Hip-Hop in Nigeria: Dead or Alive??

 

Critics on Local Rapper and Nigerian Hip Hop Sound

The Nigerian music industry has been somewhat boring all this years and
there’s been nothing worth talking about which involves the quality of
music we do until recently. There’s a debate growing among music fans in
Nigeria now, following the release of Reminisce “Local Rapper”. A track
where he featured other indigenous rappers in Olamide and Phyno. And they
all but declared themselves dominant in the rap scene in Nigeria. Totally
rubbishing the need for three fundamental elements which makes up a good
rap song, which are ‘Wordplay’s, ‘Punchlines’ and ‘Talking Ill’.

 Where did rap or good music go to?

If it’s all about the money, maybe we can argue that they are probably
right. ever since the emergence of Olamide and Phyno, it’s almost been a
roller coaster ride for them, getting all sorts of endorsements and
performing in shows home and abroad. Every time the argument of merging
Success with Hip Hop comes up, people are quick to mention Mode 9,
Labeling him as the guy who can spit all the rhymes in the world but have
nothing to show for it financially.

This sometimes affects the mind of a young rapper or an upcoming musician
contemplating whether to stick to a style which will make him/her
world-famous like Asa, Tu Face,  a style which presents a better and
bigger opportunity to roll with Legends like Jay-z, The Marley’s as we saw
with Ice Prince and Tu Face respectively or to limit yourself to a style
where you are easily accepted by your locality and it all but ends there
except going abroad to perform to Nigerians there.

Some rappers have spoken against such ideology about local rap or local
music taking over and the best reply so far is that of  fast rising rapper
Rage Millz who dropped a single titled Vocal Rapper in response to
Reminisce Local Rapper.

He highlighted the need for good music saying, it’s better to do a song
people listen to a thousand times than to do a thousand songs people
listen to just once.

From Mode 9’s “Cry” to Tuface “African Queen” to Style Plus “Run Away”, to
Dare’s “Not the girl” and many other good songs over the years. Nigerians
have shown that if they hear good music, they will embrace it. Rappers
like M.I and Ice Prince have also shown that you don’t have to go all
indigenous to be successful as rapper in this part of the world.



While many people will agree with Reminisce, Olamide and Phyno. There’s
still a fraction who disagrees. But there must be a reason why Reminisce
will feel local rap has taken over. His bank account since he switched to
local rap is probably what drove him to stake such claims.



Who is to blame? The Fans?



what do the fans really want?

Vocal Rap as Rage Millz would call it or Local Rap as Reminisce would have
it?



What is Local Rap or Local Music?
 I suppose this is the everyday song we hear with very little or no
message, no constructive lyrics needed, just a bunch of weak freestyles
and a repetition of same thing over and over again. A good producer does
the majority of the job and all an artist have to do is hide behind beat,
get a melodious chorus and just say anything that comes to your head,
regardless of what sense it makes. just like Skales second verse in
“Shake Body”.



What is Vocal Rap or Vocal Music?
This is what we consider as good music, those kind of songs we hear from
ASA, TUFACE and some very intelligent rappers. Even DA-GRIN was
intelligent and had crazy word-play. you can listen to his freestyle on
jimmy jump off to understand that. A Vocal music is that kind of song that
can be presented to the world at large and can be related with regardless
of which language you speak.