I think all Nigerian music fans have at one time or another (but more likely all the time) experienced difficulty obtaining nigerian music. Especially difficult are new albums from lesser-known or upcoming acts.

If you’re in Lagos, your best bet is to head over to Silverbird Galeria, or you can try your luck at Alaba International. Otherwise, it’s a game of hit or miss with the local vendors and other shops.

It’s this very situation that makes the following intro skit from Black Tribe’s debut album so funny. Check out the choice quotes and audio below.

You get black tribe? You get the cd? Abeg, borrow me that cd…

Hey angela, how far?… Abeg, I fit collect black tribe cd for your hand…

Na me you dey curse? Because of black tribe?!

Black Tribe - Intro  (1.8 MB)

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Fresh off the heels of the popular Naija Gbedu Part 2, Dee Money presents Naija Gbedu Part 3! This mix continues the trend set with Part 2, with continuous infusions of naija classics, both old and new - there’s a little bit of everything in this mix… from Daddy Showkey & Ras Kimono’s reggae to JJC’s hip hop and Lagbaja’s afrobeat.

For those of you new to artists like 2Face Idibia, check out some of his older material as part of the Plantashun Boyz with You and I. Also check the shoutout by Eldee (of the Trybesmen) that hints at his upcoming album!

Big thanks to Dee Money & be sure to check out his website for upcoming events in the Chicago area!

(continue reading for the download link, tracklisting & more)

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DJ mixes featuring Naija music (and I’m not talking the ₦300 Alaba market style) are somewhat far & few between, and of those, the quality is somewhat mixed. So when the Chicago-area based Dee Money posted up his most recent mix, Naija Gbedu Part 2, I knew I was in for a treat.

Having heard his work previously I knew it would be sweet, but this was really something else! Combining current naija hip-hop/r&b tunes with older classics and smooth mixing, tracks you wouldn’t hear played together, work brilliantly. He even throws in a classic Sir Victor Umwaifo track towards the end!

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It’s a little over a week until the release of the movie Phat Girlz that features 2Face Idibia’s hit song, African Queen. The trailers have hit the airwaves and for the first time the international community is hearing African Queen. At very least you’d expect Nigeria’s top selling musician and winner of MTVs African Musician of the Year to have his website up and running… or at very least to have his production company have some kind of online presence and contact information, but instead, what do we find?
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Nkem Owoh recently expanded his repertoire, from acting in and directing some of Nigeria’s most popular films, to include singing as well. His first release provided the soundtrack to the notorious film, “The Master,” with the title track by the same name. Other songs on the release include Know me When I am Poor, Agreement and most notably Susana, where Owoh pines over the loss off his lover and draws the connection between his wealth an her love.

Susana, abi you no dey shame?
You no love me again
Money go, love go

As one of my favorite comedic Nigerian actors and I’m very much looking forward to his continued development in the field of music.

Nkem Owoh - Susana 14MB (quicktime)

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I recently picked up the new Mr. Kool album Still Cool. While I haven’t had the time to listen to and properly digest the tracks, something that caught my attention was a little card insert in the album sleeve. I haven’t seen inserts of any kind in the recent crop of locally produced Nigerian albums, so I immediately took a closer look.

Approximately twice the size of a business card, the front featured a photo of Mr. Kool, while the back had a passage that read:

Music business is big money business, so the merchants will always set the rules. Profit over the short term will always be the overriding consideration. But there’ll always be special few to whom total commitment to the purity of the art is non-negotiable. In the forefront is the incomparable Mr. Kool. Long before it seemed feasible, the visionary helped to lay the foundation. And even now that the entire industry is on a frenzied “cut and nail” vibe, he’s sticking with his philosophy of uncompromising quality. Pretty soon, everyone else would fall in line.


- Efe Omorogbe

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