia’s classic “So Into You."

Chika's upcoming, major-label debut project Industry Games (dropping March 13) aims to tell her story as a queer, Gen-Z woman in rap who is growing and learning more about herself each day. It's designed to be intentional, poignant and honest in its content, all attributes encapsulating the approach she took when creating her first EP, 2017's Full Bloom// A Poetry.

"The time that went into 'Industry Games,' was a year of my life, last year specifically," she tells The Recording Academy. "I think that I fleshed out a lot more about myself with this project. You get more of my thought process, and the way my brain actually works––I get to share how crazy and hectic it gets in my brain sometimes. [Laughs.] You hear me versus my ego on it, and what that sounds like for me to be this soft-spoken person, but having a bigger ego, and having to defend certain words."

The EP's title track showcases Chika's ability to spit rapid-fire verses about potential roadblocks on her journey ("I can hear the snakes, they hissing, trying to break my mission/'Cause I know who I'm about to be"), while "Songs About You" finds her reflecting on her endearing persistence despite the naysayers who tried to keep her down ("I know ain't got no hourglass figure, but I can get smaller, while my pockets get bigger"). Whether she's musing about the state of the world or the state of her personal life, Chika is all about telling relatable stories, and people are listening.

"I have those songs [on the EP] where I get to talk how I've been affected by being in the industry, how you lose friends, seeing how it changes the people around you, and how it changes you," she continues. "And even the very beginnings of my story, the first rap songs that I wrote. [The song] ‘Crown’ shows the very beginnings and the decision of me choosing to do rap as my career, but every song is about how I've had to adjust in different ways."

While some rap fans may look for bumpin' beats in lieu of thought-provoking lyrics, Chika makes sure to provide both. She notes that she was raised in a Nigerian (Igbo) household, so the way she approaches songs and production directly correlates to her upbringing, with heavy reliance on "syncopation, percussion and rhythm." The song "Designer" off of Industry Games is about a "very sad situation" regarding lost love and friendship, but the thumping production, mixed-in melodies and pitch changes help make those hard-to-swallow conceptual pills a bit easier to digest ("Even in those moments that aren't fun in life, you have to take the good with the bad," she explains of her musical methods).

What are the "industry games" Chika thinks are the most prevalent today? She believes that the way the media spins stories is "messy for no reason" and hopes that one day, truth will prevail over what she sees as trivial content.

"We still haven't gotten to a point where [artists are] as comfortable with publications as we should be, people have their own mentality and their own thoughts surrounding you," she explains. "Having to undo that and rewrite that... it's a task. Even in talking about my body, and that being such a non-issue, and the media being like, 'Ooh, how do we feel?!' As soon as you provide the floor for conversations like that, whatever gets the clicks, [that’s] ultimately an issue I've been having to deal with."

While she can’t always control the powers that be, Chika ultimately hopes that artists can work to be more honest in the presentation of their work to the masses, in order to spread positive images for fans and consumers.

"Kids are listening," she notes. "We can actually provide ways for them to cope with the things that we're talking about, and stop romanticizing all the negative things… Let's feed the soul instead of just destroying it and finding company for this misery, you know what I mean? That's what I think we can do as a unit, just uplift people. If there are bad things, try to find ways to speak about it in the right way."

Since her career began picking up steam, Chika does note that she’s become a bit more "skeptical" and "cynical." However, she’s aimed to take control of her artistry and personal life, while still enjoying her accomplishments. She took a break from social media for a time in 2019, writing how she needed to focus on life outside of algorithms and negativity.

"I was too interested in [my social media engagement], and I needed to focus on the life I created for myself," she explains. "I was able to untangle those things in my brain that may have led me to having a lot of depression and anxiety, providing context that, honestly, no one's forcing me to make anyway. That's myself holding me to a standard, and I'm glad that I took that time."

In coming to terms with her life’s changes since her rap rise began, she also has to thank her day-ones, who have helped her with experiencing the growing pains that come with major transitions. She met her friend and "big brother," rapper Wale, when she was a teenager, and she applauds him for “[being] there every step of the way.” She also shouts out English musician Duffy, who reached out to her as a fan of her work in 2017, and has encouraged her ever since. Amidst a heartbreaking revelation from the musician after years of silence, Chika says they’ve been close and supportive of each other no matter what.

"[Duffy] really encouraged me when I needed encouragement, which was beautiful," she says of the "Mercy" songbird. "I made a statement about how she had told me her story around the time when she discovered me [in 2017]. It was incredible seeing her come out [with her experience] the way she wanted to, and in the timing that she wanted to. She's an angel of a woman, she's very sweet, she's a fighter… I can't even find the words."

While she continues to learn more about herself and the music industry she was thrust into, Chika is making sure to take her experiences and her impact in stride. On Industry Games' poetic "Balenciagas In The Bathroom," she mentions how she never dreamed that one day she could be someone's idol. However, with a catalog that aims to preach the truth and open up the world to necessary conversations, it’s apparent she’s already on her way.

"I've had to adapt and process what my life looks like now, and where it will go," she concludes. "I'm more grateful for a lot of things that I have, because of the ways that it took to get them. I've definitely grown up a bit."

SOURCE: GRAMMY

INTERVIEW: I Never Knew I'd Be Alive To Celebrate 60 Years On Stage

Emeka Morocco Maduka image via Ambassador Magazine

BY FRANKARROW CHIKE OBINWA

King of Ekpili music, Emeka Morocco Maduka, is in celebratory mood. On March 6, 2020, a historic event to mark his 60 years on stage will kick off in Awka and climax the following day with a concert in Onitsha, Anambra State.

Organized by Morocco Maduka Global Fans Club, under the leadership of Godwin Isebor, a London-based promoter, the event is themed: ‘60 Years of Chief Morocco Maduka on Stage’.

In this chat, Morocco narrates the untold story of his life as well as opens up on his forthcoming 60th anniversary. Enjoy it.

What message do you have for your fans this New Year?

I pray God to give my fans good health this year and that they fulfill their plans in Jesus name.

Do you have any plan to go on retirement soon?

I will retire when I clock 80. I am now 76 years old, so when I clock 80, I will celebrate my birthday and then retire. That’s one of the plans I have.

Are you working to release an album this year?
Yes, for weeks now, we have been working in the studios, recording some songs, and when the works are completed, the album will be released. But we have not chosen titles for the songs neither have we fixed date for the album release.

Another programme that we have is that on March 6 and 7, 2020, my friends all over the world, under the umbrella of Chief (Dr.) Morocco Maduka Global Fans Club, with head office in London, UK and under the leadership of Chief Godwin Isebor, will be holding a two-day event here in Nigeria to celebrate my 60 years on stage.

What’s the theme of the event and are you the one sponsoring it?

The theme is “60 Years of Chief Morocco Maduka on Stage,” and I am not the one sponsoring it. What I did was that, when they approached me, I agreed to their ideas and gave them my blessing. For now, they are seeking sponsors, and from what I learnt, many companies and individuals have indicated interest to be part of the event, the same thing with many notable musicians in Nigeria.

Where will the event take place?

The event will take place on March 6. There will be a public lecture in Awka, the Anambra State capital. Then on March 7, all roads will lead to Onitsha for the historic musical concert. In fact, many great musicians have promised to support me on the event.

By March this year, you will be marking your 60 years on stage. It’s like you started playing music so early in life?

Yes, I started playing music at the age of 12. I mean serious music, and since that time, I have not relented. I thank God who made it to be like that. I am 76-years- old now. What a blessing from God! Remember that our highlife music king, Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe died at the age of 72; Chief Oliver De Coque died at 60 something so, I thank God for the grace he has given me, keeping me alive and strong till now. In fact, it’s a miracle because I never knew I would still be alive today.

Tell us the most challenging moment in your life?
One of the most challenging moments in my life was in 1960 when I made up my mind to go into full-time music. I mean taking music as a career. My father discovered what I was about to do and he was against it. In fact, he came up with all manner of fight to thwart my plans to become a musician. I think he even went spiritual to stop me, but all was in vain. So, one day, he pounced on me and gave me the beating of my life. He nearly killed me that day, but with people’s intervention, I was saved. That’s how I ran away from home.

I cannot blame my dad because in those days, musicians were nothing to write home about, hooliganism was their way of life. I mean majority of them spent their life with harlots. But I swore that my life would not be like that if I eventually became a musician. I promised my father the same thing when he later granted me permission to become a musician. Today, my secret pain is that my father didn’t live long to see how successful I have become as a musician. He never lived long to see my music career booming and see me making good money from it. When he was alive, I was singing but was not making money. In fact, I was very poor then. I was so poor that I couldn’t afford to drink beer but local gin. But still I never allowed my state of poverty to discourage me from performing with my band.

But you promised your father never to go the way of other musicians, so what happened?
At a point, people were going to my father to ask how come that he allowed me to go into music after he had spent so much money to educate me. They said: “he’s not even making money from music, he’s a poor musician for that matter.” That time, I was nearly a drunk.

Was that before the civil war?

Yes, that was before the war broke out. But when God remembered me and said my time has come, I made up my mind to stop drinking local gin, and I took to beer and wine. But now, I don’t drink those stuff again, even soft drinks I no longer take. Now I drink only water before going on stage (laughs). But in those days, I must drink and drink to get high before going on stage. Today, I can perform for hours without taking alcohol.

What’s the title of your first album?

It was titled Aya Nigeria (Nigerian War). It was released in 1971, but in 1974, I recorded another one, which was released under Tabansi Records.

How many albums do you have in the market?

I have up to 120 albums.

Many musicians have wives, concubines and several children outside wedlock but you have only one wife. By the way, do you have kids from other women?

(Laughter) Right from my childhood, I never liked the idea of a man having more than one wife. I vowed that I would never marry more than one wife. I don’t see the reason for a man to marry two wives. Already, I have four male children and four female children, am I not blessed by God?

How many wives did your father have?

He married only my mother and my mother died early.

Do you have children outside wedlock?

Why should I have children outside wedlock? Like I told you earlier, long before I became popular as a musician, I had sworn to marry only one wife.

When did you get married?

I got married after the civil war; that was in 1971.How were you able to cope because at that period, you were not making enough money from music?It’s because of the love we have for each other that made it possible for my wife and I to stay together till date. 

How were you able to overcome competition in the music industry?

In fact, God ordained everything that I passed through in life. God made it possible for me to overcome all. God created me and he’s given me the grace to overcome all the challenges that I encountered. In fact, with God everything is possible and I know that he has created me especially for a purpose.

SOURCE: SUN NEWS ONLINE

KC, E-Money Relive Uli Airlift

Kcee (Kingsley Chinweike) and E Money (Chukwuemeka Okonkwo)

BY EMEKA OBASI

Uli came back to live just before 2019 petered out, thanks to two young men, Kingsley Chinweike [KC] and Chukwuemeka ‘E-Money’ Okonkwo, who took celebrities to the historic town.

In what they tagged ‘Uli Music Festival 2019’, the brothers also used the opportunity to open their country home in Amamputu village. The Okonkwos are into music and run the Five Star General label.

With Enugu Airport shut by the Aviation ministry, I am sure most of the celebrities flew in through Owerri, Asaba or Port Harcourt. It is also true that many of them did not know that Uli had the second busiest airport in Africa until 50 years ago.

In 1969, it would have been pretty impossible for stars like Phyno, Runtown, Oritsefemi, Zoro, Faze and Duncan Mighty to perform in Uli. Yaw could have been there as an officer of the Biafra Air Force. 

Comedian, Ayo Makun [AY] might have been part of the Red Cross while I Go Dye, a Warri boy, would need the help of Lt. Omene to escape Biafran custody. Uli only welcomed combatants, refugees and aid workers from across the globe. 

I commend KC and E- Money for taking their money home. Thanks for reminding us of Uli. We shall encourage them to take it beyond music. Uli has a lot to do with history. 

Today, the Enugu Airport has been closed and we understand repair work is on-going. It was because Biafra lost Enugu in 1967, and later Port Harcourt in 1968 that an airport was built in Uli by Biafran engineers. 

It did not take all the time like we see happening now. There was no need for Chinese or Russian contractors to make money off indigenous brains. With the likes of Frank Mbanefo, Chuba Agbim and Joel Onyemulekwe, impossible was a rare word in Biafra.

With all land and sea routes blockaded by Nigeria, Biafra had to survive. Before London could shout Emeka, three Airports were built. Obilagu came, Uga followed then Uli. 

As the famous quote of hunger being an instrument of war ruled the media space, Christian organizations in the United States, Canada and continental Europe worked hand in hand with the Red Cross to save Biafra from starvation. 

And Uli Airport became a mystery. The Nigerian government tried all it could to nip it in the bud. Biafra, almost choked to death, refused to give up. Brave hearts, determined dare devil pilots risked their lives to fly in food and relief materials. 

It was a risky venture that was carried out majorly at night. The aircraft had to carry enough fuel from their departure points in Sao Tome, Fernando Po and Gabon. 

Landing was another medal winning effort. There were no lights except on approach and when ready to land. The lights came on and were switched off in less than a minute. That was done to deceive Nigeria Air Force bombers hovering in the sky. 

The first flight to Uli was by seasoned fighter pilot, Count Carl Gustav Ericsson von Rosen, a Swede philanthropist who volunteered his services and aircraft. 

He landed in August 1968, from Sao Tome. His Douglas DC-7 carried food for starving Biafran children. That opened the way for other missions. Von Rosen could not stand the sight of malnourished babies. 

Born in 1909 to wealthy parents, the Swede knew so much about war. His uncle, Hermann Goering, was a German Field Marshal but he fought against the Nazis and was even captured and detained. 

Carl von Rosen was in the Congo when officers like Conrad Nwawo, Yakubu Gowon, Emeka Ojukwu, Benjamin Adekunle, Olusegun Obasanjo, Ogbugo Kalu and others served as United Nations Peace keepers. 

He was the pilot who took United Nations Secretary General, Dag Hammarskjold, round. Fortunately for him, the day the Norwegian died in an air crash, another pilot was on duty while the Swede suffered a bout of fever. 

Carl von Rosen joined the Biafra Air Force and brought five Malmo MFI-91 light aircraft which became known as ‘Biafran Babies.’ They were very effective as he used daring pilots like Austin Okpe, John Chukwu, Willy Murray Bruce, Elendu Ukeje, Jimmy Yates, Ibi Brown and Goddy Nnadi to destroy bigger MIG-17 and Ilyushin 11-28 bombers belonging to Nigeria. 

Following Von Rosen’s heroics, more foreign humanitarian pilots joined the Airlift. Lofto Johanssen came from Iceland. Vernon Polley joined from Australia. There was Frenchman, Commandant Morencey. 

The Joint Church Aid [JCA] played a huge role. The World Council of Churches [WCC] was not left out just like Caritas, Irish Catholic Fathers, Oxfam and Save the Children Fund. 

Biafrans began to feed from supplies brought in by Jesus Christ Airlines and Holy Ghost Airlines. There were about 15 to 20 flights every night from Sao Tome, Fernando Po, Gabon and Dahomey. 

The Uli Airlift turned out to be the largest Civilian Airlift after Berlin, 1948-1949. It involved 5,314 missions carrying 500 tonnes of supplies daily which amounted to 80, 000 tonnes of aid. 

Uli, better known as Airport Annabelle, also witnessed the absurd. In November 1968, Capt. Kjell Backstrom’s DC-6 was attacked, leaving five crew members dead. He took off in severe pains, with two damaged engines and got back safely to Sao Tome where he underwent surgery. 

On June 5, 1969, Captain Gbadamosi King, ordered a Red Cross plane piloted by an American, David Brown, to land in Port Harcourt. The flight was headed for Uli and Capt. Brown did not understand why a relief plane should be so intercepted. 

The aircraft was shot down around Opobo killing the pilot and his Swedish and Norwegian crew. Some thought Capt. Brown’s plane was downed by an Australian fighting for Nigeria. 

The United States also lost August Harvey Martin, first African American commercial pilot. He died with his wife as his plane, filled with food and other essentials hit thunderstorm while landing at Uli. 

Rethinking our world in the shadow of the powerful Uli died in 1970. Now Uli is back to life. KC and E-Money must always remember Annabelle as they Pull Over and dance Limpopo. The Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University does not offer history. I serve them this dish for free.

Ojiaka Ekwu Okwu: Minstrel Who Plays Only For Kings, Wealthy

Image: Youtube

BY GEOFFREY ANYANWU

One of the things that make Igbo tick is their rich cultural heritage. Music is one aspect of Igbo way of life that has witnessed great transformation overtime, though yet to be whittled down by modernity. Igbo cultural music especially in Anambra State has various genres, one of which is Ufie; widely referred to as the king of music. It is also called Uvie or Igede in some parts of the state.

It is popularly said that “Ufie adighi aku be ogbenye,” meaning that Ufie music does not play in a poor man’s house. It is indeed music of royalty, meant only for kings, the wealthy and the powerful (warriors).

A 47-year-old man, Bernard Izuchukwu Ibekwe from Adazi Enu in Anaocha Local Government Area of anambra state has created a niche for himself with Ufie music.

Popularly called Ojiaka Ekwu Okwu, Ibekwe has travelled to some African countries and the United States of America with his music.

When Daily Sun met him recently, he spoke so passionately about his vocation. “My music is called Ufie in and around Anaocha, Aguata and Orumba; people of Anambra East, Anambra West and up there call it Igede.

“This is the first music in Igboland, meant for title holders, like traditional rulers, traditional Prime Ministers, Ndi Ichie, Ndi Nze na Ozo and Ndi Lolo only. It is not anyhow music, it’s not for young men and women. It is the first music you play for any titled person in Igboland. Any titled person that hears this music will turn back.

“When you coronate the monarch, this is the only music he will dance, the Onowu will not dance any other music except this, the titled men do not dance kurukere dance, the only music that can be brought close is Igboeze which he may use to go out. But in the palace, Ufie must be there before any coronation takes place.”

Ibekwe who said he has played Ufie music for ten years disclosed that his father and grandfather also excelled in the vocation. “This music my forefather played it, my father played it. My forefather played it and when he died the lot fell on my father out of all his siblings, he did not learn it from anywhere and my father played it for many years. He was playing it before my birth and continued until he died in 1995. Before he died he told me that I will be the one to do all he used to do notwithstanding that I am not the first son. My father married two wives and I am sixth male child.

“So I started in 2009. My father made his instruments likewise I. All these instruments I use, I make them myself, anyone that learnt the music; I will be the one to make the instrument for him, you cannot find it in the market. Those whom I taught the music and who were opportune to learn it, I made their instruments for them.

“I inherited it from my father, but those who come to learn it from me; I give conditions and things they will do so that they can learn it and take it home.”

“So God has been blessing me and I have repackaged it that wherever I go they say Ufie has gone digital. If I set my instruments well you will think it is live band when you hear the sound. I have full complement of musical instruments because I also play highlife music.

“But this Ufie is the one that is taking me round the world. It has taken me to Abuja, it has taken me to Lagos four times, it has taken me to Ghana, Sierra Leone and it has also taken me to America. This Ufie has taken me far, I have been to New York with this music, Idemili people in America took me there and I did album for them.”

The multi-talented artiste did not stop there; he also produces costume for other cultural groups and makes local musical instruments. He also composes cultural music and teaches people dancing steps.

“I compose music myself and form new musical troupes that have not been in existence, arrange the music, teach the people the dancing steps they will use for it and it becomes a cultural group. In fact if you watch me dance you will empty your wallet appreciating me. Music is my talent and destiny.”

Though not a graduate, but Ibekwe said as long as he lives that all his children would be graduates unless anyone that chooses not to be. According to him, one of his sons; Ifenna, who plays with the band has graduated while his daughter is studying medicine at the University of Nigeria.

He described Igbo music as very meaningful and instructive adding that Ufie is the king of all traditional music. We have Aku-na-echenyi, Igba Ijele, Igbaeze, Okpanga, Odi and others but one thing that gives me joy in Ufie is that when it is time for it to be played, every other music will stop even if it’s Osadebe or Oliver de Coque that’s on stage; they must stop. The kingmakers will ensure that every other music stops for Ufie to play. So, Ufie is the king of all traditional music,” he declared.

One of his most exciting moments was when the Igwe of Ichida; Charlie Million was crowned. “We were eight Ufie music groups there. While the other seven were played, people complained that there was Ufie they had not heard, that there was Ufie that if Igwe heard he would be moved, then the Igwe asked his driver to go and bring this particular Ufie. At a point Ndi Ichie said we will be playing one after the other so that they can select the one they wanted. When I started playing, Igwe came down from upstairs and took with him a giant bottle of gin that had a stand and dropped it on my Ufie. He appreciated me with big amount of money including money his friends spread on him. From there he took me to where he was crowned that I should be the one that will cover it,” he narrated.

The father of 11 children from three different wives though one of them is late, said he runs away from women because they rush him much. He said he makes good money to keep his family happy adding, “You know this my music does not play in poor man’s house. It is also a saying that “Ufie adighi aku be ogbenye,” it only plays in rich men’s homes and whoever that does business with a rich man should be like him.”

SOURCE: SUN NEWS

The Business Of Music With James Ndubuisi

James Ndubuisi. Image: Twitter

BY UGOCHUKWU IKEAKOR

With over ten years experience helping a core of artists from the South East break into the Nigerian music scene, James Ndubuisi has built for himself a reputation as one of the best A&R and music business strategists in Nigeria. His client list includes Flavour, Phyno, Runtown, Zoro, KCee, Bracket, Wizboy, RuffCoin and the late MC Loph. He started his career with Eastside Records, after understudying Biglo and currently works with STARZ as the Soundtrack and Music Acquisition Lead. Flavour name checked James Ndubuisi on Destiny, a song on his second studio album titled Blessed. I sat down with James and he shared his experience on the business side of music.

How did you get into the music management business?

My entry into the world of music started immediately after my secondary school (2004). I got admission to study law at Obafemi Awolowo University Ile Ife, but the school was on strike. My elder brother “Jay Stuntz” was learning how to produce songs. We bought 2 Shotz first solo album after it came out and we loved the production of the album. There was a phone number on the album cover so we called to let the person know that we were interested in producing songs. Biglo picked up and we didn’t know it was him. My brother met him after that and he took him in to work with him at the studio. I was always hanging around the studio back then and that afforded me the opportunity to meet Durella, Ikechukwu, Ruggedman, Sasha and DBanj in the early days.

How did you get into music promotion?

After some months of meeting Big Lo, he wanted to release his own album. Jay Stuntz was working with him on the album and we were all involved in the process of songwriting and making of the album. A lot of people don’t know this but Big Lo started as a producer before he turned to a rapper. Big Lo produced most of the songs on 2 Shotz first album. From being in the studio with Big Lo and Jay Stuntz, I was able to understudy them to learn the basics about music production, songwriting and A&R. When the album was ready, a marketer (Uzi Music) dropped some money for the promotion of the album. Big Lo gave me some money and CDs to share his songs with top radio stations at that point. There was no mp3, so you had to submit physical CDs at different radio stations and give the presenters some money to play your song on the radio. Payola was normal then and it was the only way upcoming musicians could afford airplay on radio. It was at this point that I learnt that you can’t leave anything to the goodwill of people in the music industry. You had to pay to get presenters to play to your songs. The money served as an incentive for them to play your songs. From doing this for Big Lo, I started building my contacts and understanding how to promote and market artists, then A&R their projects to meet market demands.

How did you meet MC Loph?
After working on Big Lo’s album (Aristo) I had to go back to school. When I came back from holiday, my brother told me about MC Loph and played me some of the songs they made together. “Wrekognize” stood out from all the songs he played and I loved the song and I was eager to meet MC Loph. Jay Stuntz had perfected his production skills at that point but Big Lo didn’t allow him to mix and master songs. MC Loph believed in Jay Stunt ability to mix his songs which helped him perfect his mixing skills. Big Lo at that time was at the top of his career with the Delicious remix he made with 2shotz and was always on tour. For weeks we didn’t get to see Big Lo, that afforded Jay Stuntz and MC Loph the opportunity to work together in the studio and they were completing works on an album (Wrekognize) . I met MC Loph at this point, discussed some marketing strategies I used for Big Lo and what I could do for him when his own album would come out.

How did you meet Goldie and what did you learn from her?

Goldie was the person that changed our minds about the financial aspects of the music business. We didn’t know music pays good until Jay Stuntz and I wrote, composed and arranged an entire song for Goldie (Fashy). Goldie paid Jay Stuntz 100,000 naira in 2005. That was mind-blowing to us then. At that point we had been with Big Lo for years and we hadn’t made that kind of money from one song. Goldie paid me 20,000 naira separately for my A&R services and that was new to me.

Let’s talk about your experience with East Side Records and how it evolved.
One day we were all in the studio together and MC Loph got a call that he should come to Ojez Night Club in Surulere. Surulere was the hub of entertainment in Lagos at that point. A lot of Nollywood actors and actresses were living in Surulere and Ojez was the favourite spot for entertainers. He met with Ifeanyi Anagoh who was a movie producer, owner and financier of “Mega Movies”. His younger brother was a rapper (Sino) and he needed someone to feature on a song with him. Rappers like Ikechukwu and Ruggedman were difficult to get and someone recommended MC Loph. He recorded the song that day and shot the video of the song the following day. Ifeanyi Anagoh was impressed and signed him to EastSide records. I remember the night he got signed, it was wild. Loph came back with a “ghana must go”bag filled with cash. I will never forget that day. Loph couldn’t sleep that night and we were all squatting in the studio. Loph used the money to rent apartment. MC Loph told Ifeanyi Anagoh about me and he signed me to work with him at East Side records as their only Promoter and A&R exec. Jay Stuntz was signed as the in house producer. I was in my early 20’s, still pursuing my degree at OAU Ife. Ifeanyi Anagoh, on my recommendation also signed Nigga Raw “Mr Raw” to East Side records. At this point we were no longer available for Big Lo as easily as we used to be.

Jay Stuntz had a recording session with an artist at Big Lo’s studio, but because of his new engagement at East Side, he missed the session that night but came back the following morning. Biglo was pissed, but he wasn’t paying JayStunt salary for production. He wasn’t paying me for my promotion and A&R work- we had no contract with him. Jay could produce a song for an artist , Biglo would charge the artist 50,000 naira and only give Jay Stuntz 5000 naira. Sometimes, 3,000 naira.

At East Side Records, Jay Stuntz was paid 70,000 naira for a song and earning a monthly salary of 50,000. Big Lo gave us an ultimatum to choose between working for him and East Side Records after Jay Stuntz missed the night session, we chose East Side Records and that was the end of our working relationship with Big Lo. Working with Ifeanyi Anagoh “Mega Movies” we had the opportunity to meet nollywood stars who came to Mega Movies and interact with other producers who came to record at East Side Records. That experience made us understand better the music industry and opened us up to the movie side of the entertainment industry. And marketing films.

How did you meet Flavour?

If not for EastSide records and MC Loph, I probably wouldn’t have met Flavour. EastSide signed Nigga Raw, MC Loph and Sho’boi. 9ice came to Eastside record to ink a deal, but Ifeanyi Anagoh didn’t sign him because he wanted to work with Igbo artists only. 9ice already had some songs that was getting street buzz. I made recommendations and begged that we sign 9ice, but that didn’t happen. 9 months later Gongo Aso dropped, 9ice blew up and was the biggest artist in the country. I remember we even had to pay him to perform at one of the stops on Nigga Raw’s album tour. After we released Nigga Raw and MC Loph albums, Flavour asked for a deal, but that didn’t materialize for some reason. Flavour was featured twice on Dat Nigga Raw, Everything Remains Raw album.

After the album was released, I met Flavour. I came back from Ife ‘cos we were on another ASUU strike. Flavour was working with Jay Stuntz in the studio when I met him. He had released N’Abania and was gradually coming up on the music scene. Eastside tried to sign him at that point when he started buzzing. But he didn’t need them again. Flavour had a great studio chemistry with Jay Stuntz and it was easy for both of them to create songs together. We had a chat that day and I convinced him of some strategies I could use to market his projects and that was the beginning of our working relationship.

How were you able to combine all this with your educational exploits?

Upon graduation from OAU Ife, I was posted to Nigeria Law School, Enugu. I called Jay Stuntz to inform him and he said he had moved to Enugu in order to complete production of Flavour’s second studio album Uplifted. When I got to Enugu for law school, I joined them at Obiagu where Flavour was staying. At that point, Jay Stuntz didn’t have any contract with Flavour when they were producing the album. As the album was nearing completion, Duncan Mighty released his second album titled Legacy. That album was everything. This is a secret but Flavour had to postpone his album release after we listened to the songs on Duncan Mighty album. We went back to the drawing board. We worked on the album for another 2 months before we came to the conclusion that the album was good . We were heavily influenced by how good the Duncan Mighty album was and created our album to match the work he released. I didn’t have a contract with Flavour either, but we kept on working. I A&R’d several songs on Uplifted. Also, I set up his social media accounts and handled PR. I worked on three album projects for Flavour. Uplifted, Blessed and Thankful.

What did you understand about social media that made you set up social media accounts for Flavour?

I understood the power of social media to reach many people at a time. I came to this understanding because of an artist I worked with in university, his name is Cyko. I used to promote him before I met Flavour. He became popular because of Facebook. Reverbnation was the only music site that accommodated sharing on Facebook so I set up a fan page for Cyko and people were joining and sharing his music. I knew what Facebook did for Cyko and how it helped push his music further. We were even getting gigs within the university for him. I had to translate that knowledge on a bigger scale for Flavour.

What one moment would you say changed your life?

After we dropped the Uplifted album, we recorded a video for Ashawo remix featuring some Ghanaian artists (Asem & Bradez Stones). The song was hot and it blew up in Francophone Africa and France. I got an email from Trace France about the video. They said they loved the song but the video was not good enough to air on Trace. There was no Trace Nigeria at at that time. I showed the email to Flavour and the team. I advised Flavour that instead of shooting a new video, we should redo the song, remove the Ghanaian artists and shoot a better video in South Africa. P Square had the best videos in Africa then and the videos were shot in South Africa by Godfather. The bill they gave us to shoot the video was 2 million naira, compared to what we had shot for 400,000 naira. Psquare level was the standard we were looking to achieve. I was able to convince Big A (Anderson Obiagu of Big A Ent. who was then the GM of Bad Beat Records who partnered with us for a bit) to fund the video shoot and he did it. After the video was shot, I sent it to Trace in France through DHL. The Ashawo Remix got massive playtime on Trace Urban and this cemented my position as a top promoter and music strategist. I still wasn’t getting paid because it felt like family business working with Flavour.

So how did you start working with other artists?

As a result of the success we recorded with Uplifted, other artists started reaching out to Flavour to find out who helped with his music promotion, marketing and A&R. Flavour kept referring them to me. I later on worked with Bracket, Kcee, Phyno, Runtown, Wizboyy etc. Because of my relationship with Trace France, I was able to help push their videos and handle other things for them. My connections grew, and the relationships I have built since I started working with Big Lo became very useful. I had contacts in Alaba and I was the go to guy for anything music promotion for these artists. These other artists were the ones that paid. Before I started working with Flavour, there was probably no Igbo artist from the East who had recorded the kind of success Flavour had in Lagos and across the continent

What do you think is the reason behind your success with these Eastern Artists?

It wasn’t my deliberate choice to work with Eastern artists alone. Some call me tribalist because of this, but this is far from the truth. It was a coincidence. Remember I asked Ifeanyi Anagoh to sign 9ice but he failed to do that. I would have worked with 9ice, if Eastside had signed him. Flavour’s success was visible to these Eastern artists and they could relate to him, knowing he came from Enugu just like them.

The reason behind the success of the Eastern artist I worked with was my ability to understand both offline and online audience. I understood what Alaba wanted. I knew how to push the songs on radio stations, navigate through Alaba and run power street campaigns. I knew the right industry connects that could help these artists at each point of their careers and Alaba was key in blowing up their songs then. Of course, times are changing.

From all the things you mentioned you did for these artists, promotion stands out. Taking their Eastern sound and blowing it up in Lagos through Alaba. What did you understand about Alaba at this point?

Promoting and marketing artists is also one of the roles of an A&R exec. I am of the opinion that online sales of music and streaming is still in the minority in Nigeria. Look, compare the numbers, without sentiment, you’ll see I’m right.Some people make the mistake of thinking that everyone who lives in Abuja or Lagos are educated and internet savvy. But that’s not true. Take a look at Lekki axis, you’ll see a combination of beautiful estates alongside horrible slums. From Jakande to Sangotedo, slums are everywhere. Majority of the people that live around here don’t know anything about streaming even today. Uploading music into people’s phones at Computer Village is still a thriving business in Alaba and Computer Village. Nigeria is a poor country and we have a lot of people who are not educated and don’t understand anything about streaming or paying for music. When I started, internet penetration was very low and Nigerians didn’t have access to streaming platforms. With this understanding, I knew that Alaba and the radio stations were the best channel to promote these artists because they could reach a mass audience easily.

What was the influence of Alaba at this point on Nigeria music and how did you become the go to guy for Artists in Alaba?
I worked directly with Obaino music at Alaba after I left Eastside Records. He is arguably the biggest marketer in Africa. But when I was working with Ifeanyi Anagoh, Eastside Records had a store in Alaba. They had their own store. Ifeanyi was a movie producer and these movie producers back then all had shops in Alaba, Iweka road (Onitsha), Pound road (Aba) and outlets in Asaba. So it was easier for them to move their music through the same channel as their movies. I understood the channel and links for distribution of music. Then working with Obaino, I was able to get the numbers of CDs we sold at each particular point. The numbers were very important to me.

What was the number of CDs sold for Flavour Uplifted album?
The last time I checked Obaino Music had sold 17 million copies of the Uplifted album. Yes, 17 million physical CDS.

Obaino Music confirmed this to you?

I knew when we sold a million copies and when we sold 10 million copies. Some people will say it is not documented. But my question for them is have they met any Igbo man that doesn’t document his sales? Even to the guys who sell okrika in Yaba, they have a book where they document their sales. The numbers are there in Alaba. Duncan Mighty has sold more than 20 million copies as an artist. P Square’s Game Over is still selling till today and I think it is the highest selling album in Nigeria. I am aware that the album had sold more than 30 million physical copies.

Do you still believe in this age of streaming that CD sales is important?

Yes of course. More numbers means more money for the artists. Some artists are okay with having their fans streaming their music online. But Nigeria has a mass market that you can still reach with your CDs.

Do you believe Alaba is no longer relevant today? And should artists do away with them?
Alaba is still relevant. Without them you can’t serve the mass market completely. If you throw them away as an artist, you’re the one losing. Because someone out there in Alaba is making money off your sweat. As an artist if you fail to print physical copies of your CDs, you don’t negotiate with any of the marketers in Alaba. You’re busy focusing on online alone. You’re losing out on a major cash stream. Because someone will print the CDs in your name and sell them to your fans.

Does this still happen today?

Yes it is still happening. Tekno and Teni have albums at Alaba.

This is piracy. How do Alaba do this?

It is piracy, but it can be solved. It’s a demand and supply problem. Before an album comes out there is already a demand for it. The distributors fund the production and printing of the album, and they pay a marketer who buys the albums from the artist to sell. If an artist takes his/her album to Alaba, negotiates properly with the distributors, you can easily checkmate the piracy of your work and earn money from the marketers at Alaba who buy the album from the artists. But when an artist fails to sell to a marketer, the distributors will bypass the marketers and illegally fund the production of the album to sell to the mass market who are ready to pay for it.

What can young artists do to prevent fix this and have Alaba work for them?
They need knowledge. A lot of them don’t know that Alaba still sells. Asa had decent numbers from Alaba. Adekunle Gold and Simi had good numbers from Alaba. I understand that the problem some artists have with Alaba is that of trust because they feel that the numbers can’t be tracked with tech. So they are afraid that the numbers coming out from Alaba is rigged against them.

So the main issue artists have with Alaba is trust?

Yes. Lack of trust is a big problem. A lot of marketers are dishonest. Just a few of them I can recommend that can show an artist their numbers without falsifying it. Alaba is a key part of the music industry, but these new artists are neglecting. They need to go to Alaba, do their own research, find out what is working against them and find a way around it and create the trust they need to push their music further. There are new marketers who are in Alaba, ready to show the artists their books and get decent numbers for them.

But online we have seen artists buy Youtube views to rig their numbers?

The difference between Alaba and YouTube is that, buying YouTube views increases the number for an artists. The artists prefer their numbers to increase than to decrease. So some of them will invest their money in buying more YouTube views, than waiting for Alaba to tell them they sold 100,000 copies. TJoe told Psquare they sold only 500,000 copies, it took their late mother confronting him to admit the truth about the number of sales he had recorded.

After all the success you recorded in the music industry, why did you leave?

I moved to California in 2016, after more than 10 years playing an active role in the music industry. I was tired of everything and I was done with music. I had no plan when I was moving to LA. But a friend was gracious enough to host me in LA. When I got there, it felt out of place. But after my friend saw my CV, she told me how good it was, it dawned on me that I could use my portfolio to get a job at Hollywood. Within the passage of time, I was invited to a meet up organized by Showtime. It was at that event that my friend introduced me to someone, whom I later found out was working with Starz. I had a meeting with the person the following week, they offered me a consultancy role for the projects they were working on. Towards the end of 2016, I moved back to Lagos to work with STARZ on a docuseries they were shooting in Badagry. They shot the docu series for 13 months in Lagos. There were a lot of interviews, research and ground work done. It was wild. The docuseries was about slavery in Badagry, I can’t speak more about it because it was eventually shoved aside.

When did your job with STARZ become permanent?
My consultancy role with STARZ lasted for months then I reached out to Netflix and HBO. When my boss got wind of it, they offered me a permanent role- Soundtrack and Music Acquisition for STARZ.

What advice do you have for any upcoming A&R?

The ugly truth is that A&Rs, producers and songwriters are at the mercy of musicians in Nigeria. Especially the young A&R, producers and songwriters. We need a structure that covers A&Rs, producers and songwriters when an artist is signing any contract that licenses his music or whenever they are working on any project. The contract should be inclusive in such a way that everyone involved in the project will get a percentage from it. Everyone involved in this industry should standardize this in our contractual process, doing this will ensure that artists don’t take everything and leave those who contributed to the project dry. For the young ones coming into the music industry, they must know that you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you signed for.

So what are you doing at the moment to help make this possible?

Whenever I acquire sound for STARZ, in the contract I make sure that the song writer, producer, composer, A&R, samples to be cleared and everyone involved in creating the song has a percentage from the money we are paying to you. That is how I am trying to correct this norm that is prevalent in our music industry and make sure that upcoming A&Rs don’t make the mistakes I made when I was starting out. It is my job now to verify and make sure that everyone involved in the creative process of making a song benefits from it. It is in the best interest of the industry, for other key players involved in the music industry to adopt this model and make sure artists don’t cheat anyone. Artists are cheats. Quote me anywhere. I once worked with an Artist who when he signed an international deal, he put down his name as producer, mixing, mastering, song writing, back up. His name was everywhere. He cheated everyone involved in the creative process. And then I knew these guys can kill.

Since you left the music scene in 2016, artists from the East are no longer topping the charts as they used to. Do you plan on coming back to help some of them again?

I think any advice I give will help them. I don’t plan on helping them again. The work I did for the majority of them felt like charity. I didn’t have anything to show for my labour and I don’t plan on doing that again. They need to get over themselves because they have some success now. They should hire people that are capable. There is nothing wrong in paying songwriters, A&Rs and producers that work for them. I used to go out of my way to get investors that will invest in some of these artists. They don’t have the culture of everyone eating- they made it difficult for people that will help them to get involved at this point.

Afrobeats is trending globally, and you’re in the middle of it acquiring afrobeats sound for STARZ. How has the experience been?
Thus far, I have been able to acquire sounds that STARZ will use in their upcoming shows from Nigeria. We have paid almost $250,000 to different artists in Nigeria. STARZ gives me song briefs to work with. If I can’t find the sound, I go into the studio with Nigeria artists to sing according to the brief. Sometimes they give me specific songs to acquire. Because of my position with STARZ, I have been able to plug in some upcoming artists from Nigeria, because it is easier to work with them and have them create the sounds you need.

What is the future of Afrobeats?
Afrobeats will fade away in 2023. There is no music that doesn’t fade away. We are not cashing in from Afrobeats.

So how do we cash in?

We all need to storm Hollywood collectively. If not time will come when no one will care about afrobeats, the same way no one’s paying attention to reggae music at the moment. This is not the first time world is seeking for a bit of Nigeria music- it first happened under Majek Fashek and King Sunny Ade. If we are not careful we can lose this moment. That is why I am making sure that our songs are used as soundtracks, making it easy for a lot of people to benefit from Nigeria music. Also, we need to stop limiting ourselves, everyone that is involved in the creative process of making Nigeria music should be involved with what’s happening beyond the shores of Nigeria. Seek opportunities outside Nigeria, protect the culture in order to prevent vultures from ripping and owning our sound.

SOURCE: CULTURE CUSTODIAN