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.
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
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