Etcetera’s big wave

A series of emotional previews later, I’m concluding now that the artiste Etcetera sounds like the sexy Enrique Iglesias. That’s a new one, right? Of course. I agree with the man who says, if you didn’t know Etcetera or just didn’t like him at first sight, please do not let him strum his guitar or sing a tune. It’s at your peril if you do. Something hooks you and you begin to hear voices in your mind. Immediately, you’ll liken him to Tracy Chapman, the one whose voice blows a light breeze in your ears and caresses your back. A long list of other superstars will follow. Now, if you listen to Iglesias’ Hero and some of the 15 tracks on Etcetera’s self-titled first album, you’ll probably see the connection. His power, apart from the turn-you-into-jelly voice and dexterity on strings, rests in the freshness. He brings into his performance an uncommon style, which combines rock, R&B, and soul. He calls it “soft rock”. And it becomes extremely potent because he adapts it effortlessly to the local culture. Whether he’s singing about love or war, the stories are easy to relate to, and, in this class, we could name tracks such as Land of the Rising Sun (Biafra), This Is Not a Song, Michelle, The Only One for Me, Daughter of Eve (featuring Oriri, whose album is taking too long in the lab), and Miss H’s I.V. I’ve asked him twice if he thinks he sounds foreign — imported. He is not bothered about that. Now, I understand why. The music shocks at first. But it grows on you. And then you catch the virus. It’s a complicated sound, though. The progression of rhythm is not predictable, although you might find a track or two with similar melody. With repeated listening, you might also discover the numerous instruments pulled together to pull this off. Etcetera’s second album is ready. Even the third, too. That’s right; he has that many songs. But one thing, I’d really love to hear the guy more clearly. That appears to be the only snag.

The Boy Who Will Be Star

The guitar man? No. More like GT the Guitar Boy. Looking closely at this guy, what comes straight to my mind is eh, he hasn’t even seen his first outbreak of pimples. He smiles like that, too — a full mouth of evenly-set teeth and eyes that say “callow.” Gbenro, however, has come a strenuous long way. Surprisingly candid, he breaks down the story of his 24-year-old life. Currently a student of Economics at the Lagos State University , GT remembers seeing his father walk out on him, his two sisters and his banker mother when he was barely a little boy. There was also a time when neighbours contributed to keep him school. Do you want sadness, he dark eyes say, I’ll give you plenty sadness. Some of those gloomy experiences have touched the music he plays. Take Dreamer, with which he romances the poor and hopeless. It’s a personal story. After secondary school, GT was desperate to leave for the United Kingdom where he was born but had only spent two years. They turned him back at the embassy because for not living in that country long enough after his birth, he couldn’t be called a citizen. “I had thought that traveling out was going to solve my problems — give me a new lease of life,” he says. That night, he poured his pain into a song, Dreamer. It has become a very popular song. And while he waits for his record to be released by Storm Records where he signed a three-year contract in 2005, Dreamer and the love song, Truly, will be his defining work. GT also admits that it’s indeed hard to measure his acceptability with only two songs. When you don’t have an album, you can’t have a sales figure, can you? He is working hard, though, especially to capture a large audience, he says. I point to him that his songs contain a lot of words in Yoruba. “Well,” he wrinkles his nose, “Yoruba is not the only language I use. I have songs in Pidgin English as well. I want to communicate and the best way to talk to people is to speak the language they understand. If I could speak Ibo, I would do it.” SINCE he played his first gig in 2005 — a free job for one university teacher who moonlights as a comedian and musician — GT is thankful for finding his way to the big stage within a short while. The transition was quick, he reckons, because of the route he took. He met the irreverent stand-up comedian, Omo Baba, at the first show and made him his manager. Weeks after that, he got a spot at an edition of Night of a Thousand Laughs in Abuja . Later, after being impressed by the young fellow, Dare Art Alade led him by the hand to Obi Asika, Storm Records CEO. As Asika once told me, Dreamer was the song that clinched the deal for GT. “I signed a very mature contract,” GT says now, even though no album has been released yet in his name. He doesn’t appear bothered about it. “I think the label is doing well.” Yeah, I understand that. With a cameo in Akon’s video for Mama Africa and the fat fees for some high-octane shows, you will also understand. If the crowd of talented artistes (although now thinning after the exit of Dare and Jazzman Olofin) at Storm Records doesn’t feel like a choking challenge, GT’s biggest headache might be how to do cram school and music into one head. “It’s really difficult” he says when I ask him if he might drop out since he still has three years to go in LASU. “I’m thinking that music is a whole new game,” he says, stratching out his arms on the table. “If someone asks me now what I do, I don’t say that I’m a student, I say that I’m a musician. So I’m thinking why don’t I get more education on music instead of Economics? Fine, I could use Economics to manage my money blah, blah, blah but I want to soak myself in music. Yes, I might drop out. Right now, I’m thinking of taking a course in Sound Engineering. I’m convinced that music is going to work. In fact, it’s working.” Storm record officials have confirmed that the album will be released “sometime in March” so this may be the time for GT to make the decisions. Even if school doesn’t have to wait, he may need to carefully pick the perfect door for his grand emergence having laid a robust foundation over three years.

The Clash of Three Videos

Even if you are not carried away by the lyrics of Do Me, P-Square's lead song from their latest album, Game Over, you might be swayed a bit by the quality of the accompanying video. I lost count of the characters in it. Are they going to pay all of them? For real? Then it is understandable if thier budget crosses the N3m mark. Ther huge cast aside, it does not appear that the recording was done in Nigeria. Except there was some ingenious editing work to make the hall look triangular, I have not come across a venue like that here. Add that to the neat colour and orderly arrangement and you'll nod in approval. Nice work. But are those the only elements of a good video? I don't think so. If they are, then there won't be a difference in the value of this one, Don Jazzy and Mo Hits All Stars' Booty Call, and Olu Maintain's Yahoozee! Right? Although these others may be marked good for sharing the same high quality with P-Square's Do Me, Booty Call appears more cool. It's a similar scenario with Do Me - a glitzy club with millions of girls and some raunchy dancing - but the drama in Don Jazzy's work is more arresting. Between the artistes and the girls, the exchange appears better co-ordinated. Good acting, too. Yahoozee! is another story. It is an anticlimax, a disservice to that hit song. While we may forgive the director of that video, or whoever paid for it, for the action at the end, the beginning, which should arrest the viewer, is a downer. Imagine a row of seven cars, bearing registration plates with the names of the week and the singer just shifting in a corner. If the video was supposed to push the song, sorry, it's the other way round. It is predictable work. That's why Mo Hits Records should get some hi-fives for Imagination. By constantly renewing themselves, they keep appearing like the next big thing in town. Even their song sounds the most appealing among the three. The complexity runs down P-Square's airy lyrics and defeats Olu's easy progression. But, hey, isn't this popular music? Whatever will make the chics dance is good enough, anyone who wants to add an extra can go right ahead. Of course, that's the prevalent reasoning that Mo Hits, as I can see, does not subscribe to. That's why they're different.

Sasha

Hi, I was in a rush to get some things done away from my desk. Now, I'm back. Shall we talk bout Sasha then? Ok, I shoot. Here is the interview I had with the charming chic whose doggedness her disarming look never betrays: Sasha The Pursuit of Happiness She would not accept pity from you so don’t even try. Sasha—by the way she prefers Miss Sasha—is in fact terrific today, even if her chart-topping single, Adara, suggests that she might be weary after years of playing gigs and “not get paid” and “critics biting” severely. I corner her at an event at Victoria Island after series of failed attempts to get a sit-down. She looks refreshed, her face silky smooth, without a visible artificial attempt to make it appear so. She smiles a lot. Demurely, too. Her flowing sleeveless gown, with abundant frays, contains her robust good looks quite beautifully. She volunteers that she made the dress herself. We’ll come back to that. For now, Adara is the talk of the town and gigs, having cruised to the top of several hit lists, including MTV base, Nigeezie, and the Nigeria Chart Show. It has been number one in on my mind for more than one month. Sasha is grateful for this, because she “didn’t set out to make another hit” song. As listeners might have noticed, the song sounds like an unburdening, like a mountainous sigh of relief from a young woman, the second of eight children, whose father died when she was just six. “It was like therapy,” she says, “sharing what I’ve seen, and putting my thoughts into a song. It’s very amusing that many people can relate to it so much so that it has become what it has become.” The definitive album, First Lady, which was released last December, should have been released in October, according to earlier information from Storm Records. But the 23-year-old was busy with her final exams in Law at the University of Lagos. Before the CD eventually came, however, the record company also launched another single, Only One (featuring Naeto C), to ride with Adara, from the 14-track CD. The video for the current song shows Sasha in an elaborate Afro haircut, miming a Black Panther speech routine, with clenched fists and all. You’d think she is being feministic. (“I’m not a feminist but I believe in speaking a lot of women,” she says.) Combine that picture with the title of the new record, you might just wonder what she is getting at. Does she really feel she is the prima dona of Nigerian rap, with Weird MC claiming the first award for rap music in the country? She giggles, her eyes lighting up. “I’m a first lady, period. I believe it. I don’t think it needs to be qualified in any way. Anyone can define it the way they want,” says the Ekiti State native. Being convivial as usual, it doesn’t appear that Sasha is spoiling for a fight. “First Lady, for me, is a personal statement. It means that I’m the best at whatever I set my mind on. It also means that I won’t stop until I’m at the top.” It’s her identity, she says, because she is fashioned only after herself, not to be like anyone, although she is inspired by such greats as Beyoncé, Condoleeza Rice, and Oprah Winfrey. But Sasha loves wearing hoodies. Talent can be funny, right? With Sasha, born Yetunde Alabi, you could say profit and disservice have worked hand in hand. It has taken her more than five years since her first recording contract to come with this work. And it is because she wants to be a lawyer, own her own clothing line, and win a Grammy with her lines. Her two-year contract with Trybe Records did not yield an album, and as eLDee, the label’s CEO, relocated to America, everyone went to his tents. In 2004, she came over to Storm, owned by Obi Asika, an old friend, and signed a three-year, two-album deal, which expires in 2010. She will have the time for her career once her finals are over, she declares. Even her designing, a four-year-old side hustle, can wait a while. “I’d rather not have an album in the market than have one that I cannot promote. All over the world, once you release an album, you’re on a serious process of promoting it. That’s what I plan to do, too. If you tap me on the shoulder, I’m going to be speaking First Lady,” Sasha says. It will be a brand new beginning for her. Eventually she hopes to combine her singing with a law practice and the fledging fashion designing business. She is even planning to go to a fashion school in New York at yearend 2008. Is she happy now? “Oh, yes,” she smiles. Terrific? “Well, I was happy when I wrote Adara.” It shows, really.

Lagos Jump

Steve Babaeko’s X3M Bites A Whopper On January 13, 2007, Steve Babaeko’s X3M Music will release Ade Bantu’s latest effort, BANTU. The six-track album is coming a fortnight before Etcetera’s debut, the 15-song Etcetera, which contains the already popular hit, Land of the Rising Sun. the crooner has been working on the project for more than two years and X3M is confident that it will not disappoint Etcetera’s expectant fans. That, however, is where the question is: is it a good business decision for the company to release both albums close to each other? Babaeko thinks it is. “When you have a good thing, why keep it to yourself? Besides, they don’t do the same kind of music,” he says. Right. While it is apparent that Etcetera does soul rock, Bantu has been experimenting with various cocktails outside Afrobeat. “He’s music is eclectic,” says Babaeko. “He can gravitate from dancehall to reggae and Afrobeat or even fuji. I think his music is where Afrobeat will look for the future, if it wants to retain its appeal to young listeners.” This is the beginning. Watch this space for more on these promising albums.