AMAKA IGWE: A GIANT WITHOUT COMPLEX

She must have read my centenary award notation on her last Sunday in this column, and laughed wryly while shaking her head: ~ ”Uhnm, this FAJ sef”. A day after she was dead. Amaka Igwe (nee Isaac-Ene).
Dateline: Lagos, Tuesday, April 29, 2014 – 9.36am – got a ‘ping’ from a young friend, Akinwale Oluwaleimu: “Morn sir, is it true that Amaka Igwe is dead?” My wife instantly “re-pinged”: “Nooo, where did you hear that?” He pointed to a blog. But I spoke with one of her staff yesterday, and he the didn’t mention anything like that – my head spoke. We called the fellow, but it merely rang on – no answer. Then, we called a friend, Lekan Onimole who runs TopRadio FM (co-owned by Amaka). After Charles Igwe, the next best person to confirm such is Lekan. The man just took the steering out of my hand by his single plaintive sentence: “We lost her yesterday”. My wife screamed off Lekan’s voice as she flung the telephone across the dashboard. Thank God she wasn’t the driver.
Earlier that day, I had reminded myself to send the second part of my “Centenary Awards” spinoff to the Entertainment Desk of Sun – as today (Tuesday) is my “deadline”. Now, this... Obviously, Amaka’s death (can you imagine, I just sang her praise last edition) has critically affected my flow, and the only reasonable and honourable thing to do is to suspend the “awards” for a special tribute to this truly enigmatic and iconoclastic pride of Nigeria.
The portion on Amaka last week (which I will have to repeat here) was first written late in 1999 as we looked expectantly to the millennium kick-off in a magazine I co-founded two years earlier. Truly, all you read from me about this “spirit” called Amaka are true only to the extent that it is impossible to write all I know about this remarkable woman of untrammelled talents and toughness, great or small details.
I wrote then (and adapted it last week) thus: “As Amaka Isaac-Ene, the young lady stepped into motion picture business with the very ambitious soap on national television - Checkmate. Variously acclaimed and signposted as a bold and glamorous re-awakening of the fond memories slumbering, after the rested Behind The Clouds.
“Now, an Igwe (51 on January 2, 2014) and the creative force behind Moving Movies Ltd., with tentacles in music production, live band management, radio ownership, and TV in the offing, Amaka has packed into two decades what ordinary folks spend a life-lime salivating over. Her works are delicately scripted, professionally produced and enthusiastically received. Which of her works has not been critically applauded? Rattle Snake, Violated, To Live Again and Forever. And who can forget Fuji House of Commotion?
 “With two degrees from two of Nigeria's best universities (Ibadan and Ife) Amaka Igwe has knocked on the door of movie-making and broadcast communication with a knuckle clothed in professional fulfilment and even greater accomplishments. And she's still a ‘kid’!

Amaka Igwe - I often call her MFR (to remind her that she was one of the few that truly deserve the national award). She would always switch on that small smile and wry bemused looks: “Yes FAJ, what is it?” She never wasted word or space in “moving things forward”. I have known and grown fond of Amaka since her Checkmate days. In all these 20 years of professional relationship, the last 14 months had been specially glorious. These last months exploded my admiration and intrigued my imagination about the person, passion and power of Amaka Igwe.
In January of 2013 (her birth month) I intimated her about our dreams for a truly national and professionally grounded gospel music award concept in Nigeria. We had not seen each other for few years. She not only warmly cottoned onto the idea, she repeatedly challenged me on ways to improve and expand the solidifying scaffolds that will sustain and project the award beyond the current promoters in areas of financing, logistics, production finessing and other technical issues. Ever the humanist, she would always remind me to stop thanking her for one act of goodwill or strategic support or the other:  “FAJ, why? I have told you this project is OUR own, Stop thanking me…”. Oh, Amaka Igwe!
Amaka, who had been directing affairs from her home - she could not attend any of our several meetings on account of some health challenge - would demand and receive, and make comments on minutes and reports of many of the meetings. Ten days to the awards, she caused several technically gifted people to buy into the production of the awards – linking up with her colleagues who had studio or television equipment/facility; she gave contacts of others that were not too familiar with her…”FAJ, go and meet them…they will give you what they can…at least, the equipment are just lying there, if they are not in use… Look, no one will refuse to support what you are doing, and they can afford it…).  I always marvel at the uncanny mix of an uncomplicated heart and the fecundity of her mind.
On the day of the awards, Friday, November 8, 2013, I stood at the podium that evening to say something about three women who impacted significantly on the success of the awards (my wife, Gloria Rhodes and Amaka Igwe)… while Amaka sat across the hall, like the godmother of the night at the “console” dishing out instructions on how to get the best shots of the night’s spectacle – perhaps her last major production on earth.
I said: “And over there is the woman whose heart is much larger than her frame – an angelic substance of uncommon matter. She gave her all – her communication medium; her audio and visual studios; her musical band, backlines, sound system and session men; her extensive production equipment; her considerable and significant directorial pedigree… all to MEGA…NOT FREE O… BUT ABSOLUTELY FOR NOTHING…and very handsome “handshake” to bring us close to tears. She is not an apparition…Help me thank God for the life of Amaka Igwe, MFR… and her husband, Charles; and her next-in-command, Lekan Onimole.~
…She merely shook her head indulgently at me, as if to say “This FAJ sef!”
Artistically, Amaka is an intellectual giant. True giants don’t harbour a perplexing complex that makes others overwhelm their subordinates or attempt to intimidate their peers. She would open herself to professional scrutiny – she has a measure of creative ennui that makes her subject her works to severe interrogation by people she holds highly in intellect and artistic capacity. In the 90’s as Isaac-Ene (and even as a young Mrs. Igwe), Amaka would ferret out “hard-nosed” critics who could preview her works and stare her down, if it would improve the quality of her works. Very few of us (apart from me, I know of Okoh Aihe) would receive her scripts or a copy of her work after the first edit, and (sworn to confidentiality and unflinching bluntness in fair scrutiny), you would be asked to “critique” the writings/creations of one of Nigeria’s most fecund literary rising stars.
In surreal eagerness, she would await your comments, arguments or denunciation. And your knowledge and conclusions would, of course, be challenged and contested in shocking pleasant camaraderie… Amaka would never assume she was better; or you were God’s gift to the Muse. Hardworking as nail, she licked her lips in anticipation of healthy wholesome contestations of ideas and passions. Incredible conversationalist!
Of course, Amaka would not suffer fools gladly – and incompetent government officials, corrupt civil servants, unserious yet vociferous colleagues; people who cut corners; business people bent on bending the rules to beat the system…and the list goes on. Of course, Amaka is passionately observed about developing Nollywood vertically and horizontally; she cried for long about the spreading decay that unprincipled charlatanism and disregard for genuine capacity building would inflict on her beloved movie industry. Few weeks to the end of last year, even as she had to repeatedly postpone a major remedial surgical operation in the USA, she held us hostage in her cute home in Ikeja, lamenting and railing against government duplicity across the board; the spiralling disregard for integrity in the creative and marketing processes. Amaka holds surprisingly strong Christian views especially as they concern the true meaning of pastorial care and our shambolic lack of understanding of the Love concept as espoused by the Lord.
A truly illuminating mind in galloping dark landscape. A commanding voice of correction and rectitude. A massive loss to the African pantheon of rarefied talents and charismatic leadership. We have lost a gem.
My dear MFR… Goodnight… Sleep well… I hope to see you on the other side some day… where there will no pain of loss; no despair of departures…and none of this hell of a world.

(First published in FAJ’s Fantasia of Sun newspaper, Sunday, May 4, 2014)

WHO IS THE NEXT SUPERSTAR? – PART 4

FROM KSA TO TUFACE...?

COMPOSITIONAL SKILLS

KSA

This special skill can be found scattered in our earlier thoughts on vocalization and innovation. One of KSA's better known skills is the art of composition. A man for all seasons; he pulls the stuff out of his proverbial sack with the strong support of his reliance on Yoruba folklore, traditions and mores. Every momentous occasion threw up kaleidoscope of imaginations in this creative genie; every self-satisfying transaction with a notable individual pricks his muse-mojo. Check out the mix-grill:  Challenge Cup '67 (his break-through SP in 1968); Col. Benjamin Adekunle, (1968); Akanji Fowope, (1971), Dr. Nkrumah ,'72, Ololu Adenaike, '73; Pa Yohanna Yakubu Gowon, Afai Bawon Ja/Omo Wunmi, Oro Ton'lo, ('75), Late Gen. Murtala Mohammed, (76), FESTAC '77, (1978), Isu Joba Lori Iyan, ('78), Osupa Mi Tole, (1981) - the list is almost inexhaustible.

TUFACE

With five albums, Tuface still has a long way to tread....but the signs are clear that this boy is going to turn a great man, if he continues to work at his craft; if he keeps churning out those well-grounded 'lullabies' and refuses to fall into the steps of the current nonsense that gives the impression that less sense makes more money. His effort in his most recent work, Away & Beyond is quite delightful (I have just found out it was actually released in April of 2012!  And not 2013 as I erroneously reported last week).

LIFESTYLE

Here is the crux of the whole matter. This is where the 'son' looks like a chip off the old block - a true 'offspring' of his musical ‘father’. Without being salacious and unduly infringing on the privacy of the two artistes, we shall have to draw the parallels that show forth the possible 'reasons' why the two songsters share commonalities that beggar belief.

KSA

Even if he does not play music, KSA will be a charmer, a ladies' man. Lithe of stature and coy in disposition, the Ondo born grandfather comes across as one whose weight cannot crush an ant, even if he tries all he can. In the presence of any guest, KSA appears dovish, lavishly respectful and full of graces that hardly can offend. His mien and speech are calm, deliberate without being ponderous. He is self-trained, but has exquisite taste and etiquette. Join all that to his earthy good looks, slender well-toned body frame and dancing eyes... How can such a man escape the grabbing claws of admiring and awe-struck female fans - old and young, home and abroad, coast to plateau? 

Nimble-footed and dexterous on the dance floor, with sex-themed gyrations and such other explicit connotations through songs and dance; it is no wonder that KSA led the tabloids of the 80's and much of the 90's with salacious tales of his alleged escapades, philandering, marital upheavals and all sorts of movie-like manoeuvres in his private relational transactions.

   KSA is alleged to have several women who either have fostered children for him, or strongly claim a portion of his heart. It is difficult to give a number to his women or his children. Once in a no-holds-barred interview with him, I tried to pin him down to a specific number of women in his life; and their corresponding 'fruits'. But like a master pugilist, he danced around the probe, jabbing lightly with humour; feinting left and right with parables, and generally delivering a sucker punch on the strings that you don't attempt to conduct a census of a man's offspring, in his beloved Yorubaland.

  KSA is however a kind-hearted generous benefactor of several families indigent by the demise of their breadwinners or sudden unemployment. Through his KSA Foundation, several are sponsored up to university level (even when he himself missed the opportunity) and still many more hang around his droplets of benevolence; banking on the goodness of a man who has refused to drift from his humble origins. His homes, offices and other interests are largely in the densely populated mainland of Lagos - marking him out as a man with a heart grounded in simplicity, humility, and unforced goodness. These attributes trumpet him as a great man of culture and creativity, flawed sparingly by his intrinsic nature and the exuberance of his talents.

TUFACE

Here is the slowly forming ' dub' side of KSA; an archetype that has almost all the finer textures of the ‘original’, and still working hard to transform into the magnificent replica of the ageing monument.

A staple of the 21st century scandal-mongering tabloids and newspapers, Tuface has carved a niche in notoriety simply by his private peccadillos - a seemingly insatiable knack for siring children through many willing vessels. Though recently married, the songster is noted to have fathered six children by three beautiful women whose idea of procreation planning baffles observers, since they appear to bring forth these little innocents in indiscriminate procession.

  Those who know say Tuface is warm, humble, generous and benevolent - guess who that sounds like?  That may account for the transparent warmth several upcoming singers in the Afropop and Hip-hop genre talk about the influence and impact of Tuface on their careers.

  With his Hypertek Entertainment outfit and other platforms, he has couched and softened the harsh realities of life in many lives and lifted sagging aspirations.

 His decision to stick to one woman echoes a legend's desire to stay-off women few decades ago... But if history has a way of repeating itself; if Tuface, the star of the millennial first decade goes on to consolidate his position in decades to come; his resolve will be sorely tested - as history has shown us.

CONCLUSION:

   In all these ' categorizations’ and 'amplification', the two twinkling stars of different but intertwining eras are still different individuals with distinct personas.

    We are unable to probe further than what we see; or get answers to. Yet, we have enough pointers to indicate that just as profound and relentless as Chief Adegeye dominates the Nigerian music space for so long, and so trenchant; the strapping young adult, Innocent Idibia has the capacity, skill, opportunity and temperament to grasp and guide the flows and ebbs of Nigerian music for the next couple of decades.

   Just check this: In all the “brouhaha”, Tuface has only put out just five albums, in eight years (2004 - 2012)!!  Fast-backwards - in the eight years between 1967 and 1974, King Sunny Ade plundered over 45 short playing discs (roughly equivalent to over 10 modern LPs)!!!

 Oh, long, long way to super stardom!

(First published in Bubbles music magazine Jan/Feb, 2014)

WHO IS THE NEXT SUPERSTAR? – PART 3:

FROM KSA TO TUFACE…?

STAGECRAFT

KSA:

It is not for nothing KSA is adjudged the most charismatic stage performer out of Africa - arguably second only to the inimitable Fela Anikulapo-Kuti - on the 'All-time' list.

  As far back as the mid 1970's, KSA adroitly fused his dexterity on the guitar with dance steps (of both male back-ups and female dancers) alongside innovative injections of high-wired instruments that produced ‘Syncro System’ (1977), Ariya Special (1981), Syncro Feelings (1983), Return of the Juju King (1987). I have had the pleasure of watching KSA in large concerts, private parties and public service ceremonies – the detailed remorseless attention to choreographed steps, synchronized movements and elements of drama in his stage performances remain constant. No show, it appears, is too small to warrant indolence or scant regard.

   It is in pursuit of excellent showmanship that KSA relentlessly searches for injections of melody-enhancers and mood-shakers to take his music to the next levels. Several times in his career, he has been reputed as the first Juju artiste to introduce the pedal-steel guitars, synthesizers, tenor guitar and the wa-wa guitar routines to traditional musical compositions.

TUFACE

My first contact with Tuface as a performing artiste was very disappointing. It was at a Kennis Music Concert held in the Motherlan' (Oregun, Lagos) sometime in 2005 or 2006. His debut had thrown him up as a huge promise worth investing one's time and resources upon - what with his energy-driven intense performance with The Plantation Boiz years earlier.

   Hopping around on the stage with a simple T-shirt carelessly draping his lanky body, with a pair of jean trousers, I think. The young fella with the adorable voice cut a picture of a novice trying excitedly to swallow a giant slice of cake. I remember writing an unusually avuncular article based on that uninspiring performance; advising him to work on his stagecraft, and develop a band that could carry all the nuances of his rhythms and lyrics, while devising a stage presence that will command repeater-attendees....

   Today, I can report that the young man, seven… eight years down the road, has evolved into a substantial entertainer; he has a band and a thriving label company to boot. Though, I doubt he can play any instrument with any level of dexterity, his repertoire of compositions and stage performances, given his lover-boy balladeer image, has drawn many young admirers to him; his stage attires have also slightly tipped higher towards the slant of the care-free generation soaked in expensive accessories.

INNOVATION:

KSA:

The affable King of World Beats (that funny expression of a white man's lack of understanding of a non-Western music composition) is nothing but a totem of innovation. Note his relentless addition to his performance and recording ensemble. Note his trailblazing duets and collaborations with Onyeka (Let Them Say, ‘86), great jazz performer, Manu Dibango (Wakafrika); American super soul singer, Stevie Wonder (Aura, 1984). Who can forget his sojourn to world domination in 1982 after Bob Marley's death? KSA took Nigerian music around the world, playing to international audiences across Europe, America, Asia, etc., on the platform provided by world-acclaimed Island Records and Chris Blackwell. KSA's innovations in the re-construction of a great musical ideology produced two Grammy nominations; soundtracks on American movies, Breathless (1983) headlined by Richard Gere (and a couple of others).  A patient overview of his huge repertoire reveals a restless spirit burdened with the gnawing desire to outflank himself (always) in the next work; and the next, and then the next.

 TUFACE

Blessed with a great voice and a huggable frame, Tuface Idibia commends himself well in the innovative spread of his music. His first two solo productions on the stable of Kenny Ogungbe's Kennis Music (Face 2 Face, 2004 and Grace 2 Grace; 2006) are the best advertisement of the young man's capacity to mesmerize and evoke instinctive romantic connections amongst his listeners. His well-stringed lyrics, the superb jauntiness of his delivery, and the near impeccable musical accompaniment have set standards of contemporary home-groomed R&B or Afropop or whatever is good, unhurried and meaningful music. In True Love, the rehash of One Love, 4 Instance, and the iconic African Queen; the singer stretches himself beyond personal limitations and embraces levels close to superstardom within the frontiers of his own generation. (We are still closely studying his fifth and latest offering, “Away & Beyond” - 2013).

WHO IS THE NEXT SUPERSTAR ? Part 2

FROM KSA TO TUFACE? 

Tips from last edition: “We will ‘attack’ these elements (positive or negative) with such ’conditionalities’ like: ‘Vocalization’ (vocal ability); Stagecraft (or the ‘wow’ability); Innovation (or turn-around-ability); Compositional Skills (Oh! Thou sweet music) and of course, Lifestyle.” That was then; here we go now…

VOCALISATION:

KSA: The King of World Beats is gifted with caressing yet masculine vocal chords that have continued to whet the appetite of lovers of Juju music. His range, flexibility, tonal richness and his especial talent of wrapping traditional lores in contemporary gong-ho style evokes a disarming charm that leaves his fans panting for more.

    More than four decades down the long and harsh road of stardom, KSA has maintained the amazing trick of sounding same, yet feeling different - the litmus test of great vocalists. Listen to KSA's epic lyrics up to the 80's: 'Ally Mekudi' (1968), Mo Gbin La Mi Soko (1970), Afai Ba Won Ja (70's), Ogidan Ko Ni Se Barber (70's), Kile Ni Ase (1975), Juju Music (1982), Sweet Banana (1986) and Let Them Say - ft Onyeka Onwenu (1986).

Tuface: Beyond the pretty face, Tuface’s greatest asset is the power within his voice. The boy can sing! Used to getting free records, tapes and then CD’s from promotion-seeking record companies, agents and artistes, I have for all of my professional life had easy access to Nigerian music pieces. But I have had to go buy a copy of Tuface’s music off the shelves twice. Truly exceptional and confidently deliberate in the delivery of songs that stretch out to your soul… like over-idolized ‘African Queen’ in his 2004 debut (Face 2 Face) and Ifana Ibaga; the sophomore (Grass 2 Grace) yielded ‘As You See Me So’, True Love, 4 Instance, If Love Is A Crime....

There are tweaks of fancy which betray his tendency to ‘over-teach’, or ‘play to gallery’; or ‘join the Joneses’ and hop with the hippies… in songs like 'Implication', U No Holy Pass, Enter The Place (ft Sound Sultan)… which do no credit to his vocal prowess and versatility.

Of course, we cannot stop restating that we are dealing with a music great with works stretching over 120 recorded pieces (i.e. in excess of 1,200 songs) spanning a journey close to 50 years. And a young man whose body of solo works is still under a decade - and mere four albums. So, focus on the interesting similarities - not comparisons, please.

UPPER-HAND:
Perhaps we should ask sociologists or scientists who deal with psychosomatic disorders - the relationship between actions we see on television and how we act in reality. We have lately been disturbed by newspaper reports of rapes, especially involving under-teen victims. Depraved perverts appear to have just realised that our gullible female children, dispossessed by cruel economic mishaps of parents and betrayed by self-serving policies of vagabond politicians, are easy preys to molest, rape and sometime murder.  Have you not seen the metro pages lately? And it is not restricted to urban centres or particular section of the country. This deep-seated shameful underbelly of our society explodes daily on our faces at every desolate corner or abandoned property across the nation. Poor sick men, even accursed grandies feast on adolescents in unchecked regularity.
 Incredulous as it may sound, it is our considered opinion that our current movies may have contributed, to some degree, in this perversion. Have you not seen that rape scenes in our movies have become common and inevitable? To twist their plots or accelerate the conflict or reprimand uncivil acts of our provocatively dressed women, the damaging tool of rape has been applied in all sorts of ways. Often needlessly.
Whatever its dramatic appeal or proverbial reflection of societal problem, our movies have missed their calling nowadays. Most time victims go untreated with scant counselling; rapists move on as if nothing is amiss (it's a man's world after all?) and the endgame does not censure the reprehensible act well enough.
As earlier professed, maybe experts will enlighten us on the correlation between the current pronounced indulgence in rape acts in video works, and the perfidy going on all over our streets.
We advise: Our producers should not merely reflect (or imitate) lifestyles of their society without directorial discretion, they should project the more enduring and ennobling values or actions of our people, and therefore re-programme anti-social elements to look higher than their basest instincts.

LAST SHOT:

This February, we are looking for young and eager-to-learn Volunteers in the running of a unique Music Talent Contest (any genre). Are you in your teens (up till age 26)? Are you a student/undergraduate or unemployed? Do you love Nigerian music? Do you want to learn from the masters how to organise a big entertainment event from zero floor to the penthouse? Since its 75% internet-based, it doesn't matter where you are based, as long as you are a Nigerian who has something good to add.

Start brushing your act - send a note of interest asap to tlsmediang@gmail.com or tlsmediang@yahoo.com and indicate vital statistics (age, sex, current edu-qualification, contact address, location, email add/tel no., skills/knowhow, etc). So, get started!  We'll call/email you for a chat. Only serious interest will be considered.

By: Femi Akintunde-Johnson (first published in Sun of February 16, 2014)

WHO IS THE NEXT SUPERSTAR?

…FROM KSA TO TUFACE?

 After almost a three-month break from the hassles and battles of organising a national music awards, this page is back on steam. Now, our mandate has been expanded - we have been given aa free-role like the deadly creative midfielder in a well-trained football team. Expect the darting runs; the wow-evoking dribbles; spectacular free-kicks, back-breaking assists and of course the occasional sensational foals.

Welcome to FAJ's Blitzy Fantasia - to the place where we don't mince amd look for another name to call a spade - but a damned good spade. Expect anything - entertainment-wise (well, as long as the editor permits), that is). So, bragging over, enjoys these series I've been working on during my "break-time+. And let me have your thoughts and comments.

Fact 1: Mr. Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye (aka King Sunny Ade) - around my adolescent corridor - was the Lord of the Jungle… the centre point of my entertainment romance.

Fact 2: Like him or not, Mr. Innocent Idibia, Tuface/2face/2Baba, etc., has been, arguably, the most dominant minstrel of the past decade and more. As far as my children are concerned, no artiste has more razzle-dazzle than the slender one from the lulling hills of Benue.

 It is quite difficult to argue with them. However, one has seen more stars - more ‘eras’ and more deflowering of great artistic promise and paradise.

We have been a witness to the great iconoclastic mesmerism of Fela’s music and mantra… One had been a ‘sighter’ of the short flight and explosive entree of Kris Okotie into our musical firmament. We were there when a Jide Obi, Felix Lebarty, Nico Mbanga, Sir Shina Peters, Mike okri, Majek Fashek, The Mandators, Ras Kimono, Onyeka Onwenu…stunned the senses with panache and unbridled talent. These names are not footnote in the history of Nigerian Musical talent-spread; they are the august members of an illustrious shortlist of artistes who bewitched us with great debuts and/or sophomores. Men and women who today may be distant and gyrating below your radar - but believe me when I say they pack a giant punch in the annals of Nigerian true musical talents… Fortunately a few of them are still around at the very top of the mountain, pulling strings that reveal their illustrious antecedents… that is, referring to Lagbaja, Femi Kuti - and who else but the effervescent, swashbuckling don of the musical dynasty - King Sunny Ade, KSA.

      For diverse factors, (which is not the focus of this write-up) KSA has remained a blinding lodestar - a continual embarrassment of prodigious talents expressed in seemingly endless dimensions and dynamics. The 67 year-old man with half a century romance with music simply will not be blown away.

    It will seem unfair if it appears we are comparing KSA to Tuface- far be it from me. Not only will it be unfair, it will also be disrespectful and utterly unreasonable. The attention of this article is focused on situating the closest next generation artiste that is best positioned to subsequently command the artistic excellence; stage imagery and fluorescent charisma of KSA, and therefore attain the elder’s quality longevity.

    As many times as I went round the subject with my searchlight, the orb of scrutiny always fell on the gangling man with the innocent face. Using certain criteria, the results show beguiling similarities - even in less flattering scenarios and discriminating circumstances.

    We will ‘attack’ these elements (positive or negative) with such ’conditionalities’ like: ‘Vocalization’ (vocal ability); Stagecraft (or the ‘wow’ability); Innovation (or turn-around-ability); Compositional Skills (Oh! Thou sweet music) and of course, Lifestyle.

Upper Cuts:

It never stops happening; subtitling in Nigerian movies gives me cramps. I bet several others suffer the same "ailment" in utter "-don't-really-care" silence. The biggest culprits are the Yoruba video producers who daily make mockery of their own language, in their pedestrian exertions called "subtitles". I almost convulse in dismay at what a 2-part Yoruba video (Idajo) threw at us recently. Check a snap-shot of brief scene from the drama headlined by Rachel Oniga (Iya Oge) and few notables.

We advise: as much as it is admirable trying to "cross-over" with sequential subtitles for the benefit of non-Yoruba viewers of that type of Nigerian movies, it is counter-productive to explain the nuances of your mother-tongue in such deplorable lack of regard for the rules of grammar to a level that detract attention from the merit of your story and its craft. Be professional - respect your audience and hire people who can "wear" both languages comfortably.

2FACE

By: Femi Akintunde-Johnson - (first publshed in Sun newspaper of APRIL 9, 2014)

KSA