A CELEBRATION OF AFRICAN MUSIC TALENTS
Nseobong Okon-Ekong and Vanessa Obioha report on the growing fame of the All Africa Music Awards which celebrates the creative energy of African artistes
Organising a music award is by no means a mean feat, irrespective of the capacity. It entails a lot: logistics (feeding, transportation and venue), publicity, selection of eligible entrants and collation of results, budget and other elements. At the nexus of each planning is the financial demand which solely depends on sponsorship, but in extreme cases, may require personal intervention of the organiser to take loans from financial institutions, friends and family members.
However, the beauty and success of any award ceremony is the ability of the organiser to give a clinical execution to his or her idea. Without this, all the beautiful ideas will be another waste of mental energy.
From whatever angle you may view it, planning such an event at a communal level is not for the faint-hearted, let alone taking the scope of the event to a continental scale. For a significant continental event like the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA), it obviously requires more than just skeletal strategy of pooling people together from different countries to reward various musicians. Effective planning, strategy and teamwork is highly needed to deliver a monumental event. For starters, Africa is a diverse continent booming with creative talents, and music being a unifying art serves as an important tool in showcasing the beauty of her diversity.
African music is an eclectic mix which is deep-rooted in culture. Each region or ethnic group strives to sell its musical culture which ranges from musical composition to language. These elements have set many foremost African musicians apart from their counterparts. Their capability to project a language that is as melodic as the sounds that accompanies them conveys a compelling intrigue.
For instance, stars like Salif Keita, Youssou N’dour, King Sunny Ade, Oliver Mtukudzi, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, Manu Dibango, Chaka Chaka and Mariam Makeba to name a few gained international recognition by staying true to their roots and introducing sounds that the world fell in love with instantly. They wore their culture with pride. Although times have changed; that indelible rhythm of Africa can never be replaced. Today’s generation of musicians are still learning from these stars who laid an unforgettable groundwork. Therefore, a continental award ceremony should be a unifying platform between the old and new where both generations get the appropriate dose of appreciation and showmanship.
To an extent, Mike Dada, a PR practitioner and convener of the AFRIMA had this in view when he set out in 2014 to organise the continental award. Before AFRIMA, KORA Awards was the only award celebrating African music stars on such a large scale. Interestingly, Dada worked closely with the planning committee for the KORA award. To set his idea apart, Dada had to dig deeper into the richest reserves of his creative mind to come up with AFRIMA. From the onset, the odds were highly stacked against him. People thought the idea was only good on paper. How was he going to pull it off. They watched from a distance bemused. However, like a skilled footballer, he scored a hat-trick by clinching a working relationship with the Africa Union, AU. This partnership made all the difference; giving AFRIMA an international image that no other award platform in its category could boast of.
The AU had been looking for a credible platform to roll out and canvass its youthoriented agenda. The coming of AFRIMA was the opportunity, the organisation needed. And this year, the relationship entered a sustainable cycle with the launch of the AFRIMA Foundation, which truly empahises the theme: ‘For Hope, for Celebration.’
Despite the seeming challenges he was confronted with, Dada stunned onlookers by delivering a spectacular show that year. Since then he has not rested on his oars. With each edition, he pushes the envelope. From the African-themed stages and performances to all the razzmatazz, the organisers of AFRIMA are eager to hit the right chord.
For the 2017 edition held recently at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, Dada kept to his original script but with an additional catch: Akon. The organisers caused a great buzz with their announcement that the Senegalese born music superstar will host the event alongside Cameroonian diva-broadcaster, Sophy Aiida. Arguably, Akon delivered on the objectives of his choice, but failed woefully as a presenter. The three-day event kicked off with The Africa Music Business Roundtable (AMBR), a platform that engaged top music business stakeholders, label
owners and music marketers on the theme ‘Digital Takeover; Shaping the Future of African Music’. Held at the Grand Ball room of the hotel, the roundtable featured keynote speakers like the Head of culture, African Union Commission, Angela Martins; General Manager, Sony Music, West Africa, Michael Ugwu; Managing Director, Trace Anglophone, West Africa Samo Onyemelukwe; Technology
& Media Leader, PwC, West Africa, Femi Osinubi; Chairperson Moshito Festival South Africa, Dr.Sipho Sithole; Artistic Director Timitar Festival Morocco, Brahim El Mazned; MD United Capital Securities Ltd. Nigeria, Jude Chiemeka; Head A&R Okay Music USA, Rikki Stein; Head of Operations, Content Connect Africa, South Africa, Munya Chanetsa; CEO Kennis Music Nigeria, Kenny Ogungbe and Founder/CEO Emblue, Kelvin Orifa.
In her opening speech, Angela Martins commended the relentless work of AFRIMA in promoting African music, culture and creative enterprise in Africa, while appreciating Nigeria who through its host city, Lagos, has successfully hosted Africa’s leading creatives and musicians at AFRIMA for three years. She also noted the theme of the roundtable is in line with the African Union Agenda on the promotion of the new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).
“Digitization is the order of the day. We are glad that this theme was chosen so that music professionals can debate on it and come up with a clear roadmap on how to keep abreast with these new information and communication tools. African music can make great strides and reach out to new continental and global markets.”
After the talk came the AFRIMA Village where music fans had the opportunity to watch their favourite star on stage by just buying the AFRIMA customised t-shirt. Although the event was well attended but many of the stars earlier advertised did not make it to the stage. The show ended up featuring Nigerian artistes majorly. Only one emerging artiste from Malawi put up a lacklustre performance. Artistes from other African countries could not perform because they had not yet arrived Nigeria on the day of the show. Given that flight connections between African countries can be tiresome, the organisers made it look like they only wanted the artistes at the finale. This was surprising to many watchers of AFRIMA, as the Music Village has been a critical content that the organisers had not been able to execute since the event started in 2014. The importance of the Music Village cannot be over emphasised as it serves the purpose of giving fans who would not make it to the awards proper opportunity to connect with their favourite artistes, particularly nominees at the awards. Many of the names that were bandied around like Femi Kuti and 2 Baba, were not at the show. Apparently, negotiation between the organisers and the artistes could not be sealed. Feelers from the industry indicate that the artistes were very aggrieved that they had signed a contract and blocked off the date against other contracts in favour of AFRIMA only to meet with disappointment.
Even at the level of a pan Nigerian concert, the AFRIMA Music Village failed to present the diversity of the country. Allowing three Fuji music bands -Atawewe, Malaika and Saheed Osupa-with their non-stop method of delivery and large retinue of instrumentalists clearly tilted the performing artistes in favour of one section of the country. In the Nigerian pop category, the only recognisable names with top hitting songs were Oritsefemi, Muma Gee and Sound Sultan. The show started three hours behind schedule with a rash of emerging artistes and even though the organisers tried to rush through the programme, many hopeful artistes were not given a chance when the show closed in the morning of the next day.
The music stars were allowed to perform only one song. Only few of the artistes gave an electrifying performance within the time limit. This was a major constraint at the main awards ceremony. For instance, the audience was evidently pained when Ycee performed only his hit single “Juice’. The implication of this was that the artistes ended up rushing their songs in order to avoid being cued off by the DJ. Perhaps, the organisers noticed the audience’ gasps of disappointment because some of the artistes were later given more performing time.
Most of the acts for the night failed to elicit a rousing applause from the audience, particularly non-Nigerian artistes. However, there were few exceptions that warmed the hearts of the audience. They include the energetic musicians and dancers from Togo, Toofan, Ghanaian sassy diva, Becca, and the masterly display on the guitar by one of the recipients of the AFRIMA legendary awards, Oliver Mutikudzi (Zimbabwe). The other recipient was Salif Keita (Mali). Keita declined to perform when approached with a guitar. Clearly, it was not on the script and he could not be persuaded.
Placing Tiwa Savage to close the event could have been another trump card if the singer who came on stage barefooted had more time. In less than five minutes, she hurriedly performed three songs. Though she wanted to excite her audience more but the DJ was strict with his timing that he even cut her microphone off when she dragged on a particular song.
Seyi Shay suffered a stage mishap when she stumbled and fell in the midst of her act but was quick on her feet and continued her performance. She handled the fall well, which brought back memories of a similar incident involving Chief Tony Okoroji at a PMAN awards event at the National Theatre in the 1980s.
Also, the two representatives of the federal government, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed and Special Adviser Political Matters to the President Senator Babafemi Ojudu, were both booed by the audience when they came to present awards - a clear indication that Nigerians are unhappy with the present administration.
In order to control the human traffic, this year’s show was not open to everybody; hence the hall was not overflowing like previous editions. As many who came to see Akon, they were not disappointed but the synergy between him and his co-presenter were not like a house on fire. Many times Akon did not appear to know what to do. He lacked the spontaneity of an excellent presenter. There were occasions when their jokes were lost on the crowd.
Other big winners of the night included 2baba (Nigeria) Tiwa Savage (Nigeria), Simi (Nigeria), Wande Coal (Nigeria), Ycee (Nigeria), Montess (Cameroon), Locko (Cameroon), Nandy (Tanzania), Eddy Kenzo (Uganda), Ibitssam Tiskat (Morocco) among others. The award for Best Video which Orezi so gleefully celebrated should rightly go to the director of the video whose artistic and technical skills created visuals that put a cine-life to the song.
Another major blunder which officials of Lagos State Government openly frowned at was the flawed representation of the ‘The Three Lagos Elders’. Only organisers can explain why they increased the number of Lagos elders to four.
Like in previous editions, Dada and his crew always infused different elements from the different cultures of the continent. The major element on stage was the gigantic drums placed on each side of the stage. Other features include fireworks and two big screens used for advertorials and extra view.
As much as Dada has tried to sell his unique idea to a very complicated audience, the award is yet to acquire the grand status it desperately desires. The reasons for this are not far-fetched. First, the location of the award in Nigeria is wrong. Arguably, Nigeria is perceived as the creative hub of Africa with Lagos as its headquarters. This simple notion is perhaps what is misleading the organisers that Lagos is the perfect host city but the truth is that Lagos does not have the right audience for an award of such eminence. This is evidently seen in each of the edition where performers and winners of the award from other countries receive lukewarm cheer from the crowd who often wear a vacuous expression when the artistes from other countries come on stage or have their names rolled out on screens. But the reverse is the case when a Nigerian artiste wins or performs. For example, at the arrival of Wizkid who clinched three awards - Best Male artiste in West Africa, the Song of the Year and Artiste of the Year - a large part of the audience caused a raucous jubilation that bouncers had difficulty keeping the excited fans at bay. Coincidentally, Tanzanian artiste Nandy was performing on stage.
The insolent manner the audience ignored the beautiful songstress was very heartbreaking. And it was very rude of Wizkid not to have delayed his entry; moreso that the awards was supposedly televised live.
Despite the distraction, the singer maintained her stance and at the end, was rewarded with a great ovation. If the applause was an act of remorse or not, one may never know. Nevertheless, since AFRIMA has two more years to host the event, they may consider promoting the nominees from other regions by engaging radio stations and TV channels to play their music more, particularly on TRACE Naija which lent the weight of its network as AFRIMA partner this year. The other option is to organise a pre-award show where the fans will have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the artistes. This is one of the purposes that the AFRIMA Music Village was supposed to serve, but it was not quite realised. If any of these options fail, then they should hire cheerleaders to cheer the artistes on to avoid the cold reception of the audience.
Again, the organisers of AFRIMA are yet to select performing artistes that will deliver the grandeur that is deserving of the show. Performing artistes at awards should be those who are known to deliver an elaborate and theatrical performance at the point of entry and can sustain a highly sophisticated show to the end. The organising committee of AFRIMA may have to revisit the boardroom and reexamine the selection process of performers at the award. They will do more justice to the awards if they bring in some of these African legends to perform and not just reward them with legendary awards. In doing this, they will be creating history as well as merging the old and young generations.
Nonetheless, AFRIMA has done well in casting the limelight on countries that are hardly recognised musically on s huge platform like this. For instance, Shyn from Madagascar was visibly overwhelmed when he was announced the winner of the Revelation of the Year award.
WAHL CLIPPERS TO REWARD BARBERS AT LABHCA BARBERS
To commemorate its 25th anniversary, Wahl Clippers Corporation USA is set to reward winners at the Lagos State Barbers, Hairdressers and Cosmetologists Association (LABHCA) Barbers competition.
The competition which kicked-off in January will be coming to a climactic end on November 23 at the grand finale where 10 finalists will battle for cash prizes and Wahl clippers at Hi-Tech field, Orisunmbare, Alimosho, Lagos.
Known for its premium quality, Wahl Clippers has over the years supported the barbers association in ensuring that they are celebrated as well as rendering financial support to ease their ways of doing business. In the past 24 years, the brand has also held its own competition where barbers are rewarded with gifts as well as educated on trends and health tips on male grooming.
The clippers were introduced to the Nigerian market by Chief Victor Mbadiwe, through his company J. Green Mbadiwe& Sons Ltd. Since then, the company has continued to dominate the market despite the influx of fake and substandard clippers in the market.
“It’s been an amazing journey for us. We
can only be grateful to the barbers who have come to the realisation that nothing comes close to our product because we don’t compromise our quality in any way. Of course, the market has become competitive but we are proud to be a leader in the market,” said Mbadiwe.
Mrs. Ijaoba Oladipupo, LABHCA’s president affirmed the quality of Wahl Clippers in her statement: “Wahl Clippers is a statement of class. Barbers who use Wahl clippers are highly respected. It is affordable and durable and easy to use even for a firsttimer.”
Regarding the value of the industry,
Mbadiwe stated that the industry has a lot of potentials.
“Male grooming in Nigeria is gradually gaining recognition. Most people limit it to clothes but a man’s fashion goes beyond what he wears. His overall look starts from the head. What hair-cut is he wearing? Is he cleanshaven or not? Remember, the hair needs daily grooming which starts from the barbing salon. If you don’t use the right clipper, you will end up with cuts or bruises that can lead to some skin diseases. All of these we try to highlight in our competitions. Barbers are not mere artisans. They are also stakeholders in the fashion world, because they determine the
trends.”
About 10 contestants competed in the monthly contests, out of which four winners emerged. The numbers were further trimmed during the semi-finals. However, only ten finalists made it to the grand finale. The finalists will be judged based on their professionalism, poise, handling of tool, creativity and finishing. The winner and runners-up will be rewarded with cash prizes, wahl clippers and other consolation prizes.
LIFE THROUGH THE EYES OF ZINNO ORARA
Zinno Orara continues to make lemonades out of the lemons life served him three years ago with his upcoming exhibition titled ‘Life is a Journey.’ Having lost his beloved wife to stage 7 cancer in 2014, Orara’s artistic skills took a new dimension as he strives to keep his wife’s legacy through visuals that are as thought provoking as they are artistic. The art world got a taste of his resilient creativity in the 2014 exhibition called Against All Odds which is a thought-provoking body of work that to this day, is still a major point of reference among avid and respectable art lovers and curators.
For ‘Life is a Journey’, the painter will take the viewer on an adventurous journey of the different moments we experience in life. From grief to joy, to love and faith, Orara will showcase various thought-provoking and creative works of his while celebrating the life of his late wife.
“Life’s Journey consists of a series of thought provoking works that depicts our voyage through life as humans, the good, the highs and lows, our opportunities, heartaches and our eventual sojourn to the unknown. This promises to be an exciting exhibition,” he said in a statement.
The exhibition will run for over two weeks, starting from Saturday November 25 to December 4, 2017. This event will hold at Terra Kulture Gallery Plot 1376, Tiamiyu Savage, off Ahmadu Bello way, Victoria Island Lagos,
Zinno Orara has had over 12 solo exhibitions and 25 group exhibitions in Nigeria, South Africa, Sweden, Spain, United States and Canada. His paintings are present in art galleries all over the world; as well as with some of the world’s most dedicated collectors.
INDELIBL ART PLATORM LAUNCHES
An online art platform Indelibl that showcases African arts to worldwide audience recently launched in Lagos. The e-commerce platform dedicated to promoting works by African artists is the latest in the art world that is poised to give African artists more traction on the international scene. Founded by Edwin Otta and Adetayo Jinadu, Indelibl aims to empower African artists from around the world, by allowing their work to be more accessible to audiences of all backgrounds.
“There is a growing demand for works by African arts and creative works. The biggest auction houses, from London to New York, such as Sotheby’s and Bonhams, have units dedicated to developing and promoting both contemporary and antique African art works. Works of artists such as El Anatsui, Ben Enwonwu, amongst several others, are selling at record-breaking prices, paving the way for younger artists to follow. Platforms like Indelibl will avail these artists a worldwide audience and commercial appreciation of their works,” said the founders.
Indelibl features a range of products, from original pieces of art to prints, t-shirts and books. Customers are able to purchase original artworks as well as other related items directly from emerging artists. This range captures Indelibl’s mission to make art more accessible and its vision to promote art as a lifestyle. The platform also gives its users exclusive access to exhibitions, book launches, film-screenings and other creative events.
According to the founders, the value of the online market for works of art will be nearly 1.3trillion (US$6.3billion) by 2019, projects Hiscox Online Art Trade Report 2015. Indelibl aims to be part of this huge market by putting unique African voices on the spotlight and allowing their narratives to reach audiences from all over the world. It will offer its artists the opportunity to sell and promote their pieces to a niche audience while proposing affordable premium quality content to its customers and ensure that they have a personalised experience through a social interaction with the artists and their art works.
“Following the launch of our social commerce platform, our next focus would be on building our offline community. By carefully curating live experiences, we will be launching a fresh and exciting series of events celebrating our community,” says Edwin Otta.
The first in the series of such events was Art the Hague, the international contemporary art fair which took place from the 4th – 8th of October. At an exhibition curated by Indelibl, titled ‘In Transition’, visitors explored the qualities of traditional African art in the contemporary context. The focus was on the influences of migration, globalisation and the African Diaspora.
PJAY RECORDS SIGNS ON KIMONO AT LAST
Rub-dub master, Ras kimono who have been on the quite side as a recording act for over four years, is back on the dais and signed on recently by a recording label, PJAY records stationed in Iju area of Lagos State.
The new label owned by Joseph Ighodalo who also pilots PJAY Supermarket and a pal of Kimono for years, pushed out his latest singles –Senseless Killing and Blessed Africa, currently ruling the airwaves.
Kimono according to him, “is one musician whom I have a lot of respect for his creative ability, current affairs and feelings for down toddle persons in the societies. I mean, the people who suffers most any misfortune. For instance, are the unfortunate victims of the Boko Haram sect”.
He maintained that Kimono’s works are vantage collections in all their ramifications, buttressing his stance with his first ever release, “Under pressure” which Ighodalo believes can still grab attention of followers of good reggae music.
Rub-Dub master’s penchant for address societal burning issues like the many killings for Africa, especially Nigerians, with such reckless abandon, lamenting over them and striving to know rationale and justification behind these un ending spillage of innocent blood.
Like somebody who actual known the place of good video in music marketing, Ighodalo pledged to do his best in shooting a video that will tell best the story of Senseless killings and Blessed Africa.
ENTER ROBAZ ENTERTAINMENT
It was indeed a full house at the official launch of Robaz Entertainment, it’s artiste and media parley which took place on Wednesday 8th of November, 2017 at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The event which kicked off in the afternoon had lots of print and electronic journalists in attendance, stakeholders in the industry, comedians, friends and fans of Robor Philip Asiotu, a Dubai-based business mogul and the Chairman/CEO of the brand.
Also, the Manager of the brand, Mong Kalu, fondly known as MONKALS, an actor and a comedian at the press briefing asserted that Robaz Entertainment is set to storm the showbiz world and do great justice to everything entertainment. “Robaz Entertainment is into both music and movie productions as well as glamorous events. We would not leave any stone unturned as far as entertainment is concerned,” he added.
When as this platform of talent discovery in the industry would be able to multitask or shoulder all the responsibilities as promised, Asiotu a music lover right from his childhood assured that he is equal to the task. “The label is not a jamboree. It is strictly an avenue to carve a niche for talents to shine, as well as raise stars. We are really committed to making our dreams come through, and I want people to be on the lookout for our works. We are one hundred percent ready to deliver because we are focused! Music, movies and events are interwoven remember? So, as long as we know our targets, the sky would not even limit us. I believe that this is not an impossible task because even in the western world, it is done that way, so we can still do the same here,” he noted.
Martinz Ega, an artiste who is of course under the label of Robaz Entertainment had a fantastic performance. That was his first performance and it was awesome. Little wonder the young musician said it would not take him much time to blow not minding that the industry is already saturated. “With God on my side and hard work, I would get there. I’m not going to be intimidated at all,” he said, as a matter of fact.
The unveiling proper was done by Ruth Kadiri, a Nollywood actress, Robor Philip Asiotu and his lovely wife and then of course Egos the prince of Wazobia. Ruth Kadiri said a short prayer for the brand when she unveiled it, “this is the beginning of greater things to come, in Jesus name,” she enthused.