16032019 - How women stripped half naked to half rigginh

20—SATURDAY Vanguard, MARCH 16, 2019
ROTIMI AGBANA
07054964685
rotimiagbana@gmail.com
Why I hardly go to church—Falz
Top Nigerian rapper, Folarin Falana, a.k.a Falz the bahd guy, who is currently topping music charts
with his recently released controversial song, ‘Talk’, hasn’t been to church in a while.
Speaking with Showtime, the ‘This is Nigeria’ rapper who claimed to have nothing against the
religious institution explained why he hardly goes to church.
“I have nothing against Church. Everyone has a freedom to practice whatever religion they want
to. But personally, it’s been a while I have been to church, that doesn’t make me less of a Christian.
Yes I am a Christian and it’s not about going to church; it’s all about spirituality. Your personal
relationship with whatever God you serve is personal.”
He added; “I went to a few churches that during the sermons I was put under undue
pressure. There was a time a Pastor called me up on the altar to recognize me and I
was like, this service is not about me, everyone is here to worship God and not me.
And then he gave me the microphone to talk to the congregation. What do I have
to say to them? I wish I could worship in the church normally and that Sunday in
the church won’t be like any other day in the society. That sort of put me off so
for a while, I haven’t been to church in a while. I went to church last maybe
last year.”
•Falz
•Mr. Eazi
How I ventured into illegal gold
mining business — Mr. Eazi
Anyone not familiar with the success story of afro-beat music singer, Oluwatosin Oluwole Ajibade, popularly
known as Mr. Eazi would think he had it all rosy while growing up. But in a chat with Showtime, the ‘Leg Over’
crooner revealed how he had to grapple with the hard knocks of life to gain stardom.
According to the singer whose primary focus in 2019 is to empower up and coming artistes in Africa, while struggling
to make a living for himself immediately after his university education, he ventured into illegal gold mining business.
“There was pressure on me at some point because when I finished University I was not up to 19-years old yet. So
imagine you have been able to raise your child to have good education and on graduation, he says he wants to start
exporting La Casera to Ghana; it’s kind of outrageous. I moved back to Ghana after NYSC to start the business but it
failed. My family decided to allow me experiment, believing that I would come back to my senses after sometime.”
He continued; “Again, I started exporting Gala to Ghana but the business also failed. After which I began the
Shawarma business but it also failed again. It was then my dad advised that I go for my master’s degree instead of
wasting my time. But because I wanted to do business in Ghana, I moved back to Ghana and was doing distant
learning. I didn’t focus; imagine a 20-year old doing distant learning, all my mates were like my dad’s age.”
“While doing my Masters, I started doing illegal gold mining but I was able to complete school. My family had
given me about 4-years to do whatever I wanted and now it was time for me to get a job. Everyone except my dad
persuaded me to get a job. My dad had given me till April of 2016 because he believed in me. As God would have it,
by March 2016, I was on a music tour in London and by 2015, my phone company had kicked off and I was employing
almost 20 people”, he concluded.
Entertainment
now source
of tourist
attraction in
Nigeria
—Adekunle Gold
Over the years, the
Nigerian entertainment
industry has grown appreciably
and in recent times with the likes
of Wizkid, Davido, Tiwa Savage,
Yemi Alade, Simi and many
other entertainers penetrating
the global entertainment scene,
entertainment in Nigeria has
begun to attract international recognition.
Speaking with Showtime, afro-urban music
singer, Adekunle Gold, agreed with the
assertion that entertainment is now a new
source of tourist attraction in Nigeria.
“Yes I agree entertainment is now a source of
tourist attraction in Nigeria. Right now people
have been coming to watch the Fela shows. We
have ‘Fela the Broadway show’, I have been to
one and I saw a lot of foreigners in the hall who
came to see the show. Also, people come to
watch ‘Fela and the Kalakuta Queens’ too.
People come from Ghana and many other
countries, so I agree that entertainment is now
another form of tourism that we should invest
in
Ḣe added that both artistes and the
government have the capacity to influence
tourist attraction.
“I think it’s on both the artistes and the
government to influence tourist attraction to
our entertainment in Nigeria. People travel
to other countries all the time to watch their
favourite artistes. I travel too. Last year I
traveled all the way to Coachella to watch
Beyonce; I also travelled last year to watch
‘The Script’, my best man in the world, I travel
to go and watch artistes that I love in this
world. If I can do that and other people are
doing it, then I think it’s about time we invest
so much energy, money, time and any other
thing that can make it an amazing one.”
•Adekunle Gold
•Wisdom
Eradicating payola a
possibility — Layydoe
F
ast rising reggae-dancehall singer, Juliet Chinenye Oguledo aka
Layydoe, may be a greenhorn in the music craft but she believes if the
opportunity presents itself she can champion a revolution as to how music
promotion is executed in Nigeria.
In a chat with Showtime, the singer who just dropped her first single in
2019, titled ‘Manyia’, explained what she would change in the Nigerian music
industry if given the ample opportunity.
“I will change the pattern of how up and coming artiste are treated
performance and promotion wise. Majority of up and coming artistes pay for
everything, mostly promotion wise.”
She disagreed with the notion that if up and coming artistes pay for
promoting their musical projects; they would know its worth.
“No I don’t think if they pay for promoting their songs they would know
the worth. It doesn’t change anything. I believe if a song is good it should be
aired after going through the procedures of whether it should be played or
not. Then artistes will sit up and produce nothing but good songs”, she noted.
However, she noted that eradicating payola in Nigerian is a possibility.
“Nothing is impossible. We just have to start first; although it will take
time but it will work, nothing good comes easy.”
Speaking on how she made her first hit song titled Blackberry, Featuring
Duncan Mighty, even as a newbie at the time, she said;
“We actually met at his place in 2009 for a discussion about the yearly Port
Harcourt carnival. He was playing a sound that I connected to soul wise. He
heard me singing and asked me to start recording just like that. That was
how the song came about.”
•Layydoe
Gospel music in Nigeria is
stereotyped —Wisdom
Edo State born singer, Wisdom Toyin Igbafen, is a gospel music singer who doesn’t
take it lightly whenever she is addressed as a gospel music singer.
Speaking about gospel music in Nigeria during a chat with Showtime, the pretty
singer who began making music right from her childhood days described gospel
music in Nigeria as stereotypical.
“I like to call myself an Inspirational artiste. But you can also call it gospel. I
went through some things while growing up and those things made an
impression on me even till now I’m very aware of things that happen to me
and around me. And music is my way of encouraging people and myself
too. I think gospel music in Nigeria is quite stereotype. We mistake worship
songs for the entirety of gospel music. A gospel artiste should be able to
sing about anything but in the line of motivating and encouraging people”,
she said.
She added; “I feel so because we haven’t really explored and expressed
versatility in that genre. I think it’s a mind-set thing which has been passed
down from previous generations. Although I think that’s changing now
because people are becoming more contemporary in their thinking. They
thought if you are a gospel singer and you don’t mention Jesus, God, you aren’t really a
gospel music singer. If you sing about love, politics, and other day to day activities you
are considered secular or a Christian that has backslidden. I think gospel music being
stereotyped in Nigeria came from the extreme religiosity of some the older generations.”