Where Is The Nigerian Music Industry Headed

I Was sitting on my couch this dull friday morning, watching Soundcity’s programme “This is Soundcity fresh” which is meant to show brand new music videos, and he first video i watched was Omo Akin’s video for his song with Skales and Koker and although the video and the instrumental to the song was very ok! The lyrics to this song was as wack as f***, only Koker was able to flow well to the beat.

CDQ’s Panda cover, Pada then came on next, and it was no better, the video didn’t have that “wow” effect, lyrics were totally off, almost like CDQ was just talking with his guys, no message passed at all (even if we know some of our artists don’t pass any nowadays), one line there made me almost shed tears though, “Ycee Jade! Dremo Jade! Vector Jade! Mo ni ke jade ni yara!” I didn’t understand what he was trying to do, if he was dissing em or giving em a shoutout, am certain CDQ is even more clueless than i was and still am till now.

Then right after that came, Dj Neptune’s video to his new song with Flavour, i felt this will at least be better than the last, only to be disappointed by the combination of two of the bests in their lanes in the country, the song has no verse! just a chorus that was repeated ceaselessly and a totally off hook by Dj Neptune, totally disheartnening something, the video itself has a good concept but lacked the befitting interpretation.

After this now came, Beyonce’s SORRY video, lawd!!! This was just so so on point! The video was lit! From the concept to the interpretation to the props to the lyrics of the song to the instrumental everything was gelling! Perfect combo!.

To actually think couple of days back Yemi Alade said in her OWN VIEW opportunity is the only thing that distinguishes our local acts from their international counterparts, if am to go by the things i saw on Soundcity earlier today, i would say more than opportunities distinguish them from THEM. Hardwork, hunger to improve, and the thoughts of the market they are releasing their records to.

Now to what lead me to write this, as a Nigerian music fan, i felt so bad to the extent of me actually thinking if these guys think we are fools and lack the bad taste buds for good music at least manageable music, by dishing out substandard contents believing we will take all that is thrown at us by them, makes one wonder where the Nigerian music industry is headed.

I think these artists are capable of giving better than what they are offering us now, and they need to start hitting their best else the Nigerian market will soon turn on em (which will reflect round the continent) what im i even saying, it’s happening already.

In conclusion, DEAR NIGERIAN MUSICIANS WE ARE NOT FOOLS AND KNOW WHAT’S GOOD AND WHAT’S BAD, PLEASE GIVE US THE GOOD STUFF AND GET THE GOOD STUFF FROM US TOO…

By Unilag Olofofo (IG: @Unilag__olofofo)

Five Important Things To During The Holiday

TOP 5 THINGS TO DO DURING THIS HOLIDAY

 

PS: We are really sorry for not posting articles sooner, do bear with us.

After spending a ridiculous 'almost five' months for our first semester this session, it is of prior importance to carefully make use of this holiday before we are bombarded with yet another rigorous 'almost five' months. So we've compiled a list of what we think should be done by all FUNAABITES before resumption;

· Enjoy life to the fullest: Being in the university is a serious pain in…, well, on one's enjouyment level. You have to balance your time between long lecture hours, normal life activities, studying and all these leave very little room for unwinding- PROPER unwinding. So before you subject your innocent being to FUNAAB's hot, blazing sun for another three to four months, enjoy EVERY bit of your holiday, every modicum!!!!!

· Update your social knowledge: No matter how addicted you are to Instagram, BBM, Whatsapp, the internet or any other social activity, you can never have enough time in school to know all the trending hashtags, which football club is selling which player,

what Drake's very latest song (when it was freshly released), e.t.c so in order to not lose you very socially up-to-date self, spend every second you have catching up. Watch the latest movies, read the latest books, read the latest news, gist, catch up with friends—just keep yourself armed with enough (knowledge) ammunition to maintain your sanity through this upcoming semester.

· Touchup your skills: We all have things we do apart from trying to get a degree. Be it side hustle, talents, acquired skills or even passions so build on what you have during this break. If you haven’t gotten around to figuring out your own skills, don’t worry, just prepare your mind to do that during longer breaks. We spend most of our lives in school and that halo of 'studying' is always there, hanging over our heads so holidays are periods to purse your 'thing' with no conscience eating you up. Improve your extracurricular skills while you can because once you're done with university, it might be your surviving factor (Here I am, writing!!).

· Eat in: My favourite! Food in school, actually nothing can compare to properly home cooked meal. It is best to fill yourself up with the love, aroma and sweetness that accompanies properly home cooked meals so as to revitalize your immune system and also to prepare your body for the many sickness that seems to come with each semester. You might also want to keep in mind that university health centres cannot totally be trusted regarding health issues, incase you decide to underestimate the power of good food.

· Proper preparation prevents potential palava(P5): This is the last on the list (mostly because I don’t want to ruin the holiday vibe with the mention of school) but it is also of paramount importance. Towards the end of the holiday, I advise that you try and evaluate thing you did last semester/session that you weren’t proud of, academically or otherwise, and things you would like to emulate so as to enable you achieve your goals. I hope this list will enable you enjoy what's left of your holiday.   

PS: We are really sorry for not uploading any article/list for a long period and we promise to rectify that issue. Also, we want to wish our Muslim subscribers RAMADAN MUBARAK!!! May this period bring peace and fulfilment to every one. 

Editor-in-chief,

OLOFOFONG.

Steps To Stay off Social Media Scandal.

Social Media no doubt, is one of the most interesting ways to wind-down whenever one is exhausted or through with the day's job.

Social media as a networking portal has helped alot of individuals get lifelong jobs, start up a career and most entrepreneurs would especially testify to this fact, that the online world is one of the biggest platform to connect with business like-minds. For some people, It is a medium to interact with fans and publicize their art.

But with all it's numerous benefits, social networks has overtime, proven to have a great downside to one's life if not properly managed/handled. I mean, we have people whose careers and relationships has gon south simply because of their perilous display of frivolousness on social media.

To avoid scandals and image-degradations from potential sly-foxes roaming everywhere online, here are some steps you should take. Add yours if any!

1. DO NOT POKE YOUR NOSE ON PEOPLE'S AFFAIR: If you respect 'your person' and do not want your personality tainted with scandalous hearsays, then you must have to stay in your lane. Though its no harm to sometimes sneak-peak on folks or try to have fun off trending issues by engaging in them but doing it so frequently and to the detriment of some other person's reputation? ...please dont! Always try to know the limit to how you relate with folks.

2. KNOW WHAT YOU SHARE WITH FRIENDS: Like they say - Not everybody who calls you my friend, my friend, is indeed a friend

Be mindful of the kind of people you share your personal information with on social media. Always keep personal stuffs simply Personal!!!
.....Even when you feel an online-friend has given you enough reason to trust him or her, i think that's when you should actually become more mindful of them.

3. DONT BE A TROLL: If you really want your E-life to remain in its most reputable form, one that's not tainted with defamatory and unsavory allegations, then trolling online is what you should really keep on arm's length.

A troll is someone who provokes others to their own personal amusement or sometimes, to cause disruption. So why would you be thinking of becoming such a person if really you're a responsible individual who wish to be taken seriously? People whole troll online at the end of the day, ends up being shamed and victimised greatly.

4. KNOW WHAT YOU UPLOAD: Why do i feel like almost everyone of us are guilty of this - i mean uploading raunchy pictures or showing off our furtunes and assets all in a bid of trying to 'impress' our friends online. Now for you to enjoy social media to the fullest you must beware of the kind of image you put up here. Its not everything you 'must' publicize.

Be it your relationship life or your pictorial personal-documents - think twice before you put it up online because the world is indeed a small village, little things can go a long way really.

So many people has lost out on job opportunities simply because their potential employers mere did a google research of them and found out what they're online.

5. Do Not Click On Untrusted Links I think this is self-explanatory. Hackers are everywhere online. All they need do is get you to click on a link and they'd have full access to your personal documents.

Do not click on any link unless you trust its source.

Culles from Nairaland.com

Five Most Common blogging Problems.

So, as a tribute to the great bloggers who faced these challenges and to those who is thinking to start a blog, today I will be discussing the 5 most common blogging problems.

1. Topic For Next Post
Why is this a problem?
Well believe me, most bloggers does not start blogging because of passion. It’s because they find as the easiest way to generate income.
And if one start blogging with the aim of money-making, they usually end up choosing the most- profitable niche for blogging, on which they might not have any
interest.
So eventually, they find it hard to find topic for their blog post. I find a lot of such bloggers who doesn’t have any interest in the topic they blog about and the phrase NEXT BLOG POST is usually a nightmare for them .

2. Time To Concentrate On Blogging
Whether you blog for money or for passion, time doesn’t compromises for anyone. And you find it relatively hard to concentrate on your blog unless you have completely isolated yourself for blogging.
Time is a major problem especially for students, employees etc who have tiring works all day. And after all these chaos, they blog within the remaining time. So people who blog partially find Time a major problem unless on weekends or holidays !

3. Income
As I said above, if you are blogging for money, then this problem should appear first. Every pro-bloggers says that you should only start to think about income at least after 6 months of blogging.
But what we see is that as soon as their blog’s age reaches 1-2 months, many bloggers start to apply for AdSense and other platforms. And most often, they gets rejected by Adsense and quit blogging. If your main reason for blogging is money and you have no patience for earning them, then you’re not going to earn from blog at all ! And for others, who is not able to make a good amount from blogging. Just concentrate on your articles and readers, because they are the one that generates income for you.

4. Competition
This is often faced by bloggers who race to increase their blog’s rankings. With the so-called blogosphere getting more and more populated every day, you need to work really hard to reach the extremes of blogging! Blogging needs passion, and moreover you need ideas. Ideas that can help you write,write and write more to gain readers and popularity. The best way to get popular is to choose your favorite niche [Of which you have idea] and start writing.

5. Response
Duh ! Here comes the main problem. By saying response, what I mean is 3 things
* Traffic
* Subscribers
* Comments

Traffic is something that keeps your blog alive. If you are very much concerned about traffic, then it is recommended that you spend some months in researching for trends in blogging before you start your own blog.
Also do keep in mind to update your blog with regular happenings in your niche. This way readers will feel your content fresher and useful and you’ll start having a flow of traffic.

Subscribers is something that reflects whether your blog’s becoming successful or no. The more a reader feels your content useful, the more is the chance that he/she would subscribe and refer your blog in the future too!

Comments can be referred as the direct and immediate response for your articles by readers.
Many say that WordPress blogs get more comments because of their CommentLuv feature.
But I believe that content is the factor that makes a reader to comment.

Hey! You have just finish reading my tutorial, do me a favour by taking 5seconds to share this post. It wont take a sting outta you!
Dont forget to COMMENT!!!

Source: www.nct.com.ng

24 NIGERIAN MUSICIANS RE-IMAGINED AS INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL CLUBS....

In the spirit of football, heres a nice compilation by twitter user @Wac_clumsy who re-imagined Nigerian Musicians as international football clubs and he comparisons were too accurate.

1. Davido - PSG;

Because davido got to the top because of money and has been consistent since then.

2. Tuface - Real Madrid;

Tuface has been awesome ever since and still bossing the industry.

3. Skales - Arsenal FC.

Because he is so close to making it, yet always so far.

4. D'banj - Manchester United;

D'banj like Man - U was always bossing it till he changed management, then he dropped a bit but he bounced back.

5. Burna Boy - West Ham;

He is very good but doesnt get the recognition he desreves.

6. D'Prince - West Brom;

known but hugely irrelevant.

7. Pasuma - Juventus;

He is bossing it in a league of his own (Fuji).

8. Seyi Shay - Aston Villa;

Always making stupid (in her case grammatical) errors and embarrassing herself.

9. Patoranking - Athletico Madrid;

He came from nothing to try and upset the big boys.

10. Olu Maintain - QPR;

Gets relegated, bounces back , and gets relegated again.

11. Lynxx - Manchester City;

Although lynxx made it because of money, he has been hugely inconsistent.

12. Darey - Barcelona;

Very good, sings with this charisma that only he has.

13. Viktoh - Sassuolo;

That's right, so irrelevant.

14. Adekunle Gold - Dortmund;

Came from nowhere, is very good and loved by all.

15. Sinzu - Valencia;

Your time at the top is over. Just stop making music.

16. Iceprince - Chelsea;

Made it, the started singing/playing rubbish.

17. Vector - Liverpool;

Inconsistent and Underrated. 

18. Olamide - Tottenham;

Using young boys to make it. Respect!!. 

19. Ycee - Leicester city;

Came from nothing and hugely making it.

20. Bred - Monaco;

Very useless, upon all the money. 

21. 9ice - Ac milan.

His era of dominance is over.

22. Reekado banks - Watford;

He's making a promising start so far.

23. Shina Rambo - Portsmouth Fc;

That one still they sing sef??. 

24. Phyno - Napoli;

Nobody understands him, but he's making it. 

Culled from 36ng.com.ng

THE NIGERIAN STUDENT FASHION AND DESIGN WEEK 2016.

The 4th edition of the Winasbet sponsored Nigerian Student Fashion & Design Week is here again with Winasbet, one of Nigeria’s leading online sport and betting company returning as the title sponsor for the 3rd year. NSFDW has promoted over 150 young designers since inception, some of which have gone on to become established and prominent names in the Nigerian fashion industry.

The event continues as a collaboration of BlackNBold Fashion House, a leading fashion promoting company, Africa Fashion Week London, the producers of the biggest African Fashion Week in Europe & Nigeria and Mahogany International, world renowned producers of fashion weeks across the world. The team behind NSFDW has over 20 years of local and international fashion show production experience.

The Winasbet Nigerian Student Fashion and Design Week aims to discover new talent and give opportunities to those that would not normally be able to afford to participate at the major Nigerian Fashion Weeks. Winasbet Nigerian Student Fashion and Design Week is aimed at brand new or emerging designers that want to use these shows as a platform to either launch themselves or a brand new collection that they have to the student market.

The Most Creative Designer will receive sponsorship to showcase at the Africa Fashion Week Nigeria, a year mentorship with a renowned fashion designer, a top pr company and financial support. More benefits available in the designers pack.

The fashion week is scheduled to hold this July at the Indoors hall of the University of Lagos and it will attract press, buyers and fashionistahs from around Nigeria who want to see the new trends that are being developed by the designers that NSFDW will feature.

To request press accreditation email:press@nsfdw.com

For Sponsorship, designer/exhibitor pack, press enquiries, photography or general

enquiries: info@nsfdweek.com or call 07031607412, 07053934970, 07034823549
Website: www.nsfdw.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/nsfdweek

Instagram/Twitter: @nsfdweek

WHY GO TO SCHOOL??? by SAMUEL IKEOBI.

I'm not gonna bore you with these 'Bill Gates was a drop-out', "Walt Disney had so many fallouts" speeches. I'm sure you know this already.

Don't get me wrong, I love the stories of the aforementioned but the mistake we make is that we interprete them negatively at any slight setback.

Sometime last year, I wrote an Electrical Engineering exam and it was full of dotted errors and crossed mistakes. It was that type of exam you'd want rapture to happen while writing it. The most frustrating part was that I prepared intensively for it, read the two voluminous textbooks recommended by the lecturer thoroughly. Lo, the lecturer went off-course and set ghosty questions we'd never seen before.

When I got to my room that day, I switched on my mobile phone and watched Suli Breaks' spoken word poetry on "Why I Hate School But Love Education".

Why did I do this?
I simply felt a burning anger in me towards the course, lecturer and the school's system as a whole.

And yeah...watching that video gave me the solace I needed at that time.
But after that, what next?
I slept, woke up and off I went to the library for another episode of the 'La cram la pour' series. Life continued...

What am I trying to bring out here?
I know the true meaning of 'school' has been abused by all and sundry,
I know you're tired of spending countless hours reading a buried man's work.
But I want you to ask yourself this question,
"WHY DID I COME TO SCHOOL?"
Is it 'cos your parents forced you out of home,
Or is it simply because of peer pressure?

Irrespective of our answers, we find ourselves enclosed within the brackets of a citadel of learning.

Its no news that we don't necessarily have to be confined to the four walls of a classroom before we'd be presumed as educated persons.

I've a friend that loves to say this and I quote;
"I don't know how to sing, I don't know how to dance, I don't know how to play football but the books I know how to read and understand, I'll read them well"

There's this air of motivation that seems to blow whenever he says that 'cos it's kinda like the summary of our responsibility on planet Earth.

Remember I started writing this piece by stating clearly that I don't intend to cajole you into thinking you're better off without school.

Most youths of today are being fooled with the remarkable testimonies of the drop-outs of yesterday but notable elites of today. The fact is that, for every Mark Zuckerberg, there are thousands of youths out there withering in the cold. Why?

Hosea 4:6 - "For lack of knowledge, the people perish".

Of course, we all have hidden talents waiting to be dug up by the shovels of perserverance and spades of hardwork.

But despite our talents, be it writing, singing, dancing, fashion designing, bead/bracelet making, photography, to mention a few, we need to find the right balance between our quest for knowledge and our quest for excellence.

I choose to classify it that way because the only set of people that ever gain excellence from school are those with the talent of reading. Otherwise, school gives us knowledge while our talent(s), if well-pruned, blesses us with excellence.

It took me years to discover that I had a flair for writing (I actually started writing last year, 2015). But did this sudden zeal for writing make me think of quitting school to pursue a career in writing? NO!
Rather, it has painted a bigger and clearer picture of how my future would turn out.

There's a common saying, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket". So why should you sacrifice school for your talent or vice-versa?

Ecclesiastes 3:22 says "So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?"

From the Holy Book, we can see that we just have to look at things from the 'cup-half-full' perspective for there's nothing better than a man to enjoy the works of his hands.

In conclusion, let's recycle every hate we've towards school into endurance, if not love. The truth is that a school environment (if not its system) is a very efficient catalyst that has a way to speed up the refining of the talent(s) embedded in us. We just have to relate with the right people, attend the right meetings and have the right mindset.
Question: WHY GO TO SCHOOL?
Answer: To build your future.
START BUILDING YOURS!!!

Thanks for taking time to read through this.
Remain blessed, remain inspired!!!


Samuel Ikeobi
¤ S.Iclopedia ¤

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE C.E.O OF SULCATA ENTERTAINMENT....

The CEO of Sulcata Entertainment, (Oraka Nvy) a Lagos based entertainment outfit was in Abeokuta last week to attend the Funaabsu Concert. We had the opportunity to have a short chit-chat with him.

* F_O: Can we meet you?

* Oraka: My name is Oraka Nnanyelu (NVY), CEO Sulcata Entertainment and i am from Anambra state.

* F_O: Can you shed more light on your family background?.
* Oraka: I come from a family of seven, i am the last child, i am from Anambra state like i earlier said, Nnewi north to be more specific, but i was "born and raised" in Lagos state.

* F_O: How old are you?.
* Oraka:  I turned 29 on the 19th of February.

* F_O: Your educational background?.
* Oraka: I am a Bsc holder from the university of Lagos where i studeied Estate management, Secondary school; St. Gregory college (ikoyi), Primary school; Belima college.

* F_O: You were Formerly a music Producer and artiste?
* Oraka: I was never a music producer  I was an artist manager not an Artiste.

* F_O: What prompted the switch from artiste manager to event manager?.
* Oraka: It wasnt actually a switch,they are all intertwined, i have always been a into entertainment, i am a lover of things that make people happy, so i noticed that the opportunity to make a whole lot of people happy is by organizing events. I have been organizing events since my secondary school days.

Oraka Nvy.

* F_O: Any hidden talents that we should know about?
* Oraka: Everything i have got, i have brought out to the public.

* F_O: Are you dating anyone presently?
* Oraka: No, i am not.

* F_O: Are you searching?
* Oraka: No i am not searching.

* F_O: What brought about Sulcata Ent.?
* Oraka: Sulcata started about six years ago (2010). The company was registered in 2009, but i like to say 2010 because that was when we had our first event, in the University of Lagos while i was still a student. FES awards, thats how Sulcata started. But the name Sulcata is the biological name of the animal "Tortoise'. I love the concept of  a Tortoise (if animals can be related to the entertainment industry, then everyone wants to be like the Lion but almost all Folktales were about the Tortoise).

* F_O: Your next project?
* Oraka: We are going to be hitting a whole lot of campuses this year.

* F_O: Other entertainment brands you work with?
* Oraka: We are currently in partnership with List entertainment, a management company owned by Mr. Sunday Are who manages Omawumi, Wizkid and a whole lot of other artistes and he is a major influencer in the entertainment. Also we are in partnership with Mtv Base and Echo House, based in Ghana.

* F_O: Are you planning to take Sulcata ent. Internationally?
* Oraka: Yes, how soon i can not tell you because i believe in conquer your grounds first before going out, but do not forget that we have handled an event in Ghana.

* F_O: Any brand you would like to work with?.
* Oraka: I would love to work with an international brand as big as the organizers of the Grammy's and the Oscars.

* F_O: What has been your major challenge.?
* Oraka: Financing. You could have a whole lot of ideas in your head, but without proper financing you can not realize any.

* F_O: Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
* Oraka: The truth is starting Sulcata i did not have a one year plan, talkless of a five year plan. We celebrated our fifth year anniversary last year and the theme was Ignition. Most people wait till they have a master plan. Anyways I see myself being on the top of the entertainment chain in Nigeria and with a lot of international recognition.

* F_O: Lastly, what would you like to say to up and coming entertainment brands?.
* Oraka:  Its only in your mind you stay limited, do not wallow in self glory, work till your mentors are envious of your success, keep doing it, do not ever stop.