Tim Uwakwe

Have you ever come across a work of art and thought to yourself, "If only the whole world will see and experience it the way I have?". That was how I felt when I listened to upcoming Nigerian rapper, Kristal's debut body of work Kristal Clear mixtape. The Kristal Clear mixtape is a collection of all the songs Kristal has ever released. You know that moment when an artist begins to actually work on his own songs after convincing himself that he wants to do music full time? That is actually the type of songs Kristal included in this body of work. Songs in that category are usually not up to taste, are flawed, or are almost always half baked. But these songs are also usually the most precious to these upcoming artists, and hold the most endearing stories of them. The songs in the Kristal Clear mixtape are like that in a way, but are different in an interesting way. While they are his very first works in music, they show so much maturity and experience on his part. The Kristal Clear mixtape is not your regular music project. It is a carefully created body of work that seeks to entertain and educate it’s consumers. It is a crystal clear message for everyone to sit up and adjust to the new ways of doing things that actually work, and it spares no one, not even Kristal himself. It contains 10 tracks made up of two skits, two refixes, and six originals. The project features his boss who also doubles as the project’s executive producer, Yung Roc, and another Nigeria born rapper, Pohzitive of Imo State origin. Production credits goes to producer Dcube Tha Beatkilla, and it was mixed and mastered by Yung Roc at the beats by Roc studios in Imo State, Nigeria.

There's a saying that goes "To whom much is given, much is expected". That saying is golden and true in most cases. But it becomes scary and terrifying when there's a lot of pressure to deliver, a lot of pressure to do better than you did the last time. At that point, you may be left with no choice than to think outside the box, to do the extraordinary. And when you succeed in doing that, then it will have been worth the whole effort. When Ngerian Banku Music singer, Mr Eazi, first came into limelight, he came with a kind of music with a different kind of vibe. While the majority of Africa was vibing to music made majorly with fast-paced or up-tempo beats, Mr Eazi was busy perfecting the Banku music style which is mostly characterized by mid-tempo beats and some form of Ghanaian synths. Before long, that pattern of music began to gain momentum among African millenials, and right now it has become a well established sound in Africa. Mr Eazi used that sound to create his first album "Life is Eazi, Vol. 1 - Accra To Lagos" mixtape, but after that it was as if that sound was waning. That sound which everyone has now accepted and are now vibing to, and which Mr Eazi is championing was finally beginning to wane and lose momentum. What would Mr Eazi do now? Heck! He was just starting his music career and couldn't afford to go down with his signature sound. He had to think outside the box and do the extraordinary. What would that be? Damn! It would be to take that sound to a new clime and repeat the process. And so Mr Eazi took his sound to London and named that body of work "Life is Eazi, Vol. 2 - Lagos To London" mixtape. How brilliant! So on Friday, 9th November, 2018, he gave all music lovers a gift by way of a new body of work. It was the release of his sophomore album. That mixtape boasts of features from Simi, Burna Boy, 2Baba, Diplo, Lady Donli, Distruction Boyz, Maleek Berry, Giggs, among others and it comes after his "Life is Eazi, Vol. 1 - Accra To Lagos" mixtape, released in February, 2017.

When artists take the time to go to the studios to create music, the next line of action would be to determine when exactly to release it. This is because timing is very important in releasing music. Experience has shown that releasing music in Nigeria in the 2nd and 3rd quarters of the year is much more profitable than doing it in the 1st and 4th quarters of the year respectively. It results to great results in sales of the record, fans retaining the music and vibing to it through the better part of the year, thereby enabling it to trend up until the end of the year. And that will enable it to be favored in award ceremonies which usually happen in the 4th quarter of every year in Nigeria. On the other hand, music released in the 1st quarter of the year do not usually trend till the end of the year. They are usually knocked off or replaced or pushed aside by other records that are released during the course of the year, but they have a great chance of being hit songs due to the relative lack of new music in that quarter of the year. And those released in the 4th quarter of the year have the power to trend but usually do not make it to the awards because of not having enough time on the charts, or music critics and journalists not seeing them as worthy enough to be nominated to awards because of their limited time in that music year. So every quarter has its benefits and downsides. Awards which a lot of people say do not matter these days still matter to artists, and is a reflection of how good a musician was in a particular year or years. So its usually a tough decision to make and every artist wants to receive a pat (awards) on the back for the work they have put in especially from the prestigious ones. The only exception is if the music is so good and spectacular, then you could take the bold step of releasing it in the 1st quarter. And that would be a really bold step, otherwise releasing it in the 2nd quarter would be a safer approach. When Burna Boy released his third studio album "Outside" on January 26th, 2018, he probably did not know it would turn out to be the album of the year. He was probably 'aiming for the moon with hopes of landing on the stars'. But that album surpassed its expectations.

When I listen to a piece of music, two things usually attract me to it - the melody and arrangement, and the beat. That is to say that I'm not too particular about lyrics even though they are very important as well. When I hear a good melody I usually get a soothing feeling and I'm able to use my mind as a mirror into what and how I want to feel, and if the melody is too good, I let it drive me and lead me to its desired destination. The beat gives me something to vibe along, something to dance to or probably just nod my head to. A good beat would literally have me imagining what dance styles to go with it and that results to a lot of happiness for me. A lot of people are like me. More than anything, music makes them happy. They appreciate music so much that just the beat or melody is enough to get them going. While other people insist that music can't be great if the lyrics is not great as well. If the lyrics is not on the same level with the beat and melody, they say it is trash or crappy music. While that is true to some extent, it is not entirely true. Some piece of music is just meant to make you feel good. Katy Perry's 2017 album "Witness" is that kind of music. Katy Perry serenaded her listeners with music that moves the mind and body. Set in 17 tracks namely, "Act My Age", "Bigger Than Me", "Bon Appetit", "Dance With The Devil", "Chained To The Rhythm", "Hey Hey Hey", "Into Me See You", "Mind Maze", "Miss You More", "Pendulum", "Power", "Roullette", "Save As Draft", "Tsunami", "Witness", "Deja Vu", and "Swish Swish", Katy Perry layered some sweet melodious tunes on fantastic beats arranged in really interesting ways, with a mix of some really interesting lyrics. That is to say that "Witness" is more than just beats and sweet melody, it contains good stories and experiences that everyone can relate to.

Growing up is an exhilarating experience. The thrill of being free, of being undisturbed, and having the ability to do whatever you want and almost get away with it. The thrill of having to be cared for, cherished, protected and loved. It is a period filled with love and warm affection. A period when you're being groomed and guided to become the best you can possibly become and achieve your best dreams. Sometimes I wish that I could relive my childhood. But as much as it is sweet and lovely, growing up comes with a lot of work. It is filled with uncertainties and responsibilities. Uncertainties in the sense that you are in constant awe of yourself and your body due to its developmental process and do not know the next surprise it might whip up soon. And responsibilities in the sense that as you continue to grow, soon you can no longer get away with your vices, but will be made to face them and make them right. As if that isn't enough, your heart comes with the greatest surprise ever, springing up with a different kind of affection that is different from the ones you've experienced all your life, but beautiful in its own way. This kind of affection is emotional and free. It is a beautiful feeling of wanting to love a total stranger and be loved back, but it becomes painful when that love is not returned. Everyone experiences these and Alessia Cara is not an exception. Her second studio album, "The Pains of Growing Up", beautifully documents her experiences while growing up. The 15-track album shifts attention from the usual love stories Alessia Cara is known for to something more personal; the troubles and pains she experienced as a teenager and how they affected her, but also how her decisions and the paths she followed eventually turned out for her.

You know how you try so hard to succeed, but no, you keep hitting rock bottom despite all your efforts. And then one day when you didn't even try so hard, it happened, boom, you're sailing. That is kind of what happened to Olamide with his fifth studio album Eyan Mayweather, only that he didn't quite hit rock bottom with his previous albums. They just weren’t as good as the fifth one. That's also what happened to Davido, a top Nigerian Afropop singer who tried so hard to break into the US market in 2017 but to no avail. Now his songs "Fall" and "If" are getting airplays and quite the recognition in the same US. "Fall" had climed to the number one position on Most Shamazed song in New York, US, and also featured on the Billboard most listened to RnB songs in the US for 2018. Speaking in Nigerian Pidgin in an interview, Davido said: "When I push am with my strenght e no work, now when I no even try e dey go up", which means in English, "When I put in the energy to promote it, it didn't work, and when I didn't even try, it' s moving up (up the charts I suppose). It happens to the best of us. It's not luck, neither is it the universe aligning its favor on us. It's just a case of opportunity meeting preparedness. The fans in the US just probably happened to be in the mood for an Afrobeats inspired song at that moment and Davido's "Fall" was there to fill that need. Olamide prepared Eyan Mayweather with the same mental attitude that he did the others, mixing gyration with Afropop for the most part, and appealing to the streets, but this time it got stuck more than the others. Fans were more responsive to it. The 21-track album contains some of his best songs and has the highest numbers of hit songs he has made in one body of work so far in the industry. Olamide has continued to make more and more music. In 2016, he released another album titled Glory, and in 2017 he released yet another one which he called Lagos Nawa. Both albums are great, but his 2015 offering Eyan Mayweather still has a little edge over them and always finds a way of toppling them over, and that prompts me to ask, Is Eyan Mayweather Olamide's most successful album yet?

There's a saying that goes: "Aim for the moon, so that when you miss, you can land on the sky.” That saying is used to encourage people to aspire to greatness, to aim for the best, be it in education, career or when choosing a life partner. Like apply for these ivy league schools so that even if you don't get this one, you may get the other one. Or get your acts together so that even if you don't score a win, you would still acquire a good number of fans, as in the case of showbiz. In other words, whichever one of these you get is cool, but you have to focus your energy and attention in that direction to get them. It's a win win thing. Usually it requires a lot of preparation and hard work to do this and succeed, and those who are determined to be great achieve it in the end. That was somewhat the case with The Chainsmokers' sophomore studio album Sick Boy. That album can be considered great and awesome, but a further look at its make up reveals the strategy, hard work, determination, and promotions that went behind the scenes before it became great. That body of work can best be described as a wonderful compilation of ten great songs, not because those ten songs are too exceptional, but because they were given proper attention and planning both in their preparation and in their releases. So in other words, we could say that The Chainsmokers put in the work to make sure that these songs came out right, and then also put in the same amount of energy in the post production - strategy, marketing, etc. - so that even if the songs don't make it to the top as expected, the extra work put in the post production would do the magic for them, and vice versa. It's a win win situation and it worked exactly that way, in their favor. They say the patient dog eats the fattest bone, but where I come from, the patient dog goes to bed hungry. The world is increasingly getting more competitive so only the smart and strong have a likelihood to come out victorious. Desperate times require desperate situations indeed!

In the past when you go to a show or an event there are people who are used to entertain guests. When a popular song is played, they come to the stage to perform and appear as if they are in fact the owners of those songs. Their performances are usually very exceptional that if you're not careful you may begin to convince yourself that maybe this guy or this girl actually is the original owner of this song. These people are called mimers and in those days they were really loved and idolized. There were also those who would in fact sing along to those popular songs and do it so well that it becomes so real to you. While it requires talent, it is a lot easier to sing along to a song or maybe have your own version of a song that has already been created by someone than actually creating one yourself. That is why there are a lot of people who are great singers and vocalists but are not able to transform that talent to being full-fledged musicians. These days mimers are no longer popular, or at least I no longer see them at events and shows. However, there are now those who re-create popular songs and most times add some flavours to it, by either changing the lyrics or adding some melody and beat to it but still following the original melody and beat of the song. Songs made out of this process are called covers, and many music enthusiasts are doing it. In fact, so many wonderful musicians have emerged from making covers of popular songs they love, that they have acquired fans of their own who look forward to their next cover of a popular song. One of these is Nigeria's Simi. After releasing an album which didn't see the light of day in 2008, Simi resorted to making covers of popular songs she loved. In 2014 she released another EP (Extended Play) she titled Restless consisting of five covers of songs namely, "Apologize" by OneRepublic which she titled "20nine", "Man Down" by Rihanna which she titled "Range Rover", "Grenade" by Bruno Mars which she titled "Misbehviour", "Halo" by Beyonce which she titled "Why You Forget", and "Set Fire To The Rain" by Adele which she titled "Not Okay.” These songs received favorable critical acclaim and placed Simi on the spot. Would she be able to maintain this new fame and popularity of hers if she starts to sing her own songs now? Or is just going to continue making more covers of popular songs and be known as that girl who makes really cool covers? Simi chose the former. She decided to be a full-fledged musician again. But how would she fair?

Sometimes when people ask questions that they don't need your candid opinion on, but just want your affirmative answer or some sort of agreement, they end it with yes or yes?, right or right? etc. Like, you are a student, yes or yes?, tea is something you drink in your home every morning, yes or yes? That's because they have already convinced themselves and concluded in their minds that there can only be one correct opinion or answer about the matter and that that correct opinion is there's. It's a fun thing to do actually and most times it is not to be taken very seriously. Of course people will always have the right to offer their candid opinions on matters too and that's just fine. It doesn't matter if their opinion is right or wrong, it's a right they have, and that brings me to my question. If you've listened to Sam Smith's The Thrill Of It All album, do you think it is fantastic or just phenomenal? Here's another word "Badass"? Yes I have listened to that piece of music and I have convinced myself and concluded that it is great. But not everyone will feel the same way and that is fine because of the obvious - people have a right to their opinion. But what if you have not listened to it yet? Could my opinion influence you and probably move you to take a decision? I'm hoping that the latter happens. I am not going to be like most people who just want others to flow with their opinions on matters of personal interest, so I'm not going to force an answer on you. But whatever happens, there are certain elements of this album that are very obvious and cannot be easily overlooked. Elements that are deeply rooted in the whole essence of why music is made. This simply means that this album has different features including the message passed, the correlation, but among them the most conspicuous are the use of the piano, the vocals and the melody.