Deyemi Okanlawon displays versatility In Falz’s musical video, ‘Soldier’

Deyemi Okanlawon displays versatility In Falz’s musical video, ‘Soldier’

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Acting in Nigeria seems to finally have come of age with a new crop of exciting acts coming into the local and global film industry and taking up where the 1st generation Nigerian stars left off.

Prominent amongst these new faces is the fast rising actor, Deyemi Okanlawon who has in the past few years tantalize our screens with his refreshing and versatile acting skills.

In the recently released short film music video of Soldier by Falz The Bahd Guy directed by Clarence Peters and featuring Simi, Deyemi effortlessly takes on a rebel leader character similar to that of Idris Elba in Netflix's Beast Of No Nation and was, in those few minutes, able to take us from a sense of fear to laughter with the line “Sergeant, if you want the girl come and collect her” borrowed from the Headies 2016 fracas between Mavin boss Don Jazzy and Olamide - “Egbon Olamide, if you want the car come and collect it”.

Fondly called "Deyemi The Actor" by his colleagues and fans, he started out by featuring in some of the best short films and web series produced in Nigeria till date, including Gidi Up, Blink, In-Iredu, Knock Knock and Common Man, as well as music videos with Waje (No Be You) and Aramide (Feeling this Feeling) and has since starred in several award-winning feature-length movies such as If Tomorrow Never Comes, Falling and Beyond Blood as well as the CNN and BBC reviewed international TV series, An African City.

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Saeon: The Emergence Of The Trap n B Genre

Saeon: The Emergence Of The Trap n B Genre

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The music industry is a tough one for female artiste, no need to sugar coat, and it’s even tougher when the genre you’re pushing is way off mainstream. Saeon Moruda is one of those few artistes who have dared to be different from the norm-with her invented Trap ‘n’ B sound — a mixture of Rap, Hiphop and R’n’B — her overall demeanour defined by her various BackPacks, outfits and foot wear from the male section; and her Natural Hair or Morudan Braids,

Now, is that sojourn paying off, we should probably leave that to the all powering time to tell, but that’s not to say we would not tell you what we can, which is Saeon’s sound is one worth listening to.

There is really not an easy explanation for why Saeon should be on your radar, other than the fact that she is a breath of fresh air in a music industry which has been oversaturated by much of the same sound- jollof music popularized by those who must not be named.

Her style is unique, and you can tell she put a lot of time and thought into what she churns out.

The #BoyChick with the #87Swags as she’s fondly called, found her calling way back in S.S.1 with a phone call to her mum who advised and we suspect insisted that she bring the much coveted master’s degree home before pursuing Plan A. Armed with her master’s degree and blessings from her parents Miss. Moruda went after her first love a move which was rewarded by her emerging as the winner of ‘The Underground’ competition amongst 9 guys.

The emcee proceeded to release demos like Fever and the IBK SpaceshipBoi and Cobhams co-produced Let it Go a few other mildly successful tracks later, a cover of Brymo’s critically acclaimed Ara which earned her recognition from the singer himself and then poooffff!!! She became a tough act to follow as her style had become a little too versatile which made her sound somewhat confusing not to mention hard to keep up with. She had fallen into the ‘People Pleasing’ rookie trap and as Saeon would re-affirm herself,

“I was listening too much to people’s opinion on how and what kinda music I should make that my opinion became mute and nonexistent to me, causing my efforts to drown in the listener’s confusion as to what the SAEON Sound or Brand was”.

And then there was the small matter of her infamous twitter feud with Wizkid which seemed like the kamikaze of her own career. This was quite unfortunate as it spelt doom for their promising collaboration ‘Boogie Down’ which drowned in all the controversy. Perhaps her career would have gone just how Keri Hilson’s went after her attack on Beyonce if she were a weaker artiste.

Thankfully she isn’t and Saeon, like proverbial Pheonix rose from the ashes, made her way back into the industry with De Be and to our greatest joy she ditched the dresses and weaves for some jeans and locks. Her style completely reinvented- a brilliant blend of r n b, hip hop and trap music, a genre which she calls “TrapnB”.

Her newest efforts, Ninu Clubi, De Be and the cypher which featured a bunch of talented rappers, Fuh shit up all of which shows off a comfortable blend of rapping and singing maybe even reminding us a little of Canadian super star Drake.

While the finer points of her career seems to tilt towards her mainstream – boogie down, awada erekere days….. This #boyChick is at her most brilliant when she’s slaying the heck out of those punchlines and it doesn’t hurt at all that she can sing. While we are tempted to leave all the sooth saying to the T.B Joshua’s of this world, we predict that Saeon’s career is up for a rocket launching and we can’t wait to see what she makes of her new Trap n b movement.

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Nigeria’s last hope of dying Reggae

Nigeria’s last hope of dying Reggae

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The seed of Reggae music was planted in Jamaica and made popular by the Legendary Bob Marley. Since then, Reggae music has left the shores of Jamaica and practically has a life of its own without diluting its core message.

In the words of Wyclef Jean: 

“A lot of my music is very Reggae-driven. Half of my life, Bob Marley was all I listened to”.

 Reggae music captures the pressures of everyday life fusing it into irresistible melodies. In Nigeria, the genre used to be on the front row but now has taken a backseat, even when giving birth to an offshoot known as dancehall. However, there are some Nigerian artistes who would not allow the genre to go into extinction and are thus fanning the ember in their own music, which has pretty much deviated from the hard core Reggae. 

2BABA

Though 2face Idibia is known more as an Afropop and RnB artiste, his love for Reggae music is palpable. Songs like Rain drops, One love reminds you of Bob Marley’s brand of Reggae. The award-winning music icon croons like a bird let off its nest whenever he sings songs with Reggae influences. Reggae lovers are always captivated when the likes of 2face sing songs that capture the emotion of Reggae.

TIMAYA

 Enetimi Alfred Odon a.k.a Timaya is one of the few Nigerian musicians who are still fanning the embers of Reggae music and keeping it alive. Though the message of his songs may not resonate with the message of Reggae, but he makes up for it with his Reggae driven melodies. When you listen to songs like Bow Down, Bum Bum, and Plantain Boy, you may think you are listening to Peter Tosh. He has been able to create his own style without losing the Reggae flavour. 

PATORANKING

Patoranking broke into the Nigerian music industry with his hit song Alubarika in 2013.The song speedily spread like wildfire and gained massive airplays. At a time when Reggae music is losing relevance and Afropop taking center stage, Alubarika became a song that reveals the everyday struggle of the man on the street. The song starts off with a bouncy Reggae beat and hints at the importance of God’s blessings. “I want to touch lives and give hope to the hopeless with my music” Patoranking once said. 

CYNTHIA MORGAN

 Have you listened to Cynthia Morgan’s German Juice, Baby mama and Popori? You will definitely feel the vibes of Reggae in the songs. Though she has been criticized for the usage of Jamaican patois in her music, the voluptuous singer continues to infuse it in her song fervently. The red hair-wearing artiste has said that her patois comes natural to her, even before her manager got her a patois dictionary. 

BURNA BOY

Burna Boy is the poster child for Nigerian dancehall music. The Rivers State-born singer has a baritone voice that appeals to his fans who are enamoured by his brand of dancehall. From Yawa Dey, Soke, and Dor Gongon the talented performer said his early reggae influence came from his dad. “My dad used to play Reggae and Afrobeats. The first Reggae song I heard was in his car. The first CD we had was a mix of all different types of dancehall. I am pretty much a product of my environment”

 GENERAL PYPE  

General Pype is one of the most underrated, yet talented Nigerian artistes. These days it’s difficult to detect the influences of Reggae in contemporary Nigerian music, but the likes of General Pype have constantly showed off this genre in their music. From Victorious man, Champion and Lovers Rock, the seven-star General shows off his pleasant-sounding dancehall vocals in the songs. General Pype is known for the depth of his lyrics and unique delivery.

Written by Kehinde Ajose

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[VIEWPOINT]: MI ABAGA AND GLOSS PHYSICAL SIMILARITY.

[VIEWPOINT]: MI ABAGA AND GLOSS PHYSICAL SIMILARITY.

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Fast rising act "GLOSS" who is said to have physical similarity with MI is set to released a new single titled “MODINA” .

New photos have been released from his photo-shoot session with Tsoule Media as the new single will be out on the soon.

Check out photos from the set below.

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[VIEWPOINT]: Top Nigerian Male artistes that are still unmarried.

[VIEWPOINT]: Top Nigerian Male artistes that are still unmarried.

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THEY are upwardly mobile, young, handsome and rich and have been romantically linked to dozens of beautiful women but despite their success, these hot Nigerian artistes show no sign they intend to get married and settle down any time soon. Today, Entertainer brings you the Nigerian music industry’s hottest bachelors.

D’BANJ

Call him a play boy and you wouldn’t be far from the truth. And whether it’s by chance or design, D’banj only associates with rich and wealthy women. Ever since the 35 year-old hit the Nigerian music space with his debut single, Tongolo, he has continued to enthral members of the opposite sex. Today, listed among his conquests are Genevieve Nnaji, Ini Edo, Bonanag Matheba, Adama Indimi and Jenifer Obayuwana, all filthy rich women. And going by his antics, it’s obvious that marriage is obviously not a priority for him as he is showing no sign of settling down soon.

WIZKID

A couple of years ago when Wizkid hit the limelight with the release of his debut single, Holla @ ur Boi, it was obvious that the kid was headed for the top. Today with a string of hits to his credit, 25 year-old Wizkid has come of age. Though he has been linked to a couple of beauties and has two baby mamas, there seem to be no plans of settling down any time soon. Wizkid has a son with Oluwanishola Ogudugu and another lady, a Guinean and video vixen by name of Binta Diamond Dialo, re­cently posted pictures of her child she claims was fathered by Wizkid and named the child Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, after the starboy. Even Tania Omotayo, his girlfriend of many years seems to have fallen out with the singer judg­ing by their posts on social media.

DAVIDO

At just 19, OBO singer and HKN Gang CEO, Davido, hit his first millions after he was signed up by MTN as its brand ambassador and ever since, the act has never looked back bombarding the Nigerian music scene with a string of hits. And if there is one thing he is known for, it’s his escapades with members of the faire sex. Recently he made headlines again after his stormy battle with his baby mama, Sophia, over custody of their daughter, Imade. At the climax of the drama which lasted a couple of weeks, Davido had declared that he could never marry Sophia Momodu no matter what happened because she was older than him. He also accused her of taking advantage of his innocence.

RUGEDMAN

With almost two decades in entertainment and hav­ing thousands of adouring female fans, Ruggedman is yet to tie the knot. The rapper who hit the limelight after he dropped his controversial hit track, ‘Ehen’, which featured late singer, Nomoreloss, in an interview with a popular magazine a while ago revealed the reasons why he was yet to tie the knot.

Hear him: “There are a lot of girls out there but I don’t need a girl, I need a woman, a woman who know what responsibility is all about. It’s not just about facebook, instagram, and twitter. I need somebody who is real, who is responsible, and I really don’t want to date anybody in entertainment; it won’t work. You go out, she goes out, and we all know that we humans are jealous creatures. If you go out and your wife sees so many girls clamouring around or over you, you’ll say ‘it’s just work honey.’ But if you see a guy around her and she says ‘it’s just work honey,’ I can imagine how you would react.”

DON JAZZY

Since he hit limelight after the release of D’banj’s Tongolo in 2004, the career of music producer and Mavin boss, Don Jazzy, has been on a trajectory to the top of the industry where he remains one of the most dynamic music producers in Nigeria. However, mention romance and you run into a brick wall!

Don jazzy who has been instrumental in the making of a dozen stars and still counting, despite being Ambas­sador to a number of platforms and earning millions of naira and even getting mentioned among Forbes list for Africa’s most influential musicians for 2015 has remained elusive as far as his relationship with the opposite sex is concerned. Media shy Don Jazzy has not been romanti­cally linked with any woman yet. However, Tonto Dikeh is reported to have once sensationally declared in an interview that she was disvirgined by Don Jazzy.

BANKY W.

Though 34 year-old Banky W had been around for a while, it was the remix of Rihanna’s Umbrella entitled Ebute Metta, which transformed his career forever. The CEO of Empire Mates Entertainment (EME) despite his success and his sex appeal has consistently denied being in a relationship or having an affair. A while ago during a show in Mauritius, Banky W had announced to his fans that he was not in a relationship and did not have any plans of getting married soon. However, one woman who has always been spotted with him is Andrea Giaccaglia, a Ghanaian-Italian model and the pair have been sighted together in public on a lot of occasions.

IYANYA

The CEO of Triple MG, Iyanya Mbuk is one of those few artistes who can beat his chest and boast that doesn’t have a baby mama, at least going by what we know. Obviously a lady’s man, Iyanya hit fame and fortune with the release of tracks like Kukere and Your Waist. His stage performance is dominated by gyration and a lot of wriggling of his waist to the delight of his female fans. In an interview with Hip TV a while ago, he had advised his colleagues to ‘Never let your baby mama go… she should be your wife.’ However, a while ago it was reported that the Kukere crooner and winner of MTN Project competition in 2008 was dating Freda Francis.

However, an ex-girlfriend of Iyanya’s has taken to so­cial media to claim that he sleeps around without protec­tion. The ex-girlfriend, Nkechi, despite Iyanaya unveil­ing Freda Francis as his new girl friend still claims that she is dating Iyanya. Meanwhile, he has been romanti­cally linked to Yvonne Nelson and Tonto Dikeh.

FLAVOUR

32year old Flavour hit the limelight after the release of his debut single, Ashawo, a remix of Osita Osadebe’s classic in the late 2000s. Among others, this hunk has a habit of uploading sexy pictures of himself on instagram and this has won him numerous female fans. And one thing you cant take from him is his attraction for beauty queens. Currently the exhibitionist has two children from two different beauty queens (Sandra Okagbue and Anna Banner). Meanwhile, there are rumours he is dat­ing Chidinma aka Miss Kedike after she featured in his song Ife, where they shared kiss in the video. However, Flavour, going by his antiques is obviously not ready to tie the knot anytime soon even as he heats up social media with his semi nudes.

M.I

Jude Abaga aka M.I is one of the most eligible bachelors in Nigeria’s music industry no doubt. The president of Chocolate City popularly known as Mr. Incredible a couple of years back was rumoured to be on the verge of tying the knot with his girlfriend, 2010 Miss Nigeria runner up, Erica Okundaye. Word even had it that he had travelled all the way to Edo State to see Erica’s parents

However, beyond that, little is known of his relation­ship with members of the opposite sex but rumours hint at a relationship with fellow Glo Ambassador and singer, Waje.

WANDE COAL

From Mushin to Mo Hits was the title of his debut album under the now defunct Mo Hits record label. From humble beginnings in one of Africa’s biggest ghettoes, Mushin, Wande Coal has risen to the top of his career. His delivery on Patoranking’s My Woman has only consolidated his hold on the industry and today, Oluwatobi Wande Ojosipe aka Wande Coal is the CEO of Black Diamond Entertainment. In a recent interview with a popular magazine, Wande Coal declared that he had no immediate plans of marrying his baby mama who has a seven-year old son for him. And if you’re a female fan hoping to hook up with him for good any time soon, forget it. The rapper has declared that marriage is not on his front burner!

Hear him: “The time for marriage is not ripe yet be­cause I need to really focus on my career now which is the major thing in my life. My career is my drive basically so marriage is totally out of it for now.”

ORITSE FEMI

Until the release of his monster hit, Double Wahala, self styled musical Taliban, Oritsefemi, was a barely known Ajegunle artiste who was living from hand to mouth. However, Double Wahala changed all that. But was it responsible for the subsequent break up with his lover, of many years, Blessing Bawa?

With fame come women and with wom­en come temptation. Could that be what precipitated their break up? Shortly after their break up, Oritsefemi was romantically linked to sexy singer, Adasounds, though Adasounds later declared that she could never date a guy like Oritsefemi. Mean­while, Oritsefemi has two daughters from two different women.

TIMAYA

The Egberi Papa 1 (Enetimi Alfred Odom) has a daughter, Emmanuella, with his long time girlfriend, Barbara but he obviously has no plans to settle down any time soon. In 2015, in an interview he had declared: “Marriage comes with a lot of responsibilities which are beyond financial or material things. God has blessed me with everything a man needs to have a success­ful married life and you can bet that Em­manuella and Barbara will get the best of everything money can buy, but personally, I don’t feel ready for it.”

However, in 2015, and Barbra welcomed their second daughter named Grace into the world. Timaya and his girlfriend, Barbra already have a four-year-old daughter, Emma. Meanwhile, a woman named Shella B accused Timaya of rape in the U.S but he later came out to deny that whatever hap­pened between them was consensual.

Meanwhile, he’s biggest conquest to date remains actress, Empress Njamah.

TERRY G.

If you’re a female fan of Terry G’s and you’ve been dreaming of hooking up with him for good then forget it! Rea­son, Terry G and his baby mama, Mimi Omoregbe welcomed their first child, Rex, on November 1, 2012, and since mid last year, the Free Madness singer has been talking about marriage and set­tling down.

In a recent chat with a popular news platform, Terry G had said: “It will happen very soon but it takes planning and much more. Ironically, I am facing a lot of pressure regarding marriage but it is not from either of our families. The pressure is from outsiders. I want to work hard and be stable. I want to work to the extent that I would not rely on music because I do music for fun. Everybody knows that she lives with me and I am already living like a married man.”

Written by JOY UMUKORO

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[VIEWPOINT]:YOUR TALENT,NOT YOUR POCKET

[VIEWPOINT]:YOUR TALENT,NOT YOUR POCKET

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After seeing the same trick over and over again, we stop falling for it. And that's why upcoming artists need to stop paying artists millions to feature on their songs. It's just not working anymore.

We've seen many unknown artists feature a Timaya, Terry G, Davido or whoever in order to help their records do well. It's a great gimmick that's used all over the world, and it helps to get people to pay attention to an artist who is trying to make a name for himself/herself.

Unfortunately, the fans have come to understand that the big artists are not getting on those tracks because they believe in the undiscovered artist (that's what it should be). More often they are jumping on the track simply because they have been paid good money for a feature. So it's not an honest endorsement by the bigger artist.

A higher level of this practice is when established Nigerian artists pay American artists to feature on their tracks, so they can get that  international appeal or status, bragging rights or whatever you want to call it. It was becoming a trend, until Drake and R.Kelly came and embarrassed a lot of Nigerian artists.

What R.Kelly and Drake did with Wizkid was remind people that a high profile feature wasn't supposed to be inspired by a paycheck, but by a belief in a song or an artist. Drake heard Ojuelegba and  jumped on it because he loved it. And then came the biggest endorsement of an artist; R.Kelly featured Wizkid on his own album. This wasn't Wizkid featuring him. We all know artists are courting and paying international acts these days for a feature, but that was not the case for the Drake/Wiz, R.Kelly/Wiz collaborations.

 To the Naija artists who have been trying to hasten their rise to international status, good luck. Good luck trying to pay an R.Kelly to feature you on his own album. Or paying an international rapper to sign you to his label...hold on...I heard that has been done before. I was not privy to the Dbanj/Kanye deal but there were rumors of Dbanj having a contract that made him the equivalent of an adopted child who was paying his own school fees and buying his own meals, just so he can bear the family name. Yuck.

Branding is everything in business, but music is still an art form. Hopefully we will see more features that are inspired by creativity, and not driven by money. A certain artist pointed out to me that he felt honored that he was featured on a Timaya song, as opposed to having Timaya feature on his own song. Working with a big shot should be a compliment to your talent, not your pocket. To quote Kanye West, "Don't rush to get grown." 

Culled from Howfana

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