ALBUM REVIEW:MI WROTE THE MANUAL AND HE UPDATES IT WITH RENDEZVOUS

The bars may not hit as hard as when other dudes were 'scared to come close coz he was homophobic' but what certainly isn't in doubt is the fact that Jude 'MI' Abaga has grown as an MC and Rendezvous is his most balanced work yet.It may not have as many stand out jams as any of his previous albums but unlike them,there is very little disparity between the great songs and the decent ones contained therein.Its an endless treat from start to finish.

The album transcends just rap,its an expo of a brilliant musical mind.MI makes collaborations work for him better than any one in the game and on Rendezvous he features artistes on every song.The depth and quality of the album is largely attributable to those artistes.

Nonso Amadi was born to sing on Playlist.Can't possibly see anyone laying it down as well as he did and you feel mere thoughts of Terry Apala drove MI into making Jiggy.Madtonic's chorus was the icing on the love story titled Sunrise.

Striking,is the fact that MI has grown without really changing much.There is nothing unusual in the structure of this body of work side by side with his previous albums.Identical versatile template,only a much more rounded artiste with yet unmatched artistic brilliance.Its not about a catchy beat or chorus and its not necessarily about tight punchlines and metaphors,MI just makes good music.The buzzing Lekki track best exemplifies that.He puts the distinctive talents of Falz and Ajebutter22 to great use on the viby cut and MI make a dancehall song?.Oh yea,he can.Can't get enough of Yung L 'Mr Marley' slamming home his alley-oop on The Crew.

Not a few people thought You Rappers Should Fix Up Your Lives self-aggrandizing and hypocritical considering that even if MI was the best nigerian rapper alive (if you take out Wale and Nas of course.lol),he hadn't had his game on A for a while.The conventional rap songs on Rendezvous were bound to get a bit more scrutiny than normal.

His lines on On Code were below par and he gets slayed hands down by Aka but he hits commendably hard on Soup featuring Casper Nyovest..."I get commas after commas like i never finish my sentences".

MI talked about our rappers getting slayed by SA rappers on #YRSFUYL and its ironic how they do the deed right at his doorsteps on his invite.

You are not alone.Everyone was eager to listen to On Code and Soup when they first saw the tracklist.Popping was going to take a natural route but it turned out without a doubt,the best out and out rap joint of the album.Mr Incredible was on beast mode.His delivery was sick and special kudos must go to Ghost of Show Dem Camp for his steel-packed verse.Odunsi was just as sublime on the chorus as he was on Lekki.

MI wrote the hip-hop manual and he updates it with Rendezvous.No,this man need not 'sing just to get popular',a million ways to make a rap album,choose one.

O ye rappers,bow down!!.

YCEE AND BELLA'S LATE NIGHT VIBRATIONS EP WAS BARELY AVERAGE

Ycee scored a huge hit with Juice and whether or not 'rappers need to fix up their lives and stop singing to get popular',it was what it was; a huge hit.It made sense to make a late night EP especially when his label just signed a talented singer.Just as long as he didn't make a mess of it.

Sadly,the Late Night Vibrations EP fell short of expectations.It was a decent singer and a make shift one sounding nothing out of the ordinary over 6 tracks.I'll pay serious attention to whoever pops up with stories of how he wrote Juice.This work had me feeling Ycee can't have that much juice.

A look at the songs...

WETIN

Bella cues herself to sing deep on a light instrumental but sonority has never been a strong point of hers.Its a loose effort and though Ycee tries to save the day,he can't do much as the song revolves majorly around her.

EMPATHY

They did spark up some chemistry on Empathy.Obviously Ycee can sing when he puts in the right work and he kills the adlibs when Bella gets on the hook.However her verse yanks a huge chunk off whatever catchiness the song had going for it.

TROPICAL FRUIT JUICE

Nigerian artistes really need to understand that they are making a joint EP or album doesn't necessarily mean they must make every track together.

Bella rode the late night wave perfectly and was making magic up until Ycee crashed it.His vocals had no place here.Its a good song that could have been much better.Bella has my thumbs ups here.

ALL NIGHT

They try to switch things up to mid tempo but if anything it sounds pale the most part.Bella goes dancehall and leaves the other part sounding just awful.

BE THERE

The singing on both ends was good and it was a quite decent effort that lacked some cutting edge.Its good enough to keep you in it the whole hog but not enough to go out of your way to listen again.

TONIGHT

Ycee puts in just the right intensity and whips up a decent attempt at catchiness on the hook.Bella's verse was more what his was on Tropical Fruit Juice and her best input was the background vocals on the chorus.This should have stayed Ycee all through. 

AB MAHMOUD: A CASE OF THE BLIND LEADING THE LEARNED

AB Mahmoud SAN has been the most controversial NBA President in recent memory.When some corrupt judges were clamped down upon by the DSS,he called for their immediate release and even went ahead to threaten that there would be 'consequences' if they weren't.The question back then was why he was willing to drag the name of the bar in the mud for just a handful of persons primarily responsible for the rot in our judicial system.It was most embarrassing for lawyers having to answer questions on whether the DSS broke any law in the arrest of the judges.The layman like almost everyone of us knew they didn't so what was Mahmoud's problem?.

A law school student billed to be called to bar at the International Conference Centre,Abuja recently refused to take off her hijab in line with the guidelines laid down by the authorities in what internet trolls dubbed the 'girls not hot' situation.

In response,Mahmoud tweeted a photo of his daughter being called to the New York bar wearing a hijab and said the controversy on hijab was needless and also that the 'NBA' will encourage tolerance and diversity.

A lot of people may have jumped to his defence on this occasion but he is expected to know what they may not and that is that even if the constitutionality or otherwise of the use of hijab for muslim women is raised,what must first be addressed is whether Islam recognizes English or Common law as it is loosely referred to.It doesn't.And as such,the issue of hijab from a religious perspective in this context is faulty.

The young lady in question impliedly consented to the stipulated terms of the Council of Legal Education by attending the law school.The call to bar conditions weren't issued to students at the entrance of the ICC,they knew all along and like the all too familiar legal maxim goes-Volunti non fit injuria (that to which a man consents cannot be considered an injury).If anything,Mahmoud was encouraging the violation of the most important criteria for call,the 'fit and proper' rule.There couldn't be a more illustrative instance than a total disregard for set down rules.

I had resigned myself to fate and like most of my colleagues,was eagerly looking forward to the end of the few months he had left in office when i read his speech at the formal hand over ceremony by the outgoing Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Dr.Olanrewaju Onadeko to his successor, Prof.Isa Hayatu last Friday.

He didn't call for a reduction in law school fees neither did he call for a neutral final arbitrer in law school disciplinary cases as the case of the expelled Kayode Bello had necessitated.

Mahmoud,speaking in his official capacity as President of the NBA and Acting Chairman of the Council of Legal Education,bemoaned the quality of lawyers in active practice today and preposterously advocated for a minimum qualification of a Second class Upper (2.1) for all intending law school students.I had had enough and no,i wasn't going to let that slide.

He represents me and each time he says 'the NBA' while making a statement,he is presumably speaking for me regardless of whether or not he has the backing of even his fellow executives which i seriously doubt was sought and obtained in the aforementioned cases.It just doesn't make sense at all.

How can he decry the quality of lawyers being churned out and neglect to blame the schools for the quality of education they obtained?.Like my elementary school teachers would say-'garbage in,garbage out'.Regardless of his/her class of degree,a graduate is an embodiment of all he is taught and if he delivers 'garbage' then that is exactly what he learnt.A 2.1 is attained just by obtaining good grades but it doesn't automatically translate to the fact that he was taught well.A man of Mr Mahmoud's stature should already know that.

Even if his yardstick is adopted for admission into law school (which i totally can't imagine happening),we must note that it is next to impossible to find a law faculty in this country that graduates up to 10 second class upper students from an average 250 students.If we send less than a 100 students to law school,lawyers would gradually go into extinction.Perhaps his proposal is part of a grand scheme to turn the legal profession into an 'exclusive' one because that is the only reasonable summation when one ties this with the lackadaisical attitude of the NBA towards the exorbitant law school fees.A more fruitful end goal if we must pursue one.

A lot of us worry for the profession we so much love and cherish when we appear in court with lawyers who can't string together 2 decent sentences in english.Just days ago,i appeared before a Chief Magistrate who had to be told the procedure for a trial-within-trial.We share the learned silk's concern but his way out isn't the way out.

The right thing to do is to use his seat as acting chairman of the council of legal education to set up a committee comprising the best hands for the vetting of existing and incoming law lecturers.Making it mandatory for all law faculties in the country to notify and submit the names of intended lecturers for a final screening and ratification sounds much better a proposal.Emphasis should be placed on revamping the faculties that graduate half-baked products.That is where our priorities should lie.

A.B Mahmoud SAN hasn't led the bar well.

BURNA BOY IS A WORLD CLASS ARTISTE AND THE OUTSIDE ALBUM EMPHASIZES THAT

Davido and Wizkid are the biggest musical exports we can boast of but without an iota of doubt ladies and gentlemen,the most 'international' of them all is the Don Gorgon himself,Burna boy.He calls what he does afro-fusion,i call it magic.The man is simply in a world of his own and the message the Outside album contains is simple-the time is now.If indeed we will conquer the world then we need to get moving and this man did move in some style.

The mind-blowing Heaven's Gate and the exhilaratingly jinglic Streets Of Africa are global market quality.We were bound to see the many sides of Burna boy on here and he gives us just that in 3D.

Ye, track 7 on the album best highlights his effortless versatility.He flips his strong Fela influence (his dad,Benson Idonije was the late music legend's manager) into an awesome 2018 afro-beat track.Don't think anyone would deem Wizkid the best Fela exemplar after listening to this song.

Burna is pop,ragga,dancehall,R&B,afrobeat and the amazing part of it all is that he could be all that on one song.We couldn't have done more justice than allowing him pick a genre for himself.

He tells you his inspiring Port-Harcourt story in ragga on the mesmerizing Where I'm From just as well as he does in pop on City Vibration.No matter what style,he stays catchy all through.

Burna introduced himself to the world with one of the best pop songs ever made here in the uncommon Like to party and though such songs are made once in a life time,nature is kind enough to throw up ones like Giddem that pop up exuding a distinct air of exceptionality.Ko ni baje is stooping to regular pop level and slaying it real bad.He just won't sound ordinary even when he tries.

Sekkle Down too.A fabulous dancehall cut that further highlights protean artistry.He isn't forcing anything,its all there deep within.

As accustomed as his fans may have been to expecting anything from Don Gorgon over the years,the ability to murder a slow slong has to catch off guard.If the effect of Devil In California will wear off with time,that of the magical Calm Down definitely won't.

Simply put,Burna boy is a world class artiste and the Outside album emphasizes that.

NOBODY WANTED BABACHIR TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS; NOT BUHARI,NOT MAGU

How can Buhari be really serious about fighting corruption?.The head of the country's foremost anti-graft agency is a man indicted for corruption by the DSS which is run by a towns man of the President brought back from retirement to extirpate his trust issues.

When the senate indicted former SGF, Babachir Lawal for corruption and breach of public service regulations in a contract awarded through his office,the President had the Attorney General probe Lawal and Magu in what appeared a dual purpose move to prevent Lawal from an EFCC probe and to let them both off without compromising integrity.President Buhari hurriedly wrote a letter to the senate exonerating the then SGF and another renominating Magu for confirmation as EFCC boss.

Babachir was probed again by the VP Osinbajo led committee only because of the massive calls to do right and the fact that the millions belonging to the NIA found in an Ikoyi apartment provided a convenient means to do that along with its DG,Ayo Oke.Technically,it meant the president was copping to the initial probe being a dubious one.

Even after Osinbajo submitted the report of his committee to the President upon return from treatment abroad,and it took another outcry to prompt him into acting on it 2 months later by sacking Babachir and not until we had all read Obasanjo's letter reminding him of how he was shielding corrupt persons did the EFCC swoop on Babachir.

It seemed the end of the road but no,it wasn't.Babachir fell in Magu's hands and his present status reads-out on administrative bail.Magu's handling of the EFCC has been shoddy to say the least but we wouldn't expect much from a man like him.He has seized Patience Jonathan's properties without as much as questioning her talk more prosecuting her and refused to question President Jonathan even after being named more than twice in the arms scandal involving former NSA,Sambo Dasuki,inevitably leading many to ponder over who the Jonathans have a deal with-Magu or Buhari himself.

The last note worthy administrative bailee of the EFCC was Pius Anyim,ex-president Jonathan's SGF.When it sought and got a court order to detain him for 30 more days, an EFCC source was quoted as saying it was to enable the commission verify his claims over the N520M he got from Dasuki and the N13bn he disbursed to companies he had interests in from the SGF ecological fund.The 30 days came,went and Anyim was set free on bail,not charged.

Babachir's,which very much appears an open and shut case didn't have to wait an extra 30 days.Having already been probed and indicted by the senate and the Vice-President's committee, the 'further investigation' fable wouldn't fly easily with Buhari's former SGF so they saved some time and released him on bail 48hrs later, allowing the President and his cronies to bask in the wondrous show they had put up for optics.

Anyim is also said to have falsely declared his assets upon assumption of office and like Lawal, committed a separate offence by contracting companies he had interests in but none was referred to the Code Of Conduct Bureau for investigation and prosecution.No government which takes corruption seriously overlooks such offences.Perhaps unlike Saraki,no one has a personal score to settle with them.

We have witnessed Buhari's anti-corruption war go from a guaranteed win to selective then hypocritical and finally, a failure.

The question isn't if the will power was lost,it is whether it was there in the first place.

MOVIE REVIEW:DEN OF THIEVES DOESN'T LIVE UP TO THE HYPE

Den of thieves had everyone buzzing since its trailer was released and it tops The Commuter as the first huge release of 2018.But you would be a little disappointed if you looked forward to a jaw-dropping,heart-wrenching action packed movie.

 It is at the very best a decent film.The most positive highlights were director,Chris Gudegast's splendid job in getting the best out of Gerard Butler who plays 'Big Nick', the lead character and Detective of the Los Angeles Sheriff Department and also Pablo Schreiber (Ray Merrimen),the menacing leader of the bank thieves.In a movie like this where virtually everyone roots for the bad guys even with the knowledge that they would eventually have to go down,it is important a good job is done of the chief protagonist who is almost always out to get them.

Butler (Big Nick) isn't your exemplary action hero,he has a body full of tattoos,cheats on his wife with strippers and gets physical with suspects.Like he says in that memorable scene in the trailer: "we are the bad guys" and not the bad guys.

But Pablo Schreiber (Ray Merrimen) is a real bad guy and he plays his role so well he covers up handsomely, the numerous flaws surrounding the gang.There is so little loose dialogue involving its members,Curtis '50 cent' Jackson (Levi) seemed a guest appearance with many scenes rather than a prominent supporting cast; Merrimen's number 2.

Perhaps a scene of 50 intimidating his daughter's visiting boy friend was an attempt to remedy that but the key is never to be caught in the act.We never saw Levi's family after that and it made it very obvious the producers themselves understood the need to digress from meets and plots.The scene was useless in the scheme of things.It only highlights the lack of creativity to do what they themselves recognize as the needful.

Its almost like crew members like Bosco (Evan Jones) go through the entire movie without uttering a word.

Then you have the gang member whom the plot revolves round; Donnie (O'shea Jackson jnr).Ok,at the ending we get to know he conceived the plan to rob the Los Angeles Bank of Reserves and sold it to Ray Merrimen while also hatching one to bolt with the loot while they take the fall but for the love of God why would an experienced and brilliant criminal mind like Merrimen go ahead to keep him on the team even after knowing he may be compromised?.We were meant to believe getting rail roaded by the cops was part of Donnie's plans.So he just hangs with some of his colleagues for a while at the bar where he works and he is sure to get kidnapped by Big Nick?.Thats excessively fictitious fiction.The shock of Donnie's overriding plan and the fact that the most likeable of the bad guys gets off ensures it ends on a pleasantly intriguing note.

Overall,its a good movie but it certainly doesn't live up to the hype

THIS TIME NEXT YEAR....

It would be just a matter of weeks before the general elections.That is if Buhari doesn't decide to postpone an inevitable tragedy like his predecessor did.Security was what GEJ cited and issues bordering round that have quadrupled since PMB took over.The Niger Delta militancy and the clamour for a Biafran state may have abated but he also has the fulani herdsmen to complement a resurgent boko haram.

He may make up with his wife after the scandalous anti-buhari videos she posted on her twitter page and Garba Shehu may even come out to tell us her account was hacked.Realistically speaking,nobody expects her to leave the man or at least before he vacates the villa and no one expects Buhari to refuse to run because of her 2nd act of war.But one thing is certain,this time next year,Buhari will be afraid.

His wife's recent photo in a keke napep tricycle went largely unnoticed and that indicates nigerians will no longer be deceived by photos of her helping a roadside food seller fry akara or Buhari himself ensuring we see the empty N50 milo sachet beside his tea cup.

The PDP would have a field day playing righteous and even if Femi Adesina does better than telling us to go and fight pipeline vandals ourselves instead of the man we voted to do so or saying that the herdsmen killings are a state matter and not a federal one,i doubt it will have any real effect on the scheme of things.

An increase in minimum wage despite the tough times will replace the obliteration of boko haram and corruption as his top achievements.For the first time in probably forever,our governors are listing payment of salaries as part of their dividends to the people.His number one supporter owes civil servants 8 months salary and has just completed a mansion in his village.Buhari has released bailout funds and Paris club refunds twice to state governments but he isn't asking anyone questions.If i was Gov.Yahaya Bello,i would love him too.Whatever happened to his promise to look into how the funds were utilized?.No one truly expects the man to keep a promise.

The APC worried itself more about ousting the PDP than having a solid structure in place and now the consequences have caught up with it.Unlike all other Presidents since 1999,Buhari will regret not seizing control of the party machinery.He will clinch the ticket alright but even he knows a lot of key people in the party are unenthusiastic about his 2019 presidential bid.Some are serving in his government.

Rotimi Amaechi,the Works Minister has openly lauded the Jonathan administration for its huge strides towards infrastructural development and Aisha Alhassan,the minister of women affairs,has also publicly adopted Atiku Abubakar as her 2019 Presidential candidate.All these will hurt him most when electioneering is in top gear.

Every nigerian with the true love of this country at heart will better appreciate the individuality and progressiveness of the South Western electorate.The vast majority will decline to vote Buhari against the perhaps 'fake' wishes of Asiwaju and the governors.They will decide it again this time,only for whoever squares up against Buhari.By January 2019,it will become very obvious to Buhari he is going back home.

Did i mention PDP will play righteous?.It would be most pleasant to watch them campaign to people about protecting their votes and ensuring they count.They will tell us how 'well' we lived during their 16 year reign and the patriot will focus on preaching how we should keep on 'changing' till we get the right one.Nothing will work for the President except his core northern fan base that have been programmed to see him as first,a good muslim man of integrity and then pro-masses irrespective of anything he has done or would do.But that won't really count much as he is guaranteed a win only in a handful of places in the north.

Every good thing he manages to do between now and next year will only appear a 911 campaign move and not for the betterment of nigerian lives.We will no longer be willing 'magas' to political fraudsters.

The goal of many nigerians for the most part of Buhari's term was staying alive and they will eagerly look forward to their chance to exact revenge the only way possible.They just have to make it to next year.