July 3, 2010
" One day, I have a dream that the children of this great nation will look forward to a much brighter future... "There is an untapped force in the behemoth that is Nigeria's most-daring, most-unsupported, yet officially unhooked entertainment industry.
That force, whose most poignant dimensions can be beautifully experienced once you press PLAY on any of Fela Anikulapo Kuti's undying records: that while Music can be entertainment, entertainment is incomplete stripped off, of originality, creative tirelessness even if imperfect, and most important of all, message.
Which is where, Eldee's recent video - One day - is a totally welcome breakaway from the bagful collection of club mixes - Nigeria's major ensemble of the the last few years.
It is one you won't forget too quickly once you get it On. Recorded with straight-forward simplicity, the base keyboard plays into your memory with immediate registration.
The opening shots quickly fade from one of Nelson Mandela's most iconic summation of a society's heartbeat, and where to find it, into a well timed, synchronised rap poetry with a gentlest touches of drums. Its breezy and relaxing instanter...
The video is a credit to Eldee in its creative brilliance; There was a commendable effort in every frame of the 5 minute show - and this is a thumbs up to its producers - not just to record a video, but create art, read the impressionable ways with which Silence was transformed into loud artistic message ? Glorious!
And the song - One day, while deserving, seems to me to fall short of rising to its potentials on one count. Eldee clearly seeks to be inspirational and motivational;
That is a good start and it is understandable. Afterall, you grabbing a gun is the first step towards understanding the ways of a trigger..
But to be motivated without commitment ultimately is incompatible. The Nigerian psyche is already battered beyond comprehension even if resilient and industrious material.
It sure needs motivation, but above all, it needs a magnetic pull towards direction. Or pull from its state of hypnosis. A pull from the confusion and spinelessness that pervade those Churches - where Nigerians flock to in search of comfort, where they meet even bigger organised blood-suckers..
Direction for action, or a reminder of Barrack Obama's Akara of Accra:
"You have the power to hold your leaders accountable, and to build institutions that serve the people...But these things can only be done if you take responsibility for your future."
It is high time the African Hip-Hop generation be told of that, in multi-dimensional, dare I say Eldee-ic ways. Only then, might the guns so blazingly grabbed in "One Day" can start firing...There will be blood.
::
Finally, here is hoping one day, we will have the ability to buy the CDs in global shops or at least get to buy .flac downloads as against iTunes. Listening to Mp3 is giant-hood - of art - painted on a wall and passed for reality.
[email protected]
That force, whose most poignant dimensions can be beautifully experienced once you press PLAY on any of Fela Anikulapo Kuti's undying records: that while Music can be entertainment, entertainment is incomplete stripped off, of originality, creative tirelessness even if imperfect, and most important of all, message.
Which is where, Eldee's recent video - One day - is a totally welcome breakaway from the bagful collection of club mixes - Nigeria's major ensemble of the the last few years.
It is one you won't forget too quickly once you get it On. Recorded with straight-forward simplicity, the base keyboard plays into your memory with immediate registration.
The opening shots quickly fade from one of Nelson Mandela's most iconic summation of a society's heartbeat, and where to find it, into a well timed, synchronised rap poetry with a gentlest touches of drums. Its breezy and relaxing instanter...
The video is a credit to Eldee in its creative brilliance; There was a commendable effort in every frame of the 5 minute show - and this is a thumbs up to its producers - not just to record a video, but create art, read the impressionable ways with which Silence was transformed into loud artistic message ? Glorious!
And the song - One day, while deserving, seems to me to fall short of rising to its potentials on one count. Eldee clearly seeks to be inspirational and motivational;
That is a good start and it is understandable. Afterall, you grabbing a gun is the first step towards understanding the ways of a trigger..
But to be motivated without commitment ultimately is incompatible. The Nigerian psyche is already battered beyond comprehension even if resilient and industrious material.
It sure needs motivation, but above all, it needs a magnetic pull towards direction. Or pull from its state of hypnosis. A pull from the confusion and spinelessness that pervade those Churches - where Nigerians flock to in search of comfort, where they meet even bigger organised blood-suckers..
Direction for action, or a reminder of Barrack Obama's Akara of Accra:
"You have the power to hold your leaders accountable, and to build institutions that serve the people...But these things can only be done if you take responsibility for your future."
It is high time the African Hip-Hop generation be told of that, in multi-dimensional, dare I say Eldee-ic ways. Only then, might the guns so blazingly grabbed in "One Day" can start firing...There will be blood.
::
Finally, here is hoping one day, we will have the ability to buy the CDs in global shops or at least get to buy .flac downloads as against iTunes. Listening to Mp3 is giant-hood - of art - painted on a wall and passed for reality.
[email protected]
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