The Monthly Three: August 2023 Edition
This month, I write about Nigerian hiphop and changing beauty cultures, shared some hot new Naija rap, and talked about new music from Adekunle Gold and Janelle Monae
It’s been a minute! Hope everyone’s year has rolled on pleasantly so far. Mine? Well, it’s been a bit manic with travel, some teaching, and trying to settle into post-grad school life. I missed this space, so it’s great to be writing this newsletter. Let’s proceed, shall we? Previous editions here and here.
“Hip-Hop is a cultural movement and shouldn’t be in competition with Afrobeats”
If you’ve been following this newsletter for a while, then you know how fascinated I am by how we as people form community and build movements. Hiphop is a great place to look when you think about community, from how Cruel Santino to DRB contributions helped to shape the alté movement, to Show Dem Camp’s approach to community-building and now Odumodu Blvck’s exponential growth over the years.
Any time I want to know who’s got next in Naija hiphop, I check out Nigerian Barz Association’s page. It’s the page that helping me to keep my ears to the ground where new rap music is concerned. I heard about Odumodu Blvck there first, and it is also because of NBA that I first checked out Kinfxlk, Tomi Obanure (who’s also part of the Kinfxlk crew), and Payper. NBA’s Twitter account has been open for just over two years, but in that short time it has done such a great job of curating what’s hot and showcasing the genre for everyone who loves Nigerian hiphop. In the interview that follows, I chopped it up with NBA about all this things Naija hiphop, from who’s coming up, why hiphop fanbases are different from pop music ones’, and how labels need to approach hiphop artists differently from how they do Naija pop artists. My questions are bolded.
Thanks so much for agreeing to speak with me! So I guess a good place to start would be to pan widely. How does Nigeria’s rap scene compare to other rap scenes across the continent, in terms of mainstream popularity?
In terms of popularity, we’ve never fallen short of holding either of the top 3 spots reserved for countries with the best hip-hop contents on the continent. It can be 1 today or 3 tomorrow, I don’t think it has ever fallen off those spots. A driving factor for that is we have the most competitive Hip-Hop scene in Africa.
Why do you think Nigeria’s rap scene is the most competitive?
Competition gives room for innovation, and gives options. This is why we can boast of a good number of Hip-Hop acts thriving successfully in any niche they chose; be it the likes ModeNine, M.I Abaga, Boogey, A-Q, Vector etc. at the height of the lyricism, Olamide, Reminisce, Phyno, IllBliss at the pinnacle of promoting indigenous and successful commercial rap records. Also to the recent success of the new school lead acts like Blaqbonez, Odumodu Blvck et al as the new champions on the block with credible records that can boast of charts and streaming success, and large listenership on digital music platforms.
Again, competition breeds excellence, and I think if we are going by the records of countries with the most awards and recognition on the continent, I’m sure we are at the top of the list. We can boast of having high numbers of hip-hop acts from our clime whose audience span across countries in Africa. I believe this is the right time for investors to invest due to the recent successes we have had.
You’ve been running the Nigerian Barz Association's Twitter page for a bit. How did that come about?
It blossomed from a place of disappointment of how under-represented Nigeria hip-hop is in the media, especially on social media. I’m a Nigerian rap enthusiast looking to effect a change.
Tell me about the growth of that page. How long have you been running it for? When did you start to notice an uptick in followership, and why do you think your page is important?
It clocked 2 years last month, July 5th. Started like any other platform and the rise in followership, popularity and interactions was gradual and organic, considering the reach it got in its first 3 - 4 months; it got about 300 active followers which includes some notable Hip-Hop heads and acts in the industry and established personalities on social media. At first, it was surprising, because I couldn’t put a finger on why they saw a need to follow. It was something I was doing for fun. To some extent it gladdens the heart, and several remarks from observers have made it worthy.
The page is important because I believe that building a community is a necessary driving force for a solid Hip-Hop system. It can help us to connect all enthusiasts and followers of our Hip-Hop from anywhere in the world.
We are in the digital era where half of every and anything that concerns our daily life can be conducted through social media. So it has made it easy to tackle the problem of under-representation to an obvious extent. Brand representation shouldn’t be a problem in this era, with the help of social media platforms and tools. A lot of people don’t know what some of these hip-hop acts look like, because these acts either lack spotlight or have limits in their reach. That's the role of the pictures in those tweets and videos on the platform, to create awareness, support and publicity for a wider reach. People care a lot about the visual representations of who they listen to. Sometimes people become interested in artists solely for their looks other than their songs. Sometimes!
It’s an interesting time in Nigerian hip-hop. People like Odumodu Blvck and Blaqbonez have seen mainstream popularity, AQ is building, there’s some new voices like Payper coming up. Is it fair to say Nigerian rappers are finding their audience now more than they have in the previous decade? What’s changed for rappers in recent years?
There’s been a change in the hip-hop sounds with the new growing wave of the sub-genre, sounds like trap, drill and grime which requires a lot of melodic influences, and these artistes have been able to meet that demand.
Would you say that what Nigerian hip-hop needed all this time in order for it to be more mainstream was just a matter of tapping into new sounds?
Tapping into new sounds? No! Tapping into new sounds that are mainstream? Yes!
They should be open to making use of popping sounds, make collaboration with pop artistes with/for wider reach.
Is there a rapper (or rappers!) whose model of building their community you currently admire? Who and why?
I like the Abuja hip-hop community collective and how they fancy the traditional operation of moving in crews. The likes of Apex Village(Psycho YP, Laime, Zilla Oaks, Azanti), Kinfolk Crew(Tomi Obanure, KVV, Nvthy, Infinit Amu), Anti World Gangstars(Odumodu Blvck, Hotyce, Reeplay,etc). It’s a CULT-ural movement and you have to move like one. Love the energy and teamwork.
I think it’s interesting that so many rappers move in groups, because conventional wisdom tells us that streaming makes it hard for groups to survive. This is why we’re told the boy-band era of American pop music ended. Even individual rappers like Blaq and AQ are doing records together, and there was the whole EP that MI, Blaq and AQ did recently. Why are there so many crews in Naija hip-hop today, where there never used to be? Does it make it easier for them to find audiences?
Like I said before, forming a crew is traditional and conventional to hip-hop. It’s been like that since the days of ModeNine and the “SwatRoot'' crew which has Terry Tha RapMan, OD, Six Foot Plus, ThoroughBreds( IllBliss, Elajoe, Obiwon, B-Elect etc), Trybe Records(Eldee, 2Shots, Freestyle, Dr Sid, Sasha, etc), down to the next era of Choc Boiz(MI, Jesse Jagz, Ice Prince), Grip Boiz(Endia, Yung L, Chopstixx), and even the duo of Show Dem Camp so on. I believe artistes in hip-hop crews have better chances at success than those who are not in a crew. Yes it makes it easier for them to penetrate new audiences.
What do you think labels need to understand about Nigeria’s rap scene and how best to support Nigerian rappers that maybe are unique to rap in Nigeria?
Basically, Hip-Hop is considered a cultural movement and shouldn’t be in competition with Afrobeats; a hit-making venture or pop genre. This is not to say they shouldn’t make collaborations with pop artistes or dabble into creating pop songs themselves, because at the end of the day everybody needs what they can move and shake their bodies to.
The best support hip-hop acts can get is investment in branding and marketing like any other succeeding artistes.
Why is community so important to Nigerian hip-hop, and why is it so different from the way Nigerian pop artists build fanbases? Naija pop artists build fanbases off of scoring hits and collaborations with bigger artists. It seems that Naija hip-hop works a bit differently.
Community to Hip-Hop is a CULT(from culture) movement type of thing, for it to thrive, there has to be some form of customs or ideas structured out for people to throw their supports behind, they need to feel they’re part of something. This is why Hip-Hop is a niche genre. It’s more of the artist and content/product that he/she is influencing; it could be a sound(SDC-PalmWine series), could be a persona, could be trends(fashion or dance) or lyrical content.
Payper Corleone’s content revolves around the gangsta or mobster persona, Odumodu pushes the rebellious street-lifestyle, while Blaqbonez has created the impression around the “NO LOVE” subject to his brand and has thrived successfully off it with two projects that parades the theme. Love is an elusive topic in this age, and he has earned himself remarkable recognition on that path: a Young Preacher of Sex Over Love.
It’s just like sales, every product will get its customers if it gets the right marketing, no matter how ridiculous the product is.
Thanks so much for speaking with me!
Adekunle Gold’s Evolution Continues
It’s been quite the journey for Adekunle Gold these past five or so years. Where Afropop Vol 1 marked the beginning of his recent evolution on the journey he’s currently on, Catch Me If You Can consolidated the shift in his identity as an artist. The quality of the music has been top shelf, so it’s quite a statement that Tequila Ever After has managed to go up a level. The album begins with “Chasing Peace of Mind”, where AG is meditative and thoughtful over Habib Koite’s strumming of his kora, and Ami Faku voice further adds texture. Going from that moodiness to the upbeat “Party No Dey Stop” should be jarring, but because AG’s verse that opens the song is essentially an affirmation, it is a lot less so. “Party” actually serves as great anchoring material for the lighter topics we get on songs like “Soro”, “Tio Baby” and “Ogranya”, so the sequencing in this first half – and stronger half – of the album really works as a result.
For all the talk of AG having completely abandoned his old persona, I see a lot of the same energy carried through his oeuvre. He has not completely let go of the wholesome romantic songs that made him popular; we still see that in songs like “Look What You Made Me Do” and “Come Back To Me”. He has also seemed to re-channel the earnesty we saw in pining love songs like “Call On Me” and the reflective “Ire” to songs like the upbeat “Falling Up” and the album standouts “Party No Dey Stop” and “Ogaranya”, both of which feel like a grown man’s response to his younger self who sang songs like “Pick Up”. He is as intentional as ever on this album about showcasing his versatility by experimenting with different styles and collaborating with different artists. Of all the collaborations, though, I liked “Falling Up” the least; it just doesn’t hit hard enough for me, and was a bit of a letdown given the excellence of the collaborators, but I did wonder if he made more music with them and when we might hear it.
As fun a ride as Tequila Ever After is, I found myself thinking of who AG has been before and of potential soundscapes I’d love AG to occupy. Given that he also began Catch Me If You Can with a Malian assist from Fatoumata Diawara, Tequila makes it the second time that he has begun a record with a Malian collaboration. It’s enough to make me wonder how many more Malian-flavored jams he has in the can and if we will ever get a proper EP or full-length album featuring interesting collaborations with artists like Mamadou Diabate and Oumou Sangare. Asake’s rise has shown us that you can make music with rich use of a native language without sacrificing mainstream appeal, and it makes me wonder if we might see AG dig into his bag of tricks and give us some soulful Yoruba songs in upcoming records.
Seeing him go from neo-highlife to pop shows the expansiveness of the lane that he has opened up for himself. It only makes me want to see more. What’s more fun than being excited about an artist’s future?
Also: I’ve reviewed the last couple AG albums, too. Check those reviews out here and here.
Catching My Fancy
Here’s a few things that I enjoyed recently.
I’ve been enjoying my following of Burnt Toast, a substack that focuses on ever-evolving diet culture and anti-fat bias. I particularly enjoyed a recent edition on the Korean beauty culture. It made me wonder who is writing about beauty standards and beauty politics in Nigeria. There’s so much potential for that, from navigating the ever-shifting line between ‘thick’ and ‘fat’ and how those dynamics shape our self-perception, to the BBL craze and accessing cosmetic surgery in Lagos. Even evolving trends in wedding culture, especially where makeup is concerned. Somebody better do it, please. And check out the post, it’s great. I learned a lot and it made me think about how societies are built unspoken things.
I also have been thinking a lot about Janelle Monae’ latest album and its place in her ongoing journey as an artist. Age of Pleasure diverges from her previous work, but I don’t mean in its sexuality, as most people have pointed out. Folks somehow skipped on the video of “Makes Me Feel”, forgot about her affinity to Prince whose early oeuvre swung from the profane to the holy, or acted like she didn’t wear a pants that looked like labias in one of her music videos for Dirty Computer. Sure, there’s more cunninlingus allusions per song than we’ve ever heard from her, but honestly. She literally hasn’t worn a suit in a video since her Archandroid album in 2010. Come on. The sexuality of her music isn’t such a huge surprise if you’ve been paying attention.
What’s struck me, rather, is how instead of a narrative as she has done with her previous records; she’s giving us a moment. Everything from Metropolis EP (2007) and Dirty Computer (2018) gave us songs tied to a narrative of an android named Jane. Dirty Computer engaged with sexuality, confidence and freedom, but within the framework of the continued narrative focusing on the character Jane. There were melodies that echoed their way throughout the album, explorations of different musical influences. In Age, Janelle Monae takes a deep breath in and feels. This time, the story is her. Age of Pleasure is tied together only by pleasure, the ability to revel in it and in owning one’s desires.
I think the album is more interest for what it says about the artist’s evolution than it is on a song-by-song basis. Still, the record has some standouts. She always showcases her dexterity and she does so here, too, with r’n’b realness on ‘Only Have Eyes 42’ and ‘Dry Red’, dropping bars on ‘Float’, sing-rapping on ‘Champagne Shit,’ ‘Haute’ and ‘Phenomenal’, and giving us afrobeats flavor on ‘Know Better’ and my current favorite ‘Paid in Pleasure.’ With no Jane the Archandroid, all we have is Janelle Monae. She’s coming forward in her own voice, centering herself, her body and her voice. I dig that.
Until next time.