Issue 35 // September 2016
Complimentary Issue
Issue 35 // September 2016
NEXT AFROPOLITAN VIBEs SHOW WILL BE ON FRIDAY OCTOBER 21st, 2016 SEE YOU THEN! 1
Issue 35 // September 2016
August 2016 was a record breaking month for us, but not in a good way! The rains came down for the very rst time at an Afropolitan Vibes show. It was always a possibility that our outdoor show could be rained out one day, but that day never came for over 3 1/2 years. Until August. The positive spin is that it demonstrated to us just how much you love Afropolitan Vibes because no-one wanted to leave and we eventually carried on with the snow once the rain grew less heavy, though it never stopped.
This month, we hope for a dry spell as we have a cracking line-up and a very well rehearsed high energy show to showcase four fantastic live performers: Reminisce, Blitz The Ambassador, Megaloh and Tesh Carter.
We hope you all enjoy the show!
We prole our four guest artists: Reminisce, Blitz The Ambassador, Megaloh and Tesh Carter. We feature some of our favourite pictures from the 40th edition of Afropolitan Vibes, which was held on August 19th, 2016.
Editor: Abby Ogunsanya
Cover Picture: Kola King
Guest artist proles: Kola Tubosun, Oris Aigbokhaevbolo, Megaloh & Tesh Carter proles edited from ofcial proles.
Guest artists' pictures: Courtesy of subjects Show pictures: Kola King
Graphic Design: Ayomidotun Freeborn
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Contact and advertising enquiries: info@afropolitanvibes.com Tel: + 234-803-4937094
Issue 35 // September 2016
Reminisce Man, Rapper, Pilgrim by Oris Aigbokhaevbolo Oris lives in Lagos and tweets from @catchoris
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Issue 35 // September 2016
L
ike many boys who grow up to be rappers, the young Remilekun Abdulkalid Safaru listened to a lot of rap music. Like some of the successful ones, his favourites were some of the most acclaimed rappers to hold a mic. Nas, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg. He was also into the more traditional Yoruba genres, fuji and juju. When he was ready to go into music, all of these early music would contribute to one of the most successful hip hop careers in Nigeria. But first, he had to go to school. The boy who would become widely known as Reminisce was born in Kaduna state on 20 January 1981 to Muslim parents. In secondary school, he took part in social activities, perhaps the initial indication of what path his life would take. He then attended Kwara State Polytechnic where he studied purchasing and supply. He wanted to be a rapper but couldn't quite find a way to become one. He sold shoes as he sought a path to a music career. In 2006, Reminisce got an opportunity to record an album after he met ID Cabasa—a producer also important in the career stories of such acts as Olamide, 9ice, Lord of Ajasa and Jahbless. The album didn't hit the stores, and Reminisce took a break from the music scene. Two years later, he was featured on 'Bachelor's Life', a song from the second album from 9ice. This album, featuring the hit title track Gongo Aso, made 9ice a star, and gave Reminisce some publicity. It was the first step into launching a now enviable career. 9ice paid back the favour by featuring on Reminisce's own 'Ever Since'. It is recorded as his first single; it was his second, 'If Only', that would turn the listening public to this rapper from Ogun state. While 'Ever Since' was autobiographical, 'If Only' was notable for something else: Reminisce sang on the song. Not only could he rap, he could sing passably in the style of the fuji and juju acts. In the future both his rapping and his
singing would feature on his albums. The first of those albums was released in 2012. Titled 'Book of Rap Stories', the album was in the works since 2010. He received some production from Sarz, with whom he formed an artistic partnership that has seen them work on a number of songs. At this point, Reminisce was still hunting for a breakthrough jam. It duly arrived in the form of 'Kako Bii Chicken'. The song became a hit. The salacious song '2mussh' would concretise his promise. Reminisce was now on his way. “If you must follow the internet noise then 'Kako Bii Chicken' is not a big song,” Reminisce has said about his street appeal. “They said it was rubbish but the song was huge on the street…I have three big songs on the album—'Kako Bii Chicken, 2mussh, If Only'—coupled with some not too popular ones and with over 300,000 CDs sold.” By late 2013, Reminisce released Alaga Ibile, his most acclaimed album. With guest spots filled by Davido, Wizkid, Naeto C and regular collaborator Sossick, the album was wellreceived commercially and critically. It announced the arrival of a major rapper. It earned the rapper a place on a Time magazine feature, “World Rappers You Should Meet”. The album yielded the collaborative singles viz 'Daddy' with Davido, 'Government' with Olamide and Endia, 'Turn it Around' with Sossick and 'Eleniyan' with Wizkid—all mostly finding an enthusiastic
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audience. The album was inescapable on the streets in 2014. Reminisce was now ready for another studio work. Baba Hafusa, named for one of his two daughters, was released in 2015. The album housed the celebratory hit tune 'Local Rappers'. With verses from Olamide and Phyno, the song announced Reminisce's ascension. It is perhaps the most important song Reminisce has released in his career. The song marks the moment when rappers using local languages recognised they are central to the culture. Even with his work ethic, Reminisce sounds unbelieving of his success on 'Local Rappers'—and yet certain he deserves it. This unlikely mix gives the song part of its charm. The song took the best collaboration award at the Headies. Reminisce has signed a deal with Samsung and the drink Orijin. The ďŹ rst in 2014; the other in 2015. His fourth album, El-Hadj, was released in 2016. The title refers to the pilgrimage a Muslim has to embark on. Mr Safaru is yet to embark on his. But in a way, he has been on a pilgrimage since that meeting with ID Cabasa. He may not have reached rap's mecca, but what a voyage it has been.
Twitter: @IamReminisce
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Issue 35 // September 2016
Blitz
Culture Warrior by Kola Tubosun Kola lives in Lagos and tweets from @baroka
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Issue 35 // September 2016
I
n one recent musical video, a young black girl on the streets of what looked like New York seemed traumatized when her father was suddenly taken away by a team of detectives for whom he was an informant. They had threatened them with deportation when he appeared to resist their suggestion that he come help them identify some illegal dealers, and the scene set up what looked like a confrontation that might end in some form of tragedy.
What followed was a series of scenes where the girl was shadowed around town by what looked like an ancestral Ghanaian spirit in the form of a masquerade. Both of them began to dance. At the climactic scene of the video, they danced in sync on the road, while blocking the vehicle that was taking her father away. That achieved the aim of preventing the tragedy, though another one happened as a result. No spoilers. The song for which the video was made is called “Shine”. It is a moving rap song, written by Blitz the Ambassador. It is until one reaches the credits for the video that one discovers that he is also the director of the highly enchanting work. The more one discovers about Blitz, the more his story unfolds as one of a dynamic cultural voice on an upward path. He's an MC, composer, producer and video director, born Samuel Bazawule in Ghana in 1982, and who has called New York home for the last 16 years. Music reviewer and editor at Afropop.org, Banning Eyre, says you won't find many more wholesome rap records than his latest work, Afropolitan Dreams. That is probably because his work - audio and video - embodies a new type of mosaic that blends his African roots with an international outlook and sounds in a stimulating hybrid. It includes collaborations with Nneka, Seun Kuti, Angelique Kidjo among others, in what has been described as “an overall masterful meshing of hip-hop, Afrobeat and reggae”. As a true musical ambassador, what he brings to his work is an energy that delights
more than just the hearing senses. The style on the above-referenced video moves smoothly between hip-hop, Afrobeat, a type of funk. The language is that of hardcore rap peculiar to the United States and informal street slangs of Africa's urban areas. The theme and the lyrics of the song “Shine my light” point to something more: a defiant yet aspirational piece sticking itself in the face of the world, asking to be recognised. In another video called “Running”, the experimental hybrid theme continues with a Caribbean tune, and a plot in which the practise of African traditional religion triumphs against the bullying of modernity. The video, also directed by Blitz, was shot in Salvador, Bahia. The song and the video pay homage to the power of Africa's ancient beliefs. Many of the music videos accompanying his songs give he impression of a creative genius in pursuit of something more, something different from the common, something celebratory of the unique value in one's cultural heritage. Blitz graduated from Achimota School in 2000, and was first recognized by producer Hammer of The Last Two who put him on his first record. That track won him an award for best new artist at the 2000 Ghana Music Awards. In 2001, he moved to the United States to study Business Administration at Kent State University in Ohio. It was there that he developed his skills as a live artist, opening for iconic rappers such as Rakim. He also recorded a self-released album, Soul
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Issue 35 // September 2016
Rebel, in 2004. After graduation, he moved to New York City where he recorded another album, Double Consciousness (2005). His most recent work is Stereotype, a live-instrumentheavy musical exploration which he says “tests the limits of Hip Hop�. His band is called The Embassy Ensemble. In late 2009, Blitz was chosen as of one Beyond Race Magazine's "50 Emerging Artists." In 2015, he received the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Contemporary Music. His hard work and reputation has earned him deserving interest at NPR, Ebony, OkayAfrica, and a number of global publications of note. Words won't do justice to the energy that pulsates in his work stamping him as a unique musical ambassador on the path to recognisable greatness. His oeuvre of work does that much more convincingly. But knowing that the mind that created this brilliance still has more gems to delight us with is perhaps the most satisfying reality of all.
Web: http://blitz.mvmt.com Twitter: @BlitzAmbassador
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Issue 35 // September 2016
The Real Megaloh 12
Issue 35 // September 2016
G
erman Rapper Megaloh is in Nigeria to perform three concerts this month: accompanied by German DJ and producer Ghanaian Stallion. The first gig will be our show Afropolitan Vibes where he will perform on the main stage with the 13-piece Bantu collective. On September 17th, the Goethe-Institute Lagos plays host on their rooftop for Megaloh and Ghanaian Stallion, featuring rapper POE and DJ Afrologic. Doors open at 7 pm and entrance is free!
a kind of rainmaker himself. He brings hope for a new era in German hip-hop. His album “Endlich Unendlich” (2013) entered the Top 10 of the national album charts. He has played loads of concerts, he has been cheered by thousands of people music festivals, and went on a Unplugged concert tour with his mentor, rapper-turned-songwriter-andpopstar Max Herre. “Endlich Unendlich”. He has changed lives: his own and those of many listeners. With his last album “Regenmacher” (VÖ: 04.03.2016), he lived up to the huge expectations — and went directly to number 2 on the German charts. "With this album, a circle is completed for me. When I started out, it was mostly about fulfilling my own standard as a rapper. With 'Endlich Unendlich', I wanted to finally tell my story. With this album, I bring both aspects together." This is the true strength of today's Megaloh: He does not only know how to tell stories, but also how to translate them into instantly electrifying music.
On Sunday September 18th, Megaloh and Ghanaian Stallion travel to Abuja to perform the last concert as the Nile Place and Cube Café in Maitama open their courtyard for the two and the Abuja audience. Supported by the Krump Dance Crew, Megaloh will bring German rap music to Abuja for the very first time. The Abuja concert is also set in a special context: Sunday, September 18th, is the last day of the Climate Diplomacy Week, held by partnering EU Embassies in Abuja. A recycling collection point will be set up at the concert venue for people to bring their empty plastic bottles and cans to set a sign against environmental pollution. There is no doubt that after these three concerts, the Nigerian audience will be familiar with Megaloh's unique brand of German hip-hop music. So who is Megaloh the man? Well, Megaloh is a German rapper with a special relationship with Nigeria: He is part Nigerian and has reconnected with the Nigerian music and culture since visiting the country in 2012. His latest album is called "Regenmacher" - "rainmaker." The rainmaker is a symbol of hope. He can get flowers blossoming after a period of drought, new life where there hasn't been any before. He knows he may as well fail — and that's why he needs to believe in his own success more than anybody else. With his music, the Berlin based rapper Megaloh has turned into
Everyone who has seen Megaloh perform becomes a fan immediately. We are confident he will perform the same magic on the Afropolitan Vibes audience. His unmistakable stage presence, the connection between audience and artist, his powerful being — Megaloh is what many are trying to be but only a few really achieve: A true live MC.
www.megaloh.de Twitter: @TheRealMegaloh
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Issue 2016 Issue 35 35 // // September August 2016
Tesh Carter Artist on the rise
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Issue 35 // September 2016
T
eshoma Jacqueline Omagbitse popularly known as Tesh Carter is a singer/ song writer and performing artist. Tesh's career has been on an upward trajectory since she first came into the limelight in 2011 with the release of 'In The Air' - her first official single released by Capital Hills Record. The single featured her then label mate Chidinma.
Like Chidinma, Tesh Carter is petite and both have very strong voices. Following on from success of the single were notable releases such as the 'Omo Naija Remix' by Phenom, 'Money' by Yung6ix and 'Ain't Nobody' by Jesse Jagz. Tesh has honed her craft working with top producers such as Don Jazzy, Legendury Beatz and Jesse Jagz. Her departure from Capital Hill Records in early 2014 was followed by her signing with Illnostro Records in 2015. Her first official single 'Kilofe' under new label was released in July 2015 and visuals released early that December. She soon followed up with a very impressive cover to Drake's Hotline Bling. Tesh's sound can be described as very versatile and that's what makes her stand out amongst other artistes. She juggles genres from rap to Afrobeat to dancehall to RnBand many more. Indeed a multitalented artiste. She is one rising female star to look out for!
Twitter: @TeshCarter
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AUGUST 2016 Edition
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