Friday, April 10, 2009

OLUWE - THE FUTURE OF NAIJA HIP HOP

I don't always do this but it is not every time you hear a truly talented Nigerian artist.if you have not heard oluwe before i suggest you go grab a copy of his album "HAPPY DAY" if you can find it.

Oluwe is like 9ice on steroids(x3).i mean this guy is f*@king awesome.
Listening to his album is like an initiation,the way he brings you into his world without even trying is amazing.he blends apala with hip hop in ways never imagined.
from the first track he shows you he means business & he keeps on doing his thing without following any laid down protocol.dude is a beast on the mic.

Oluwe has got this raspy voice you are bound to fall in love with immediately you hear it,but before i tell you why i think he is the future let me explain to you how i came across this guy.2 or 3 months ago i was at a friend's place & was thumbing through his cd rack when he pulled out oluwe's album & told me to listen to it.i declined immediately cos i hate listening to upcoming artistes as most of them end up being copy cats with nothing to offer.fast forward to 3 weeks ago & i am at the barbershop getting my hair cut and as usual we are talking about everything from football to music when he asked me if i had listened to oluwe.it was at this point i realized i was hearing of oluwe from 2 people who i have great respect for cos of their taste in music.it's not like these guys listen to anything but good music.unfortunately i was in a hurry so i didn't get to listen to it until a week ago at the barbershop,and it was after one week of listening to my copy(i had to get mine) that i finally came to this conclusion.

From start to finish "happy day" is an excursion through the dark mind of Ajayi Olumide (oluwe).The bulk of the 12 track album is produced by samklef,while ad10 & shogun take charge of the rest.the album starts off smoothly with "oronyon" followed by "oluwe mawe"(where he glorifies sensi/ganja/mary j albeit secretly) but the song that takes away all the glory is "my home" where he shows his love for naija by imploring Nigerians in diaspora to come back home and he somehow succeeds in making you believe that Nigeria will be great.Most of his tracks like "pelebe,sare,mr apala & akololo" are heavily infused with metaphors and proverbs,so you will have to keep hitting the rewind button to stay in touch.in whatever way you look at it,oluwe succeeds in passing his message across.

In the midst of all the booty shaking & booty worship going on in the industry,oluwe is a breath of fresh air.what makes him stand out is his ability to make timeless music.he makes music that can be exported.it's music like this that generates cultlike following.

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