Yea, the 2015 Headies held on 1st January 2016 and that is a 'Proudly 9ja' award show.When we aren't getting way ahead of ourselves, we are being left far behind. 'African Time', won't work anymore, we have stepped up to 'African Year'.
There wasn't much hype leading to this Year's Headies and if anything is to be blamed, it is the quality of songs churned out during the period under review in contrast to the previous year.Everyone looked forward to the 2014 Headies because the nominations were top notch but all the 2015 Nomination list does is lament the current state of the music industry.No two things are the same though, the year rocked in its own way.
Lets get down to business.
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
1.GODWIN-Don Jazzy (Korede Bello)
2.WISER-Masterkraft (Flavour feat Phyno and MI)
3.OJUELEGBA-Legendury Beats (Wizkid)
4.BOBO-Young John (Olamide)
5.FANS MI-Shizzi (Davido)
6.THERE'S A FIRE-Cobhams (Bez)
Legendury Beats for Wizkid's OJUELEGBA.There couldn't be a better consolation for last year's snub as I felt he ought to have beaten Don Jazzy to it.Wizkid's CARO spoke more of the Producer's artistry than DOROBUCCI and as far as egos that never come to the fore go, Legendury squared off against Jazzy again and beat him this time.Perfect 'last thing' to smile about before you kiss the night bye.
The Don did great on Korede Bello's GODWIN but the best competition in that line up was Masterkraft for Flavour's WISER.He made a beat that made you want to adore an R&B Flavour over the regular one and it takes extraordinary stuff to do that.
For a song that had Alicia Keys showing off her dancing skills and from what i gathered, an unsolicited Drake verse on the remix that made XXL's 21 most slept-on songs of last year, Legendury deserves a whole lot of love.
BEST COLLABO
1.BAD GIRL SPECIAL Remix-2kay feat Sheyi Shay and Cynthia Morgan
2.SHOKI Remix-Lil Kesh feat Davido and Olamide
3.SISI-Praiz feat Wizkid
4.LOCAL RAPPERS-Reminisce feat Phyno and Olamide
5.DO THE RIGHT THING-Cobhams feat Bez
6.HOLD IT DOWN-Joe El feat Tuface
I couldn't help feeling Reminisce didn't deserve this one.There was nothing special about the LOCAL RAPPERS song other than the line up and fact that it had a lot of rappers dropping their 2cents on the Foreign Influence/Local Content argument on many remixes with some seizing the opportunity to take shots at Alaga Ibile.It wasn't very much loved and a lot of people deem 2Kay's BAD GIRL SPECIAL most deserving of this plaque.2Kay generated quite a lot of publicity with the lewd photos he took with Cythnia Morgan and the hype didn't go to waste because they made a great song alongside Miss Shay.
I wonder why in the world the Headies still nominate a song as old as Lil Keshi's SHOKI remix.Song is about two years old and it makes you wonder if the period under review was that bad.
You get a feeling Joe El wouldn't score a major hit even if he featured Beyoncé because of the abject lack of talent and though Praiz's SISI featuring Wizkid was quite a decent effort,it just had to get overwhelmed by the competition.
Cobhams had his good friend, Bez on DO THE RIGHT THING and as expected, it was them trying so hard to stand out, they end up out of everyone's sights.Cobhams urges us to do the right thing even when it SEEMS no one is watching.I would urge him back in appreciation to do the right thing even when no one is watching.
BEST POP SINGLE
1.GODWIN-Korede Bello
2.OJUELEGBA-Wizkid
3.WOJU-Kiss Daniel
4.MY WOMAN, MY EVERYTHING-Patoranking feat Wande Coal
5.BOBO-Olamide
6.COLLABO- P-Square feat Don Jazzy
Put this to a vote for another 10 years and Korede Bello's GODWIN would win as many times.A lesser number of people would pick OJUELEGBA but I can't see myself voting for any song other than Kiss Daniel's WOJU and No, I'm not suffering from a 'rooting for the underdog' complex.Guy did great and if Wizzy's star power helped push OJUELEGBA and the Mavin name-GODWIN, WOJU had nothing going for it other than sheer quality.It was a really great song.
Olamide's BOBO was one of the best songs of 2015.Same as COLLABO and Patoranking's MY WOMAN,MY EVERYTHING featuring Wande Coal.It was basically one of those categories where just about any winner would do.
BEST R&B SINGLE
1.BABY DADDY-Iyanya
2.HEARTBEAT-Praiz
3.SAY YOU LOVE ME-Leriq feat Wizkid
4.WISH ME WELL-Timi Dakolo
5.DO THE RIGHT THING-Cobhams feat Bez
Timi Dakolo's WISH ME WELL won big this year but I don't really think its that great a song.A refined guy like Timi telling me to wish him well because he is going to the city in what at worst, sounds like an 'eggs and chips' voice doesn't quite work for me.The Cobhams and Bez 'futuristic' combination had nothing special about it.
Iyanya's BABY DADDY was a good song that had most of the 'R&B' swallowed up by the beat.Praiz's HEARTBEAT on the other hand is a very good song.Guy has always been a great singer and his song had a more original R&B feel than the other songs.
Leriq's SAY YOU LOVE ME is a song that intrigues me to no end.A producer, a reputable one at that,crafts a good beat, sings so well on the hook and blows it all away by getting Wizzy to lay all verses on what should be an R&B song.Wizzy was a thorn on the petals of a rose-'Call me a murderer, I'll put a bullet in your lover'.It was that bad.
BEST RAP SINGLE
1.BANK ALERT-Illbliss
2.BAD BELLE-MI
3.G.O.D-TR
4.LOCAL RAPPERS-Reminisce feat Phyno and Olamide
5.KING KONG-Vector
This was always going to be between Vector's KING KONG and Illbliss's BANK ALERT.It went to Vector who I must say isn't as dope as he used to be.Song has what it takes to make you step up a notch from just nodding your head but his punchlines don't pack as much weight as they used to...'To manage my skills, you gonna need more than Osagie' is what he gives us these days.And whats a punchline if it can't wow the average listener who couldn't care less about entertainers' life off stage?.KING KONG is a great song though with a Pop inclination while Illigatti's BANK ALERT is a dope song with a stronger hiphop feel from the beat down to everything else and though he spat in Ibo, I would hand him this plaque if it were up to me.
I think MI goofed by shooting the BAD BELLE video first.Song isn't even among the top 4 of the Chairman album and having it here only amplifies the quality of music we have had to live with over the last year.
TR would come up third if there was a bronze plaque.LOCAL RAPPERS is at best an average song that I couldn't imagine winning.
BEST STREET HOP ARTISTE
1.INDOMIE-Masterkraft feat CDQ,Davido and Olamide
2.BOBO-Olamide
3.SKILLASHI-Reminisce
4.ELLO BAE-Falz tha bahd guy feat Yemi Alade and Poe
5.MOSQUITO KILLER-Small Doctor
BOBO was putting a P.O.P on everybody's neck because we couldn't possibly see it heading anywhere else.Song had the most views by a naija artiste on YouTube last time I checked and the video wasn't even top notch.That tells you just how loved the song is.
Every other song reminds you of just how bad a year it was with the exception of INDOMIE which had Baddo sneh in there as well.
BEST REGGAE/DANCEHALL SONG
1.SANKO-Timaya
2.BAD GIRL SPECIAL Remix-2kay feat Cynthia Morgan and Sheyi Shay
3.GERMAN JUICE-Cynthia Morgan
4.DANIELLA WHYNE-Patoranking
5.MY BODY-Solid Star feat Timaya
6.CHEQUES AND BALANCE-Burna Boy
Cynthia Morgan's GERMAN JUICE deserved this.A lot more people agree with me now when I tell them she is the best reggae artiste here.Girl is a genuine talent with a sound knowledge of patwa.There is a huge difference between Jamaican Patwa, Ajegunle patwa and glorified plain english with a Jamaican accent.Happy she is getting mad respect and the props she truly deserves.
BAD GIRL SPECIAL Remix was a great song and Timaya's SANKO got a lot of airplay as well.The other songs weren't ones you would ordinarily give too much attention to if you didn't know the artistes behind them.
NEXT RATED ARTISTE
1.KISS DANIEL
2.CYNTHIA MORGAN
3.LIL KESH
4.KOREDE BELLO
5.REEKADO BANKS
First I must this-Ayo has built what is without a doubt the 'Grammy Awards' of the largest music industry in Africa and it breaks my heart to see him jeopardize its standards.The people didn't vote Reekado Banks over Lil Kesh, Cynthia Morgan, Kiss Daniel and Korede Bello.No!!!.You can't even sell that to a baby.Reekado would rank last on any result sheet except of course, the votes came in from the Ricardos in Brazil or Peru.
He doesn't have a bonafide hit out unlike the other nominees and the few songs that had people looking in his direction were basically social media hits popularised by Don Jazzy's massive online promo.To tell me he beat the guy who taught the world to SHOKI and whose EFEJOKU blows up every spot is absolute madness.
Even if the faulty list was rectified and the beasts- Cynthia Morgan and Lil Kesh were separated from the three pets, Reekado would still wind up bottom because the other two have at least a monster hit to boast off.
To say I am disappointed with the Organizers is putting it in the mildest terms.Lil Kesh deserves this more than any one of the nominees and word was that Reekado himself was rooting for Keshi.
Categorizing major artistes as Next Rated demeans the organizers' understanding of music.A proper Next Rated list would contain only three of the nominees-Korede Bello, Reekado Banks and Kiss Daniel.
The Next Rated category took the shine off this year's awards.
BEST ALTERNATIVE SONG
1.SADE-Adekunle Gold
2.AWWW-Di'ja
3.TIFF-Simi
4.SATAN BE GONE-Asa
5.RAIN ON ME-Ugovinna
6.THERE'S A FIRE-Bez
Adekunle Gold took this one home for SADE which isn't really a bad song if you ask me.But if you give me the plaque and tell me to hand it to who the cap fits, I would have only two true contenders-Di'ja's AWWW and Simi's TIFF.Both are really great songs and it would hurt to hand it to Simi at the expense of Di'ja.TIFF was a creative genius.The other songs are good but they aren't these two.
The major talking point of the night occured when Olamide tagged along with his artiste, Adekunle Gold to collect his plaque and seized the opportunity to throw a more vicious rant than last year's.Baddo said Lil Kesh was YBNL's Next Rated and 'Ko ni dafun iya anybody!!!'.It was a step up from the previous edition where he felt Keshi was the Rookie of the year.
I feel his pain though, it was speaking the truth albeit in a rather uncouth manner.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD
Don Jazzy was handed this in appreciation of his giant strides in the music industry. It was giving honour to whom its due.But the night got more interesting when Don Jazzy offered to hand Olamide the Next Rated car prize if he wanted it.That had Baddo badly infuriated and he went on to unleash what is without a doubt, the most brutal social media assault on any Nigerian Celebrity by a fellow one.He referred to Don Baba J as a fake, a b**tard and threatened to F him up if he ever ventures into the Mainland.
You kinda feel Jazzy brought it upon himself by speaking the way he did.Olamide was mad at the organizers and one would have expected the Don to act in a manner befitting a receipient of the plaque he was holding by calling for peace and saying nicer words to Baddo than what in a nutshell was 'The Mavins are bigger than all this'.
Beef has been officially squashed by identical instagram posts by both stars apologizing to everyone and that is most pleasant.
BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE (MALE)
1.IF I FALL-Praiz
2.HIGH-Shaydee
3.THERE'S A FIRE-Bez
4.DO THE RIGHT THING-Cobhams feat Bez
5.WISH ME WELL-Timi Dakolo
Timi Dakolo is a very talented singer but I doubt if his vocal strength matches that of a Bez or Praiz.Don't get it twisted, the voice is one of the things he has working for him and the bass blows his fans away but Bez has a really great voice and Praiz too albeit a little more bass.Cobhams nailed DOING THE RIGHT THING alongside Bez better than Timi did WISH ME WELL.If you ask me that is.
BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE (FEMALE)
1.TIFF-SIMI
2.IWO NIKAN-Aramide
3.BED OF STONE-Asa
4.DURO TIMI-Yemi Alade
5.COCO BABY-Waje
Aramide did great on IWO NIKAN but I would have given this to Simi.TIFF isn't a song just about anyone could write and record, the girl's vocal chords did the magic.No disrepect to the other songs but if you talk about the impact vocal strength had on a song, Simi deserves it more than Aramide.
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
1.THE SOUND-Sesan (Davido feat Uhuru and Dj Buckz)
2.CRAZY-Meji Alabi (Sheyi Shay)
3.KATAPOT-Unlimitedla (Reekado Banks)
4.JAMB QUESTION-Mex (Simi feat Falz)
5.BABY JOLLOF-Clarence Peters (Solid Star feat Tiwa Savage)
Google can't answer all questions and if it was worth my time, I would have tried to find out the connection between Ayo and Reekado Banks.It definitely can't be money because Davido has more of it to offer.
There is no way in the world Reekado's KATAPOT video would beat Davido's THE SOUND and Sheyi Shay's CRAZY in a clean contest.KATAPOT was a very bad imitation of Bruno Mar's GRENADE video.Nigerian traders of all the people in the world, would hurl eggs and all sorts of objects at you in a Nigerian market just because they hate the fact that you are in love?.It doesn't make sense.The part where he was being attacked by a cripple wouldn't make even my little sister tear up, it only made the video more pathetic.
Miss Shay 'The Bossette' spent quality time with Matthew Knowles and has a legit right to pull a Beyoncé and Jay swag in a shoot.In a nutshell, she was Beyoncé and Wizkid was Jay complete with the snap back.Yea, I hear you-It rocked and thats what matters.Meji Alabi did just okay.
I have a whole lot of respect for Mex as a director but the JAMB QUESTION video doesn't rank among his best.It had a crappy concept that reminded you just how south trying too hard to be different could go sometimes.He would have been better off shooting a high school 'toasting' story instead and I think its high time our directors start to make artistes understand they don't have to be the lead characters in their videos.
Davido's THE SOUND really ought to have taken this.It wasn't just about flying to Dubai to shoot a video, it was about making the locations all come together for the video.Sesan did an awesome job here and O.B.O sky diving was a mad touch.It beats all the other videos hands down.
Clarence Peters is human after all.BABY JOLLOF is a classic case of how not to shoot a video.Basically, it was about a guy telling us just how jollof his baby was.We never saw him get cozy with her till the last scene and wait for this-he prefered to sing in the midst of kids playing football instead.Tiwa too.Crazy.
BEST RECORDING OF THE YEAR
1.THERE'S A FIRE-Bez
2.OJUELEGBA-Wizkid
3.WISH ME WELL-Timi Dakolo
4.EYO-Asa
5.DO THE RIGHT THING-Cobhams feat Bez
OJUELEGBA deserved this more than WISH ME WELL.Heck, I would even hand it to DO THE RIGHT THING instead.Not to take anything from Timi, he made a really good song but others made better.
LYRICIST ON THE ROLL
1.BABA HAFUSA-Reminisce
2.G.O.D-TR
3.BANK ALERT-Illbliss feat Eva, Ice Prince & Phyno
4.KING KONG-Vector
V.E.C had to take this one.The Punchlines and metaphors may not be as spot-on as they used to be but I couldn't really see anyone catching up with his blow-past.TR would come second though.He was at his naughty best on G.O.D and Illbliss' s all-star ensemble for the remix of BANK ALERT did nothing but lend their high profile names to the joint. Ice Prince, Phyno and Eva dropped some really really dead bars.
BABA HAFUSA had a nice hook but as far as this category goes, indigenous rappers play at a handicap.
REVELATION OF THE YEAR
1.KING OF QUEENS-Yemi Alade
2.RICH n FAMOUS-Praiz
3.MAN OF THE YEAR-Skales
Yemi Alade fully deserved it.She has proved she is not a one hit wonder and is here to stay.
BEST RAP ALBUM
1.BABA HAFUSA-Reminisce
2.ABOVE GROUND LEVEL-Mode 9
3.THE CHAIRMAN-MI
4.STREET OT-Olamide
Reminisce's BABA HAFUSA certainly didn't live up to the hype and Mode 9 is going to continue lurking in the shadows for as long as he refuses to switch up big time.Olamide wasn't at his best in STREET OT and that leaves us with MI's CHAIRMAN.By every standard, it was indeed the rap album of the year.The 'short black boy' dropped a classic.Well deserved.
ARTISTE OF THE YEAR
1.P-Square
2.Yemi Alade
3.Olamide
4.Davido
5.Wizkid
Baddo deserved this.He and his YBNL crew kept churning out hits all year long.Even after dropping an album that just wasn't tight by his standards, he stayed in the mainstream and made us forget it with some of the best hits ever made.Like I tell people, Baddo truly loves the art and that really works for him.He drops albums and does features at a second-to-none rate with no artificial scarcity, release strategy or anything of the sorts.After all said and done, it all boils down to the quality of the music and that is his only strategy.Its working.Mad love and respect Baddo Sneh.
SONG OF THE YEAR
1.GODWIN-Korede Bello
2.BOBO-Olamide
3.OJUELEGBA-Wizkid
4.WOJU-Kiss Daniel
This was probably the toughest category of the night. The songs were without a doubt the hugest hits made over the last one year and it was anybody's for the taking.OJUELEGBA was slightly more popular and received accolades from far and wide.Worthy winner no doubt.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD/HALL OF FAME
This year's inductee was none other than Tuface Idibia; Nigeria's first bonafide International music star.It would take a whole article to celebrate this young veteran.Tubaba has written his name in gold and as far as music entertainment goes in Nigeria, even our grand kids will celebrate this man.
This year's Headies was a huge disappointment.It was held late and I feel really awkward refering to it as 2015.Timi Dakolo's WISH ME WELL was made to look a better song than it actually is (please don't tell me people voted for it) and it is ridiculous to nominate established acts like Lil Kesh who has scored a number of hits over two years and a fully settled Cynthia Morgan as NEXT RATED nominees.It was more or less keeping beasts with pets.Well, the smallest of the pets won and how Ayo and 'em were able to make that happen is one for the magic books.It would still baffle most people if Reekado Banks beat Kiss Daniel and Korede Bello talk more Keshi.
I still have nothing but love for the Headies and I hope to see a better one this year.I speak literally and not in the 'African Year' context.
No comments:
Post a Comment