Sola Idowu, better known as Weird MC the Raptainer is one of the unique voices in the Naija hiphop/pop scene. Unique not only for her sound and music, but because Naija female MCs are far and few between.

One thing that is immediately clear about Weird MC is that this woman doesn’t play around - she takes her music very seriously - recording, producing, touring, promoting, etc… striving to put her stamp and flavor of Naija Hip Hop, on the map.

Splitting time between Naija and Jand, Weird MC continues to evolve her sound (which has indeed evolved from the first time I heard her on the 1996 hit - Allen Avenue). Her upcoming album After Da Storm, features original production work on her part as well as collaborations with Skillz of JJC and the 419 squad and Don Jazzy.

On the verge of releasing her upcoming album After Da Storm Weird MC sat down with us over here at Naijajams for an interview:

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Big thanks to Weird MC for taking the time to chat with us. Check out the track Ijoya, from the upcoming album After Da Storm as both audio and music video… these leave me thirsty more!

Stay tuned and we’ll be sure to let you know when the album drops.

Weird MC - Ijoya (preview)

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Weird MC - Ijoya (Animated Music Video Preview) 3.6MB

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Check out Wierd MC pictures in the Gallery

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A couple of weeks ago I was pointed to Aba Boy’s brilliant post on the Nigerian hip-hop scene. He reminisces about Nigerian pop music in the 80s and compares it to the pop music of today, namely Nigerian Hip-Hop.

excerpt from: The Nigerian Hip-Hop scene - ababoy.blogspot.com

To cut a long story short, Nigerian hip-hop stars should ‘mc’ in either Pidgin English or their local language - cut the fake Yankee drawl. By doing this, some of them may perhaps achieve restricted crossover appeal, but more importantly they will essentially reduce the ability to make others cringe. Unfamiliar ‘artists’ picking fights with world-renowned superstars on planes in Nigeria wouldn’t really do the trick.
And the Videos….”

Aba Boy started out his post stating the difficulty he has keeping up with the music scene in Naija while based in Jand. Speaking from experience, it’s almost impossible to keep up with the Nigerian music scene while based abroad. The best material is often excluded from the trickle of CD/VCDs that make it to the boutique record stores or African food marts… leaving many of us to rely on the periodic shipments friends and relatives carry back by hand.

Everything Aba boy has said here is on point and for the most part is the rule rather than the exception, but don’t let these comments give you the impression that all Nigerian MCs are (for lack of a better word) wack. While Nigerian hip-hop may be in it’s infancy, the quality of some MCs clearly indicate otherwise.

There’s a lot more to discuss on this issue, but let’s save that for another entry.
For now, check out a Nigerian MC doing it right - Dr. Fresh on Osho Bam Bam!

Dr Fresh - Osho Bam Bam (excerpt)

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Oya comment if you have something to say

Whenever Kehinde and Taiwo Lijadu felt low down in spirit they indulged themselves in a childhood prank. They climbed the tallest nearest tree and watched the unlimited horizon. That was not the only trait they shared in common. They are identical twins who also share identical callings, habits, hobbies, a joint bank account and four children in between them. They never tell which one of them is the mother to which child. “They are four children,” they always said when asked.

Some twelve years ago (approx: 1967) they climbed a very tall tree and saw in the horizon unlimited, the path of their future.

The elements were orchestrating sweet musical vibrations that hit the core of the very being of the twins. It was the climax of their long-standing yearning to become professional singers. After all, it was all in the family. Daddy played the piano and Granny (on dad’s side) played the guitar. “So what about that?” They asked themselves.

They had enough inspirational heat in their veins to generate and power their interest and enthusiasm.

There was Daddy and Granny. There was Aretha Franklin and I.K. Dairo. There was Miriam Makeba and Victor Olaiya.

There was Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and a host of other musicians both local and international.

All of them together gave them all the heat of their inspiration. At such times when they were inspired it did not matter who conceived the ideas for lyrics or musical compositions.

What mattered was that they laboured together to bring forth the best of their brainchild.

The happiest moment that ever crowned their first attempt at creativity was when they walked into the chambers of Decca Studios with a handful of competent veteran session (musicians) to vax their first LP, “Iya Mi Jowo.” That was 1969. Since then Kehinde and Taiwo, (christened Louisa and Rosaline) have come a long way.

Over the years they have conceived created and recorded four long playing records all on Decca labels.

There was “Sunshine” and “Danger,” “Mother Africa” and “Iya mi Jowo” which have all gone down to their credit in the history books of the Nigerian music scene, amongst them a silver disk winner. This album is another step towards the fulfillment of the vision had of their future, many many years ago.

That vision they had of the “horizon unlimited.”

Ironically with Lijadu Sisters do not always speak about their future.

A reporter once asked them: Now that your horizon is opening up, what plans do you have for your future?

Lijadu Sisters: We don’t always look beyond our noses, because Man proposes but God disposes, but we are optimists.

R: Are you as rich as you are famous?
LS: As rich as rich can be. We are comfortable. We own one Volkswagen beetle and a joint bank account with plenty of money in it. Most of the time we are broke.

R: Are you religious?
LS: Very. We are catholics although not the Church going type. Every time we feel the spirit moving in our hearts we walk into the nearest church or Mosque and pray.

R: Do you have lovers?
LS: We are not dead. Not yet. We are living beings. To live and to love is the essence of our life. If you don’t have someone who loves you, you are dead. If we didn’t have lovers how come we compose love songs?

R: Do you take drugs?
LS: NO. We are permanently high.

R: You said you have four children but you are not married.
LS: We are not baby killers. Just because we had children with men we never got married to does not mean we had to kill them. We love children because children are a gift from God.

R: Would you have the same lover?
LS: If we did, we don’t see the need for it because there are many eligible men around. Even though we are twins, we want to be exclusive.

R: What do you think of yourselves?
LS: We are fantastic.

R: Do you wear the same clothes?
Kehinde: Taiwo is wearing my blouse and I’m wearing her wrapper.

R: What do you do when not singing?
LS: Playing with our kids, cooking, painting or climbing trees.

R: What kind of men would you like as friends?
LS: Simple, intelligent and responsible men.

R: Do you plan to get married?
LS: You talk too much.

Adapted from Lijadu Sisters - Horizon Unlimited LP Jacket notes by Tunde Harrison - 1979

Lijadu Sisters - Orere - Elejigbo

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In Femi Kuti’s 1995 release, the song Plenty Nonsense calls out the “Nonsense” things he sees around him. While everything he says in the song is factually accurate, one verse didn’t sit quite right with me:

In the name of free education
Jakande build school for poto poto
the schools no get window
pikin don carry table chair to school

The verse takes issue with Lagos Governor Jakande (1979-83), suggesting that the schools he built in the name of “Free Education,” were poorly constructed and ill equipped.

If one were only to consider the schools at the time this song was released, some 15 years after the schools were built, one military dictator after the next, the complaints seem justified. But, looking at the situation at the time of conception paints a very different picture.

In 1979 when Jakande ran for Governor of Lagos, Lagos primary schools were so overcrowded that school was held in three shifts! This meant that some children attended primary school at night. His idea was to reintroduce the schooling of the 1950s by building more schools to allow children to attend one regular shift. With April elections and a school year that started in September, there were only a matter of months to build the schools. Due to the number of schools and the temporary nature of their construction, it’s understandable that they weren’t the most luxurious buildings and that drainage wasn’t the best in some locations.

In my mind, the his actions was commendable, especially given the time frame… He only served only one term because by 1983 the military was back in control and any immediate plans for these schools was entirely derailed… and by 1995, we have Femi calling out the conditions of these same schools - which were originally intended only as a stop-gap solution.

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P.S. This would be the perfect opportunity to showcase Prince Nico Mbarga’s Free Education in Nigeria, but a friend seems to have walked off with that album.

I was pleasantly surprised this weekend when I came across the track, “Nigerian Girl” by Seven featuring Jimmy Allen. While these are two entirely unknown artists to me, the song follows a familiar theme as it pays tribute to Nigerian Girls, much like 2Face’s more broadly encompassing African Queen.

Nigerian Girl
you came and you change my world
a life so brand new
Nigerian Girl
more precious than any pearls
I’m in love with you

The track is a catchy, well-produced mix of R&B and rhymes with a heavy yankee sound. This inflence is perhaps most clearly seen in the rapping. The accents and slang sound like much like someone who’s spent time on location rather than listening to a tape or movies and attempting to copy what they hear (see: eedris.)
While I like the music overall, the heavy yankee sound seems a little out of place for this particular topic and almost makes it seem as though it’s Non-Naijas singing about Nigerian Girls. I guess on a track titled, Nigerian Girls, I expected a little more Naija flavor, especially with a line like:

While there’s something about nigerian girls
that I can only describe with nigerian words…

Regardless, it’s a great effort and I’m very much looking forward to more material from these two - If you have their details, please pass them along.

Seven featuring Jimmy Allen - Nigerian Girl

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