Entertainment
TALENT is a Miserable Orphan | By Sayo Aluko
This morning, I was in the bathroom with my friend, Mr. iTunes Music player, and as usual, he was on shuffle.
Funny guy. He has mastered the art of sifting through my over 2000 songs like a McCoy, going from a zero to a hundred in a blink.
I mean, nigaa goes ????Ijoooba orun, lere oniiigbagbo o????in one minute, putting you in celestial mood, and the next thing you’ll hear is, ????talo ka pata iya Teacher lo n’Ibadan, kapaichumarimarichupako, zanku, leg work, zanku, gbe bodi e ????.
Most times I’ll just smile and be like, “guy, guy…guy!!! how far na! Nawa for you o!”, and then just vibe on.
Back to this morning, I think I was in the middle of that eternally attendant tedium of scrubbing the back when he blazed in with the ranking single – Say You Believe Me – from the 2008 #PlanB reunion album by the Platanshun Boiz trio.
???? Baby believe me when I say, na you dey matter for my mind….Girl anytime I look into your eyes it’s like sapphire and diamond inside….The reason why I trip for you is that you truly truly under-under-understand me so so…And there’s many other reasons that makes me dòbálè for yoooou more and more…????
You should have seen how my soap-rigged self burst out moves, turned the sponge to a mic and sang along, after I had initially hailed my guy [I’m sure I’m not the only one who hails the Music Player in those moments when it comes through with one correct song].
“Washeere my niggaaa!”, I twale-d.
But as I vibed to this gem of a jam, I got re-struck with the legend of Augustine “Blackface” Ahmedu.
Re-struck because I mean, any and every knower of true sound must have been once or many times stricken by this guy’s apparent talent.
Blackface was [is] easily the most talented of that trio. His voice was [is] the scarce type. He gave different. He wrote 80% of their songs. He sang, rapped, hooked. He had the swagger we loved to see. Oh! That his creamy voice.
Below is an excerpt from a 2016 article by Obinna Fred:
“all three members of the Plantashun Boiz, their managers, record label executives and even music industry insiders are still very much alive and can explain to you the numerous roles which Blackface played in not only naming the group, creating the “Face” personas and also writing a bulk of the music, [not just] anybody can do that…”
He was [is] the most talented, and this is neither an unpopular opinion nor is it an alternative fact [thank you Trump!]
But we all know the other story. At a point, Blackface was rumored to be somewhere on unhappy street, blowing last ashes off cigars of miserable, while staring at bottles of fermented anger. We all know this story.
He didn’t really make it. Especially when compared to Innocent ‘TuFace’ Idibia, the most successful act from that group.
[No, pause. This isn’t one of those look-at-your-mate, inspire-to-aspire-to-expire articles o!]
I put ‘Say You Believe Me’ on repeat, and as largely usual in most Plantashun Boiz’ songs, Blackface sang most part of it. Right there, I couldn’t just stop thinking about whatever it was that stymied the “blow” of Blackface’s talent.
After a while of thought, the only way my mind could explain this was via a sentence – TALENT IS AN ORPHAN – without the right people, talent is nothing.
One could argue this stance for ages, but is quite clear that something wasn’t right about the kind of people who surrounded Blackface. How the hell did someone this talented didn’t get to that zenith where we’d have seen even more of him?
I had to accept that among many other reasons blinded to me, this fact of a lack of right people was top for me.
I wanted to blame the beast of piracy for Blackface’s mishap, but I realized it was a common denominator to most, if not all Nigerian recording artistes. Boom! I was back to the arithmetic of people.
What if he had his own Efe Omoregbe like TuFace does till date? What if he had his own Mama Burna as Burna Boy does, lifesavingly at that? I kept asking myself.
From Blackface’s striking legacy, I couldn’t but help acknowledge that Talent needs its parents – the right people – around it to survive the long haul.
The right people who will:
• curate the right influence around the talent
• bear the weight of the dream bore by the talent
• help find paths to survival for the talent
• become team, a beam, and not burden for the talent
• become family and like-minded advisers for the talent
• become comrades who can say NO to the talent’s vices and make it live.
Talent is not TALENT without [the right] People.
Talent is an ORPHAN without [the right] People.
Talent will end up LONELY without [the right] People.
One is forced to ask – What kind of people are teaming and teeming around one’s purpose, vision, and/or talent?
I heard Blackface is back on his grind now though, and I had to go to his Twitter page to see those efforts – I wish him the best and can’t wait from whatever cooks from that kitchen.
To me, and as I said earlier, to a lot of people who legit sabi, Blackface will always be remembered as a pluripotent multi-genre artiste – who can rap, sing, create roots reggae music as well as dancehall, some sprinkle of Idoma tunes and sometimes gospel. I’ll remember him as a social activist who has always used conscious music as a weapon to speak for the vast majority of masses [we can’t forget the single with Alobai ‘Hard Life’ in a jiffy], and most importantly, a songwriter who penned arguably the greatest and biggest R&B song in Nigerian and African contemporary music history – African Queen.
PS: I have relieved my guy, ITunes Music Player, off its shuffle job today. It’s gonna be an all Blackface Naija weekend….
????…it’s a hard life wey dey live for Naija, ja ja ja…????
The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that eight people were stabbed and hundreds were arrested during last weekend’s Notting Hill Carnival, one of the world’s largest street festivals, held annually in west London.
In an update on their policing operation late Monday, the Met reported that five people were stabbed on the final day of the three-day celebration, which is internationally renowned for its vibrant display of British Afro-Caribbean culture.
This followed three other stabbings on Sunday. Three of the victims were left in life-threatening conditions.
Police made at least 230 arrests on Monday alone, including 49 for possession of an offensive weapon.
These arrests added to the scores of others made earlier in the weekend. In addition to the arrests, three firearms were seized, and 35 officers sustained injuries during the event, which attracts around a million attendees every August bank holiday weekend.
The number of arrests and incidents this year closely mirrors last year’s figures when there were 10 stabbings and approximately 300 arrests.
Despite the heavy police presence, with around 7,000 officers deployed, the carnival was once again marred by violence, particularly knife crime. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of revellers enjoyed the event without incident, filling the streets of Notting Hill with colour, music, and dancing.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Ade Adelekan expressed his frustration over the recurring violence, noting that a woman attending the carnival with her child was among those stabbed.
“We only very narrowly avoided a fatality,” he said, urging attendees to report any crimes they witness.
The Notting Hill Carnival, a celebration of British Afro-Caribbean culture, has its roots in the 1950s, following the post-World War II influx of immigrants from former British colonies.
The annual event is known for its feathered dancers, steel bands, and earth-shaking sound systems, symbolizing the rich cultural heritage of the Afro-Caribbean community in the UK.
The Lagos State Police Command has freed renowned street artist, Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, following a night spent in police detention.
Portable was apprehended on Tuesday in Lagos’ Abule Egba vicinity for purportedly defaulting on the balance payment for a G-Wagon vehicle he had purchased from an auto dealer.
Reports suggest that although the ‘Zazoo Zeh’ maestro acquired the vehicle valued at ₦27 million, he only disbursed ₦13 million, leaving a ₦14 million outstanding balance.
In footage that went viral, Portable was observed scaling a gate as law enforcement officers approached him with an arrest warrant.
Subsequently, another video emerged depicting him being restrained, handcuffed, and conveyed by approximately four policemen into a waiting vehicle.
During the altercation, a female voice, purportedly that of the car dealer, was heard in the background, issuing profanities and recounting Portable’s alleged threats when confronted about settling the debt.
The Police spokesperson in the state, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed that Portable was released on bail on Wednesday after spending Tuesday night in police custody.
He further disclosed that both Portable and the car dealer are expected to reconvene at a later date.
“He (Portable) has been released; he was granted bail on Wednesday to come back with the complainant later,” Hundeyin stated, stressing that “the outcome of that meeting will determine our next line of action.”
This incident marks not the first encounter between the singer and law enforcement.
In April 2023, Portable was detained by the police in Ogun State and arraigned on five charges related to alleged assault and theft at the Ifo Magistrate Court, in the Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State.
Subsequently, he was held at the Ilaro Correctional Centre before being released upon meeting bail conditions.
In a recent inquiry into the untimely demise of Nigerian musician, Ilerioluwa Aloba, better known as Mohbad, held at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Prof. Sunday Osiyemi, a Forensic Scientist and Pathologist, revealed that the results of the autopsy conducted on the deceased failed to unveil the cause of death.
Speaking before Magistrate Adedayo Shotobi, who presided over the coroner’s inquiry, Prof. Osiyemi cited various factors contributing to the inconclusive findings, notably the significant decomposition of the body due to the extended delay of 21 days before the autopsy was performed.
Highlighting the urgency of the situation, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Wahab Shittu, representing Mohbad’s family, emphasised that according to the pathologist, the body should have been exhumed within 12 hours post-burial to prevent decomposition, a critical factor in determining the cause of death.
Shittu further elucidated that the pathologist referenced the administration of certain drugs to Mohbad before his demise, suggesting a potential correlation between the drugs and the difficulties encountered in pinpointing the cause of death.
“He also went further to say that it may be attributed to reactions to certain drugs administered on him before he died. Again he then qualified that to say he does not know whether it is those drugs that actually led to his death,” Shittu stated.
With the cause of death remaining elusive, the coroner adjourned the proceedings to June 11th for further examination and cross-examination of the pathologist’s findings, signaling a continuation in the quest for answers surrounding Mohbad’s untimely passing.
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