Music Mondays: Conscious Music Is Hot In Nigeria

Hello, people - I'm back. Sorry for abandoning this blog for the sake of music from far-off places, but I'm back and I want to try and make amends. I'll try and post some music here every Monday, because we all need something to make us feel better at the beginning of the week, and it's good to avoid substance abuse.

So ever since Nigeria's version of "We Are The World", "Maga No Need Pay" came out last year, the Nigerian music scene has seen a revival of sorts. It's like everyone suddenly woke up and said "Shit, our country SUCKS. What can we do about it?" Musicians are talking. And it's a relief for me, knowing that I can come back into the Nigerian music scene and not only have to hear "Girl u so fyn, I wanna tek u hom" or "I pop bottle den pour am for ground, I be rich like so".

And it's not just within the country too. I recently stumbled upon this song from Chiddy Bang, a somewhat random pop/hip-hop duo that got famous remixing MGMT's "Kids". (If you don't know who MGMT is, that's okay. They were hot with the hipsters for a while, made nice music. The end.) It turns out that the black half of this swirled duo, is an Igbo dude by the name of Chidera Anamege, aka Chiddy.* And when he went back to his hometown this year as he does every year, he recorded some footage and used it as the music video for their track, "Sooner or Later", which is his contribution to the conscious Nigerian music scene. It's your typical Chiddy Bang track, featuring a sample from Fela chopped and stir-fried to create something new and awesome. Check it out below:


I love his parents at the end. So cute.

A lot of people like to think that Nigerians in the diaspora have nothing to say about their country simply because they've left. Well, let me say something about that. I still get harrassed at the airport because people who carry my passport or have names like mine have become internationally known for blowing things up (or attempting to). I fear for my family and friends back home, because one day, out of the blue, they might get kidnapped and I won't be able to do a thing except pray that they don't get killed or raped or tortured. I may be abroad, but the only thing that's keeping me here is the tentative trust that I won't go apeshit and try and kill some people because apparently, that's what Nigerians do. I carry Nigeria with me everywhere I go -ion my face, in my passport, in my blood, in my name and in my heart. If I can't say anything about it, then who can?

End rant. More to come.

Kudos to okayafrica.com for the info. I've been waiting for a blog site on African music since I moved away, and this year my prayers were answered. Check it out for the latest on music from the continent.

*This is usually the part where I hate on the Americanization of a perfectly easy to pronounce name, but I'm too caught up with the original name. Chidera Anamege. Awesome name. A certain disciplinarian at my secondary school would have a field day with that one.