D’banj is losing at home, how can he win away?
I challenge D’banj to blaze the trail once more, and have me re-editing my already typed works.
…D’banj
is not a great Singer, but he is the most successful. Anybody that is
complaining now is actually late ‘cuz if he were as bad as they say, he
wouldn’t become as big as he is. …we know we cannot Rap. We know we
cannot sing; but we know we can entertain you in our own way.”
– Don Jazzy (Punch Newspaper, 8th October, 2011)
– Don Jazzy (Punch Newspaper, 8th October, 2011)
“Every
Artiste’s work, unless he be a hermit, creating solely for his own
satisfaction and with no need of sales, is to some extent socially
conditioned; he depends upon the approval of his patrons.”
– Unknown
– Unknown
Music
is a tool for change. Music is everything. Music is a panacea, and
above all can buffer the pressures from the many bustling of our daily
pursuits. To ignore the power of music would be akin to unmasking an
ancestral spirit.
Since the D’banj-Jazzy imbroglio, I have tried hard to detach myself from subjective stands. I have watched and observed both parties keenly and I think it’s safe to write on my analyses thus far. The summary of my discourse is that D’banj is waning.
Since the D’banj-Jazzy imbroglio, I have tried hard to detach myself from subjective stands. I have watched and observed both parties keenly and I think it’s safe to write on my analyses thus far. The summary of my discourse is that D’banj is waning.
Now,
let’s get down to brass tacks, for it appears the Koko master isn’t (or
has found it impossible) recording anymore great songs, without his
erstwhile team mate- Don Jazzy, and anyone who saw their matchless
combination before now would be as worried as I am. Banga Lee isn’t
recording anymore major pop/street anthems, as he used to, yet he
continues to feed on his past glory; by still managing to sell out shows
and cover magazines. Can we safely say then, that his musical career is
loitering on the brink of a collapse? As much as I am amongst the pro
Mo’hits vanguards, having faulted the D’banj-Jazzy break up forcefully
and objectively, especially in respect to their dwindled musical
representations subsequently, let me make two things clear: First, Don
Jazzy has quite succeeded in delivering major, attention-grabbing
materials; even without D’banj, and I can count from top of my head 7-8
major hits he has scored, to substantiate.
Secondly,
my criticisms are borne out of my concerns for good music and
formidable entertainment empires – empires that can quake the nation and
go on to stun the world. Nothing more. I have nothing whatsoever
against D’banj personally, but the fact that ‘Oliver Twist’ is still his
biggest single since he parted ways with Jazzy is thought-provoking.
How can an old Jazzy-produced single be bigger than the entire D’banj
post Mo’hits album? I am worried. You should be. It should disturb real
D’banj fans and music pundits in general. He is not hoisting his flag
(on same musical high as before), he stays playing into the hands of Don
Jazzy faithfuls, who believe strongly that Jazzy is the muse behind his
music.
In
the light of this, I implore D’banj to please wake up and clear rife
doubts. There is no better time than the present, considering his track
record, and I suppose; his understanding of the yearnings of teeming
fans, supporters and critics.
D’banj
is NOT Denrele, Uti Nwachukwu or Saka. Stage performances are only a
sequel to good songs. Performances should feed off and complement
wonderful studio projects. He is a self-acclaimed entertainer, and I
have not a drop of doubt about that; but what is his entire ‘acting’ and
‘theatrics’ and shirt-pulling-bragadaccio without some heavy club/pop
anthems for the people to nod to? If, like an Obi Asika for instance, I
don’t fancy being outdoors much, does it imply I’d never get to connect
with a talent in D’banj’s mould, because I would have to wait for him to
make up; on stage, for lapses on his tape? This illustration is an
aside, by the way.
I
don’t know the terms of the G.O.O.D Music deal with D’banj but I know
that it will never serve to position his career fully, if he doesn’t
deliver to his patrons; his home-based patrons. The fans and listeners
at home are his major patrons. International recognition and
acceptability only flow from hits -multiple hits- that must have been
endorsed by the industry pundits, fans and critics at home; at least to a
large extent if not in its entirety.
Another
option before us is hoping D’banj switches styles and goes completely
international in his pattern of music. But there are pitfalls. He can’t
switch styles today and get around with the American genres tomorrow.
D’banj is not the best singer or rapper or dancer. He would hardly
scratch any surface there, with or without G.O.O.D Music. Even a Banky
W, Bez, Dare or an MI Abaga, with their much seemingly
up-to-foreign-standards deliveries wouldn’t dare go that route; that
would be the musical equivalence of taking coals to Newcastle.
Godwon
won Eminem’s freestyle battle, he hasn’t achieved anything in the
American Industry afterwards. Matter of fact, he is struggling to find
balance in our industry, and until his recent annihilation of Sauce Kid,
was going on with a just-about-average name in Nigeria. Well, except in
Hip-hop circles, which is a relatively small chunk of our
‘listenership’ base. Craig David -in his heyday- tried it, he left
Southampton and went ahead to test new waters in America. He is still
licking his wounds.
The
home turf is any artiste’s bedrock, he mustn’t screw with it. It is his
best bet and must be served right. If he loses at home, he will never
win away, this is not Premiership or Champions League. See, prolific and
seasoned entertainment writer, Jon Caramanica, struggled to write a
piece on ‘D Kings Men’. He wrote a paltry work on NY Times, like he was
lost for words or he was paying for each alphabet with his blood. I was
tired. D’banj is our own, they don’t know him like we do. They never
will.
Amidst
all these though, Banga Lee has a strongpoint, and we must admit. He
commands respect and captivates a titanic audience. He is still killing
it, I must also add. Only thing is he can only go so far if he doesn’t
begin to coal the fire. Whilst I’m not saying Don Jazzy is the beginning
and the end of his career, I’m saying he is giving critics plenty
reasons to posit thus.
‘Oyato’
-obviously hastily done, in a bid to announce that he was still in
charge- was a terribly weak song. The ridicule in its wake was just as
sick. I got it online the day it was released, I had been chilling for a
post Mo’hits material from the Koko master. I played it a couple of
times on that cold evening. I was outdoors, my headphones on. At some
point, I flung my head back and laughed aloud. It was a bitter laugh,
the type that could make a passer-by stop and stare. My expectations
were dashed.
Some
one year plus after, nothing has changed, save for ‘Top of The World’,
and perhaps ‘Cash Flow’ and ‘Bachelor’. The Koko master stays releasing
music that leaves much to be desired. And gradually, his arsenal is
depleting, his monster hits thinning out, his fire smothering and our
musical cravings ebbing. My outlook of his career, at present, is
positively dispirited.
On
‘Scape Goat’ Remix, his GOOD Music benefactor, Kanye West, spat some of
his most insipid lines ever. I was nearly teary-eyed upon hearing
those. I wonder if that says anything about what value Mr. West places
on his huge Nigerian signing. I truly wonder. Fally Ipupa lends further
credence to my suspicions of D’banj’s nosedive on the ‘D Kings Men’
Project. ‘Nous Les Meilleurs (We The Best)’ was one helluva fiasco, it
reeked of nothing but rambling sounds. I am also thinking something is
wrong on the parts of his A&R team, otherwise that song had no
business on the album.
I
might have been opinionated all article long. Let me share with you
what Ayomide Tayo, a music critic, wrote in his review of ‘D Kings
Men’: “…Fans
wouldn’t give D’banj’s new songs half a chance because they lack Don
Baba Jay’s magic touch. D’banj is aware of this and fights back on
several tracks on DKM.”
My question now is, have these fight backs delivered the goods? Are there major hits as a result of the fight backs?
Ayomide writes further: “…On
DKM there are no huge pop anthems like the ones crafted by Don Jazzy in
the Mo’hits period. What we have on this compilation are strong pop
songs hinged on D’banj’s personality and amazing instrumentals.”
At
this point, I’d implore us all to minutely dissect Ayomide Tayo’s
postulations vis-a-vis my aforementioned analyses, then figure if the
Koko Master is still breaking grounds (musically). As we digest these
words in silence, can we also ask that the real Koko master stands up?
By ‘stand up’ I mean rise up and take the lead, as it was.
I
understand and respect that D’banj has great fortunes (possibly than he
knows what to do with them). It is musically that he is (almost
becoming) destitute, and any true supporter would be pained. This is
what necessitates my writing. I want some carefully done and structured
songs, I need him to orchestrate hits upon hits like we used to have,
monster hits like Wizkid, Olamide and Ice Prince have done in the last
10-12 months. I want no more of his forceful, hasty attempts at foisting
his music upon us.
In
any case, I don’t expect Banga Lee to read this and bite his thumb nail
(I know that he does bite his nails and stuff) and lose sleep, with his
mind hovering over problems of how to conduct his music so as to
establish proof of his genius (with or without Jazzy).
I also do not intend to excoriate his brand and person, in the least. Candidly.
But
I believe that this piece will have served its end, should it succeed
in the minimal task of rousing the Koko master from his pseudo-American
dream, into a reality where he takes on the mantle, as one of Nigeria’s
biggest music exports of the 21st century, and churn out works that
should have oppositions bowing in awe.
I
challenge D’banj to blaze the trail once more, and have me re-editing
my already typed works. I need him to clear my doubts so I can probably
beg a few of my closest, kindest friends; to help me into a state of
temporary oblivion, by shutting my door, whilst I sedate myself with a
measured doze of Gin and Juice, as I fade slowly with R. Kelly’s ‘Turn
Back The Hands of Time’ playing quietly in my background. I am waiting. I
know a million people who also are.
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