"Fantastic", by Radio and Weasel, is a Fantastical Do

Fantastic, a 2012 single produced on clearly minimalist ideas, is simply the most fantastical that I've ever seen. There are no fancy or manufactured visual effects or tricks to embellish it. There's thus no similarity, along the lines that we saw more recently, with that mesmerizing production, King Kong Remix. It's all natural, and madly creative. 


Click to watch the Fantastic video


Bodies do here what only supple bodies can, and dance moves challenge belief and preloaded mind-pictures, and yet in truly avant-garde styles. Someone does a half-somersault and lands upside-down (staying put for seconds) -- head on the hard ground and legs up in the air -- without snapping his neck.

And then there's that lady we have seen in a couple of R+W tracks. Liters of milk poured and pouring down her mammary glands, 'willingly', and on to her belly button and places beyond. Allusion, perhaps(?), to an obscure ritual we know not of. But it's just as probable that this was simply the 'theatrical' concoction of one artiste's fertility idea. Or awesomely fertile mind.

The music is intense, from the first second to the last. So is all the dancing, and the synchronized toing and froing. The beat is magical, to the very last key. The voices are wonderfully primed for the happening, and are a distinct happening themselves. There is a thin story-line, and yet the story we have is thick with tantalizing memes. But nothing in it suggests that the characters played by R+W were in a fugitive mode akin to the imagery in their more recent offering -- "Done, Done". And they do get caught here, and loosely tied up. More "theater", then.


Click to read the Lyrics

A Thought ~ 16: The Music Ramrod

Renaissance:Music must surely be a/the ramrod by means of which Africa will gain/regain its glorious place in the cultural world. And if not the world, the universe.

Spetxa One by C4Pedro                                                                

Kelele za Chura by Chege ft. Nandy                                                               

               

Leg Over by Mr. Eazi                                                                                                                         

King Kong Remix by Vector ft, Phyno x Reminisce x Classiq x Uzi                                                           

Nana by Diamond Platnumz ft. Mr. Flavour                                                                                          

Dorobucci by The Mavins (Don Jazzy et al)                                                                                  

Dance For Me by Eugy and Mr. Eazi                                                                                                                                                                                                         

King Kong Remix: Write-Up 1 on Africa's Top 10 Pop Songs of 2015 ~ #TheYamboSelection

1. King Kong Remix by Vector, Phyno, Reminisce, Classiq and Uzi (2015):

[Note: This is archival material extracted from an earlier version of the Top 40 list published in 2015. The extract was effected to ease (speed-up) navigation up and down the Top 40 list]

King Kong is Africa's best pop video of 2015. This is probably no surprise to connoisseurs of African pop music, as there have been certain indications of it over the last five months or so. Lots of credit go to the five high-profile Nigerian artistes and their enigmatic Director, Matt Max. Shot in Lagos, the video is a brave and adventurous proposition, with a profuse montage of high-voltage images and memes. It's avant-garde in a wonderfully creative, world-beating way. The fusion of audio and visual dimensions of this song takes it beyond compartmentalization into any simplistically defined genre, rap, hip hop or otherwise.

READ HERE: My more detailed appreciation of King Kong
READ: Nairaland Forum: Opinion ~ King Kong Remix is the Best Nigerian Rap Song
READ: Naija.com "The 'King Kong' Remix is Sublime"
ALSO READ: Adesola Ade-Unuigbe "5 Rappers, 1 Remix..."

NOTE: King Kong was published on July 10, 2015. It had 255,920 YouTube views at 3:45 p.m. on December 26, 2015.

MUSIC: King Kong Remix by Vector et al Was Africa's best pop video of 2015

[Extract from Yambo Selection 2015]

King Kong is Africa's best pop video of 2015. This is probably no surprise to connoisseurs of African pop music, as there have been certain indications of it over the last five months or so. Lots of credit go to the five high-profile Nigerian artistes and their enigmatic Director, Matt Max. Shot in Lagos, the video is a brave and adventurous proposition, with a profuse montage of high-voltage images and memes. It's avant-garde in a wonderfully creative, world-beating way. The fusion of audio and visual dimensions of this song takes it beyond compartmentalization into any simplistically defined genre, rap, hip hop or otherwise.

READ HERE: My more detailed appreciation of King Kong
READ: Nairaland Forum: Opinion ~ King Kong Remix is the Best Nigerian Rap Song
READ: Naija.com "The 'King Kong' Remix is Sublime"
ALSO READ: Adesola Ade-Unuigbe "5 Rappers, 1 Remix..."

NOTE: King Kong was published on July 10, 2015. It had 255,920 YouTube views at 3:45 p.m. on December 26, 2015.


Click to watch the King Kong video

#TheYamboSelection

The Headies, 2015: Deciphering Nigeria's Latest Music Awards

Nigeria's 10th Annual Music Awards Event, The Headies, took place in Lagos on January 1, 2016. A number of heavyweight artistes won, or lost, in various categories. Only artistes with works published between July 2014 and June 2015 qualified for consideration (see Linda Ikeji, "Headies 2015 Nominees List, September 30, 2015). The full list of winners by category and genre appears in the text to which a link appears immediately below.

READ (Also): Full List of Nominees at This Year's Headies
READ: Full List of Winners at This Year's Headies

In summary:
- Olamide, the indefatigable, won two awards: Artiste of the Year and Best Street-Hop Artiste.
- Don Jazzy (leader of the Mavins group) won the Special Recognition Award.
- Legendary Beatz won Best Music Producer Award (for Wizkid's popular song Ojuelegba)
- Wizkid won Best Pop/RnB Album Award (for his AYO album),
- M.I. won Best Rap Album Award (for his Chairman Album)
- Vector (of King Kong fame) won Lyricist on a Roll Award
- Reekado Banks (of Mavin Records) won, mostly on the strength of Katapot, the Next Rated Award -- which somehow was among the most coveted -- against Lil Kesh (a member of Olamide's YBNL Nation) and Korede Bello (of Mavin Records).

- Song of the Year Award: Ojuelegba, by Wizkid
- Best Pop Single: Godwin by Korede Bello (Mavins Group)
- Best RnB Single: Wish Me Well by Tim Dakolo
- Best Rap Single: King Kong by Vector
- Best Ragga/Dance Hall Single: German Juice by Cynthia Morgan
- Best Music Video: Katapot by Reekado Banks
- Best Alternative Song: Sade by Adenkule Gold.

It is the Next Rated Award, somehow among the most coveted, which generated the most intense emotional jostling, pre- and post-, and resulted in the one-sided use of unbelievably raw language, via Twitter.

READ FOR YOURSELF: Olamide's Expletives Against Don Jazzy
MORE DETAILS: Olamide Goes...
READ ALSO: Joey Akan "Olamide vs Don Jazzy: This beef is good for the music industry"
NOTE: Olamide has since apologised to his fans

COMMENT:
Concerning the public spat between these two giants, Olamide and Don Jazzy, more's the pity given that their collaboration only a year ago produced, under Olamide's YBNL label, the wonderfully iconic song, Skelemba, which many across the continent continue to enjoy and to pay them for -- handsomely, one supposes.

Concerning awards to the best singles, the Headies clearly sought to please as many industry players as possible, but in the process fudged musical categories and genres. Put that another way: it opted to "split hairs". Thus, Wizkid won the Song Of The Year accolade with his minimalist and very popular song, Ojuelegba. Now, Song Of The Year is, should be, the apex award for all song genres. There there must be clarity, and broad consensus, about what elements of singing constitute it, before awarding even starts.

So the Big Question is: What genre does Ojuelegba belong in? Pop? RnB? Alternative (like Sade)? It must surely be in one of these. In which case, what separate considerations made it -- and not Godwin, Wish me Well or Sade -- the Song Of The Year? Is it, perhaps, the way questions were inadvertently constructed and/or posed to the respondents, and/or how their responses were subsequently analyzed? More specifically: if pop, how come Ojuelegba did not first edge out Godwin for the pop award (though in reality, as reiterated below, Godwin is Gospel)? If RnB, how come it lost to Wish Me Well there? And if alternative, for what reasons is Sade the better alternative song but not Song Of The Year?  By the same reasoning, on what grounds does Ojuelegba, placed head-to-head against Vector's King Kong or Cynthia Morgan's German Juice, win the coveted prize? After ten years of operation, the Headies shouldn't be getting these kinds of questions, or should already have watertight, persuasive, answers.

In #YamboSelection2015 (see also #YamboSelection2014), the list of Africa's Top 40 Pop Songs of The Year, (January-December) 2015 covered Sub-Saharan Africa and focused on the song, not the singer; and, moreover, lumped all the songs considered under the category of POP -- broadly meaning contemporary, popular and secular (that is, not Gospel) [Click here for definitions and criteria]. The Top 10 Songs were:
1. King Kong Remix by Vector ft. Phyno + Reminisce + Classiq + Uzi
2. Nana by Diamond Platnumz ft. Mr. Flavour
3. Reggae Blues by Harrysong ft. Olamide + Iyanya + Kcee + Orezi
4. Fakosi bySun X ft. Timaya
5. Never Ever by Vanessa Mdee
6. Muita Areia by C4 Pedro ft. Big Nelo + Kaysha (Video ft. Rlynda)
7. Chekecha Cheketua bt Alikiba
8. Kanyauka by Chege + Mh Temba ft. DJ Maphorisa
9. Melo Melo by Olamide
10. So Good by Eddie Kenzo.

Ojuelegba, which is a special kind of song, is not among Africa's Top 10, or Top 40 for that matter; but King Kong Remix is in the Number 1 spot. Nor does Godwin, whose lyrics, sugar-coated with pop visuals, are distinctly gospel rather than pop. In Wish Me Well (with its quaint visuals and all) the Headies have awarded a song which would not feature even in Africa's Top 200. Orente and Sade are a much finer RnB pieces, if an alternative to 'Wish Me...' were to be given -- but they are cynically labelled "alternative". So are Simi's Tiff and Jamb Questions. Incidentally, she appears in this year's Top 40, with Open and Close, which of course is a different kind of music!

Given the stellar performance of Vector and his team in King Kong Remix, the Lyricist on a Roll Award given to him is a fuzzy and even meaningless accolade which only serves to deflect unfocused attention.

CONCLUSION:
A concluding point: If a musical awards group wishes to adopt the categories akin to the Oscars of the movie industry, there is no philosophical reason to stop it. However, it must first fully understand the rationale for the awards, as well as the workings of the Academy which awards the Oscars. Only then can it domesticate those Academy processes to its own world of music, and to the conditions of the local market(s) in which it operates.

Despite noted flaws, and the unanticipated disruption toward the end of this year's event when two elephants went at each other's sensitivities, we must congratulate the Headies organizers for keeping the spirit alive for all these ten years, and for giving us this prestigious annual spectacle. If Nigeria didn't do it, Africa as a whole would be the loser. One must simply keep fine-tuning this great meme -- and expanding it.


P.S: 1.  Spectators, at a safe distance all over the hills, be witnesses to a quick and brutal Battle of the Headies
   
       2. No Battle of Hastings, this.

Africa's Top 5 Pop Songs of 2015 ~ #TheYamboSelection

INTRODUCTION:

This is an excerpt of the second annual edition of Yambo Selection, presenting only Africa's Top 5 Pop Songs of  2015. 

It includes links to commentary on each of the Top 5 Songs, or links to related comments and information. 

Other reviews, not necessarily restricted to songs on this year's Top 5, Top 10, Top 20, Top 25 or Top 40, will continue to be published on the blog or elsewhere as and when appropriate. Indeed, some titles on the larger Top 40 List were already previously reviewed. 

Finally, as we start looking at, and using, the list, let us remember that Top 10 is hallowed space. Only the best songs should populate that space, in proper order, regardless of country or sex or language or ethnic identity or religion, or race; and here they do:

HERE IS THE LIST OF AFRICA'S TOP 5 POP SONGS OF 2015
[Click on a Song's title to watch the video]

5. Never Ever by Vanessa Mdee (2015):
Click here to read comment on this song

4. Fakosi by Sun X ft. Timaya (2015):
Click here to read comment on this song

3. Reggae Blues by Harrysong ft. Olamide + Iyanya + Kcee + Orezi 015)
Click here to read comment on this song

2. Nana by Diamond Platnumz ft. Mr. Flavour (2015):
Click here to read comment on this song
READ: Diamond Platnumz's bioinfo

1. King Kong Remix by Vector, Phyno, Reminisce, Classiq and Uzi (2015):
Click here to read comment on this song


READ: Africa's Top 40 Pop Songs of the Year, 2015
READ: Introduction and Criteria Used to Select and Rank the TOP 40 Songs

#TheYamboSelection: King Kong Remix Tops The List of Africa's Top 40 Hit Songs of 2015

King Kong is Africa's best pop video of 2015. This is probably no surprise to connoisseurs of African pop music, as there have been certain indications of it over the last five months or so. Lots of credit go to the five high-profile Nigerian artistes (Vector, Phyno, Reminisce, Classiq and Uzi) and their enigmatic Director, Matt Max. Shot in Lagos, the video is a brave and adventurous proposition, with a profuse montage of high-voltage images and memes. It's avant-garde in a wonderfully creative, world-beating way. The fusion of audio and visual dimensions of this song takes it beyond compartmentalization into any simplistically defined genre, rap, hip hop or otherwise.

READ HERE: My more detailed appreciation of King Kong
READ: Nairaland Forum: Opinion ~ King Kong Remix is the Best Nigerian Rap Song
ALSO READ: Adesola Ade-Unuigbe "5 Rappers, 1 Remix..."

Note: King Kong was published on July 10, 2015. It had 255,920 YouTube views at 3:45 p.m. on December 26, 2015.

The full list of Africa's Top 40 Hits of 2015 will be released in the next few days.