ALBUM REVIEW-REBIRTH-JAHBLESS

Rebirth introduces you to one of the most known unknowns in the naija music industry.jahbless has been around for a long time and is definitely not a newbie as one might think.for his debut album on yes records,he enlists reminisce,seriki,G dog,SV,durella,banky w,pype,ID cabasa & lord of ajasa.on the 14 track album,production is handled by SAS and labelmate/friend ID cabasa.

Jahbless jumpstarts the album with good morning,which is more like the intro.everything is a smooth ride from there on with songs like the id cabasa produced "street rules" and "di dada" where he features reminisce until you hit speed bumps like the durella assisted "kaka koon" which somehow manages to be boring."yiwo saun" steadies things a little bit and banky w lends him a helping hand on "the one",but he fails miserably at his attempt at a club banger on "rock the party".

The album ends on on a great note as he kicks into overdrive on tracks like "oni temi",the creative & inspirational "ur time",the mellow "hang over" with id cabasa and "jooor" with lord of ajasa.even though his name sounds like that of a reggae artiste,jahbless is not one and there are no reggae influences on this album.infact he is to naija R&B what lord of ajasa & da grin are to naija rap.

Rebirth is a solid effort as jahbless's potential,creativity & talent is there for all to see.yes records clearly made a good choice in signing him.the only notable flaw or disadvantage on this album is the language as majority of the tracks are in yoruba.every other thing is on point from the delivery to the production.

RATINGS-6/10

PLAY-oni temi,street rules,jooor,hang over,the one
SKIP-kaka koon,rock the party

NOMINEES FOR 9JAHIPHOP AWARDS

9JAHIPHOP AWARDS

Here are the nominees for the 9jahiphop awards, the first of its kind. We have 20 categories covering everything that needs to be covered. This is the best and most sincere awards you are ever going to see in Nigeria. Y’all know how we do on this blog. we set trends and you follow our leads. Our panel of judges will decide who wins in each category so your vote doesn’t count, which explains why we don’t have a vote link, but feel free to start one somewhere else. The winners will be announced whenever we decide before the year runs out.

Note to the nominees-don’t sleep on this, you just might get a plaque sent to you or your manager/record label.(I am not promising you anything)

Note to the others-don’t trip, no hard feelings alright. we have heard your songs/albums but it just happens that someone else is better than you. better luck next year.

STREET SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Igboro ti daru-Klever jay/Eedris
Ko gbadun-Dat nigga raw/Duncan mighty
Collabo-Deebee
Oluwe mawe-Oluwe

BEST R&B SONG BY DUO OR GROUP
Tinkonko-Plus one
South African girl-Sleek/ID cabasa
Yori yori-Bracket
Pass me your love-Ay.com/Terry G

BEST RAP SONG BY DUO OR GROUP
Too fine-Kel/Alaye/May D
Sample-Terry da rapman/Pherowshuz/Stereoman
Da finest-Knighthouse/Sauce kid/Teeto
Make doe-Da grin/dark poet

BEST COLLABO
You bad-Wande coal/D banj
Big boy-Eldee/Olu maintain/Banky W/Oladele
In love with an angel-Dat nigga raw/TJ
Aiye po gan-Illbliss/Terry G

R&B SONG OF THE YEAR
Taboo-Wande coal
Iam in love-Faze
Not the girl-Dare art alade
Yori yori-Bracket

RAP SONG OF THE YEAR
Banging-Ruggedman
Safe-M.I/Djinee
Pon pon pon-Da grin
Aiye po gan-Illbliss/Terry G

GOSPEL SONG OF THE YEAR
Kokoroko-Kefee/Timaya
For my life-Rooftop mcs/Suspect
Morile-Bouqui
Run with you-lara george/lord of ajasa

ALTERNATIVE SONG OF THE YEAR
Sobolation-Lagbaja
Yankuli yah-Timaya
Oluwe mawe-Oluwe
Osondi owendi-MC loph

CLUB BANGER OF THE YEAR
Shayo-Bigiano
Free madness-Terry G
Fokasibe-Dj zeez
Hotter than fire-Sheyman/Dr pat

SONG OF THE YEAR
Yori yori-Bracket
Free madness-Terry G
Fokasibe-Dj zeez
Taboo-Wande coal

R&B ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Undareyted-Dare art alade
Mushin to mohits-Wande coal
Least expected-Bracket
Mirage-Sleek

RAP ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Talk about it-M.I
The investment-Kel
Everything remains raw-Dat nigga raw
Chief executive omoita-Da grin

ALTERNATIVE ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Saxophone mood-Yemi sax
Happy day-Oluwe
Paradise-Lagbaja
Gift & grace-Timaya

GOSPEL ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Redefinition-Bouqui
A piece of me-Kefee
God's business-Pelumi

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Talk about it-M.I
Mushin to mohits-Wande coal
Undareyted-Dare art alade
Everything remains raw-Dat nigga raw

MIXTAPE OF THE YEAR
09-09-09-Modenine
Illegal music-M.I
Get money,stay fly-Beazy
The joe spazm mixtape-Terry da rapman

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Strong thing-Banky W
South African girl-Sleek/ID cabasa
Strong & mighty-Dat nigga raw/Dekumzy/Flavour
Enter the place-Tuface

ALBUM COVER OF THE YEAR
Mushin to mohits-Wande coal
Pin no 9 10 11-Sunny neji
Paradise-Lagbaja
The investment-Kel

BEST NEW ARTIST
M.I
Kel
Oluwe
Mo cheddah

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
Don jazzy
Terry G
Sheyman
Dekumzy

MOUTH TO MOUTH

Just when i was beginning to think that it was a wrap for the ladies in the industry,some of them rose to the occassion and held on to their spot.although not all of them excelled,we really have to applaud and appreciate them for their efforts.at the start of this year,the menfolk had the game in a chokehold and the ladies were reduced to mere spectators.it was so bad that i had to declare a state of emergency,but as the ladies game slipped into a coma,these young and vibrant women gave it mouth to mouth resuscitation.

KEL-Of all the sistas that dropped albums or singles this year,kel made the most notable impact.her album "the investment" is one of the best rap albums of this year.all her singles did reasonably well on the charts and her videos were also a delight to watch.with the way she has started,its just a matter of time before she starts bringing plaques home.

OMAWUNMI-After her single "in the music" failed woefully,she went back into the studio and came back with the eldee assisted "ma fi mi shere" which is already gaining momentum.it is pretty difficult to say she had a good year but she didn't have a bad year either.

MO'CHEDDAH-For someone who was totally unknown at the beginning of the year,the first lady of knighthouse has come a long way as she is now part of the big picture.her hook on the knighthouse single "the finest" initially endeared her to our hearts but it is on her own single "if you want me" where she shows us just what she is capable of.

WAJE-We were all expecting something special from the guest appearance specialist waje.But it turns out that truly,empty barrels make the most sound as her single "kolo" fell short of the mark.this kinds of takes away some of her shine but her cameos,most notably on illbliss & kel's albums keep the dream alive.

BOUQUI-2009 was the year bouqui redefined herself,everyone had been waiting for her to release her sophomore album and when she did,she didn't dissapoint.fuelled by the smash single "morile" her album "the redefinition" became an instant collectors item.
the success of her album goes to show that quality is always in demand and appreciated.

SASHA-Just when you start thinking sasha will end the year with a whimper,she comes out with a bang.with competition at an all time high this year,sasha did what any reasonable person will do when the stakes are high.she stepped up her game by teaming up with dama do bling on "put it down",the first single from her sophomore album "sasha speaks" & she also dropped "making money" to prove to everyone that she was still a force to be reckoned with.

KENNY ST BROWN-It was an iya oni gba moment when i saw kenny st brown in the video for her single "turn around" with da grin.KSB will never give up,you have to admire her courage.to say i was shocked is an understatement,infact i was dumbfounded.haba!!!!!madam,at what age now?

AZEEZAT-Azeezat is actually a good singer.you will notice this once you can overlook her looks.her song "ife" is a testament to her vocal capabilities.although she got slept on,it will be terribly unfair not to praise her for her efforts.

ESSENCE-I must confess that i didn't see this coming.when anyone tells you that you can't write anybody off,they most probably have essence on their minds.out of nowhere,to the astonishment of everybody,this kennis music songstress dropped her hot single "kalangolo" & even shot a video for it.we really have to respect her tenacity and applaud her for a job well done.

WEIRD MC-By now,weird mc knows that she will never drop another album like "after the storm",but that has not stopped her from getting her groove on & putting in work in the studio,which resulted in the release of 2 singles "riranwo" & "step up" which were quite okay by all standards.iam still waiting on the album to see if she has got something better lined up.

BEEF ALERT 2

On a more serious and sober note,ain't you all getting tired of all these disses released by some unknown artistes targeting major artistes.some good examples are nico gravity's "i wan finish timaya" & henry x's no danger targeting timaya & p square respectively.personally i do not approve of all this,not because i don't like beef(iam not a vegetarian) but because sometimes it is totally wrong.this was the same problem i had with ruggedman when he released ehen pt 1.the question is how do you come out of nowhere without a single good song and start dissing established acts.this has got to stop.
Shouldn't there be a rule that if you are yet to have an album or a top ten hit,you can't diss someone who has.at least that would make the industry a better place.based on this rule,kelly hansome gets a pass for his diss cos he actually has an album and a couple of good songs too.although if i was in don jazzy's shoes,i would be smacking the living daylights out of that boy.you can't call yourself a don and keep getting disrespected."igwe kom kom" was directed at his 2 major artistes & he ain't doing shit,what sort of a don is that?this time it is kelly hansome,next time it might be danny young,klever jay or one of these young cats.
Contrary to popular belief,silence isn't always the best answer,sometimes violence is always a better option.if don jazzy wants to take care of his business,he should let killz handle kelly hansome.i always thought they needed more muscle in mohits thus their signing of killz.dr sid is more of a yung joc than a young jeezy,and it won't do WC & Dbanj's image any good if they get their hands dirty.so he should just let killz be the enforcer(dude looks like he has more brawn than brains & it will boost his street credibility).
This whole beef thing will keep spinning out of control until something tragic happens,like someone getting stabbed or shot.would that be really bad?i don't think so.it might even be a step in the right direction.most of this cats are so corny and unbelievable,for example isolate,whose only claim to fame is that he sounds like 9ice and you can still hear him dissing 9ice subliminally.no disrespect,but without 9ice there would be no isolate.iam tired of hearing this nameless idiots dropping half assed diss tracks every week.someone please do something about this,i mean on a bang bang,good riddance to bad rubbish level.

POISONED PEN 4

Shouldn't we be worried about wande coal's expanding waistline?

Is the word swagger being over used?

Has kel's album "the investment" ended sasha's reign?

On that note,what effect will da grin's album "CEO" have on lord of ajasa's career?

When ruggedman & faze finally release their long awaited collabo album,will they call it "best of both flops"?

Won't weird mc be tempted to steal some of centage superstar contestants's ideas & concepts?

Doesn't kelly hansome's diss track stink of desperation and jealousy?

Is "if i catch you" OD's idea of going commercial?

Am i the only one who thinks lil jojo is better than most of our rap artistes?

Are naija artistes PDPing MAMA,or how do we explain some recent awards that we won?

When will saucekid release his album?

Isn't it wrong for naija secular artists to be featured on gospel songs?

Apart from olu maintain's friends & immediate family,who else bought his arab money album?

Is it me or does M.I's new hairstyle make him uglier than he really is?

Has Djinee finally seen ego?

Don't you feel embarrassed whenever you see your favorite artistes jumping on stage with all their family,friends & well wishers to recieve awards?

Why should our artistes face off playing basketball,wouldn't football have been a better option?

On MI's next album,wouldn't it be appropriate for him to have a song titled short fat boy?

Isn't it hard to believe that dj tee directed essence's "kalangolo" video?has he finally lost his touch?

Will 36 states have to change his name everytime a new state is created?

Doesn't naeto c's "ako mi ti poju" remind you of dem franchize boiz's "i think they like me" whenever you hear it?

What will midnight crew do without pat?

TALK IS CHEAP 8

People say i talk too much but i don't think so.if i don't talk,what else should i do?dat na why i get mouth now.

MUSIC TALK
Kash 11 preparing for album release.

HHP(south african act) just signed a management deal with storm 360 to cover Nigeria & the west african region.

Eedris abdulkareem is headed back to kennis music.

Isolate just hit the streets with "my turn".

Omawunmi has got a new single "ma fi mi shere" featuring eldee

Durella also recently dropped a new song "my life" off his forthcoming album which may or may not be titled "the ginger is constant".

P square just got dissed over their own beat by henry x with "no danger".

VIDEO TALK
Timaya really impressed me with the video for his hit single "i don blow".it is not really spectacular but it is more than you would expect from timaya.

It felt good seeing naija artistes together on the ovation red carpet theme song "christmas in lagos" video.the song which was produced by OJB features omawunmi,olu maintain,wande coal and others.

If you haven't watched the video of maye hunta's "ekaete".endeavor to do so or at least listen to the audio.it is actually a really good song.

Kenny st brown's "turn around" video is also a video you should watch.da grin is on that one and the visual is easy on the eyes.the same cannot be said of her labelmate's video.

Essence's video for her "kalangolo" single is abysmal to say the least.iam not even supposed to be talking about it.listen to the song though.

IN THE NEWS
Eldee is now officially a father after his wife dolapo was delivered of a baby girl.

Reggae buddies rhymzo & 3gga are beefing over who owns the credits of their collabo "satisfy me".

iNAIJA

This one is just to celebrate Nigerian hiphop's online presence,for all those who are repping the green white green on the worldwide web.i have put together the top 5ive websites holding it down for naija hiphop online.there is no order to my list so if you are on number 1,2 or 3 don't get carried away it means nothing,what really matters is that you made it into the top 5.here we go

1.www.duduradio.com
Duduradio has been here for so long and to everyone's suprise is still here.what the folks over there do mainly is stream music.they have a vast library containing almost all albums released by every major Nigerian artist you can think of in the last couple of years.if you want to listen to any Nigerian album especially past albums that cannot be found elsewhere.

PROS
-Massive collection of music albums across all genres.
-Paid downloads.
CONS
-Infrequent updating of library.
-No exclusives.

2.www.werunthings.net
I know that most people wouldn't agree with me on this one but this website is actually good in exposing upcoming artistes and they do come up with the occassional gem(music videos,downloads & news) every now and then.to be frank,they are not really good in anything in particular.all they do is a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

PROS
-Music videos.
-Entertainment news.
CONS
-Inadequate downloads
-Not user friendly(site navigation is poor)

3.www.notjustok.com
This website is a true hiphop website.They specialise in breaking new artistes,dropping exclusives & informative features.they are also quite good with entertainment news & gists.on this site,you will definitely hear music you can't find anywhere else & watch videos that you will never see anywhere else again.

PROS
-Good features
-Exclusives
-Entertainment news
-Interviews
CONS
-Inadequate downloads
-Poor album reviews

4.www.bellanaija.com
bellanaija cannot be totally classified as an hip hop website as they run the entire entertainment gammut from fashion,movies,tv to showbiz but they do offer entertainment news,music videos and audio.their events coverage is first class so you get pictures from awards,concerts,reality shows e.t.c

PROS
-Music videos.
-First class events coverage.
-Entertainment gist/showbiz gossip.
CONS
-Jack of all trade,master of none.
-No exclusives
-No downloads
-No album reviews
-Poor features

5.www.nigerianhiphop.net
Now this is a purely hip hop site as the name implies.here you get album previews & reviews,interviews,news,exclusives,videos e.t.c they even offer free downloads.actually iam tempted to say this is the best Nigerian hiphop website around but their album reviews are way below expectations plus i don't want anybody catching feelings.

PROS
-Free downloads
-Music videos
-Entertainment news
-User friendly
-current and consistent
CONS
-Poor features/articles
-Unreliable album reviews

TALK IS CHEAP 7

When i say talk is cheap,i don't mean like a free night call(which is quite expensive considering the fact that you lose sleep and waste time that can't be recovered).now is not the time to tell you what i mean by talk is cheap cos time is money.i would rather get down straight to business.some people say i talk too much(i wouldn't know),its just that like the rest of you,i get mouth(mo lenu pa).on a more serious note let me bring you up to speed.

MUSIC TALK
Talking of speed,zaaki adze is getting ready to relaunch his career by dropping a new album titled "speed".eldee is featured on the first single from the album.

Timaya recently dropped a new single titled "plantain boy".

9ice is also gearing up for the release of his album "tradition".the first single from the album "energy" is already in rotation.

2shotz just released a song "make some noise" featuring MI,which will be on his highly anticipated album "iam william".(good look)

Styl plus planning to release album.(who cares)

VIDEO TALK
DJ zeez will be releasing a video compilation for some of his songs which include the smash single "fokasibe" & "bobbee fc"

The NMVA(Nigerian music video awards) is really not an award i approve of but that won't stop me from giving you the lowdown on what went down.let's see......these are the people i saw over there.keke & d1,lil jojo,seun kuti,wande coal,MI,jesse jags,ice prince,basket mouth,deji falope........do i really have time for this?NO!!!.
here are the winners

BEST AFRO HIP HOP VIDEO
Mo hits – Ten Ten

BEST GOSPEL VIDEO
Kefee – Kokoroko

BEST R&B VIDEO
Darey – Not The Girl

BEST USE OF ANIMATION IN A MUSIC VIDEO
Holy Mallam – Somebody Say

BEST PRODUCER OF A MUSIC VIDEO
Soul Muzik

BEST MAINSTREAM HIP HOP VIDEO
M.I - Safe

BEST DIRECTOR
Mex ( Safe – M.I)

BEST USE OF SPECIAL EFFECTS IN A MUSIC VIDEO
M.I – Safe

BEST AFRO POP VIDEO
D’banj – Mo Gbono Feli Feli

BEST HIGHLIFE MUSIC VIDEO
Mc Loph – Osondi Owendi

BEST USE OF COSTUME
Darey – More

MOST PROMISING DIRECTOR
Gbenga Salu

BEST REGGAE DANCEHALL VIDEO
Frank D Nero – Cure My Craze

BEST CONTEMPORARY AFRO MUSIC VIDEO
Bracket – Yori Yori

BEST FUJI
Ayuba

BEST USE OF CHOREOGRAPHY
Freewindz – Tolotolo

BEST INDIGENOUS CONCEPT
Benita – We Ose

BEST AFROBEAT MUSIC VIDEO
Seun Kuti - Many Many Things

BEST NEW VIDEO
Jaywon – Filebe

MOST POPULAR NIGERIAN MUSIC VIDEO IN EUROPE
May7even – Take off my clothes

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Mo Gbono Feli Feli – D’banj ( Sesan)

BEST FUJI
Ayuba


IN THE NEWS
DR SID & MOHITS
Word on the street is that dr sid is about to be shown the exit door from mohits.he has reportedly been downgraded to back up vocalist since ikechukwu's arrival.Don jazzy says they need only one rapper on mohits and as bad as killz is,he is a better option,so dr sid is surplus to requirements.

9JAHIPHOP AWARDS
Here comes the mother of all awards.as the year is drawing to a close,i think it will only be right that i have my own awards to crown all those other awards.the list of nominees will be out soon.watch out/stay tuned or just do whatever you have to do till i get back to y'all.

THE HUNGER FOR MORE

Incase you have not noticed,actors and actresses are also guilty of switching lanes.what amuses me is that,they never cross over to music at the peak of their careers.they only decide to sing at the twilight of their careers when the chips are down.it is at this point in time when they start expressing their love for music with words like "i always wanted to be a singer" or "music has always been my first love".do not believe them cos it is always an attempt to regain lost glory.

Lets look at actors/actresses who have tried and failed.

OMOTOLA-Her debut album "gba" was so unsuccessful that she decided not to drop a follow up and spends most of her time nowadays endorsing chivita products.

GENEVIEVE-When the chips were down,nollywood's top actress made her foray into the music world but flopped so badly that none of the songs in her album made it onto any radio station's playlist.

JIM IYKE-Nobody really knows what is happening with jim iyke's debut album "who am I",but after watching & listening to the lead single on which he featured tuface,i wouldn't advise people to buy his album even if they are paid to.

ERNEST ASUZU-Most people don't actually remember,but this dude once tried his hands at music making.one minute he is an hardcore rap artiste,the next minute he is a gospel artiste.a very unstable individual.can't remember if he eventually dropped an album but the few songs i heard were really awful.

OGD ALLSTARS-When things stopped popping off for them,some actors and actresses gathered together under tade ogidan's umbrella and made fools of themselves trying to do that which they didn't know how to do.all in all,it was a great experiment but with poor results.none of them have moved on from that point to have even the semblance of a musical career.

Here we go again.actors/actresses who might jump into the vocal booth anytime from now.

1.Funke akindele-once she releases her unanticipated jenifa 3 and the jenifa hype train starts to lose steam,you can be rest assured that she would jump on the naija hip hop train to make herself hot again by releasing an album,which i hope & pray she won't call "get jenified".guest appearances will probably include 9ice,pasuma,da grin ,lord of ajasa e.t.c and the music will revolve around those jenifa slangs nobody wants to hear again.

2.Desmond elliot-all is quiet on desmond's front and nollywood is in coma.this will be the perfect time for him to declare his undying love for music.he looks to me like the type of guy who will release a gospel album.

3.Mercy johnson-Very soon there will be nothing left for her to sell on screen again as we have seen all there is to be seen about her.with pornography not being a viable option in Nigeria,expect to see mercy grabbing a mic and making some saucy videos to accompany her songs.that girl will do anything to stay in the limelight.even if she sings the national anthem 12 times in a row on her album,people will buy it as long as she strips in the videos or she shoots them half naked.

HUNGER FOR THE SPOTLIGHT

It is pretty rare to see someone who has successfully made the transition from producer to artist.what most people don't understand is that the spotlight is not meant for everyone.there has to be someone in the background pulling the strings or someone doing the unseen work.
Lets look at some producers,who have tried and failed.

OJB-With flop after flop,Ojb has finally exhausted his energy and is presently tired of trying.that's like once beaten,twice shy or better yet once beaten,forever shy.

TERRY G-Terry is a good example of empty barrels making the most sound.as much as people wanted to free their madness,they had no interest in gingahing their swaggah thus dissapointing mr gingah the gingah wey dey drink the paraga.

ID CABASA-Everything was cool with id cabasa until he started thinking he could make better songs than toni payne's hubby.with 30,000 copies of his identity album sold,I.D cabasa shows no signs of stopping!!!!!!!!!!yes records will be biting their fingers on this one.

K SOLO-Timaya & klever jay's hitman finally decided to jump on the band wagon.reports emanating from alaba shows that producer extraordinaire k-solo's album has just gone double wood.marketers are praying and hoping for a time when his sales will finally move into the thousands.

SHEYMAN-It didn't take long for sheyman to realize that he wasn't really hotter than fire.his dismal album sales clearly underlined that for him.

my advice to producers-generally artistes are jealous people,immediately they realize that you are trying to be like them,they lose their trust in you and start avoiding you partly because they think you will either steal their songs or you won't produce their songs very well like you used to.it is an "eku meji" situation or a bird in hand is worth ten in the bush situation.stop being greedy,as simple as ABC.

Lets take a look at some producers/video directors who might jump into the vocal booth come 2010.

1.Don jazzy-with the success and fame of his artistes like dbanj & wande coal,he may be tempted to try his own luck at singing.doing hooks is one thing while making an album is another.even though we enjoyed his hook on dbanj's smash hit "tongolo" & his solo track "serve the lord" on dbanj's run down album,i don't see how we can manage to listen to his voice on an entire album.

2.Clarence peters-to me,dude looks like someone capable of anything.with his penchant for shooting cheap videos,i don't see any reason why i would be excited,if he decides to release an album.the best he can do is jump into daddy's shoes and make some afro juju-the difference is clear music.

3.Suspect-the chances of this one happening is really high cos it looks like he is already nursing that ambition.those stupid hooks that he does every now and then might decieve him into jumping on the bandwagon.if he does,it is guaranteed to be a collosal failure.there isn't much he can offer.

4.Jude okoye-with p square's stock free falling like it was on the stock exchange, jude might decide to go to bat for the okoye family.from my own point of view,jude is not someone you can trust.anyone who goes around claiming to have shot videos he never did is slimy to say the least.if he decides to drop an album,it would probably be someone else singing on it but his face on the cover.