By Osagie Alonge
Hip-hop, one word, a lifestyle and a consortium of elements has always been resonating in my life. From the early days of my childhood when my father would play records (these were vinyl records of course!) of Michael Jackson, New Edition, Christie Essien Igbokwe and Fela, I never knew that later on in life I would be bopping my head to kicks, snares, punch lines and metaphors provided by rappers.
In the mid ‘90s, when I discovered the art which was another world entirely, I imbibed it with all sense of belonging, plunging my mind state into the rap music, basing my character, mannerism and language on what I was hearing from foreign cds and tapes.
Rap music in Nigeria however gave me another feel. I somehow could relate to the language, intonation, storylines and concept. Modenine, Terry Tha Rapman, Dr. Fresh, Overdose and The Trybesmen soon became my favourite MCs.
I remember staying up on Friday nights, to watch Emmanuel Ugoli on M.B.I as he updated us his viewers on hip-hop happenings in Nigeria with videos and surprise interviews. The feeling was inexplicable as I, eyes wide staring at the TV, watched new videos from my favourite rappers, relishing every moment.
Over the years, I became more engrossed in ‘Nigerian hip-hop’, becoming a diehard fan – buying cds was the only way I could support the ‘movement’.
But I felt an essential part of me longed for more; I wanted to see these MCs perform live! With the popularity of hip-hop still trying to make a major mark in the country, hip-hop shows are scarce. You can barely find a gathering of ‘hip-hop heads’ performing for their core fans. Over the years, this has been a shortcoming of the culture – where do the rappers, b-boys, Poets, graffiti artistes and deejays get to display their works? While some poets and rappers have taken to online forums, others who don’t have the opportunity have crawled back to their shells, new talents long to be discovered.
Don’t get me wrong, there have been hip-hop events and summits – most notably WAPI (Words and Pictures) organized by The British Council and the recent Club Rockaway put together by the underground legend, H.N.I.C Doc. Gee. But both have long been indefinitely put on hold.
So here I am once again, relating to Nigerian hip-hop by the only means I have – listening to hip-hop music (by the way, my library has grown to over 6000 songs) and nothing else, no shows no summits.
There I was on Thursday, January 18, 2011 going through Facebook when I came across a picture in which a friend had tagged me in; it was actually a flier for a hip-hop show going down that night.
I later found out that the show is actually called ‘Str8Up Hip-hop’ and the first edition was to be hosted by the famous ELDEE XL, a Radio personality who is considered to be one of the hip-hop purists that pioneered ‘real hip-hop’ in the country. Other side attractions included freestyles, rap battles and break dancing. There was also going to be an honorary award to be given to Hip-hop World Magazine publisher Ayo Animashaun for his immense contribution to the hip-hop community. This is what I had been looking out for! Yes, I was going to be there.
The show which was to start by 7pm at The Place, G.R.A, Ikeja was the only thing on my mind that afternoon; I made several calls to fellow hip-hop fans, sharing with them the recent development.
When I got there, I was surprised to see backdrops, large posters of Nigerian and foreign MCs placed everywhere, bright lights and TV crewmen. This was huge! I wasn’t expecting this, not even close. Put together by music power house Now Muzik, the atmosphere created was perfect for a hip-hop gathering.
The show started with the deejay spinning classic cuts, far from the conformal music being played nowadays. I felt heaven’s dust being sprinkled in my ears. Heads bopping, feet tapping, I couldn’t help but flaunt a wide grin. The b-boys took the stage and did their break dances; the crowd cheered and applauded their stunts. It was around 8:30PM and people still kept trooping in, hip-hop veterans like B-Elect, Snatcha of the RoofTopMCs, The Kalifates, DJ Jimmy Jatt, Plumbline, Jonah D Monarch and many others all made appearances. The show continued with freestyle battles and then the honorary award was given to Mr. Animashaun. It was ended with a stellar performance from Thorobred member, Elajoe. ELDEE XL, who brilliantly anchored the event, wore a shirt with the words ‘SWAT ROOT’ written on it. (SWAT ROOT is the name of the now-defunct rap group that gained prominence in the late ‘90s).
This month’s edition took place last week Thursday February 24, 2011 and was as entertaining and captivating as the first edition. It saw RoofTopMCs’ member Snatcha host the show this time around and female rapper Blaise and singer Nomoreloss entertaining the energetic crowd with a freestyle session that lasted for 20 minutes.
In my conclusion, ‘Str8Up Hip-hop’ has temporarily brought back what has been prematurely lost; the essence and elements of hip-hop in Nigeria. The only thing I fear is the same that other hip-hop shows have faced – Consistency.
4 comments
I appreciate what d net ng is doing but recently (especially the last 6 or 7 articles) have had quite a monotonous style of writing. From a personal perspective and somwhat straight 2 d point…….dunno if osagie alongie wrote all these but the net ng b4 d emerging of dat new editor guy had brilliantly written articles and reports……nowadays however, the headlines may be intruiging but the style of writing is arrghhhhh!!!!!…….this isn’t a hate mail but am jst tryna criticize constructively. 08060564340
we nd mre of dat in city acros nig.wre hiphop lover ar scathered eg jtown.cros city etc and:if hiphop is dead bfore i awake .I go evry station murder d dj:nas line
Nice 1,NET.What’s up with d Friends of Hiphop World forum?IS it still kicking?1 Love!
I was a WAPI faithful.Now I look forward to d next episode of str8up hip-hop,to kick some 16 bars!!