She sings this way [Featured Artiste: Ogecha]

She sings this way [Featured Artiste: Ogecha]

Picture from HERE

Although I support the advancement of women’s rights, etcetera all over the world, I would not describe myself as a feminist at all.  I said all that because I get very excited when I come across female gospel artistes in Nigeria.  Now, it is not like their male counterparts do not matter or are irrelevant, but the female artistes are outnumbered by the male artistes.  Furthermore, finding a female artiste who is actually talented (yes now, not all of them are talented … abi na lie I talk?!) is more difficult than finding fresh agbalumo in a regular grocery store in Yankee.  Well, okay it is not THAT bad, but you get my drift, i.e. they are a rare breed indeed. 

What I have observed is that female gospel artistes tend to be pigeon-holed into particular genres or types of songs, i.e. praise and worship type songs (I guess you can tell by now that I am not a real fan of praise and worship type songs.  I just feel that gospel music is so much more than that traditional “form” of music).  Frankly, I can make this argument for just about any artiste, but the focus is on female artistes today.

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Versatile Blogger Award [Featured Artistes: Tolu Okeowo / Kelechi Ify]

Versatile Blogger Award [Featured Artistes: Tolu Okeowo / Kelechi Ify]

It is always nice to have your work appreciated, and that is precisely what the lovely Toinlicious did when she gave me the “Versatile Blogger” award.  Thank you so much, Toinlicious.  I truly appreciate this.  As you kuku know, there must be a catch somewhere, and in this case, the “catch” is more like a set of conditions, i.e.

• Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
• Share 7 things about yourself.
• Pass this Award along to 15 recently discovered blogs and let them know about it

I know I just met the 1^st condition, but I feel almost a compulsion to do it again… So, from my anonymous but truly grateful heart, thank you again Toinlicious! (I almost wanted to add “Ile ise yin o ni jona o” (Your workplace will not go up in flames) until I remembered where I was – Blogsville).

Now, for the rest of the conditions….

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Anatomy of a Bad Song v. 1 [Featured Artiste: IBK Spaceship Boy]

Anatomy of a Bad Song v. 1 [Featured Artiste: IBK Spaceship Boy]

Whoa! Christmas must have come early for Relentless this year.  The lovely Toinlicious just gave me the "Versatile Blog" award. To say I am ecstatic would be an understatement.  Baba God you too much!  Thank you so much Toinlicious.  I am deeply grateful, and I shall address the award in the next post *bows and curtsies*

Now, to the business of the day.  

Whenever I listen to a song, there are certain elements that just irritate me, to say the least.  Hence, I am starting this “Anatomy Series.” It is an open list of elements that make me want to scream (or itch or pull out my hair, strand by strand … or all of the above) when I see or hear one or more of them in a song.  Since it is an open list, it means I will add more “offending” elements as I discover them.  And this one is “v. 1” for “Version 1” because I decided to do copy-copy and copy the style of those software updates.  If you happen to be a musician / an artiste and have ALL these elements in your song …. I will give you a nice present: 20 strokes of the cane (insert sound of koboko being fired up here).  Seriously though, these are just my own ideas.  Feel free to share yours (or disagree with mine).  So, here we go.

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Your Own Signature [Featured Artiste: Tega]

Your Own Signature [Featured Artiste: Tega]

Some things just never change.  But, my handwriting has changed over the years.  Although I type a lot more now than I write in long hand, what applied many years ago, still applies today.  I noticed (when I was in secondary school, of course) that whenever I wrote with a sharp-pointed pen (think Eleganza biro), my handwriting was neater and finer than when I wrote with “blunter” pens.  That was probably why I preferred to use Eleganza pens to Bic pens any day, despite the fact that Eleganza pens had a knack for leaving little “presents” in your pocket (ink stains).  Maybe those were fake Eleganza pens, but even the blue color of the ink was a deeper, richer color than Bic pens.  So where am I going with this?

The tools or instruments you use to make music can affect the final output of your product.  Makes sense, ba? Certain elements like the vocal strength of the soloist or even the balance between the instruments and voices can make the difference between a song that is okay and a song that is … well, 'more than okay,' if you get my drift.  Regardless of what combination you choose, it should not (and to me, it does not) diminish your own signature or unique stamp on the final product (song, in this case).  True artistes leave their own signatures on their songs, regardless of who produces them or what tools were used to produce the songs.  Each song has to have a distinct flavor that is decidedly yours.  Unfortunately, I have found very few artistes who put this into practice and it is always a delight to listen to them.  In other words, there are very few artistes who are ORIGINAL.  Hopefully, over the next few weeks, you will see what I mean, in action.

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Happy Birthday, Nigeria [Featured Artiste: Nosa]

Happy Birthday, Nigeria [Featured Artiste: Nosa]

I knew without a doubt that I wanted to write something in honor of today’s Independence Day celebration, but I had no idea what to write.  Then my mind went to the second stanza of the National Anthem:

Oh God of creation, direct our noble cause

Guide our leaders right

Help our youth the truth to know

In love and honesty to grow

And living just and true

Great lofty heights attain

To build a nation where peace and justice

shall reign*

I don’t know what your personal dream for Nigeria is, but I want to encourage you today to give that dream life.  If you are connected to Nigeria in anyway (yes, I am drawing the circle very wide indeed), then you have a responsibility to help Nigeria. If you have benefited from Nigeria, you definitely have a responsibility. Here’s the test: If Nigeria can be mentioned anywhere in your biography (or autobiography) or history, then you have a responsibility towards her. I am a product of Nigeria’s educational system (as are many of us), so I suppose Nigeria did some things right. Plus, I believe in giving back. Do your part to help Nigeria attain those "great, lofty heights."

Well, Happy Birthday Nigeria. Since we all make up Nigeria, I suppose Happy Birthday to “US” is appropriate. Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Featured Artiste: Nosa

Nosa (Full Name: Nosa Omoregie) is no stranger to this blog as I featured him in an earlier post titled "Capture It".

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