9JAHIPHOP VIDEO - LAMI - ERE IFE FT ELDEE

5 REASONS WHY RUGGEDMAN WILL NOT RETIRE

1. CHINAYDU & HAKEEM

Since Ruggedman is the one putting Chinaydu and Hakeem on, it would be pointless for him to retire now. Without Ruggedy baba’s backing, I simply don’t see how they are going to make it in the industry. If Ruggedy actually calls it a day, then there will be no future for the duo. He will at least put out a rugged records compilation album just to promote them or drop another album and give them more shine time than he did on “Untouchable”.

2. 9ICE AND MODENINE WON’T LET HIM

Beef is a great motivator and with Ruggedy’s “A word is enough for the 9ice” still fresh in 9ice’s memory, you can expect him to keep him going at Ruggedy and vice versa which will in the end lead to another album from Ruggedman. Apart from 9ice, Ruggedy also took shots at Modenine on “Hypo-skit” labeling him “MC na me carry hip hop for head” and “American Nigerian rapper”, something which the realist won’t take too lightly, so we can expect more death blows from him which will also inevitably lead to another album from Ruggedman.

3. RUGGED RECORDS IS NOT A SOUND RETIREMENT PLAN

In any profession, you need to have a retirement plan and in Ruggedman’s case, his record label rugged records seem to be his only visible plan. Looking closely at rugged records (which more or less, exists on paper right now), it is hard to see Ruggedman eating off it for the rest of his life.  This is an unstructured record label with no bankable artist, no disrespect to Chinaydu & Hakeem, but they are nowhere near their counterparts talent wise, so unless a miracle happens, Ruggedy will not be eating off them and will have to go back to doing what he does best.

4. HE SAID SO

On “Halla” he said “I hear some say I don retire/but Ruggedman still burn like fire” and on “Rush Rush” he says “I won’t stop till I am more paid than Jay Z and P Diddy”. From the quotes above, one thing that is clear is that Ruggedy has no plans to retire just yet because he isn’t yet as rich as Diddy or Jay Z and he personally believes there is still a lot left in him.

5. WHAT ELSE WILL HE DO?

If Ruggedman retires now, the question is what else will he do? Acting is out of it, Because Ruggedy doesn’t look like he can cut it in Nollywood. So also is comedy, because I can’t imagine Ruggedy saying anything that will make people laugh. With Comedians, Models, Actors, Actresses etc embracing music, it is safe to say that there is no other profession in the Nigerian entertainment industry that pays as much as music does. Once Ruggedy starts missing the passion and the fame that comes with being a rap star, he would be right back.

ALBUM REVIEW - TERRY DA RAPMAN - BOYZ ARE NOT SMILING

With 10 years and 2 albums under his belt, Terry da Rapman is what you will call a veteran. Terry started when it was least fashionable to be a rapper in 2000 with rap collective SWATROOT alongside Modenine, Sixfoot Plus, OD, Rule Clean, Mista Baron, El dee XL and sharpened his skills under the watchful eye of Payback tyme records boss, Solo Dee. After his debut album “Tha Rapmanisfestation” released on payback tyme records failed commercially, he pitched his tents with November records, where he released his sophomore album “Tha rapman begins” which produced the hit “na beanz” but didn’t elevate him beyond his underdog status.

With a resilience not usually seen on the naija rap scene, terry continued grinding and in 2009 successfully kicked the doors down with the slogan (Boyz are not smiling) in one hand and a street single in the guise of “sample (remix)” featuring Pherowshuz & Stereoman in the other.  With anticipation reaching fevered pitch courtesy of his Dj Jimmy Jatt hosted mixtape “The joe spasm mixtape”, Terry unleashed his junior album “Boyz are not smiling”.

It must be said that Joe Spasm(Terry’s alter ego) has impeccable taste in creating his ensemble cast as the album features contributions from Pherowshuz, Sound Sultan, Terry G, MI, Cartiair, Mo Cheddah, Keffe, Stereoman, Sixfoot Plus, Mista Baron, El dee XL, Fecko the Emcee, Osagz and Miekharry. Production is majorly by underground producers like E Twinz, Pherowshuz, Tommy ill Fingaz, Meka E, XO, Seaman, Kraft, El Emcee and Sholex Timbo, with Terry G & J Sleek being the only exception.

The album gets underway with “BANS (Intro)” and sees joe spasm making it clear that all he wants is his due respect and no title, and over Pherowshuz’s bass and synthesizer laden beat, he creates the street banger “Sample(remix)”, going back and forth with pherowshuz and stereoman on the hook. With lines like “the boy is hot, no matter the climate/call me jack sparrow, cos I be dealing with pirates”, you feel Tha rapman just warming up. With Sound Sultan riding shotgun “how far” turns out to a hard hitting cut as expected, while on the E Twinz produced “Oti ya were”, Joe spasm redefines his lyrical reputation and shows that he stands in the shadows of no man by lyrically slaying MI.  he gets in anthemic  mode on the Meka E produced “boyz don hammer” and the Tommy ill Fingaz produced “Gonna make it”.  With Mo’cheddah delivering a memorable verse and an enthralling hook, Terry takes it to the club with “Get up” and teams up with name sake Terry G for the radio friendly “Ojoro”, where he names drop and creatively weaves his tale of infidelity.

The party continues on “Ladies only” as Terry successfully crafts a club banger over seaman’s luring drums, heavy synths and whistles. The J sleek produced crunk fest “superstar” sees Terry and Cartiair trying to outswag each other. BANS soars to greater heights on the XO produced “No love” where Joe spasm delivers weighty verses with visceral contents that foster introspection and demand repeated listens. Terry raps: “underpaid in this game, cos I have been doing this for the love/yo, I need to get paid and stop doing this for the love”,”enough love to all those who stood by me on stormy seas/back when my money was shorter than a midget on his knees”, “took a risk with that single cos I have been known to gamble/now the best rap single of the year is just a sample”.

Joe spasm shows his vulnerable side on the soulful “Someday” as he grieves for his late mother, on the conscious “pray”, E twinz once again lays the track for Terry’s train of thought to rumble through, with a line like “e go better for naija, two thousand and when”, he sums up the sorry state of the nation while Kefee soulfully does all the praying on the hook. The Sholex Timbo produced “Been there before” is simply braggadocios music at its best, as for the umpteenth time Terry slays the competition and reaffirms his living legend status. The highlight of the album comes on “Na beanz (BANS remix)”, where young guns like Fecko, Miekharry and Osagz exhibit pure lyricism backed by confidence and conviction. Terry fittingly closes the album with “Number 10”, which features veterans and fellow SWATROOT members Mista Baron, Sixfoot Plus and El dee XL. As if it is any surprise, they all come correct.

No obligatory marijuana jam, no requisite love song, no unnecessary bonus tracks and the man “hated by plenty, wanted by many, underated by some, confronted by none” has created an album that is sonically appealing with great replay value. BANS is a remarkable album that transforms Terry da Rapman from underdog to the past, present and the future of naija rap. When the annals of naija hip hop are written, Joe spasm will have his own chapter alongside the likes of 2shotz, Eldee, Ruggedman and Modenine.

PLAY – Everything

SKIP – Nothing

RATING – 10/10    (CLASSIC)

TIC - BEAZY FALLS BACK, TIMAYA GOES ALL THE WAY, TIMI DAKOLO MAKES BEAUTIFUL NOISE AND AJAYI BROVAZ TURN STREET BANKERS

Rounding up the news is never easy but talking about it is always a pleasure.

MUSIC TALK

Styl Plus are really gearing up for their yet untitled album release and they keep the heat up with their new single “Ka Fo Lo”, which was produced by TY Mix.

The egberi papa 1 of Bayelsa, Timaya is back again with a new cut titled “All The Way”, which was released on his imprint, Dem Mama Records.

Beazy is still busy as usual and just dropped “Fall Back” featuring Skales, Pope & Loose Kaynon.

Ajayi Brovaz of Alapomeji Records recently released their debut album “Street Bankers”.

And so does Samklef, who calls his own, “Nonilizing”.

D’banj’s kid brother, K Switch of Mo hits is still hard at work on his album and has just put out a new track titled “Money” featuring Humble.

Timi Dakolo‘s debut album “Beautiful Noise” is set to be released pretty soon according to his management.

KB of trybesmen is back in the game with 2 new singles “Dem dey mad” and “re-intro”.

Sasha is also out with 2 new singles “Don’t stop” and “Ma wo be” ft Brymo to promote her upcoming album “Sasha speaks”.

VIDEO TALK

The hottest video out right now is Wizkid’s “Tease Me”, which is presently killing them.

Ikechukwu moves on without Mohits as he releases a video for his single “now is the time” off his “Alliance Reconstructed” Album.

Terry G is in the cross hairs again as Mallam Spicy releases a video for his scorching diss “1005 naira”.

Vector is not slowing down as he keeps the momentum going with the video of his hit single “I love Nigeria”.

Ice prince recently released a very poor video for his smash hit “Oleku” featuring Brymo, but Chocolate city sources claim that the video circulating on the internet is not the official one.

IN THE NEWS

From all indications, it looks like D’banj’s “Mr Endowed” actually has a remix with Snoop Dogg, as reports have emerged that the video has been shot and will be released soon.

9JAHIPHOP VIDEO - IKECHUKWU - NOW IS THE TIME FT DON JAZZY

ALBUM REVIEW - MI - MI2 THE MOVIE

Never in the history of naija rap has an album ever been as anticipated as MI’s sophomore album “MI2 the Movie”, MI’s ascendancy in the naija rap game is a relatively known one, from his critically acclaimed debut album “Talk about It” to his groundbreaking “Illegal Music” mixtape, Mi simply took the naija rap scene by storm and ever since he has not looked back. With guest appearances spanning various genres, it is easy to understand why Mr Incredible’s stock has risen so quickly and why he is one of the most sought after rappers in Nigeria.

There is a limit to which one can live on past glory, so it was just a matter of time before MI tried to make a second impression and after overseeing the rise of his chocolate city imprint, MI finally delivers “MI2 the Movie”. With a cast that includes Flavour, Julius Ceasar, Tuface, Waje, Timaya, and his Choc Boyz crew, MI‘s feature presentation looks set to be a blockbuster.

The comical intro “prelude” fits perfectly to the movie theme as MI does his best impersonation of saving a damsel in distress, this is quickly followed by the Brymo assisted “Action Film”, where MI shows that he is still the same actor we all know and love with lines like “yo, back with my new flow/ for the club, for the streets, for the studios/in my new crib, new car, new clothes/same actor, different year, new boss”. A welcome addition to just about any rap album is Flavour, and “Number One” is a testament to that fact, the track is a departure from the one that precedes it but MI skillfully raps over the highlife beat.

The first indication that you won’t get what you came looking for, comes in the form of the ill advised Timaya collaboration “anybody”, but MI manages to come up with substantial subject matter on tracks like “Nobody” featuring Tuface and “wild wild west” where he details the Jos crises. “beef” works well as he addresses his beef with Iceberg Slim & Kelly Hansome with simple yet thought provoking lines like “See musicians tryna beef me for real son/maybe they doin it to promote their album/they know that using my name will help them sell some/so Iceberg it’s alright you are welcome/but I’m not in their league help me tell them/the super eagles don’t play against the falcons/see wor wor pikin dey form handsome/kelechukwu clap for yourself, well done”.

A few tracks do sound less exceptional than the rest; “One Naira” featuring Waje fits this label as emphasis on the opposite sex puts the track in subject matter limbo. Some listeners may not be moved by “My head, my belle”, but it won’t be those going through the everyday struggles of naija life. The lead single “Undisputed” doesn’t quite gel as some of MI’s punchlines sound really amateurish. Everything seems to be moving in slow motion until the choc boyz anthem “Represent” comes on, where MI employs Drake’s simile heavy style of rap with lines like  “make niggaz work hard, plantation/train these dudes, grand station/always come hard, masturbation”, “I rock dior, I am a Christian/I only like girls, I am a lesbian/I am loving all the drama, I am a Thespian”.

By the time the credits start rolling in on “unstoppable”, we realize that MI2 the movie is not an action film but a badly plotted comedy with poor direction and the only person having a good laugh is MI. Now, to be clear, Mi still stands head and shoulders above most of his peers and can serve his faithful fans lyrics that fuel their everyday lives, but when he is not firing on all cylinders, the results are disappointing at best and catastrophic at worst. From all indications MI doesn’t justify his number one status.

PLAY – Action Film, Number One, Nobody, Wild Wild West, Represent

SKIP – Undisputed, Anybody, Imperfect me, Epic

RATING – 6/10

ALBUM REVIEW - RUGGEDMAN - UNTOUCHABLE

When Ruggedman debuted on the naija rap scene courtesy of the scorching diss track “ehen pt 1” which led to his well publicized spat with Eedris Abdulkareem & Kennis music, and triumphed against all odds, in the process putting out two solid albums in “Thy Album Come” & “Ruggedy Baba”. Most naija rap faithful thought the search for a messiah had come to an end, but as the years wore on, Ruggedy’s star began to lose its luster, both as a commercially and critically viable artist. After losing the long drawn out lyrical battle with Modenine and getting enmeshed in yet another with erstwhile friend and collaborator, 9ice, it came as no surprise when he announced that “Untouchable” will be his last album.

With beats from Tyrone, Dtunez, Cookbeat, Kash 11, Sossick, K-solo, Sarz, Puffy T, Samklef, and E twinz, it is clear to see that Ruggedy plans to go out with a bang. The album kicks off with the intro “Halla” over a tyrone beat that has a sample of the late Da Grin’s “Halla” where Ruggedman gets down to the nitty gritty with a hungry delivery:  “it’s the rap hall of famer, Big money gainer, with more whips than a lion tamer, yes I rule the empire, still laying the rules like the ref or the umpire”.  He introduces his new signees Chinaydu and Hakeem on “Ask about Us”, and you can’t help but notice further improvement in his delivery as is evident on “Rush Rush”, and “Emi Ni” featuring the late Da Grin.

“Because of You” featuring Tuface and MI looks like a winner on the surface but on closer inspection is a bit of a disappointment as Tyrone’s beat doesn’t live up to the occasion and while MI comes through with his verse, one can’t help but feel shortchanged by Tuface’s performance. Ruggedy couldn’t resist taking parting shots as he labels Modenine “MC na me carry hip hop for head” on “Hypo skit” and proverbially goes at 9ice on the cookbeat produced “a word is enough for the 9ice”. The ever reliable Sarz laces ruggedy with what may just be the lead single off the album in the form of “Sanwo” featuring Vino.

Ruggedy doesn’t fare quite well on the P square assisted “Low” and the Mallam Spicy assisted “Girl wyne” which both end up as failed attempts at crafting a crowd pleaser but all is forgiven and forgotten when the club banger that is “Dj pump it up” graces the listeners ears, sadly ruggedman can’t resist the requisite love song, and “Heartbreak” finds its place among hundreds of other half assed cuts about the opposite sex. The Iceprince featured “She ‘n’ my swagger” help elevate the album on the back end, only to be dragged down by the Recobah assisted “E no easy to be popular” which is typical subject matter.

Aside from the miserable decision not to close the album with the Puffy T produced gem “Walk away” featuring Gereline and the inclusion of Chinaydu’s “9ice the ingrate” as a bonus track. This is easily Ruggedman’s best album.

PLAY – Sanwo, Rush Rush, Dj pump it up, A word is enough for the 9ice, She n my swagger, walk away, Emi ni.

SKIP – Low, Because of You, E no easy to be popular, Girl wyne

RATING – 7/10

9JAHIPHOP VIDEO - ICE PRINCE FT BRYMO - OLEKU

9JAHIPHOP VIDEO - VECTOR - I LUV U NIGERIA

9JAHIPHOP VIDEO - BARACK OBAMA - THE UNBELIEVABLE CHANGE

I know this has nothing to do with Naija hip hop but who wouldn't want to see Obama rapping.

9JAHIPHOP VIDEO - DUNCAN MIGHTY - AHAMEFULLA

9JAHIPHOP VIDEO - DUNCAN MIGHTY - I DON'T GIVE A SHOT

9JAHIPHOP VIDEO - WIZKID - TEASE ME

Directed by Kemi Adetiba

9JAHIPHOP VIDEO - MALLAM SPICY - 1005 NAIRA(TERRY G DISS)

THE LOVE POST 2010

Here are five things I really loved about naija hip hop in 2010.

1. THE RESURGENCE OF NAIJA RAPPERS  

2010 will forever stand out as a year to be remembered in the history of naija rap. Only God knows what happened, maybe it was MI or something else, but all of a sudden every naija rapper worth his salt suddenly upped his game and we were blessed with an unprecedented number of hot and quality rap albums. From Eldee’s Is it your money to Modenine’s Da vinci mode, Sauce Kid’s African American, 2 Shotz’s I am William, Terry da Rapman’s Boyz are not smiling, Eedris Abdulkareem’s Unfinished Business, Ruggedman’s Untouchable, Dat Nigga Raw’s End of Discussion, MI’s MI2 the Movie, OD’s Hustle or Die, Pherowshuz’s Return of the Phero, all the way down to newcomer Vector’s State of Surprise. There was more than enough rap music to go round. I am not complaining.

2. THE RESTRUCTURING OF KENNIS MUSIC

Just when we were thinking that Kennis Music had fallen off, they restructured their whole label and immediately got back to winning ways. Collectively they scored more hits in 2010 than any other record label. From Jaywon’s gbon gbon gbon & filebe, Essence’s facebook love, Eedris’s calabar love, and Goldie’s you know it. Even their upcoming acts like Femi & The Pulse had Their own fair share of the limelight. All hail big bros.

3. INTERNET RELEASES

With online downloads now available for naija hip hop albums most notably via www.notjustok.com, it is easier and faster to keep track of naija releases and to have access to naija music, especially for people in diaspora. Within minutes of release, you can now get most Nigerian hip hop albums online. One other major benefit of this newly embraced trend is that it exposes our music to a wider audience. An internet release is also one of the simplest and fastest ways to market your music.

4. THE SISTAS MOVEMENT

Unlike in previous years when you will be hard pressed to find a song by a female artist on top 10, 2010 was quite different as the ladies went all out and moderately succeeded courtesy of Goldie, Essence and Asa. Peeps like Weird MC, KSB, Omotola, Mo Cheddah, Waje also put in work and made a case for the ladies thus showing us that the future of the naija female artiste is not as bleak as we once thought.

5. THE BEEN THERE DONE THAT MOVEMENT

2010 was the year that naija hip hop unofficially became the new national cake as everybody from Actors (Odunlade Adekola), Models (Munachi Abi), Actresses (Omotola) and Fuji musicians (Pasuma & Obesere) were jostling for a slice. All that didn’t surprise me, what surprised me most was how the been-there-done-thats were all coming out from nowhere with singles and in some cases albums reaffirming their love and allegiance to naija hip hop. When I say BTDT, I mean cats like Timi da Blackone, Eedris Abdulkareem, Tony Tetuila, Terry da Rapman, C-mion, olaDELe, Freestyle, etc  It wss really good and refreshing to see that, to all of them I say welcome back.

THE HATE POST 2010

This is just a list of all the things I hated about Naija hip hop in 2010

1.  DA GRIN’S UNTIMELY DEATH

There ain’t enough words to describe how painful Da grin’s death was, words like shocking, untimely, unfortunate are just a few that come readily to mind. What I can’t stop thinking about is the way the cold hands of death snatched him away at that point in time when he was naija’s hottest and most in demand artiste. If he was alive now only God knows how far he would have gone. He would live in our memories forever.

2. 9ICE VS TONI PAYNE/RUGGEDMAN

Most of the time last year, 9ice was in the news for the wrong reasons. Despite releasing videos of singles off his junior album “tradition” and several new songs off his upcoming project “Bashorun Gaa & Versus”, 9ice failed to win over the listening public and majority of his fans because of his ongoing feud with Ruggedman and family tussle with his estranged wife Toni Payne. All the twittering, Interviews and diss records contributed to make Adigun, one of the most hated artistes of 2010.

3. KEKE OGUNGBE SINGING

Keke being a label head is something I am not quite cool with, keke producing, (I never bought into that idea). When he started directing videos, I acted as if I didn’t see him but when he started singing and doing ad libs, it became unbearable. I am finding it difficult to control the deep resentment I feel towards that. I hate it when people don’t know when to stop and Keke doesn’t know when to stop. Someone please tell uncle keke not to destroy naija hip hop and everything he has worked for.

\

4. ABSENCE OF A CERTIFIED HIT

In a year where renowned and established artistes like D’banj, 9ice, Tuface, Asa, Ruggedman, MI, Terry da Rapman, Durella, Darey, Timaya, Eldee, Sauce Kid, YQ, etc all put out music and in some cases albums. It’s hard to fathom why we couldn’t have a genuine/certified hit. When I say genuine or certified hit I mean something of yori yori/yahoozee/gongo aso/tongolo/olufunmi/fokasibe proportions. Frankly speaking 2010 was subpar. Songs like Oti yan yan (Slim Joe), Implication (Tuface), Mr endowed (D’banj), 10/10 (Naeto C), My life (Durella), etc were just marginal/regional hits.

5. ST. JANET

When the infamous St Janet introduced Nigerians to sinners’ chapel, St bottles cathedral, not a lot of people were impressed with the vulgar gospel she was preaching which includes yours truly. To say the least, her brand of music was not only unbelievably raw and lewd, it was also embarrassing. It is something you don’t want to be caught listening to.  As tempting as the shortcut she took to success and fame is, I only hope and pray that some upcoming artistes don’t follow in her footsteps.

TIC - KEL IN ACTION, TERRY G PRESENTS D-MONEY, KELLY HANSOME FINISHES MI AND SUPER C GETS TRACKLISTING

Its 2011 and everyone is putting in work except me. There are no albums out yet but we do have a lot of singles and a couple of videos out there. Let me do a quick recap. For those who don’t know, TIC means Talk is cheap.

MUSIC TALK

After parting ways with Clarence peters’s capital music, Kel is back with a new single titled “action” which is just a warm up to her yet untitled sophomore album.

Everyone’s ex favorite boy band Styl plus are back in the mix again with “on the dance floor” featuring chocolate city’s jesse jagz.

Omawunmi has released a new single “if you ask me”.

Terry G introduces his younger brother D-money into the game with the release of 2 singles “she too set” and “that’s my baby” both produced by Terry G.

Kelly Hansome just won’t stop and he goes at MI again with “finish you boy”, a response to MI’s “beef”.

Beauty queen, Munachi abi, recently released another single titled “killer queen” off her upcoming debut album “the goddess, the hustler”. The song was produced by J sleek.

LKT of “yahoozee” and most recently “Ota mi” fame has hooked up with P Square on his new single “follow follow” untitled debut album.

Kennis music’s Jaywon is not resting on his oars as he drops “tinko angel (reloaded)”.

Klever jay is also out with a new single titled “African lady”.

Another Super remix is out now in the form of Beazy’s “bad guy (remix)” which features show dem camp, Djinee, Shank, Teeto, Chykay and a whole lot of other cats.

Naeto C’s super C season is almost here and the tracklisting is now out.

VIDEO WATCH
I have not had the opportunity to watch as many videos as I would have liked but here are a few new ones you should watch.

Timaya – Watta bam bam, 9ice – Appetizer, Zara – Aboko ku, Faze – relate, and Duncan Mighty’s I don’t give a shot (animated).

IN THE NEWS

Mad Melon and Mountain Black are working on a new album.

Omawunmi is rumored to be pregnant (no confirmation on that yet).

Kween onakala got married recently.

HAPPY NEW YEAR - FUCK A RESOLUTION

Finally I am back from my extended vacation and I am wishing you all a happy new year. Come to think of it, I didn’t wish you guys a merry Xmas (sorry about that). Allow me to make it up to you, happy New Year and merry Xmas in arrears (I hope this sounds right).

Moving on to other things not related to New Year resolutions. To all those who have New Year resolutions, I wish them all the best with that. As for me, F**K a resolution, I am just gonna do what I wanna do ( no guidelines). This will be a year filled with beautiful, wonderful and unforgettable posts. I am out.