SOUND CITY MVPs: MERIT WAS SACRIFICIED TO KEEP EVERYONE HAPPY

The Sound City MVPs held last Saturday at the Eko convention centre,Lagos.Walk with me through the categories.

Best New MVP

FireBoy DML ( NG )

JoeBoy ( NG )

Marioo ( TZ )

Rema (NG) – Winner

Simmy ( SA)

Wendy Shay ( GH )

This was always going to be between Fireboy,Joeboy and Rema.Fireboy had one of the best albums of 2019.If you take that into consideration along with that the MVPs could choose to follow in the footsteps of the headies by refusing to award the best for no other imaginable reason than that they had been rewarded by their rivals and didn't want to appear to be playing 'catch up', Fireboy stood a real chance of clinching this.It turned out Rema's.The MVP award along with the headies' Next Rated effectively makes him the undisputed Best new kid on the block.What this also means is that he has come as far as Dumebi can carry him,the real work starts now.

Best Collaboration

Blow My Mind – Davido [ NG ]

Daz How Star Do – Skiibii [ NG ]

Gugulethu – Prince Kaybee [SA] – Winner

Jama – DJ Mic Smith [ GH]

Killin' Dem – Burna Boy [ NG ]

Inama – Diamond PlatNumz [ TZ ]

This had to be Burna boy's Killin' Dem, no 2 ways about it.And even if these songs were to be ranked according to the impact they made, Skiibii's Daz How Star Do and Davido's Blow My Mind would have to win this category before any other song on this list.

Best Pop

Innos B [ CG ]

Nandy [ TZ ]

JoeBoy [NG] – Winner

Otile Brown [ KE]

Kizz Daniel [ NG ]

Teni [ NG ]

Mayorkun [ NG ]

Rayvanny [ TZ ]

Naira Marley [ NG ]

First, Naira Marley is not a pop artiste and shouldn't at all be on this list.Marley is a street hop artiste that would have to fall under hip hop when broadly categorized.Nonetheless having him here automatically means he had to win this ahead of Joeboy and every other name on that list because he had the best year.Secondly, it is very obvious Fireboy was left out of this list to reward Joeboy.At this point in the night,it was clear Soundcity would try as much as possible to please everyone.Last year,all foreign artistes that attended the show won their categories ahead of worthier nominees and this year, it wanted to spread the love round.Fireboy would go on to be rewarded in another category and Burna boy's Killin' Dem too.

Best Hip Hop

BlaqBonez ( NG )

Falz ( NG )

KHALIGRAPH Jones (KE) – Winner

Kwesta ( SA)

Medikal ( GH)

Shinski ( KE)

Sarkodie ( GH )

Reminisce ( NG )

Ricky Rick ( SA)

Zakwe ( SA)

Falz deservedly, but what in God's name is Reminisce doing here?.They were mischevious enough to leave Naira Marley out of this category where he belongs and place him in Best Pop but there are still a plethora of rap artistes that had a better year than Reminisce in Nigeria.

Kaligraph has consistently kept it real over the years but with all due respect, this was made easy for him.M.anifest should have gotten in there from Ghana ahead of Sarkodie and Medikal.This has to be the worst category of the night.

Best Duo

Black Motion ( SA)

Diamond ( SA)

DopeNation (GH) – Winner

Ethic ( KE )

Show Dem Camp ( NG )

Toofan ( TG )

Most people thought this was going to be Toofan's but it went to Ghana's Dope Nation.Well, congrats.

African Producer of the Year

Cracker ( NG)

Prince Kaybee ( SA)

Jay Synth ( NG )

Kel P ( NG )

MOG ( GH )

Ozedikus ( NG)

Pheelz ( NG )

Rexxie (NG) – Winner

S2Kizzy ( TZ )

Nigeria; Lagos precisely, is the entertainment capital of Africa and the foreign producers on this list would have to have made at least 2 smash hits in the mould of Mafikizolo's Khona or ODG Fuse's Azonto to stand a real chance.That having been said, Kel P has barely scratched the surface since Burna boy's Killin' Dem and Ozedikus' sole claim to top tier status is still Rema's Dumebi.This was between Pheelz and Rexxie with an eye out for Cracker Mallo who has gone on to produce quite a number of decent songs since Fireboy's Jealous.

Rexxie deserved this award more than anyone on this list and i am glad he got it.He is starting to get the recognition he truly deserves.He produced Zlatan's Zanku,Naira Marley's Soapy and Chinko Ekun's Able God among others.The quality of his beats are just unbelievable.Rexxie Pon the Beat has been the unseen force behind street hop in the last two years.

Best Female MVP

Betty G ( ETH)

Daphne ( CMR )

Nandy ( TZ )

Sho Madjozi ( SA)

Teni (NG) – Winner

Tiwa Savage ( NG )

Yemi Alade ( NG )

If you had any doubts as to Sound City's intention to spread the love,they were erased here.It is just not possible for Teni to beat Tiwa Savage to Female MVP.Asides the 49-99 single,Tiwa gave a fabulous account of herself on Beyonce's Lion King album with Keys To The Kingdom and rocked more high profile shows; some of them with Wizkid alongside.Even if Sound City wanted everyone happy then at least it should have been smarter on how it went about things.How can Teni win the category for best female artiste and miss out on a spot for African Artiste of the Year while Tiwa Savage and Yemi Alade who lost out to her here both got nominated?.Its totally indefensible.

Best Male MVP

Burna Boy (NG) – Winner

Davido ( NG )

Diamond Platnumz ( TZ )

King Promise ( GH)

Sjava ( SA)

Wizkid ( NG )

Zlatan ( NG)

Burna boy had to win this.The only reason anyone would be sceptical about Don Guorgon taking this home was the MVPs' newly cultivated propensity to please everyone.You couldn't safely say this wasn't going to be Wizkid or Zlatan.

African DJ of the Year

DJ Creme De La Creme ( KE )

DJ Kaywise ( NG )

DJ Neptune ( NG)

DJ Spinall (NG) – Winner

DJ Vyrusky ( GH )

DJ Zinhle ( SA)

DJ Neptune won this award last year when it should have gone to DJ Spinall and it was nice to see him get it this time around.

Digital Artiste of the Year

Cassper Nyovest [ SA]

Davido [NG] – Winner

Diamond Platnumz [ TZ ]

Kizz Daniel [ NG ]

Mr Eazi [ NG ]

Yemi Alade [ NG ]

Wizkid [ NG ]

There couldn't possibly be a worthier recipient than Davido.The Blow My Mind video with Chris Brown notched up a record-setting 2 million Youtube views in 24 hours.Davido it should also be noted holds the record for the most viewed video by a nigerian artiste with Fall now having surpassed 100 million views.

Listeners’ Choice

Baby – JoeBoy ( NG )

Dumebi – Rema ( NG)

Fetch your Life – Prince Kaybee ( SA)

Jealous – Fireboy DML (NG) – Winner

Jama – DJ Mic Smith ( GH)

Kainama – Harmonize ( TZ )

Killin Dem – BurnaBoy ( NG )

Kpo K3K3 – StoneBwoy ( GH )

Oil & Gas – Olamide ( NG )

Fireboy was omitted from the Best Pop category to provide a smooth path for Joeboy and he was compensated with this.I have always said that Listeners' and Viewers' choice are categories kept by these awards to hand to who they please and in this instance,it came in handy to help compensate a man denied what was rightfully his.

As an addendum, that Wizkid wasn't nominated for these categories tells you just how bad a year he had.Considering Sound City's big heartedness this year,he should have gotten one at the very least.

Viewers’ Choice

49-99 – Tiwa Savage ( NG )

Able God – Chinko Ekun ( NG )

Banomoya – Prince Kaybee ( SA)

My Level – Shatta Wale ( GH )

On The Low – Burna Boy ( NG )

Soapy – Naira Marley (NG) – Winner

Tetema – Rayvanny ( TZ )

Zanku (Legwork) – Zlatan ( NG)

Marley was wrongly placed in Best Pop (a category which he should have won regardless) and left out of Best Hip hop where he truly belonged.It made sense to compensate him with this award; his very first.First among many needless to say as he is all but guaranteed at least the Street Hop category at the headies later in the year.Soapy was colossal.

Video of the Year

49-99 – Tiwa Savage by Meji Alabi (NG) – Winner

Dangote – Burna Boy by Clarence Peters ( NG )

Jericho – Simi by Adasa Cookey ( NG )

Ngwa – Blick Bassy by Tebego Malope ( SA)

Ohema – Kuami Eugene by Rex ( GH )

On the basis of quality, the closest thing to Tiwa's 49-99 was South African, Blick Bassy's Ngwa.There is really nothing that hasn't already been said about the breath-taking 49-99 video.Mad costuming one of them.Meji Alabi deserved this 100%.

Song of the Year

Jealous – FireBoy DML ( NG)

Killin' Dem – Burna Boy (NG) – Winner

Malwhede – King Monada ( SA)

Soapy – Naira Marley ( NG )

Tetema – Rayvanny ( TZ )

Zanku (Legwork) – Zlatan ( NG)

Baby – JoeBoy ( NG )

Case – Teni ( NG )

Dumebi – Rema ( NG)

Fetch Your Life – Prince Kaybee ( SA)

Jama – DJ Mic Smith( GH )

Killin' Dem was denied an obvious win in Best Collaboration and this redressed that but it came as a price; merit.Burna boy had a better year than any African artiste no doubt but was Killin' Dem a bigger song than Dumebi and Soapy?.If that is debatable then certainly not with Teni's Case in the picture.There is no way in the world Killin' Dem was as huge as Case.Well like i said, the MVPs wanted to keep everyone happy and having been sacrificed in what appeared a bid to give the brand a universal appeal by rewarding the South Africans, Killin' Dem had to fit in some where.It didn't deserve this.

African Artiste Of The Year

Burna Boy (NG) – Winner

Davido ( NG )

Diamond Platnumz ( TZ )

Shatta Wale ( GH)

ShoMadjozi ( SA)

Tiwa Savage ( NG )

Wizkid ( NG )

Yemi Alade ( NG )

Sound City would have created some serious problems for itself if it denied Burna boy this award.He may not have had the biggest songs but there is no way anyone would deny Burna boy artiste of the year and sleep in peace.Just not possible.

A lot of people had been rooting for the MVPs over the last few years to overtake the headies as Nigeria's number one music award show and i'm pretty sure this edition must have left them gutted.From DJs playing the wrong songs for artistes coming on stage to a hype man that irritated fans more than he excited them.The 2020 Sound City MVP Awards was disappointing.

5 CASES WE MAY NEVER SEE IN COURT UNDER BUHARI

It is no longer news that President Buhari's integrity has proven a hoax.It was never about wanting to change Nigeria for the better,it was about wanting power and its attendant benefits like those before him.Below are 5 cases we may never see in court. 

DIEZANI ALLISON MADUEKE HAS NOT BEEN EXTRADITED DESPITE WHAT MAGU HAS BEEN SAYING SINCE 2017

Former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Allison Madueke is widely reputed to be the most corrupt minister ever in the history of this country.What this woman and her cronies are accused of stealing from the national coffers is enough to fund two annual budgets; perhaps that is why they are still free.

It is being whispered in some quarters that Diezani is the worst victim of an extortion racket at the highest levels of Aso Rock that exploits corrupt politicians scared of prosecution.They make cash readily available to whomever they are asked to to avoid being punished and the Buhari administration's blatant reluctance to bring her back home is a pointer to the existence of such a dubious scheme.

First,the UK promised it was going to prosecute her then they kept mute and ever since,there has been one story every year from the EFCC.In 2017, Magu said there were ongoing plans to extradite her.He repeated the same statement a year and 2 months later in 2018 and in 2019, we saw a change in strategy; one that involved raiding one of her houses and parading $40M worth of jewelleries.I remember saying then that judging from how a whole UK was made to back off her trail, they may have gotten the woman to buy and have jewelleries planted for them to recover for the optics.

Whether or not, the story of her being a Dominican diplomat is genuine,it cannot shield her from crimes perpetrated as a minister in Nigeria.Its 2020 and Diezani is still yet to extradited to face charges and the EFCC still hasn't gone beyond telling us 'there are ongoing plans'.Maybe Buhari can tell us why.

THE OBASANJO $16BN POWER PROBE HAS SUDDENLY GONE COLD

A former director at the Ministry of Petroleum has been made the official scapegoat for the controversial P&ID gas contract that led to a $9bn compensation awarded against this country.People expected the EFCC to tow that path since it arrested some never-before-heard names with regard to how $16bn was spent on power under former President, Olusegun Obasanjo.

There has been no news ever since.Not on what the arrested persons said or on more people being picked up.Not the Ministers and not the big fish himself, OBJ.

President Buhari said he would limit his fight against corruption to only the Jonathan administration but in one desperate and hypocritical moment,he told youths he was addressing that 'a former president' claimed he spent $16bn on power.That is the humongous sum nigerians have been told countlessly was spent on power under President Obasanjo and when a massive outcry geeted Buhari's comments, he was forced to order a probe of how that sum was spent.While it is hard to say with certainty why Buhari's EFCC is reluctant to pursue the probe, the most likely reason would be that he is worried about the optics.Right now, he can't win any war no matter how righteous considering the level of discontent with his administration and secondly, any effort to prosecute Obasanjo will all but turn the entire South West against him.Afenifere has already accused him of sidelining Vice-President Osinbajo only because he was bitter at the sacking of former DSS boss, Lawal Daura while he was on medical leave in London.If nigerians aren't bothered by the fact that the Buhari administration is claiming to have spent N1.5 trn on power without a commensurate improvement in electricity supply, then they will start to ask questions then.Black and dark are not any different from each other.Is Buhari scared of probing Obasanjo?.Only he can answer that.

WADUME THE KIDNAPPER HAS STILL NOT BEEN CHARGED

You ordinarily would expect the authorities to arraign this notorious kidnapper and make so much noise about it for no better reason than 3 policemen were gruesomely murdered by soldiers just to help him escape but no one could safely bet on that after learning he said he got N13M to work for Buhari in the 2019 Presidential election.The police have held him way beyond the constitutionally stipulated time and without any update to the public.Wadume's statement to the police not only shed more light on the nefarious antics of the APC,it also gave an insight to just how much our leaders contribute to insecurity in Nigeria.Unknown gunmen were involved in a shootout with soldiers at the entrance of President Jonathan's country home not too long ago and just a week ago,another set attacked a community in Kogi and killed 19 people.Politicians arm thugs to help them win elections at all costs and after that is done, these youths they have 'empowered' deploy those arms to various criminal activities.No one who has been arrested is facing charges almost 6 months later-not Wadume and not the soldiers that killed policemen to effect his release.Maybe Buhari can tell us why.

AMIDST CLAIMS HE WAS KEEPING AISHA BUHARI'S MONEY, HER FORMER ADC ARRESTED FOR FRAUD HAS NOT BEEN CHARGED TO COURT

The case of CSP Sani Baba-Inna, Aisha Buhari's aide-de-camp accused of defrauding undisclosed persons of N2.5bn in her name is a particularly interesting one.A lot of people said soon after the news spread that the money was hers and that further lent credence to the rumours about Aso Rock's extortion scheme.The only way to disprove that was for Baba-Inna to be charged in court and a year and four months later, that has still not happened.Are they scared of what he might say?.

Popular activist, Prince Deji Adeyanju narrated an encounter he had with members of Baba-Inna's family where he was told they knew Baba-Inna had been acting as a front for her and even bought a house in Abuja for one of her daughters.Nobody wants us to hear what Baba-Inna has to say.Certainly not the Buharis.

THE JONATHANS ARE UNTOUCHABLE

Former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki said every payment he made from the $2.1bn arms fund was authorized by President Goodluck Jonathan.Chief Doyin Okupe, a media aide of the former president was accused of receiving N400M and he stated in quite unequivocal terms that the payment was authorized by President Jonathan.The EFCC didn't as much as extend an invitation to the former president talk more investigate and possibly prosecute him.Patience Jonathan came out to claim monies found in the name of her aides as hers and the EFCC in what appears a move to punish her audacity, has seized those monies along with some of her properties.How is it possible to seize properties on the basis of having being acquired by ill-gotten wealth and then refuse to charge the person to court?.Only Buhari and his EFCC can answer that.

The temerity behind Patience Jonathan claiming those monies instead of gladly allowing the scapegoats take the fall suggests above anything else that the former first lady felt whatever agreement they had with Buhari extended to their friends too.The woman oozed a strange sense of invincibility.She took the EFCC to court instead of the other way round.For a man that clearly said when he assumed office in 2015, that he was going to punish all corrupt persons, even Buhari won't blame anyone who thinks he has a dubious agreement with the Jonathans.One that involves him getting a slice of the pie maybe.

TOP 10 SONGS OF LAST DECADE

1.YORI YORI-BRACKET

2.SHOKI-LIL KESH

3.OLEKU-ICE PRINCE FEAT BRYMO

4.DAMI DURO-DAVIDO

5.KUKERE-IYANYA

6.OJUELEGBA-WIZKID

7.LIMPOPO-KCEE

8.LIKE TO PARTY-BURNA BOY

9.FIRST OF ALL-OLAMIDE

10.GODWIN-KOREDE BELLO

BEST SONGS NOT INCLUDED

1.NUMBER ONE-MI FEAT FLAVOUR

2.ONYINYE-P SQUARE

3.STRONG THING-BANKY W

4.JAGABAN-YCEE

5.WOJU-KISS DANIEL

ARTISTE OF THE DECADE 

WIZKID

ALBUM OF THE DECADE

STAR BOY-WIZKID

INDIGENOUS RAP BADLY NEEDS THAT NEXT STEP

First there was a sponsored protest at the EFCC office requesting Naira Marley's release and another at the Federal High Court the day he was arraigned.By the time the artiste was brought to court for his bail hearing,there was barely space to turn.The 'Marlians' moniker the singer had used sparingly to describe his fans had now caught fire.What had started as a ploy to put the authorities under pressure had snowballed into a massive street movement; the Free Naira Marley Marlian movement.

Marley's singular claim to fame prior to the online Yahoo spat with Simi and Ruggedman was a hit that was bigger than the artiste itself.

People knew the Issa Goal song more than they knew Naira Marley.But some how Naira Marley was depicted as being targeted by a scapegoatist system and in the space of just one month, had become the Tupac Shakur of Nigerian music.

Perhaps if the EFCC hadn't availed Marley a springboard, Soapy would have been just another song we all loved and forgot after a week.Marley shrewdly courted more controversy with a lewd dance to go with the publicity he was enjoying and that guaranteed everyone had to talk about this song more than they did the previously released Opotoyi.

Marley was in full Tupac mode with a middle finger to the world and if the music was half decent,the moralists would lose out again.They did.Soapy wasn't half decent,it was magnificent.

But like a host of other indigenous rap songs that didn't enjoy the luxury of being rendered by someone in Naira Marley's shoes.Lets do a little recap.Reminisce released a song with a tailor-made title for the mainstream ; OGb4IG and went on to record a quite bouncy tune with DJ Spinall,one you would have bet on and gone to sleep titled Edi.Phyno's Deal With It is arguably the best indigenously 'pure' rap song in at least the last 2 years and in as much as they say a great song has no special time,skeptics could still argue that it was gurgled up by the album following fast on its heels.Bottom line,it passed like it was nothing.

CDQ made the groovy Akwaba featuring Flavour to back up the gritty Shiga and Onye Eze which sought to tap into the very well publicized altercation between Blessing Okoro, a blogger and a China based millionaire by the name, Onye Eze.Not even a remix with another beneficiary of EFCC's spotlight, Zlatan Ibile could move the fans.

If you didn't agree indigenous rap had a problem, you had to after listening to Olamide's Choko Milo.It had all the trappings of a bonafide hit but till date,i still feel like the only person that has played it.A careful diagnosis will reveal one thing and one thing only-the afro-hip hop genre is saturated and only a ground-breaking trend will take it back to its old heights.Something never-before-done.Music no matter how good now has to depend on some kind of external prop to have the undivided attention of the audience.Its almost impossible to refute anyone who tells you the biggest afro-hip hop songs have been Naira Marley's Soapy then the walk back in time to Am I A Yahoo Boy and Opotoyi and finally, Mafo.

Despite all the attention and respect it commands, American hip hop still has an almost annual influx of artistes trying to breathe fresh elements into it-Blueface of Thotiana fame and Grammy nominated Da Baby to mention just two in 2019.Indigenous hip hop needs to be stretched to such widths.The yoruba rap needed DaGrin's step up from Ajasa and the East had been lying breathless since Nigga Raw's glory years till Phyno brought a new flow.A catchy chorus and some tight lines doesn't seem to be working any more and the saddest part of it all is that too many songs are going to waste.You have to worry for this immensely talented artistes who perhaps should be deploying their artistry differently.

Take a look at Zlatan's Yeye Boyfriend and understand how much a problem they have.He along with Naira Marley were the biggest indigenous acts of 2019 thanks to several factors outside their songs (Zlatan's Zanku dance on his part), and he appeared to have struck a perfect balance with Yeye Boyfriend which would appeal to the urban IT era youth as much as it would his core street juju and fuji loving fan base.It never quite blew up.

Maybe yoruba mumble rap,maybe house infused ibo rap but afro-hip hop badly needs something fresh.Earth breakingly fresh.