WINNERS OF HIPHOP WORLD AWARDS 2010

For those who care to know, here is the full list of winners of HHWA 2010.


ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Best album (solo or group) in year under review, that meets judges’ requirements of excellence (in every realms: songwriting, production, rendition and promotion) and acceptability (sales, popularity)
MUSHIN 2 MO’HITS
Artiste: WANDE COAL
Producer(s): Don Jazzy
Record Label: Mo’Hits Records

ARTISTE OF THE YEAR
 Most critically and commercially adjudged artiste in the year under review Overall most successful artiste for the year under review
WANDE COAL
Real Name(s): OJOSHIPE WANDE JNR.
Album Title: Mushin 2 Mo’Hits
Record Label: Mo’Hits Records

SONG OF THE YEAR
Most popular song from an album in year under review. Decided by voting
“YORI YORI”
Artiste: BRACKET
Album: Least Expected
Producer: Dekumzy
Record Label Ape Planet

RECORDING OF THE YEAR
 Best single recording (on-air only or released) by artiste or group in year under review. Originality and production very essential
“HEAVEN PLEASE”
Album – TIMI (Unreleased)
Artiste – Timi Dakolo
Producer – Cobhams Asuquo
Record Label – (Unreleased)

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
The individual responsible for producing the most acclaimed songs/album in the year under review. His CV for the year includes top notch tracks and production credits no one can fault.
DON JAZZY
Album/Song Title – “Banana”, “U Bad”
Artiste(s) – Wande Coal

BEST MUSIC VIDEO (AWARD GOES TO DIRECTOR)
Best conceptualised, best edited, best picture, best directed and most exciting video in year under review as voted by fans and decided by the jury.
CLARENCE PETERS
Music Video Title – “Finest”
Artiste – Knight House Ft. Sauce Kid & Teeto

BEST R ‘N’ B SINGLE
 Best R&B single in year under review (by single individual or group)
“STRONG TING”
Artiste(s) – Banky W
Producer – Cobhams Asuquo

BEST POP SINGLE
Best pop single in year under review (by single individual
U BAD”
Artiste(s) – Wande Coal
Producer – Don Jazzy

BEST R ‘N’ B/ POP ALBUM
Best R&B or pop album in year under review (by single individual or group)
MUSHIN 2 MO’HITS
Artiste- Wande Coal
Producer(s) – Don Jazzy
Record Label- Mo Hits Records

BEST RAP SINGLE
Best single released on-air recording of a rap song
“SAMPLE Remix”
Artiste(s) – Terry Tha Rapman Ft. Stereo Man & Pherowshuz
Producer – Pherowshuz

BEST RAP ALBUM
Best album by a rap artiste or group in year under review
CEO
Artiste – Dagrin
Producer(s) – Sossick, T-Frizzle, Dokta Frabz, Sarz
Record Label – Missofunyin Entertainment

LYRICIST ON THE ROLL
Rap Artiste with best lyrical depth and performance on a single song or album
MODENINE
Song Title – Bad Man
Album Title – Da Vinci Mode (Not released in year under review)
Record Label – Red Eye Music

BEST COLLABO
 Best R&B, Pop or hip hop collaborative track (including cameos) in year under review
“KOKOROKO”
Artistes – Kefee Ft. Timaya
Producer – K Solo

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE (MALE)
Single male artiste with most outstanding vocal performance on a single song or album
DAREY ART ALADE
Song Title – “NO STARS”
Producer- Cobhams

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE (FEMALE)
Single female act with most outstanding vocal performance on a single song or album
LARA GEORGE
Song Title – “KEEPER OF MY DREAMS”
Producer – Wole Oni

BEST STREET HOP
The most popular street-hop single in year under review
“FREE MADNESS Pt. 2”
Artiste(s) – Terry G

NEXT RATED
Most promising upcoming officially unreleased act in the year under review
SKUKI
Song Title – “BANGER”

HIPHOP WORLD REVELATION OF THE YEAR
Best New artiste in the year under review
WANDE COAL
Real Name(s): OJOSHIPE WANDE JNR.
Album Title: Mushin 2 Mo’Hits
Record Label: Mo’Hits Record

THE CURIOUS CASE OF HHWA NOMINATIONS

Do I really care about what happens around me? I don’t really know, sometimes I just want to let sleeping dogs lie and let people do whatever pleases them. I am just tired of having to point these people in the right direction all the time, but today is everybody’s lucky day because I have decided to make an exception, case in point, Hip Hop world awards nominations. I just have this feeling that I am about to fuck up someone’s day.

It’s kind of weird the way HHW is going to pieces these days, genuine proof of this can be found in the recent awards nomination that was released couple of weeks ago. Simply put, the nominations were negatively shocking. There are some nominees on that list whose presence will be really difficult to explain even for someone blessed with the gift of the gab. It’s either that those dudes at HHW are losing touch or their awards are for sale. As much as I would love to believe the former, questionable nominations like Cartiair’s “owo ati swagger”, Naeto C’s “ako mi ti poju” (best rap single) and P Square (every category they were nominated) keeps swinging me back to the latter.

Is it just a case of jack of all trades, master of none or too many cooks spoiling the broth? It’s hard to comprehend what is happening right now because I can vividly remember a couple of years back when HHW used to complain about the other awards which was why they came up with theirs to redefine the standards. The future of headie is really bleak and in a couple of year’s time, it will be irrelevant because this whole awards thing is turning into a joke (a horrible one). P square’s nomination is a way of encouraging mediocrity (Danger was one of the worst albums of 09), MI’s nomination is terribly annoying considering the fact that he didn’t put out any album last year (all he has to do now is record any song to bag an award), and countless others. I can go on and on all day but I will just whittle this down to the categories that are totally unacceptable.

1. BEST RAP SINGLE

 Naeto C & Cartiair stick out like a sore thumb on this one. Unless we want to deceive ourselves “ako mi ti poju” is no “kini big deal” and the only “owo ati swagger” people listen to is the remix. Illbliss’s “aiye po gan”, Kel’s “too fine”, Ruggedman’s “banging” and Da grin’s “pon pon pon” would all have been better and safer options.

2. BEST PRODUCER

How did Sossick & Dokta Frabz manage to be on this list when Dekumzy & Terry G are missing? Apart from Da grin’s album, Sossick didn’t do shit last year. Dekumzy produced Bracket’s “yori yori” (the biggest hit of 2009, whether we like it or not) and he also produced Bracket’s “no time” ft P square and Dat nigga raw’s “strong and mighty”. Terry G doesn’t need much introduction as he produced for everybody including himself. Isn’t it a bit unfair to overlook them? Maybe they are not Nigerians!!!!

3. BEST COLLABO

At first look, this category seems okay, but when you really sit back and think about it, you wonder what happened to songs like Wande Coal/D’banj’s “you bad”, Bracket/P square’s “no time”, P square/Tuface’s “possibility and above all Eldee/Banky W/Oladele/Olu maintain’s “big boy” that made them ineligible for nomination.

4. REVELATION OF THE YEAR

Kel (check), Omawunmi (check), Illbliss (check), Wande Coal (check), Djinee (NO!!!!). What planet are these guys on? Djinee!!!!!, is that not the guy who released “ego” a couple of years ago on Westside bootleg ( I still have the CD, teacher don’t teach me nonsense). Revelation ke? From where to where? Revelation ko, Genesis ni.

5. LYRICIST ON THE ROLL

A category that comprises of Modenine, MI, OD & Pherowshuz but shamelessly misses the late lyrical were “Da grin” leaves much to be desired. Any of Da grin’s songs would easily fit in here. This one is quite surprising. All Modenine and MI have to do from now on is release any song, spit a few bars and they are guaranteed a nomination.

What more can I say? A next rated category with no YQ & Vector, Album of the year category with Danger by P square & Gingah ur swagger by Terry G, Song of the year category with Alanta by Artquake, makes me think that those who compiled this list have a couple of bricks missing from their building. With all the evidence before me, I believe that Ayo Animashaun and his cohorts have a secret plan to destroy naija hip hop. Isn’t it about time that someone put a hole in their sails? Will Tajudeen Adepetu or Kelvin Luciano please come to our rescue? At least now I know that hiptv will never blow up and I know why it was easy for soundcity blast to blow hip hop world magazine out of the water.

What is happening to HHW right now really scares me. It’s got me thinking that a day may come when I will no longer be able to distinguish between a good song and a bad one. It is stuff like this that makes me want to be forever young.

MI & P SQUARE NOMINATED FOR BET AWARDS

During the press conference for the 2010 BET Awards, Nigerian superstars, M.I and P-Square were nominated under the Best International Act category.

Other acts in the category include-
Kojo Antwi (Ghana)
Chipmunk (UK)
Dizzee Rascal (UK)
Estelle (UK)
Hip Hop Pantsula (HHP) (South Africa)
K'NAAN (Somalia)
Corinne Bailey Rae (UK)
Sade (UK)

The 2010 BET Awards is scheduled to take place on Sunday, June 27, 2010 at the Shrine Auditorium, L.A

5 THINGS YOU CAN'T DO ON STAGE AS A FEMALE ARTIST IN NIGERIA

1. You can’t wear undies on stage.

Simply put, you can’t turn up half naked on stage. Be it in body revealing attires or undies, it is not acceptable. In Nigeria, such behavior is frowned upon, not just in sharia states but nationwide. The major reason why it is inadvisable to perform on stage like that is because nobody wants to see bulging tummies and stretch marks, which are in no way associated with good music. If you insist though, you can kiss marital life goodbye.

2. You can’t perform on stage with any animal.

Most divas in America use animals to spice up their stage performance to thunderous applause from the crowd and rave reviews. In Nigeria, the situation is quite different as any attempt to perform with any animal, be it a Chihuahua, cat or boa constrictor will be considered diabolic and malefic. It is neither sexy nor will it make you look dangerous or exciting. You stand the risk of been called a mammy water, ogbanje or a witch.

3. You can’t use smoke effects or pyrotechnics.

In most places worldwide, a stage performance is not complete without good lightning, smoke effects and fireworks. In Nigeria, you don’t want to try it; your hair will most likely be set on fire accidentally or worst case scenario, you get set on fire. (I don’t have to tell you what this will do to your career). Take my advice, just stick with lightning effects, the worst that can happen with that is PHCN plunging you into darkness and the back up generator shutting down.

4. You can’t kiss on stage.

No, you can kiss on stage, what you can’t do is kiss another girl on stage. Madonna might have gotten away with kissing Christina Aguilera & Britney spears but one thing you must always remember is that you are not Madonna and this is Nigeria. If you like some girl on girl action, just do it in your bedroom. It’s not that some people will not like it but most people won’t and the ones who appreciate your effort will be the first to criticize you. Even if you escape been stoned to death (that is if you are lucky enough to be performing below the river Niger), you will never be able to live this down because nobody will want to be seen associating with you. You will most likely be banned and you will never land multi million naira endorsement deals.

5. You can’t dance on stage with male fans.

This one is risky; in fact it is too risky to even be contemplated. You can’t call your male fans to come up on stage and dance with you. You will most probably end up getting sexually harassed (either forcefully kissed or smooched) or worst case scenario, you get raped. Whatever happens, nobody will get sued and you will only have yourself to blame. Inviting one male fan on stage is more like an open invitation to all the others and before you know it, every guy in there will be jumping on stage just to get a piece of you. No matter how large your security detail is, they will always be outnumbered by the crowd.

5 ARTISTES I WON'T MISS LIKE DA GRIN

I really took my time to think about this post. I am not out to hurt anyone’s feelings and I don’t want anybody to get the wrong idea. The whole idea about this post all started when Da grin passed on, you could see how much people loved him and how much they wished they could bring him back.

For someone who had only one hot album throughout his entire career, it was simply unbelievable that he could generate such a cultlike following and garner so much respect from everybody, especially in the music industry.

Whenever I go out these days, I hear Da grin’s music pumping out from speakers and then I ask myself, what if it was someone else? Maybe artist A or artist B, then I came up with this list. I could have called it “5 artistes people won’t miss like Da grin”, but you know what they say about one man’s meat been another man’s poison, so here is my own list……feel free to create yours.

1. KONGA – What has Konga offered us except some gibberish, which we don’t understand and only he does? If something tragic was to happen to him, nobody will miss him safe for his family members and close friends. Radio stations will find it difficult to play his music as his hit single “baby konga” cannot be aired and they can’t possibly put his collabo with tuface “jawon si” on repeat.

2. SOUL E – Apart from Soul E’s music not been I pod worthy material; his lifestyle is also nothing to write home about. One minute he is a gigolo who is madly in love and the next minute he claims to be a pastor with his own ministry. Just when you come this close to believing him, he is back making music no one wants to listen to. If this dude kicked the bucket, I am sure that nobody will play his songs on the radio except someone pays them to.

3. RAYAN T – Is Rayan T alive? It’s been like a minute since dude put out any music, if he should miss in action now, nobody will notice. A lot of DJs will have to dig really deep in their crates to find his CD while a lot of people will not even remember who he was.

4. AZADUS – Wherever Azadus is right now, I seriously hope he doesn’t die of hunger. What is he even doing for a living? It’s clearly not music because if he puts out an album now, nobody will notice. So it is quite easy to figure out what will happen if he should……….(you know what I mean)

5. EDDY MONTANA – This man is so irrelevant right now that you will have to go all the way back to the “shakomo” era just to remember him. If Eddy was to take a trip to the pearly gates, who will miss him apart from his family, his ex wife (not so sure about his in laws though), his kids and (maybe) his ex remedies group members?

5 THINGS YOU CAN'T DO ON STAGE AS A MALE ARTIST IN NIGERIA !!!

1. You can’t jump off the stage into the crowd.

Jumping off the stage into the crowd might be good way to wrap up your set in yankee, it is not quite advisable over here. If you decide to jump off the stage in naija, two things will most likely happen.

-The crowd step aside and you land on the hard floor, you might break a few appendages or worst case scenario, you end up in a wheel chair (this will end your career unless you have plans to switch to aiyefele’s type of music).

-The crowd grabs you in mid air, fleece you of all you have on and throw you back on the stage butt naked (this will most likely happen to a rich upcoming artist).

2. You can’t throw your jewelry into the crowd.

You will most likely hurt someone with your cheap jewelry and trust Nigerians, they will retaliate by stoning you with your chain and whatever they can lay their hands on which might include bottles, stones, knives and anything that will cause you unbearable pain. Nobody really wants your 1500 naira bling bling.

3. You can’t bone groupies backstage.

Groupies are part of the game and any famous artist will attest to that. I know it is cool to have them backstage and in between your set but in naija the case is different because backstage is always crowded and there is no privacy. Do I need to remind you that you don’t have a tour bus (more like you can’t afford one). Boning a groupie backstage in Nigeria will get you on youtube so fast, it will be unbelievable.

4. You can’t smash the mic on the floor after your performance.

In most shows in Nigeria, there is only one working microphone and smashing it on the floor will not only put an end to your set but to everyone’s set. So unless you come with your own microphone, be prepared to perform a David blaine trick by manufacturing a mic out of thin air or you stand the risk of getting mobbed by the organizers and the rampaging crowd.

5. You can’t make it rain.

Apart from the CBN directive about spraying money, you are supposed to be broke as a Nigerian artist. You barely have enough for yourself, so where will you get money from to throw around. The EFCC picking you up is the best thing that can happen to you because your act of philanthropy will not excite the crowd but make you a target. Expect to get robbed and probably killed after the show. Please don’t try this in Warri, Benin, Lagos & Port Harcourt.

STILL ON THE MATTER

Yes, Da grin is dead and gone. As unbelievable as that is, that is the bitter truth. We will never hear from one of naija’s most talented artistes again. Ever since he died, radio stations and DJs nationwide have not stopped playing his songs and you can almost feel everyone’s pain. As for me I have not been able to shake away that feeling of loss and I just can’t stop crying anytime I hear his songs. What I am actually worried about right now is the attitude of his colleagues and acquaintances (I will not call them friends). Each and every one of them is going around talking about what they will do for Da grin’s family and how they will keep Da grin’s name alive forever but the truth is nobody is actually doing anything.

PMAN even went as far as saying they will cover the burial expenses, blah blah blah, yada yada yada. At this point in time PMAN is a rudderless ship and whatever they say can’t be taken seriously so we can just forget about them. Now this is meant for all the artistes and entertainment personalities that promised heaven and earth (who will probably not do anything at the end of the day). Here is what I think they can do for the late CEO.

1. PERSONAL CONTRIBUTION

A couple of successful artistes (we know who you are & you know yourselves) should contribute 100 grand each for his family (family here means the boy’s mother), which is not much compared to what most of them make per show. I can think of 25 naija artistes right now who can do that easily. It is not compulsory but at least those who can do it should do it.

2. MUSICAL CONCERT

A musical concert featuring naija’s finest should be held in his honor and all the proceeds from the ticket sales should be given to his family. Who wouldn’t want to go to a show where at least 10 of the current chart topping artistes will be performing? I am sure a lot of telecom companies, banks and multinationals will be queuing up to sponsor this.

3. COMPILATION ALBUM

All the artists who featured the late Da grin on their songs recently before his untimely death should give his record label Missofunyin entertainment permission to include such songs on a compilation CD (something like a biggie duets) as part of their contribution to the Da grin lives on movement. Sales from the CD will contribute immensely to the well being of the family he left behind. Sales will be split between his family and his record label.

4. IMMORTALIZE HIM

There are numerous ways in which this can be done but the only thing I can think of right now is for HHWA to rename one of their awards and dedicate it to him, since he was nominated in 4 categories and won’t be there to pick any one up. The Da grin award for best rap album should be a good choice, at least for his contribution to the naija hip hop game.

5. FANS SUPPORT

There are a lot of Da grin fans who would actually love to do something for his family but won’t be able to for a number of reasons which I won’t be discussing here. To carry the fans along, the perfect set up will be a scenario where the fans can donate money for his family via their phone lines. For example, text CEO to 324746 to support Da grin, Texts costs 50 naira only will make it easier for his fans nationwide to show their love for their revered icon.

In the mean time, keep the naija hip hop flag flying at half mast for the fallen soldier.