We are pleased to present our full year review of the Nigerian music scene and winners of our SONG OF THE YEAR and ARTISTE OF THE YEAR awards.
ARTISTE OF THE YEAR
As we usually did in the last few years, the Music and Model Society’s full year review of the Nigerian music scene should have been released in January. However, 2019 presented us with a unique challenge, which in simple language was Naira Marley.
No matter which yardstick we used, the guy just kept popping up. Put the x-rated part aside, you can’t say that the marlian sound is not creative. It is. You can’t also deny the fact that it was popular. In fact, it was more popular than any other brand of music we heard in 2019. The only problem, and a very big problem indeed, was the message, The Naira Marley personae and the whole brand was heavily tinted with vulgarity, or should we say, profanity?
So, do we admit the reality and announce the vulgar as the brand of the year, or do we conveniently push merit aside, and play safe with the known tigers of the industry?
Fortunately, the decision to go with merit and say it as it is was made easier for by the artiste himself. His latest single, Aye is laden with wisdom. While the beat remains undisguisedly marlian, the lyrics go back to the styles of the legends; Ebenezer Obey, Sunny Ade and the like. This shows that the artiste himself has realized our fears and is prepared to change. With that hope then, we are pleased to announce the MMS’ ARTISTE OF THE YEAR 2019 – the ‘president’ of the marlian clan, Naira Marley !
That said though, we must give credit and respect to Burna Boy, Wizkid, Tiwa Savage and Davido for continuing to push the Nigerian brand successfully in the international music arena. We cannot also overlook the productivity of the emerging talents; notably, Rema, Teni, Fireboy DML and others. These guys have made wider the door that the likes of Femi Kuti, Asa and 2Baba opened many years ago. It’s all good for the Nigerian enterprise.
SONG OF THE YEAR
In terms of quality music, 2019 goes down as one of the best years in Nigerian music in recent time, and that was largely due to the dexterity of the beat makers, who the industry now call ‘producers’. Again, it was very difficult to pick the best 20 out of so many – I mean, dozens of – genuinely good quality tracks.
Mention must be made of some really good songs, such as Davido’s Risky, Teni’s Uyo Meyo, Burna Boy and Zlatan’s Killin Dem and tons of mature stuff from the new rave, Rema and YBNL’s Fireboy DML. Do we need to mention the whole marlian thing again, which basically defined street music during the year.
In the end, we opted for simplicity and good essence. Timaya’s I Can’t Kill Myself packed the punches in all critical areas; lyrical strength, social justification and musical composition. The song is built on Nigeria’s authentic musical export, Afrobeat. I mean, the real Afrobeat which the legend, Fela Kuti created and sold to the world. The lyrics are clear and direct, and the effect is overall, tantalizing.
So, our SONG OF THE YEAR for 2019 is I Can’t Kill Myself by Timaya.
Happy Easter everybody.
MUSIC and MODELS Society 