The next interview: Sola Akingbola

Sola is the percussion part of Jamiroquai. He’s agreed for us to have a chat with him when he comes back from his trip to Nigeria.

From Sola’s Autobiography on his website:

…I was re-introduced to the beats that I had known and loved as a child growing up in a Yoruba (West African) family living in East London. These distinctive grooves are the bedrock of my personal percussive and compositional quest and were first given a funk potential by the inimitable Fela Anikulapo Kuti of Lagos Nigeria. My mission is to continue this creative synthesis and exploration of Yoruba rhythms with Western harmonic concepts whether they be jazz, funk, rock or classically inspired.

Now you know why we have to feature him

How strange Africa is (Europe is stranger)

After about a year in Nigeria, late 2007, I came back for a break to London, before going back for my final stint.

By then I’d had a turbulent time in Lagos. My first boss, Bolaji Rosiji, had quit his post as PMAN president after 2 months (seeing that he’d lose it anyways). I decided to stay and develop my ideas, and in order to be able to survive, I worked with a women’s magazine but they didn’t provide accommodation, then I worked with Indian industrialists but I was surprised to discover they were the worst sort of colonialists.

I had also started to feel very comfortable moving around in Lagos. I was driving myself around in the company car, and when I didn’t have that, was using public transport to get everywhere. Which, once you’ve seen photographs of molues and okadas in Lagos, and the bus stops, is not a small thing and practically unheard of for white people.

I met wonderfully helpful, curious, inviting people. I wasn’t robbed even while walking after dark in areas where taxis were afraid to venture. I was not afraid. I realised: In Nigeria, everything is chaos on the outside but it still has an underlying stability to it. In London – on the surface life is stable. Underneath? Total chaos.

What, then, is the reason I went to Nigeria, and why am I having so much trouble writing about it? What is the level at which I feel the craziness of what is going on globally? All of the “developed” world depending on the resources there and embroiled in the corruption, including governments and global firms like Siemens and Haliburton, still people on the street, while hugely proud of their country, not aware of these connections? The depth at which I feel that arts and artists can create a change?

To go anywhere near what it was really like, I’d have to write pages and pages of personal experiences, history, describe people I met, mention political connections, money, oil, music, power, lies and truth… it would end up being a book and it wouldn’t end up anywhere as readable as Michael Peel’s A Swampful of Dollars.

My main points? Neocolonialism kills among other things, music and creativity. Most musicians are not very intellectual and don’t understand either their role as leaders of thought, or know anything about music. Making beats on a computer might work out well for a guy in the Bronx. This? It is the land of Fela. It is where the rest of the world got drum beats from to begin with.

The Nigerian music industry has exploded in the last 7 – 8 years. Now, when you go to a club in Lagos, most times 100% of the music played is produced locally. But the production values leave a lot to be desired – there mostly is the huge pride in local stars that keeps this industry so strong. And there is hardly anything – even rap – with any sort of message. Which is strange in a country like Nigeria, where there are so obvious issues to be addressed. And which has somebody like Fela to look up to.

Conscious Collective was about assembling the musicians that understand this (Beautiful Nubia, and Ruggedman, who was my main supporter and spoke at the Music4Change press launch).

The main thing, to begin with? Getting local musicians together with international musicians for real conversations. Everyone loves a real US rapper, but what if they talk about the history of rap being critical and conscious? Mos Def and Talib Kweli, I’m looking at you. How about we develop a collective of real musicians who are aware of their power and use it to create a positive change?

A lot of international musicians are coming to Nigeria already. Can we not get them together with local rappers and musicians and run a very well-publicised workshop? Show it on TV so they talk to all of the kids who want to get into the business and who think copying American rappers and talking pimps and dollars will get them there?

There are deep connections between young people risking their lives on boats to come to Europe, people accepting corruption as the status quo, and the culture they are exposed to. Standing up to corruption is not possible if we all are on the receiving end. Standing up to corruption is also not possible if we worship money and material things, because our needs are blown out of all proportion – that Porsche SUV that known 419 scammer drives? If that’s all you are after in life, you will have to give up your morals. “Good” ways of earning are always slower.

Starting a war has always been a great way of creating revenue. Dealing in arms, or oil, is more profitable than dealing in rice or palm oil. Everyone wants that Gucci belt, nobody is willing to give up personal comfort in the fight for good. Like in the great Nigerian hunger strike which ended in the same afternoon when the participants realised they were hungry and went for a later lunch at Mr Biggs.

If anything can raise the still idealistic youth, it will be music. It’s been like this throughout history – any big movement has songs and pieces of art at a central place. If anything is going to change, musicians have to understand a few connections. I know they won’t take my word for it, but guys like Mos Def, their role models, they will listen to.

So what do you think?

Conscious Collective Part2

It’s now been quite exactly 1 1/2 years since I came back from Nigeria.

It wasn’t easy to shelve the projects I was working on. I was so deeply involved that it was even difficult to write about what I was doing (as you will see from my blogging attempts at

http://musicforchange.blogspot.com/

http://another-travels-blog.blogspot.com/

Afrodevia was the name of the Social Enterprise I was running, both a events marketing company and the umbrella for workshops, events, gigs, youth development campaigns I was starting as Music4Change. And even that website is rubbish!

http://afrodevia.org

Nevertheless, with a bit of distance I can now start writing about what I was actually doing in Nigeria. Since you asked

Truth about Aid – straight talking from TED

Sound Sultan with Wyclef in Lagos baby!

Reviews for Death and the King’s Horseman

Guardian

The end of 'colour-blind casting'? Death and the King's Horseman at the National Theatre. Photograph: Robbie Jack/PR

The Times

The Stage (with full production information incl cast)

Financial Times (pre-opening interview – long)

Mail Online - it’s the Mail, so it’s racist

Greedy chief: Nonso Anozie as Elesin and Karlina Grace in Death And The King's Horseman

Biafra (Land of the rising sun) by Etcetera

Another beautiful and throughtful video.

Next up: Review of Wole Soyinka’s Death and the Kings Horseman at the National Theatre in London.

Ruggedybaba Video

While we’re waiting for pics and other things, here’s the video Ruggedman won the Nigerian Music Video Award for best indigenous video.

Enjoy.

Coming up: Massive Afrobeat Revival gigs in London

Mr Dele Sosimi has created a new afrobeat movement, with a new generation of dedicated fans. Write-up of latest gig, with pics and (maybe) video, coming up later this week.

Here’s an Audioboo from the chill-out early morning session. It’s probably the first embedded Audioboo (audioboo is like youtube for audio, and they only just enabled embedding. Aren’t we cutting edge?) so excuse the rubbish sound quality.

Listen!

RUGGEDMAN – Naija Hip Hop 101 pt.1

Ruggedman tells it as it is.

Ruggedman is a Nigerian rapper. His album Ruggedybaba won

2008 HIP HOP WORLD (Nigeria) AWARDS BEST RAP ALBUM.
2008 Nigerian Entertainment Award best rap artist
2008 Nigerian Music Video Award for best indenous video concept Ruggedy Baba
KORA Nomination is Best Hip Hop act/group

This is track one – his lecture to up-and-coming artists – he shares the lessons he learned in his career. Conscious Nigerian rap? Yes please.

Mp3 HERE. Enjoy!

RUGGEDMAN – Naija Hip Hop 101 pt.1
One – You have to be sure you have the talent in you
Two – Only then can you develop whats in you
Three – your stage craft should make your fans scream
Four – No message could mean the loss of a war
Five – If you abide you keep the industry alive
Six – Do a dance track to stay up in the club mix
Seven – Up your game a notch to another level
8 – Add ur mother tongue to represent where you from
9 – Let em know that they cant stop your shine
10 – No need for me to start all over again

I am teaching off experience you know what I am saying?
That’s how its worked for me dawg
Pick out two songs for radio as your first single
For Naija a dance track and a slow one for the mingle
Cut like, two to three hundred copies
If you can design a sleeve for it so it don’t look sloppy
Drop atleast 8 copies in each radio station
Not just in you city, if you can around the nation
Follow up with sms and occasional phone calls
And of course you go still meet presenters wey go try to play God
Bone them and give only to those wey feel your music
Cos when you blow up, they will turn around and use it
Do a lot of interviews, don’t let pride get into you
Cos it goes before every fall, your enemys will have a ball
Grease the right palms if you can and if you have to
I am being realistic, cos money plays a part too

TALK:
Yeah check this connection right, I am talkin about dance tracks and people are like ..
it doesn’t make you any less of an artist, because dance tracks they rock parties, they rock radios and clubs
you get a crowd with a slamming dance track….
look check it, corporate bodys that pay the big bucks they want an artist that can pull a crowd
So they can sell their products
You do that faster with a dance track you know what I am saying?
Do your dance track first, you know, let the people feel the music, feel the groove
And then, when they buy your album them go feel your other tracks
That’s just how it goes, this na Najia men
Nobe yankee the mentality different
Ruggedman giving you …Naija hip hop 101
First lecture, it continues…..Ruggedy Baba