By Osagie Alonge
When I saw the poster for the second anniversary of monthly music gig ‘Loud ‘N’ Proud‘ with Ice Prince announced as the lead act, I promised myself I’d be there, for several reasons. The first being that Ngozi Omambala, organiser of the gig, is such a great person who has selflessly showcased upcoming talents to the public and I think that’s great. I was also a judge at one of the editions in 2013; I had a great time.
The second reason was Ice Prince. When the rapper is performing at an event, everyone comes out. Since I hadn’t attended any gig this year, it was a nice way to kick start 2014, I thought. To say the least, I did not regret spending the night away from my bed.
The show was held on January 30, 2014, at the Soul Lounge of Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. It was hosted by Beat FM’s Damilola Elebe and MTV BaseVJ Ehiz –- the venue was packed full with industry buffs and the media. Ngozi and Ice Prince attracted quite a number of personalities from Radio, TV and the music industry. In that small spot, the good fellas from MTV, Sound City and HipTV were all present and got along pretty well.
At a glance I spotted Beat FM’s Olisa Adibua, MTV’s Colette Otusheso, Spinlet’s Mark Regaurd, Etisalat ambassador and Hollywood star Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Sound Sultan and his Naija Ninjas crew (who seem to be the most organised crew I’ve met in recent times), Dr SID, and Moet Abebe’s backside. Of course they were lots more people at the event.
Mr Zamani’s crew also showed him love – the Chocolate City staff was present selling FOZ merchandise. Victoria Kimani, Pryse, DJ Caise came through, as did Loopy Records rapper Loose Kaynon, GRIP Boiz – producer Chopstix, Endia and Yung L.
PERFORMANCES
Just before I get into the in-depth review, I must state that the sound was very poor. The back-up singers had to strain to get their vocals out. The acts all performed with a live band, with Ice Prince and DJ Caise interpolating at times with recorded version of his songs.
Yung GreyC – The Best Kept Secret
If you’re looking for talent with a burst of energy, then that’ll be Yung GreyC. Don’t let her pretty smile and petite look deceive you; she might look small in size but her voice is dominating and vibrant. She got on stage to perform her single ‘Holla at me’ and did it nicely too. Not her best performance because people were still settling in but it did suffice for the night.
Endia – The Original Soundman
The young talented patois-singing dancehall act stepped on stage and, just like his appearance, gave a raw-cut, sharp-edged performance. You could tell he’d been practicing with the live band for a while; it showed and his seamless transition between songs was commendable. Starting off with his verse off Reminisce’s ‘Government’, he switched to his other songs ‘Raving’ and the infectious ‘48’.
Yung L – The Smooth Criminal
Yung L came right after Endia. This GRIP Boiz act has mastered the art of performing. I once watched him perform at Felabration 2012 and while that was a struggle, presently, Yung L aka Mr Marley exudes nothing but confidence. He was smooth, melodious and savvy with the microphone as he performed his songs ‘Fever’, ‘Red rose’ and the chart rising ‘S.O.S’.
Enzo – The Embarrassment of the Night
Who let this woman on stage? Why was she handed a microphone? These were the questions that ran through my mind when upcoming act Enzo (apparently co-signed by M.I) got on stage. After watching her apology of a performance at Industry Nite back in April 2013, I was hoping she would have improved. I was wrong. Three words to best describe her performance: horrible, disconcerting and miserable.
And I wasn’t the only one who felt so – Emma Nyra and her elder sister Crystal (who sat right in front) laughed at her when she wasn’t facing them. Rapper Eva laughed, I laughed too, almost everyone laughed but we all hid it from her. She was on stage for close to 30 minutes delivering off-key vocals for her single ‘International girl’ and other heart-wrenching songs, trying to dance and come off sexy; it was displeasing to the ears and eyes. I mean, when someone in the audience starts to play Temple Run on their phone while you’re performing, you know should just stop.
And when all that didn’t work she advanced towards Emma Nyra and forced her to sing, she grinded on Eva and forced the mic on her too. She called Loose Kaynon on stage for an impromptu duet and grinded on him too. She was like a less skin-bleached Dencia on stage, like a Tonto Dike with better grammar on stage. Tsk tsk tsk.
Ice Prince – Everybody Loves Mr Zamani
It’s pretty difficult reviewing an Ice Prince performance. The problem is that you can’t get the right reaction from the audience; they all love him no matter what he does. On the night, Ice Prince could have brought an ‘I better pass my neighbour’ generator set on stage, put it on, sat down at the edge of the stage and just looked back. I swear, he would get the kind of applause Michael Jackson got when he did the first ever moonwalk in 1983.
But Mr Zamani came prepared; donning a white long-sleeved linen traditional wear (a strong emphasis on his ‘Aboki’ signature style), he complimented his band members who also wore something similar. He kicked off his performance with a melodious Northern Nigerian music medley with his two back-up singers (including Naomi Mac, Nigerian Idol Season one finalist) delivering some very impressive vocals.
Working with his live band which included talented producer Sammy Gyang on the keyboard and DJ Caise on deck, Ice Prince neatly delivered songs from his Fire of Zamani album with finesse. The audience sang along, cheering as he performed ‘My life’, ‘Mercy’, ‘Whiskey’ and got really excited when he rendered the smoker’s anthem ‘Gimmie dat’ and ‘I swear’.
The J-Town boy and his band upped the ante when he asked ‘Can we turn up or what?’, performing the Don Jazzy-produced ‘N word’. He also hit it off with Sound Sultan and Dr SID.
The Loud ‘N’ Proud music gig holds on the last Thursday of every month.
5 comments
“What is an enzo?” Lmao! Enzo will just be going round, disgracing herself, her husband and children. No shame.
Must she sing? She obviously has no talent.
Apart from her horrible performance, I totally had fun at the Loud and proud anniversary show.
Nice review!
Whatttt!!!! This enzo thing is full of shit, what in the world was she thinking? she is useless and talentless. She’d better get a real life than fucking around where she belongs not. I really do feel embarrassed for her and she’s so disgusting. Wonder what her husband thinks of this show of shame, he must be dumb enough to let her loose.
I did have fun at the show though, thank goodness for other brilliant performers.
Damn! I wonder how Eva coped with all the body ordor beclouding her. This girl has got some fishy BO running through her blood stream – i can testify to that. she must think she’s the hottest thing since agege bread abi? hisss, she’s just a low life forcing her way thru the music industry with the same hair she’s been carrying for ages. make she park well jor o!
Secondly, she looks like ozzy osbourne in those glasses and over bleached face, the idiot no just make sense abeg.
looolzzz na true she resemble ozzy wella. also heard about the body ordor thingy, yet she won’t stay one place. i pity her family cos she doesnt have any shame.
now i appreciate tonto even more. all these low-life wanna-be’s are so annoying. lmao@ ozzy, but good and accurate observation