Olamide: He's The Voice of The Streets.

My oh, My! Olamide is the shizzle! And did I just use that word? Sh*t! F**k it jooor, why should I care! Really, I shouldn't care, because that is what we call 'freedom of speech.'

However, a few years ago, no one would have thought that, after the unfortunately demise of the lyrical prodigy, Dagrin,  the Nigerian music scene would be held to ransom by another lyricist, something of a prototype to the late 'Akogun-Dagrin' himself. This man is Olamide! He busted into common knowledge, although relatively known, about the time Dagrin was 'murdering' every beat that came his way, and championing the rebellion in indigenous/original rap content. Yes, many played the rap game,  but none clung to it with extreme tepidity like the way the late rap maestro did. Respect to his hustle! So much so did Dagrin's life chained upon us; many even likened him to the late rap heavyweights- Tupac Amaru Shakur and Christopher Wallace (The Notorious B.I.G). Now, enough of that on Dagrin; this write  up is not about him, but about someone else who by his own words, and our confirmation, is the voice of the street. More likely, the voice of the people- Vox Populi.

 

Video of Olamide's Voice of the street. Courtesy: Youtube

Olamide no doubt is the current leader of the new school generation or Nigerian rappers. His genre of rap is a tight fusion of Yoruba, Pidgin English and street (often times vulgar) slangs. His ability to play or lets say toy around with words is legendary to say the least or to be modest. Many before him have done it, but none has made it look so easy and consistent as he has done. 

The other day in a friend's car, Olamide's 'YBNL' album was blasting through the car CD and with a rapt attention and assiduous familiarity, we both could not resist nodding and marveling at the profound manner at which the lyrical contents of every song rolled out. May we say, some songs are made beautiful by the beats or musical instrumentation while others are by the prowess of the singer or guest feature; but words cannot tell exactly what the minders will use to classify the renditions by Olamide in the album. True to fact and comfort, the  bulk of the album was produced and mastered by renowned music producer ID Cabassa, a man famous for the meteoric production of 9ice's first album and for producing other acts like Banky W, Durella, Konga and more. Hence, when it comes to streaming good and quality beats, ID Cabassa is true to his art and skills. And with Olamide on every track, a mighty collision of perfection is the case to speak. The jury has no hold on that. The album is Epiiic (Epic with a triple 'I').

               

I only just watched the video of "The voice of the street" today and was held captive. After listening to a snipet of the song a few weeks ago, I got nervy waiting to see the visuals and find out what a good creative director can make of the song, adopting it for good cinematography and visual aesthetics. Word is, I was not disappointed. A big shout out to the video director of the music video.

I have a few take home points from the video. Pardon me here, I may not be able to make graphical analysis of my positions here as I am limited in capacity to that.

1.  The song in itself is a self-announcement and statement by Olamide to the listeners on the genre of rap he has chosen as his mainstay. People announce things everyday, just a few do them in style. Olamide did his in style! And few a people know the 'says and nots' of the rap game. Aside being a genre of music itself, rap has many spooks. Well, that's a topic for another though, as it has little bearing to the point I'm trying to develop here. Olamide's fan base has largely been driven to the high by teenage kids, school people, young workers and a few people in their late years; this is not in any way to 'de-rep' him or talk down his achievements, I was only stating my observations. Hence, by announcing that he is the voice of the street, Olamide has done wisely to let everyone know what manner of dictions and rhymes to find on whatever musical work that has his signature on it. Hence, the minders have been be told what to expect thus, leaving them to judge or place him within whatever bracket they so choose. As such, it up to you to call him a razz boy, hood boy, bad boy or whatever adjectives there are. He simply may not care. At least, now you know him!

2. The musical video is graphically rich in presentation and connotation. From the symbolics of the time clock, door post, spider, spider web, Gothic cathedral, choir, monks in hood, the priestly vest and incensing; a whole lot is revealed as Olamide shows himself to the world as not just your average rapper, but one full of creativity and wisdom. For some, the outcome of the graphics might draw some negative thinking. I even read somewhere that, the video is occultic, but common, there's nothing occultic with graphical arts and presentations done nicely. The wooden door that he came through in the 0:31 seconds of play represents a man on a mission. This is a man, who has has been poised with instructions and know what exactly he is out to do. This is as reflected in  the rooftop scenes and the largely centered scenes in a dusty kitchen (you know how it is on the streets), and the street at night. You need to watch the video over and again to understand this point.

3. Olamide sure knows his onions. His wordplay and quick interplay of Yoruba and Pidgin English is phenomenal. Lines like "... m'on para lori beat/ ti o ba fail, dan dan ni ko repeat" serves to prove my point. And it doesn't take much understanding of the Yoruba language to play along with Olamide's artistry. You just get sunk in his flows.

There's so much to expect from Olamide, and I'm pretty sure his management know so well about this. He has set out on a good footing, he must see further steps ahead. For now, its just not enough to say Olamide is on top of his game, he is King. He has stood in the face of death, took its mask off and stare right into its eyes. Now, this last line is metophorical, and like his many lyrics, rap is but a tool to pass across messages.

Thanks for reading. Your comments and criticisms are ok by me. Drop them. Lol