Tems, born Temilade Openiyi, has exceeded expectations at every turn in her career while performing in a genre many in and from Nigerianmaintain an adamancy regarding viability. The 26-year-old’s trajectory appears to be changing that notion for the better and more than a few artists are riding the boon at the moment. Not only creating […]
Read More… from Archive: Tems’ Trajectory Proves the Viability of African Made R&B Records.
Nigeria is a country plagued by a plethora of incredibly frustrating issues: political instability, environmental degradation, insecurity, bush-league healthcare and educational system, unemployment and a bunch of other problems that could easily fill up all the pages of a freshly purchased foolscap book. It’s deeply saddening and unsettling and this is partially why many Nigerians, […]
Read More… from Archive: Celebrating Ten Years of WAFFLESNCREAM.
On the Fringe will attempt to tell stories of emerging talents on the rise. Artistes covered in the series will be at differing stages in their journeys, but they will all be emerging acts somehow — either unto larger audiences or more niche ones. 2016 was the year when the popular music-centric alté movement […]
Read More… from Archive: On The Fringe — Trillxoe Is Locked In
While chronicling the struggles she faced in the early stages of her career during her BlackBox interview, Tiwa Savage tells an interesting story. On her return to Nigeria, she met with several label heads to work out a deal and was rejected by every one of them. Their reason: they were already working with a […]
Read More… from On the “First Lady” Conundrum and Equal Opportunities For Women in Music
On the 15th of February 2021, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala became the first woman to serve as Director-General for the World Trade Organization. This was a pretty significant and historic event as not only was she the first woman to be appointed for the role, she was also the first African. Moments like these are generally heartwarming […]
Read More… from She Takes A Peep: How and Why First Women Are Often Tokens
On December 11th, 2017, Canadian superstar Drake posted a picture with Tekno on his Instagram page; fervidly captioning it ‘Tekkkkkkkkkkkk time.’ This post represented so much, not just for Tekno, but for the Nigerian music scene as a whole. It was a testament that our rich music was finally crossing frontiers and the outstanding […]
Read More… from New Road To Old Romance: Tekno’s Illustrious Journey Through The Years
When Laycon dropped his second, 8-track EP in the early hours of 2020, going on a reality TV show was the only option left on the table to promote the new body of work. The pandemic had just struck the world and the country had just resumed lockdown, so the plan to roll out […]
Read More… from Meet the Laycon you never knew: The MAN, the MUSIC, the STAR.
From the second Nqobilé joins me for our Monday afternoon Zoom conversation, I can tell she’s such a light. “I hope you’re doing okay,” she sweetly inquires after we exchange pleasantries. Though some 4000 miles away in her London home, her vibrant aura pierces through and almost instantly fills my room here in Lagos, Nigeria […]
Read More… from Nqobilé Danseur is Finding Her Voice
Everything about Burna Boy exudes confidence. From his assertive mannerisms to his music — oozing with self-assured notoriety — his confident approach to life is hard to miss, and this ultimately boils down to experience. On “Level up”, the intro to his newest album Twice as Tall, Burna expressed his disappointment about failing to […]
Read More… from Twice As Tall: A Prolific Grammy Streak For Burna Boy
Immersive mystique is at the heart of the Wizkid brand. For much of the last three years, as Made In Lagos graduated from trite cultural tagline to the most anticipated Nigerian album of the 2010s, the singer was holed up in London erecting an almost-impenetrable veneer around himself. From being the most famous young Nigerian […]
Read More… from Wizkid Like You’ve Never Seen Him Before: A Day in the Live Recap
Pick a random afternoon in May 2020 and you’d have found a mother struggling to set the camera right on her vanity set and get her toddler to sit still for 2 minutes to record their version of the viral Duduke Challenge. Simi’s #DudukeChallenge was viral on the Triller app for many weeks, with celebrities […]
Read More… from The Rise and Rise of Triller In Music
For some of us, Instagram is that app we scroll through mindlessly; perhaps due to boredom, lack of anything better to do or just to escape the harsh realities of life. Sometimes when we go on our timeline, we’re looking for something fresh, relatable, colourful, creative, aesthetically pleasing, or possibly downright hilarious. The It Girls […]
Read More… from The It Girls of the Gram