In recent times, there has been a subtle change in the Nigerian Hip Hop scene. Gone are the days when rappers had to rhyme in ‘Queen’s English’ to ensure that their music gets accepted. A new breed of rappers is really taking over. Call them ‘indigenous rappers’ or what not; one thing is clear. They have, indeed, re-invented Nigerian Hip Hop. Henry Igwe shares his view. Enjoy and muse over it.
A lot of persons claim that Hip-hop in today’s Nigerian music industry is broken and not much of a force to reckon with anymore. I’m not one of them. I say Nigerian Hip-hop is effervescent as we speak, boasting some of the biggest singers in the country in an era where Pop holds sway. Think of artistes like Ice Prince, Olamide, Reminisce and Phyno. Clarity should come. Let’s not even add MI Abaga to the list.
We are in a new space altogether, one where excuses of Hip-hop being a ‘hard sell’ would most likely fall on deaf ears, owing to the obvious commercial viability of the genre as we speak. In spite of this, several singers have failed to do the needful, failed to adapt and move with the times, hence their considerable difficulties with shifting units. They have themselves to blame for the downturns in their records.
Anyways, in terms of doing Hip-hop with the consumers in mind, Falz is, perhaps, one of the greatest on the scene today. He switches flows as quick as a horse can trot; interlacing every rhyme with indigenous, humour-laden sweetness. Such mastery of the art. He understands the concept of adaptive innovation, which we must respect. This respect ensures that we do not dampen what is an exquisite set of skills in the Falz oeuvre, owing to his not selling out the most shows today.
Another notable player we should take active interest in is Olamide. The kid definitely understands his grind, we must do well to acknowledge.
Then there is Reminisce, one of the most consistent Nigerian rappers in the last 18 to20 months. The man knows his onion, definitely. We witnessed him in his pomp in the single Local Rappers, a recent collaboration featuring Phyno and Olamide, where he took the lead and directed the course of things for the other two to hit a proper crescendo. The chorus on the cut is particularly good to hear.
Phyno is… what do we call him? I guess ‘beast from the East’ suffices. Young man, virile, driven and all; he spots a space in the market and sets up shop to service the loopholes – which explains why he is this sought-after today. It’s laudable, as well as understandable how he raps in the Igbo dialect and maintains the entire buzz. It’s really laudable. Interestingly, if I were in his place I’d do the exact same thing.
Judging, therefore, from all these points, clearly, things have changed in Nigerian Hip-hop. With Falz, Remi, Ola and Phyno being the major headline-makers, it is obvious how much power has shifted hands in rap down here.
However, the problem with the ‘intelligentsia’ of Nigerian Hip-hop, the very ‘erudite class’ – who, with all their ‘wordplay and brilliance’ never get major portions of the cake – is that they put out unfitting bodies of works for a consuming class that they do not exactly monopolise. The era when Eedris Abdulkareem and company did shoddy work and sold out was one in which artistes had considerable monopoly on the buyers. Same era gave birth to Rugged Man. This was before MI entered the scheme [of things]. With MI and Talk About It in 2004, there were signs that the game was changing. And for good too. There were introductions from outside the elitist Mode9 flows to the radical Rugged Man bars and then the weak Eedris Abdulkareem huff and puffs.
But in all, Jude Abaga still stays relevant today because he understands the art as much as he sees the need to satisfy craving fans and pundits alike. This is key to everything which show-business is about today. The very act of being able to make money off the art. This consistency through Talk About It, MI2 and, most recently, The Chairman, is what ensures that Abaga is one of the most adept MCs to have breathed air into a mic in this part of Earth.
Summarily, Nigerian Hip-hop has changed. The ‘intelligentsia’ has no hold on things anymore. Not like they ever really did. Acts like Godwon, Mode 9 and company had better modify their approaches to the business or go home. You see, their incongruence is like getting on a flight with the enemy and then opening fire. Problem is, they don’t realise how awkward this is, as the minute a bullet hits the window, the plane starts to depressurise and that’s the end of everything. Who woulda thought, with all that ‘intelligence’, they wouldn’t know this? This being said, the answer to making a name today in the Nigerian rap business is simple – stay focused and grind but, above all, connect with the consuming class. Better still, eLDees’ line from the album Return of The King is something rappers today could use. The part where he says: “It ain’t about the metaphors you spit, if you can’t connect with your peoples, Nigger, you still ain’t shit!”
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