Wizkid Hit's Fans With Love and Money

 

The only star in the Nigerian music industry, Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, (star boy) has served his fans another ear soothing and melodious hit single titled "Money and Love". Not only is the beat pleasant to the ear but the title of the song is a combination of two important words that hugely contributes to having a great life- Money & Love. Having money and love at the same time is one luxury that everybody wants & wizkid has given us through this new single.

Money & love was released in preparation for his forthcoming coming album titled "More Love, Less ego". It's also his second release for the year after his first recently released song titled Bad To Me. As the shining star of Afrobeat, in less than 24hrs of releasing the song, the record topped major music charts and its music video which Wizkid paints a colorful picture of the 8O's has almost 1 Million Youtube views.

Love and money was released on the 28th of Oct., 2022 and produced by P2J who previously produced Wizkid’s hit songs “Bad To Me”, “Ginger”. Here is a catchy verse from the single:

Say the money i go supply oo

The thing long of Malay to Okokomaiko

And we fit fly enter Mumbai ohh

Pretty lady all you say na one time

Shey iwo lo dun bayii?

Joor ti a ba dele shey a ma ju paa?

I dey feel fine, make me feel nice

Pass two shot for this one night

Love and Money is a Melodic Afro pop tune with fantastic delivery, rhythmic tune and catchy Chorus. Listen to it at Epoh music.

Where are they? -5 top artists we no longer hear from

There is no dull moment travelling down memory lane of the Nigerian music industry. At every point, we have had artists give us the best of whatever genre of music was in vogue. Some of these artists even introduced us to these genres with their hit songs back then. And while we have artists who have survived various genres through the year, some have respectfully taken the back seat or even bowed out of the industry. And it is funny because one moment their songs are being played at almost every party, and five years down we barely hear their names anymore. 

 

Today, let’s take a short trip down that memory lane and see what’s up with some of these big shots within the last 20 years. If you were born after 2005, don't worry, some of these names might not ring a bell. 

Paul Play -you could fall in love listening to Paul Play, our cute lover boy. Now that I think about it, I should probably address him as Uncle Paul. Paul Play gave us the legendary Angel of my Life and many other hit songs. In 2021, he reappeared on the scene with a concert in the UK. 

Tony Tetuila -you might know Tinubu as the former governor of Lagos State, but we know a Tinubu that hit Tony’s car. 2000s kinds already know the hit song I'm referring to. Yes, that was Tony Tetuila. It's been a long time since and the music industry has changed a lot. He left music behind in 2007.

   

TWO -this music couple is a living definition of marrying someone you do life with. Tunde and Wunmi Obe earned their place in our hearts with their family-friendly style of music. Despite their last name being enough to do the magic, they worked their way to the top musically with hit songs like Oti se se o and the goofy Zombie. They have been married since 1998 and are blessed with three children.

Olu Maintain -if you couldn’t do the Yahooze dance back then, you were seriously dulling. To say his hit track, Yahooze rocked the airwaves is an understatement. It was played everywhere. While he continued to do music afterwards, none of his songs matched Yahooze in terms of popularity and acceptance.

 

Styl Plus -our favourite music group from then. The all-men group never disappointed us with their back-to-back hits. They lost Lanre early on in their career, but that didn't keep them down. After a few years of silence they came back with two hit singles, Imagine That and Iya Basira, but they have been pretty much silent ever since. 

Paul Play is one of the oldest on this list. Do you remember any of his songs? Oya let’s hear it in the comments. Also if you remember “Olufunmi o ma pami lekun o, Olufunmilola, iye eh” you suppose don marry o.

Nigerian music to the world: then and now

There was once upon a time when Nigerians were not proud of Nigerian music. Artists wanted to sing like Rihanna and rap like Jay Z. Nigerians at that time also felt it was degrading to sing Nigerian songs because you will be tagged local. Therefore, even though we all couldn’t understand and relate well to foreign music, we forcefully vibed and crammed it just to belong. Remember the year when the most popular jam was “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira and “Beautiful Girl” by Sean Kingston? These songs were mostly played in clubs and parties. Contrast that with today’s party scene where all you can hear is Nigerian music, and not just in Nigeria, but all over the world.

More than ever before, Nigerian songs have become a force to reckon with. It has become more popular especially with Afrobeats and infusion of other genres. The last two decades have seen the Nigerian music scene evolve exponentially, giving rise to a number of stars. These young people have evolved in their musical careers, eventually becoming some of the greatest voices in music in Africa. The question is “what changed”?. Do we have more talented artists now than ever before or is it a change of strategy and the influence technology?

Of course, we have always had talented artists in the Nigerian. We had musician likes Fela kuti, Sound sultan, Kenny’s music and so on. Therefore, it has never been a factor of talent but of strategy. Although, there has been a great improvement on the Afrobeat sound however its not the major factor to the success of Nigerian music.  Let’s consider some factors that have experienced positive changes which is influencing the Nigerian music industry positively.

Reach: Before now, the Nigerian music industry was considered mediocre and limited to a certain style and way. You only get to listen to music on radio and watch music videos on television.  Live concerts were also for the rich only because of the exorbitant prices charged. Ever since the emergency of technology, distribution of music has experienced a paradigm shift. From the days of stereo, sharing music via Bluetooth, to music playing smartphones and now streaming music platforms. This has contributed immensely to the success and distribution of Nigerian music around the world. The presence of social media such as Tik Tok, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat has helped growing artistes in gaining the visibility that they need to push their music. The power of social media cannot be over emphasized in the success of Nigerian music industry. Kizz Daniel was able to secure a lot to perform his hit single Buga in the upcoming world cup with the power of social media. I recently also saw a video of a young Chinese school girl dancing to Kizz Daniels new single titled cough. She most likely doe not understand the lyrics but the beat was good enough to make her sake her body to it.

Lately, we have had differnet major collaborations of Nigerian artists and international artists through collaborations now have access to international audience. For instance, Ed shreen jumping on the remix of Peru just to penetrate into the Nigerian market.  Artists have also become wiser by employing the International Collaborations :Nigerian-international collaborations scarcely ever happened, unlike in these times when international features are the order of the day. From Snoop Dogg’s feature on D’banj’s hit, “Mr. Endowed“ in 2010 to Chris Brown’s feature on Lojay’s “Monalisa” in 2022, Nigerian musicians have proven that their presence in the music industry is no joke. The recent Bet Award won by Nigerian music sensation, Tems, got everyone talking about Nigeria’s representation in the Global music scene.

Sound:

We did not stop being underdogs until we embraced our uniqueness and style.

Today, more Nigerians have international collaborations with their foreign counterparts, are selling out shows and shutting down arenas. This proves that there is a possibility that Nigerian artists who dare to be different to create sounds that the world has not heard before will be raised higher than the likes of today’s international pop stars.

Timeless Love Songs - My Nigerian top 5

Whether it’s romantic love, friendship love, family love or self-love, we all find ourselves in love at every point in our lives. You could contend it or take a step back and try to understand my point. Even if you don't love someone at the moment, you at least love something or yourself. 

Everyone is capable of love in their way. And it is a beautiful feeling that can keep you going in the midst of the worst of everything. As D’Banj puts it, love is indeed a beautiful thing.

Love can be expressed or given in several ways. This is because people are different and appreciate different things. There is this book on love languages that details how people receive and give love. However, one love language we can all agree everyone speaks is Music. 

Music is a universal language, and even in the expression of love, it doesn’t fall below. Even when we think we are done with love, music has its way of reminding us of love and what it feels like to be loved. With its lyrics and melody, it reminds us of the moments we love, the people we love and the ones that love us. 

To be fair, not every attempt at expressing love in music has ended well. Some make you want to look for who sang the song and give them a premium beating for the time you wasted listening to their songs. However, there are several songs in different genres that express love perfectly, beautifully and timelessly. Here are my top 5 of those songs.

• Ife -Flavor ft Chidinma
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• Ife bi eji owuro -Shola Allyson 
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• Duduke -Simi
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• Never far away -Lagbaja ft Ego
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• You and I -Onyeka Onwenu

What is your favourite love song to date, and what made it special for you? Let’s hear it in the comments. 

It's Time to Update your Playlist

The idea of throwback is funny when you actually look at it. One moment you are adding a new hit single to your playlist, and a few months down the line, it has qualified to be on your throwback playlist or simply out of your playlist for now. 

How long does it take you to get tired of a song? 

One thing about music is that we are most likely to get tired of our favourite songs fast. Hold on, let me explain what I mean. Because you spend time listening to them repeatedly, you soon begin to grow tired of that sound. Actually, that is just how the human mind works. Even if the lyrics are beautiful and mean a lot to you, you will eventually grow weary of the sound. 

The good thing about music is that there is no end to beautiful sounds. As new songs are released, you will stumble on songs you love; songs that speak to you. And these songs will gradually find their way to your playlist. 

Anyway, it is not a bad idea to dust your playlist and update it with songs periodically. If it's about time for you to update your playlist, here are a few songs you should have on it:

1. Organise -Asake
2. Back in Uni -Blaqbonez
3. Xtra Cool -Young Jon
4. Joha -Asake 
5. For My Hand -Burna Boy ft Ed Sheeran
6. Rush -Ayra Starr
7. Philo -Bella Shurmda ft Omah Lay 
8. It’s Plenty -Burna Boy
9. Bloody Samaritan -Ayra Starr ft Kelly Rowland 
10. Dull -Asake 

Which one is on your playlist already? Let’s hear it in the comments. 

Happy listening!

Blaqbonez Shocks Everyone With The Creativity In His New Video

 

Creativity and talent choke for Nigerian music industry. We can never see the last of it. Blaqbonez has been cracking us all up with the visuals of his new single titled Back in Uni. On the new single, he tenders an apology to all the girls that he left heartbroken back in his University days while subtly throwing shades at some top trending 2022 artists in the visuals of the song which was directed by him. The video of this sound is exciting, different and certainly outside the box.

Although Blaqbonez is known as a creative genius, nothing prepares us for the visuals of Back in Uni. He used his video to show what's trending in the Nigerian music industry and also recreated iconic scenes in some music videos. From recreating Asake’s grills and signature blink in the Bandana video to Wizkid the King's Bad to You floral cover art, no one was safe from Blaqbonez in this video even sweet Ayra starr was hit by the stray bullet.

This video affirms that the Nigerian music industry is ever green and can never be short of creative content. There are hundreds of talents out there yet to be discovered so we haven't seen nothing. This space must continually be watched.  Let's have fun by analyzing Back in Uni video.

It's Blaqbonez attention to details for me. Even the tattoo on Oxlade's arm was recreated perfectly. I'd rate him a 9 out of 10 for this. His boot took the 1 mark away. 

This has to be a fave, it's the trouser for me. I'm sure Burna boy no chop breakfast with this recreation because its giving all it should give. Blaqbonez, this is a 10 over 10.

Fresh Star boy sef collect with his rose flower. Lets rate this 8 out of 10. Star boy fine pass this nau.

Blaqbonez don see Asake coming o but Asake didn't see him coming. This is a 10/10, every detail was nicely done.

From the pink hair to the eye patch and lipstick stains on his singlet, it’s safe to say Blaqbonez nailed his recreation of Ruger’s Snapchat music video look. Lets rate this a 10/10.

Blaqbonez should be crowned the music industry comedian because this is hilarious. Nah, not my Ayra star. Blaqbonez, take 7 for this.

It's the stomach for me lol. This is a 9 out of 10.

Portable the street lord sef collect. They Don rip portable o, abeg who go help o? . Recreating this video shirtless would have been perfect. I'd rate it 8 out of 10.

Who do you think is missing in this recreation? . I think it would have been great to have Davido on the list. 
 

Nollywood and Music

Nollywood and the music industry are two different industries with close ties. Apart from being similar/complementary forms of performing arts, there are times they are drawn closer with our favourite music artists appearing in a movie or our actors on screen with their new music albums. But this is not unique to Nigeria; it happens everywhere. Especially when the role requires singing skills or it is a movie centred around music.  

The good part is that a person could be acting for years without being known, and the moment they decide to move to music and drop one single, everyone is asking where they have been all this while. Sometimes it is the other way with successful actors who started out as music artists. I was surprised to find out that Efa Iwara used to be a rapper. He is such a good actor that you would wonder what he was looking for in music, to begin with. 

However, some people have it both ways –successful as a music artist and an actor. We don't even need to look far. We have Falz, who went on to win AMVCA’s best actor in a comedy series. He even sang about it. And Falz’s musical career is nothing short of highly successful. 

Music and acting are not the same things. It takes great skill to combine both and succeed in both. Honestly, we should applaud anyone who does that. But we should also applaud those who became successful in either of the two as they have done well for themselves, nonetheless.  

Since you’re here already, here are seven songs by some of our favourite Nollywood actors. You might know some of these songs since they were popular, but you have probably never heard of the others. Either way, enjoy! 

• Kokoro Ife -Gabriel Afolayan
• National Moimoi -Patience Ozokwor, a.k.a. Mama G 
• Aiye Mi -Dayo Amusa
• Sugar Rush -Tonto Dike ft D’banj
• No More -Genivive Nnaji 
• Who Am I -Jim Iyke ft 2Face
• Grateful -Stella Damasus 
• This Girl -John Okafor, a.k.a. Mr Ibu

So which one did you know before? Let’s hear it in the comments.

Fire on the Mountain; Asa Demands 300 Million Naira From Joeboy Over Copyright Infringement

 

Amidst the record breaking wins, celebrations, international collaborations and hit songs we've been enjoying in the Nigerian music industry, there seems to be a fresh fire on the mountain caused by a male and female artist and no one knows how long this fire would last.

On the 30th of September 2022, while Joeboy was gently sipping his alcohol, the fire on the mountain singer, Asa, decided to put fire on Joeboy's mountain by  issuing him a copyright lawsuit against his newly released single "Contour".

The young musician, Joeboy, uploaded the letter he received from Asa’s Lawyers on his Instagram story on the 3rd of October 2022. According to the suit filed against Joeboy, Asa and her management accused Joeboy of using her musical composition without her permission. In the suit, Asa claims that she had created the composition on the 22nd of September 2020 during a recording session with Tempoe who is also the producer of Contour.

The suit stated: ”We hereby demand that you immediately remove the song from all DSPs and any other platforms within twenty-four (24) hours of your receipt of this letter, with a written apology issued to our Client as well as halt any additional infringements of our Composition, including any other infringements. We also demand that the sum of N300,000,000 (Three Hundred Million Naira) as well as a 60% (sixty percent) publishing split on the Song be assigned to our Client.”  Asa is really ready to empty Joeboy's pocket with her demand.

Joeboy who decided to stop being a preacher of love but of war took to his Instagram story to give a response to the letter. He said although he does not want to be stressed, he is ready to face this problem and not run away. In his word " cos I dey always do love and light, you think say I be soft meat" "it's been 48 hrs, do something".

This development may be the beginning of a growing conflict between a young musician, Joeboy and an established singer, Asa. There is indeed fire on the mountain and Joeboy doesn't seem to be on the run.

Celebrating 62 Years as an Independent Nigeria!

What is independence? 

We have been through a lot as a nation, particularly in the last one year with what seemed to be an unending thread of banditry, kidnapping, inflation and economic upheaval. But one thing has remained true of every year and every independence day celebration, Nigeria is an independent and united nation. 

The chords that bind us together despite our millions of differences remain strong. The chords of happy moments as a nation like when our Tobi Amusan set a new record and Ese Brume brought home the gold in the long jump. The chords of beautiful music and achievements like Afrobeats becoming a global sound, Asake topping music charts in major countries of the world and Tems bringing home a BET award. The chords of academic excellence, innovations and as we head to an election year, the chord of a renewed hope. 

Independence is the freedom to choose, and with this renewed hope in our hearts, we will continue to choose a united Nigeria. 

Happy Independence Naija!

From all of us at Epoh Music 

P.s. Since today is Nigeria’s birthday, Here are 5 songs dedicated to Nigeria you should check out.

• Great Nation -Timi Dakolo 
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• The Future (We are Nigeria) -TY Bello
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• Great Nigeria - Peejay Paul 
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• Nigeria My Beloved Country - Funmi Adams
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• The Way Forward -King Sunny Ade 

Enjoy!