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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As one of the Nigeria’s most enduringly and popular reggae musicians, Ras Kimono continues to perform after almost two decades. With six albums to his name, including gold and platinum releases, Ras is still perhaps best known for his early work. The hits, “Rumbar Stylee” and “Under Pressure” from his first album, Under Pressure [PolyGram International 1988] (gold) are among the most popular.

Currently based in the United States, Ras Kimono, together with his Massive Dread Band continue to perform his unique naija-inspired take on reggae, that is quite unlike the many other unique flavors of Nigerian Reggae (including Majek Fashek, Blackky and Orits Wiliki to name a few.)

Check out the photos a friend passed along of a Ras Kimono concert at Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia (US) circa fall 2003.

Check out the Ras Kimono concert pictures in the gallery

(link to photos)

Ras Kimono – Rumbar Stylee

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The year was 1987 and drought gripped Nigeria. In an outdoor performance, Majek Fashek sang, “Send Down the Rain,” beconing the skies to open up and relieve the drought… midway through the performance, rain began to fall ending one of the worst droughts in Nigerian history.... Or so the story goes… it is unclear how close this “story” is to the truth or if in fact it’s an embelishment, but it’s worth looking at a few issues:

1) Nigeria is a large country with vastly varrying vegitation – from mangrove and rainforest in the south to the arid to semi-arid savanah in the north. It’s hard to imagine drought in the tropical south. Drought is more likely to strike in the savanah regions of the central and northen states, yet sources claim, “drought plague[d] Lagos and surrounding area.” I can’t say I remember that one.

2) I nor anybody I spoke with seems to remember a 1987 drought in Nigeria nor any notable drought in recent history… perhaps in 1991?

I guess we won’t have a definitive answer on the real story – if you have information on this, please do share.

For now, listen to the brilliant, “Send Down the Rain,” one of Majek’s biggest hits, both internationally and abroad. First published on the Prisoner of Conscience [Mango 1989] album. This version is from the 1991 release “Spirit of Love.”

Majek Fashek – Send Down the Rain

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The curiously (poorly) named, “Third World” Jamaican pop-reggae band takes you back in time to a period when Lagos was a vacation destination on the track “Lagos Jump.” Released on the All the Way Strong (LP, 1983), the track became an instant favorite in their native Jamaica, internationally & especially in Nigeria.

Sitting on the hillside in Jamaica,
I can remember the times we had in Nigeria…
Lagos Jump, Lagos Jumping…
Lagos Jump, Lagos Jamming

It’s unfortunate to say, but I don’t think many foreign-based artists make thier way to Lagos for holiday let alone write a track singing the praises of Lagos. The thought seems almost ludicrous today, yet thirty years ago, this wasnt the case and begs the question – what happened?!

Third World – Lagos Jump

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Few pop stars reach the coveted height of pop stardom… even fewer maintain it for as many year as Blackky, and to hold that status for twenty years is impressive.

Blackky (Nya Edward Inyang) apparently released his sixth album curiously titled, “Reggae Icon” last month and for me, comes as a bit of a surprise. I haven’t heard new music from Blackky for several years and thought that perhaps his time in the spotlight was waning. The title of the album “Reggae Icon” isn’t something that I would associate with Blackky. When I think about reggae icons, I think about people like Bob Marley and Sir Coxcone Dodd for their breadth of material and the influence on Reggae music. When weighed by that criteria, Blakky hardly even registers on the scale… in Nigeria – definitely, but as a whole – definitely not. Perhaps he should rename his album, “Dat Wan Naija Reggae Bobo.”

Anyway, all joking aside… many people remember Blackky for the music he put out in the late 80s and early 90s with tracks like Rosie, Girlfriend and perhaps the most popular of all Blackky’s Skank. Blackky’s Skank is catchy pop tune in which he basically describes how to do his dance… I’ve never seen the dance, even though he says that Michael Jackson, Bobby Brown, Miriam Makeba & even MC Hammer does the Blackky Skank! Well, I’ll give a crisp 10 Naira bill to the first person to send me a video of them dancing the Blackky Skank or better yet, the music video!

Here goes…

The Blackky Skank is very easy
Say it’s for the young & the elderly
Me beg you
Stretch out your hand like a tv pole
And move up your body like you outa control
Say bend your back
Just like a crab
Start to jump up like
A jumping jack

Check out the track, a definite naija pop classic.

Blackky – Blackky’s Skank

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Discernable western influences are visible throughout African music, often making an impression and eventually finding a permanent place in African musical heritage. This could be seen as early as the 1940s and 50s (for example) with the influence of Cuban and Latin American music. Throughout Africa people were dancing the rumba, musicians were [re] introduced to the conga drums and the popular Latin rhythms. This same cross-pollination goes on today between Latin America and Africa, for example in the Senegalese/Benin/Cuban group Africando.

Another Caribbean musical influence in Africa is Reggae. It’s to be debated if the attraction was the grooving, skanking sound, the religious & social ideology or a combination of both, but either way, Reggae has had a profound influence on African music. In Nigeria, Reggae’s influence is best seen through the music of Majek Fashek, a brilliant singer and song-writer who has gained recognition through his music both locally and abroad through his powerful music.

Although his musical stylings are clearly Jamaican, there’s something distinctly Nigerian about his music, both in theme and sound. In the song, Majek Fashek – I Come From the Getto, released on The Best of Majek Fashek – 1994/97) he touches on the misguided leadership, social injustice and growing up in the ghetto.

look around the street, tell me what you see
ajepako
look into the high places, tell me what you see
ajebota

And I think I finally know how those from NYC, Queens, Brooklyn, etc. feel when their town gets a shout-out in a hip-hop tracks… rarely if ever do you hear:

If you go to Lagos State, Nigeria, Africa…

When I hear that, it strikes a chord somewhere within me, a feeling of pride… I’m not sure what, but it’s good to hear.

Majek Fashek – I Come From the Ghetto

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