DAME DASH TRIED TO GET WITH BEYONCE BEHIND JAY-Z'S BACK-FORMER ROC-A-FELLA PRODUCER

Funk Master Flex and Nick Cannon have been having this little beef going on and last week, Flex in an instagram diss, referenced the story of how Jay-Z was with Aaliyah first before Dame Dash, former Roc-A-Fella co-owner,friend and business partner of Jay's went round to steal her from him.Dame was Aaliyah's boy friend at the time of her death and was on Nick Cannon's podcast talking about how 'disrespected' he felt when Jay-Z made the Best Of Both Worlds album with R.Kelly, a man who was with his girl when she was less than 16.'Raped' as he put it.
The Dame Dash Aaliyah coup had been long tagged an unsubstantiated rumour since Jigga and Dame never talked about it but a former Roc-A-Fella producer, Choke No Joke told The Starr Report this week that not only did Dame actually do that,he also tried to get with Beyoncé behind Jay's back.
"We all know there was a point at Roc-A-Fella where Dame wasn’t allowed around Beyoncé. Everybody that worked there at that time knew […] because he was a creep."
No Joke goes on to say Aaliyah probably got with Dame because he promised he wouldn't be private with her.
Guess there's more to the Roc-A-Fella story than we thought we knew.

MORAL INSTRUCTION REVIEW: THE 'SERIOUS' FALZ NEEDS SOME MORE WORK

Hate it or love it, shame or not, Falz has been the best Nigerian rapper for at least the last 3 years.If you look past the humourous yoruba accent, he has on a consistent basis dropped some very tight lines and showcased an effortless versatility that has stretched all the way into the french language.The major takeaway from 27, his last studio album was that he can be many other things apart from a hip hop yoruba boy.

The Fela samples on the Moral Instruction tracklist right after the buzzing pre-album single, Talk suggested this album was going to be on the socio-conscious path and it turned out so.

Falz gets a thumbs up for his excellent narrative skills and cognizant effort to pass messages through his songs but that is really just as far as it goes.

Some unnecessary Fela comparisons were started online after Talk dropped and with the heavy Fela presence on the album, its starting to appear the whole thing was arranged by Falz himself.

On this album, we see an artiste trying  too hard to exert himself on some Fela sounds.Amen; a song on the modern day church business which takes a slice of Coffin For Head Of State is the only Fela sample that works.After you figure out Johnny could very well be his slang for 'John Doe', you are treated to some good story telling but effect is compromised in the desperate bid to conform to an over-stretched Journey Just Come sound.He tries to tie the bandwagon mentality to Fela's Zombie on Follow Follow but the inability to sync delivery on his verses with the fast pace of Fela's chorus leaves the listener loving mostly parts of a song they have spent the whole of their lives listening to.

There's really nothing wrong in an artiste transforming his music into a tool for social activism as long as he does it to his strengths.You can't effectively get your message across if the song doesn't move the audience.Falz seems to have understood that on Talk.A hippy sound, a catchy chorus and some quite intriguing lines-'Shey dem neva tire dem wan continue the race/We buy your story/But you no give us 'change'...Sarcasm and wit are 2 of his greatest gifts and moving forward, he has to employ them as best as possible while managing to keep his 'present day youth' fan base on their feet rather than their seats.That way his sermons will make better impact.

No matter how powerful the messages on E No Finish and Paper are, they are songs that will hardly get a second listen.He however, commendably gets slow right on probably the best song of the album; Brother's Keeper where he is complemented beautifully well by a singing Sess the problem kid.A quite arresting effort.

Demmie Vee's voice sits pretty nicely on the chorus of Hypocrite but lyrically, its as loose as it gets.What suprises however, is how it seems to do little or no harm to the song.

Overall, i would say Moral Instruction is good but definitely not great.

'ITS BUHARI SO ONNOGHEN IS A VICTIM'.WHAT IS HAPPENING TO US?

It is important we get this straight.Walter Onnonghen, the Chief Justice of Nigeria is not a member of the PDP neither is he an APC member in the bad books of the Presidency.If anything, choosing to charge the CJN for false declaration of assets with the 2019 general elections only a matter of weeks away would only be detrimental to Buhari and his party.They are the ones who will bear the brunt of a requital by the judiciary.

Having said that, i simply do not understand how Nigerians, who supposedly want the best for this country would find anything wrong with the Buhari administration's move against the CJN.

The outcome of investigations by our authorities revealed that not only did Onnonghen fail to fill his 2014 asset declaration form,he declared 5 Standard Chartered bank accounts with one of those accounts holding about $164,000 and the other £108,000.Two other accounts held a total of over N11M and the last,an account holding €55,154.

Two other bank accounts with Union bank held naira sums totalling more than N37M.All as at November 2016.Are we seriously trying to castigate government for looking into this man?.There are oil magnates who can't boast of that much liquid cash at hand.

Of what purpose is any anti-corruption campaign if there are corrupt people at the helm of the nation's judicial system?.

If there is one thing i have learnt from the Onnoghen situation,it is that our problem transcends Buhari,Jonathan or who was there before them.Our main problem is us.That Buhari has shielded his cronies and party faithfuls from prosecution or has turned out probably the worst President ever in our history doesn't mean we shouldn't appreciate any good thing he does.We are not only willing to live with corruption but are also willing to accomodate the very people who provide it an enabling ground just because we don't like Buhari.What is happening to us?.

Similar to the NBA-NEC resolution on the NBA President, Paul Usoro's case with the EFCC where supposedly trained lawyers converged in a room to declare the EFCC a third party in a contractual relationship in the investigation of a financial crime, patriotic nigerians devoted to seeing this country work have had to sit and watch respectable personalities, some of them lawyers, spew gibberish about the Onnonghen situation.We have watched them ridiculously talk about the CJN refusing to enter into an agreement with the government for favourable judgements in election matters and how Buhari hates Southerners.Nobody has addressed the most fundamental issue which the CJN himself hasn't denied.Were those outrageous sums really in his account?.Neither has he nor anyone of his sympathizers bothered disputing that there were discrepancies in his 2 CCB forms as the authorities have claimed.All we are hearing is Babachir this,Omisore that and then the issue of jurisdiction in the best but lame attempt at making rational sense.They have configured their psyches to see Buhari as a villain and anyone else, a victim.

While i am not disputing that Buhari's selective and hypocritical anti-corruption crusade coupled with his mediocre performance as President have turned the tides of public opinion against him, it still is baffling that a genuine move in the best interest of the nation and one to his disadvantage, would attract so much hatred.

You can't be Pro-Nigeria,Pro-Justice or any of the other many Pro-s these people parade next to their names and still not agree that a supreme court justice with that much in cash shouldn't in one way or the other be asked any questions.

As things stand currently, the main issue is no longer 'Babachir,Kalu and Omisore' but that of jurisdiction.The provision of the law is every clear on false declaration of assets with the Code of Conduct Bureau by public officers; they will be tried at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.Plain and simple.Judicial misconduct will be dealt with at the National Judicial Council and nothing precludes our regular courts from trying criminal cases against judges.It is disgusting to see Senior Advocates of Nigeria arguing otherwise.God help us.

If we hate Buhari so much that we'll never see good in anything he does then we are our problem more than he is.

SOME SAD MOMENTS BUT OVERALL, A GREAT NIGHT : A REVIEW OF THE 2019 SOUND CITY MVP AWARDS

Whether or not you agree with all the wins at the 2019 Soundcity MVP, you just have to agree that it was a great spectacle.From back to back performances by some of the hottest names in music to the epic acceptance speeches of Bose Ogulu, Burna boy's mother and former manager who the internet has fondly dubbed 'Mama Burna'.With most people starting to give up on the Headies after the last edition,the MVP got a lot more attention than it used to.Africa's biggest music industry deserves an award befitting that status and it had everyone rooting for it.

The awards proper.

VIEWERS CHOICE

1. YE – BURNA BOY
2. DROGBA – AFRO B
3. SCIENCE STUDENT – OLAMIDE
4. FEVER – WIZKID
5. SOCO – STARBOY FT WIZKID, TERRI, SPOTLESS & CEEZA MILLI
6. KUPE DANCE – A STAR
7. MAGUN (RMX) – NINIOLA FT. BUSISWA
8. AVAILABLE – PATORANKING
9. TIWA’S VIBE – TIWA SAVAGE
10.SO MI SO-WANDE COAL (WINNER)

This was the first award of the night and it came as a shock to everyone that Wande Coal's So Mi So won Viewers Choice.A great song no doubt but not a fans' favourite.At least compared to Soco,Science Student and Afro-B's Drogba outside these shores.The Headies has categories it lists as non-voting that allow it reward whom ever it pleases and i couldn't help but think the MVP would be better off doing same than trying to pass off So Mi So as Viewers Choice.

LISTENERS CHOICE

1. CLUB CONTROLLER – PRINCE KAYBEE FT LASOULMATES
2. KATIKA – NAVY KENZO FT. DIAMOND PLATNUMZ
3. SOCO – STARBOY
4. WETIN WE GAIN – VICTOR AD
5. KWANGQARU – HARMONIZE FT DIAMOND PLATNUMZ
6. FAKE LOVE – WIZKID & DUNCAN MIGHTY
7. CONFUSION – KUAMI EUGENE
8. CCTV – KING PROMISE FT. MUGEEZ, SARKODIE
9. ASKAMAYA – TENI
10.YE-BURNA BOY (WINNER)

There is making categories tight so you can pick a choice without raising much dust but you put credibility at stake when that choice isn't one of the songs that made it a tight contest.This was really between Victor AD's Wetin We Gain on one hand and Wizkid's Fake Love and Soco on the other.The MVPs will get away with this for the sole reason that for the very first time in a long while,the hottest artiste in a year isn't Olamide,Wizkid or Davido.Its Burna boy and anything Burna boy would fly.

BEST GROUP OR DUO

1. DISTRUCTION BOIZ
2. SAUTI SOL
3. MI CASA
4. MAFIKIZOLO
5. SHOW DEM CAMP
6. R2BEES
7. TOOFAN
8. GOLD FISH
9. REGGIE N’ BOLL
10. NAVYKENZO (WINNER)

Sauti Sol made the very mesmerizing Melanin with Patoranking and Afrikan Star with Burna boy just before it.NavyKenzo's Katika was huge in East Africa but it would only be logical for a group with hits and a fan base stretching from East to West Africa to win this.But then there is logical and there is what you get.

BEST NEW ARTISTE

1. KIDI
2. SHO MADJOZI
3. ODUNSI
4. PERUZZI
5. KIDA KUDZ
6. SHANE EAGLE
7. KING PROMISE
8. KWESI ARTHUR
9. MBOSSO
10.TENIOLA (WINNER)

Spot-on.There was no way in the world this wouldn't be Teni.Kwesi Arthur is buzzing in Ghana and as talented as Peruzzi may be,he is still yet to score a hit.Teni went into the night with 2 very huge ones.

Kida Kudz has to have some major lines at Sound City.He appeared from no where to perform before the show proper and was nominated for best new artiste.Kida has been around for long and is best known for his 2014 song titled Le Boo featuring Ice Prince.if Sound City doesn't know that then its a Wawu.

DIGITAL ARTISTE OF THE YEAR

1. DAVIDO
2. TIWA SAVAGE
3. BURNA BOY
4. CASSPER NYOVEST
5. VANESSA MDEE
6. FALZ
7. WIZKID
8. DIAMOND PLATNUMZ
9. YEMI ALADE
10. MR EAZI (WINNER) 

I heard a lot of people cry over this but i totally agree with it.Mr Eazi was reported to have made a total of $600k in streams and views in October and in the first week of December, had racked up 163M streams on Spotify alone.Quite impressive for an artiste that isn't even top 3 in Nigeria.

Upcoming artistes get a lot of tips on how to make the most of this digital era and Mr Eazi references will feature prominently in those tips.

BEST POP

1. KIZZ DANIEL

2. FALLY IPUPA

3. TIWA SAVAGE

4. YEMI ALADE

5. DIAMOND PLATNUMZ

6. MAYORKUN

7. WIZKID

8. KUAMI EUGENE

9. MR EAZI

10.DAVIDO (WINNER)

This was always going to be between Wizkid and Davido and in as much as Wizkid is the bigger artiste,Davido is more consistent with a lesser miss ratio.Very much on point.

BEST COLLABORATION

1. MAKHE – DJ MAPHORISA, DJ SIMBA FT MOONCHILD SANELLY
2. JIBEBE – DIAMOND PLATNUMZ, MBOSSO, LAVA LAVA
3. KATIKA – NAVY KENZO FT. DIAMOND PLATNUMZ
4. ISSA GOAL – NAIRA MARLEY, OLAMIDE, LIL KESH
5. SPIRIT – KWESTA FT WALE
6. FAKE LOVE – WIZKID AND DUNCAN MIGHTY
7. CLUB CONTROLLER – PRINCE KAYBEE FT LASOULMATES
8. SAID – NASTYC & RUNTOWN
9. AMAKA – 2FACE IDIBIA FT. PERRUZI
10.SOCO – STARBOY FT WIZKID, TERRI, SPOTLESS & CEEZA MILLI (WINNER)

This has to be the tightest category of the night.Any one of 5 other songs out of the 10 listed would have won this without raising any eyebrows.This was Wizkid's (Star boy if you like) only award of the night.Sound City some how managed to keep everyone happy.

VIDEO OF THE YEAR

1. GRINGO – SHATTA WALE
2. MIDNIGHT DRUM – A PASS, ROUGE, FIK FAMEICA
3. SHORT N’ SWEET – SAUTI SOL
4. YE – BURNA BOY
5. FEVER – WIZKID
6. SURRENDA – ADEKUNLE GOLD
7. SCIENCE STUDENT – OLAMIDE
8. KING – NASTY C FT A$AP FERG
9. KSAZOBALIT – CASSPER NYOVEST
10.HEAL THE WORLD – PATORANKING (WINNER)

Patoranking's Heal The World is not only the best video in Africa right now,it is the very best in recent memory.Quite magical.I feel so sorry for Shatta Wale.I would be saying the very same thing about Shatta Wale's Gringo if Patoranking hadn't made Heal The World.Two of the very best videos Africa has seen in one year; talk about a blessing and a curse.Special credit must go to the MVP for its nominations here.Wizkid's Fever aside,every other thing here was top notch.

AFRICAN PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

1. KILLERTUNES
2. JULZ
3. SARS
4. NAHREEL
5. NORTHBOI
6. DJ TIRA
7. SPEROACHBEATZ
8. FRESH VDM
9. KEL P
10. PHANTOM (WINNER)

'Since Ye is the song of the year then its only right the producer is the best of the year'..I really don't quite agree with Mama Burna's logic.If you'll give the Headies props for anything,it is that they have the songs the producers are nominated for listed along with their names.Killertunes,Speroach beatz and Fresh VDM made more than one hit in the period under review.And even if we were to talk one hits, then Sarz made the quite monstrous Diet.Finally, if robustness were to count above 'pon pon' then Julz will take this home.All of them over a Phantom we don't know.Or rather didn't know.

BEST HIP HOP

1. M.I ABAGA

2. KHALIGRAPH JONES

3. NASTY C

4. KWESI ARTHUR

5. PHYNO

6. SARKODIE

7. KWESTA

8. FALZ

9. MEDIKAL

10.AKA (WINNER)

This is the craziest moment of the night.People in the hall grumbled loud right into the next award.AKA beat Nasty C to best hip hop based on the year he released the most critically acclaimed rap album Africa has ever seen; Strings and Blings.At this point it was starting to become clear that Sound City rewards foreign artistes who attend with the awards they are nominated for.Perhaps to sell its brand on the integrity card across the continent.NabyKenzo,AKA,Busiswa all came and clinched their categories.

If it was meant to be a secret then this category blew it all open because people will always look into just how possible it was for AKA to pull this off.Falz had This is Nigeria and a couple of other great singles while Kwesi Arthur was hot all year.Medikal got so much love for How Much,he had to make a remix.All these artistes would win this category ahead of AKA on a level playing field.Nasty C lost best hip hop to AKA.How on earth can anyone sell that?.

SONG OF THE YEAR

1. SHORT & SWEET – SAUTI SOL FT NYASHINKI
2. AFRICAN BEAUTY – DIAMOND PLATNUMZ FT. OMARION
3. SOCO – STARBOY FT WIZKID, TERRI, SPOTLESS & CEEZA MILLI
4. KATIKA – NAVY KENZO FT. DIAMOND PLATNUMZ
5. MAKHE – DJ MAPHORISA, DJ SIMBA FT MOONCHILD SANELLY
6. SKELETON MOVES – MASTER KG
7. ASSURANCE – DAVIDO
8. AMAKA – TUFACE IDIBIA
9. KWANGWARU – HARMONIZE FT. DIAMOND PLATNUMZ
10. YE – BURNA BOY (WINNER) 

I understand the Modric as opposed to Messi and Ronlado analogy on the need for fresh air and how everyone loves a new kid on the block but to put it quite simply-Soco,Assurance and Amaka were bigger hits than Burna boy's Ye.But then again, Burna had such a great year,anything with his name on it will stick.

AFRICAN ARTISTE OF THE YEAR

1. DAVIDO
2. SARKODIE
3. YEMI ALADE
4. A.K.A
5. TIWA SAVAGE
6. WIZKID
7. DIAMOND PLATNUMZ
8. NASTY C
9. OLAMIDE
10. BURNA BOY (WINNER) 

Very well-deserved win.Burna boy owned 2018 and no one would make any sense disputing that.Wizkid is steady making strides but the closest thing to a threat was Nasty C.For the very first time ever,an African rapper is getting recognition outside this continent not out of courtesy but a true acknowledgement of the quality of his songs.

AFRICAN DJ OF THE YEAR

1. BLACK COFFEE
2. DJ SPINALL
3. DJ MIC SMITH
4. DJ KAYWISE
5. DJ XCLUSIVE
6. PRINCE KAYBE
7. DJ ARAFAT
8. DJ MAPHORISA
9. DJ VYRUSKY
10.DJ NEPTUNE (WINNER)

The only talk worthy thing DJ Neptune did in 2018 was releasing an album.Spinall on the other hand was at the One World concert in South Africa and had 2 smash hits in Nowo with Wizkid and Baba with Kizz Daniels.Yes,those songs and lest i forget,he was made a Pepsi DJ ambassador in March.The choice of DJ Neptune over him is quite absurd.

BEST FEMALE MVP

1. SIMI
2. NINIOLA
3. TIWA SAVAGE
4. YEMI ALADE
5. SHEKHINAH
6. EFYA
7. BECCA
8. LADY ZAMAR
9. MAUA SAMA
10. BUSISWA (WINNER) 

Most of the top female stars here were either not consistent (Tiwa Savage's Lova Lova is her only decent effort), semi-hibernating (Simi especially) or are simply starting to lose it (Yemi Alade).Becca released a joint EP with Ycee that didn't quite measure up and she hasn't had a hit since Number 1,her 2017 hit with Mr Eazi.Efya on the other hand put in some good work but i agree with Busiswa.She has been on a meteoric rise over the last few years.Great artiste.

BEST MALE MVP

1. NASTY C
2. MR EAZI
3. OLAMIDE
4. A.K.A
5. SHATTA WALE
6. HARMONIZE
7. DIAMOND PLATNUMZ
8. DAVIDO
9. WIZKID
10. BURNA BOY (WINNER) 

OluwaBurna no doubt.Burna ended 2017 on a high and moved onto another realm altogether when he released the Outside album.Google searches for Kanye West's Ye led to his song with the same title and that earned him some massive international exposure.His mom made sure she thanked Kanye for that.He was featured on YouTube's artiste on the rise campaign for 3 months shortly after collecting his plaque for selling out the 5,000 capacity Brixton Academy 02 arena in the UK.Everyone agrees 2018 was his year.Even the ever fanatical #Teams Wizkid and Davido have had to overlook some very controversial Ye wins.In his honour perhaps.

The 2019 MVP was a very crucial one and despite some very sad moments,it did not disappoint on an overall scale.Nigerian artistes aren't quite elaborate or extraordinary with award performances and the MVP lumping multiple artistes into a single performance break is a very nice touch.They say you can never go through an entire award show without being disappointed with a win or two but that disappointment is a lot more harder to take when those wins defy reason.I hope to see a better Soundcity MVP next year.

MY VERY BEST OF 2018

These are the things that stood out for me in 2018.

BEST MOVIE

We all loved Black Panther and it would be it in the literal sense but then this has always meant for me,anything on TV.The Netflix spanish series,La Casa De Papel was the best thing i watched all year.It was simply breath-taking.

BEST COUPLE

This would be Davido and Chioma.Whether a girl who stayed over 2 daughters from 2 different women was in it for true love or just patient enough to get her slice of OBO's goody bag didn't really matter when the affair became public.He was so crazy in love and he flaunted it.He opened a kitchen for her and bought her a Porsche reportedly worth over N40M for her birthday.That came with the smash hit Assurance dedicated to her as well.Word is she had to drop out of school to accompany him on his many trips across the world.It may or may not fizzle out but in 2018, Davido had everyone loving his Chioma and labelling him 'wicked' for setting the bar so high for male lovers.

BEST TEAM

The Super Falcons of Nigeria won the 2018 Awcon in Ghana for a record 9th time.The girls had to overcome familiar foes in gruelling 120 mins + penalties encounters in their last 2 games of the tournament and they kept a cool head through it all.Overall,the stats say we have ruled African Women football since its inception.Big deal.

BEST COACH

I would ordinarily have said Mauricio Pochettino but for the extraordinary exploits of Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.He led the team to the Champions league final last season and to the top of the English Premier League at mid-stage this season.He has put in place a very efficient counter-attacking style using the pace of Sadio Mane and Mohammed Salah and also created an extra awareness to the defensive responsibilities of the whole team.Klopp has proved what he did at Dortmund with even more unheralded legs was no fluke.On merit,he is the best coach in the world.Unlike other prominent coaches,he hasn't had a fat account to work with, he has just been shrewd and gotten the most of players he works with.

BEST BOOK

I went shopping one day and i stumbled on Eghosa Imasuen's Fine Boys in what was supposed to be a brief stay at the book section.I flipped through some pages and took it.Proved a very good call.
The middle-class folks appreciate a lot, the 'realness' of the social media with its every day pidgin slangs and interactions between youths being entirely themselves.It was fascinating to see a writer capitalizing on the Warri syndrome so well.

BEST LEADER

No one leader stood out for me in 2018 but if i'll have to choose,i will choose Governor Ikpeazu of Enugu state.
Babatunde Fashola deserves a tip of my hat also for the remarkable improvement recorded in power supply across the country in the last few months.Much earlier in some places.In as much as i don't want the Buhari government to return,i still have to say such improvement is unprecedented.Fashola has been the shining light in this administration.

BEST ARTICLE

I found Mitch Findlay's Does Going Platinum Still Carry The Same Weight? quite a fascinating read.In this era of digital record sales,a lot has changed in music and Findlay highlighted the highly 'technical' case of Cardi B's Invasion Of Privacy banking on the successes of pre-album singles-Bodak Yellow and Bartier Cardi to go platinum.

SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR

Anthony Joshua beat Joseph Parker and knocked out Alexander Povetkin and more importantly,kept the 3 heavyweight belts to himself.Still the undisputed champion of the world.

SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR

Onome Ebi was pivotal to the Super Falcons success at the 2018 Awcon in Ghana.She was by some distance,the best Nigerian player at the tournament.

MAN OF THE YEAR

Atiku Abubakar without a doubt.A lot of people including my humble self didn't think he could win the PDP presidential ticket.Asides being a member of the old guard,he ditched the party and actively worked towards ensuring they were defeated in 2015.But win he did and in some style.I don't just support him now only because i am desperate to see President Buhari booted out,i do because he, by a hundred thousand miles has the best manifesto of all the candidates on display.If i knew then what i do now,i would have pitched my tent with him from the onset.

WOMAN OF THE YEAR

Lisa Murwoski, a Female Senator from Alaska was the only republican to vote against the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh as a Justice of the Supreme Court by the American Senate.Kavanaugh was probably the most controversial US Supreme Court nominee ever.He faced numerous allegations of sexual misconduct and of lying under oath about never being black-out drunk in college.His room mate at Yale said he saw him in that state first hand.Murwoski defied the republican party line and in a traditional senate practice called striking, she voted 'present',technically a 'Nay' to strike out her colleague,Senator Steve Daines of Montana's 'Yea' who was attending his daughter's wedding and couldn't be present.
For her courage and bravery in towing the path she believed was right and damning the consequences of disobeying her entire party and President Trump, Lisa Murwoski is not only my Woman of the year but also my Person of the year.

QUALITY, PERSISTENCE AND CONSISTENCY: THE BURNA BOY 2-YEAR PLAN TO GREATNESS

Wizkid and Davido can afford to drop 10 below-par singles at a stretch and still have their fans going crazy at the mention of their names.Burna boy enjoys no such luxury.He is not a pretty boy with a charming personality or one whose personal life is a PR dream,he's had to claw up to this present level by being nothing other than an incredible artiste.Burna is something we hadn't and still haven't seen anything like.

He is not your regular Nigerian artiste who says they aren't afro-pop but go on to realize they actually are.He is a mixture of so many natural sounds, he best captures it with the 'afro-fusion' appellation.That baritonal voice whipping up mesmerizing rhythms on some breath-taking melodies.Such a magic recipe.

Burna boy has been around and was one of the very few Nigerian artistes to have a major international deal but the last 2 years have been the most pivotal in his career since 2012 when he dropped the monster hit, Like to Party.2017 was when Burna understood what his craft needed.It had to transcend just an album and singles off it.

He had a unique product; a quite unrivalled one and guaranteed a good song.If he kept himself busy and stayed in our faces with a slew of good releases,he would become a mainstay.He needn't have a Manya like Wizkid or a Fia like Davido,all he had to do was drop or get on a good vibe as consistently as possible.From DJ Jimmy Jatt's Chase to the fire-cracker Chillin Chillin with A.I,he kept the heat coming.

When he dropped Gba along with the bedazzling Deja Vu late that year,he had everyone looking forward to his Outside album dropping early 2018.All he had to do was deliver and even if he decided to go on a hiatus from thereon, it would do practically no harm.Outside turned out arguably the best album by any Nigerian artiste in the last 5 years and debuted at number 3 on the billboard reggae chart.Heaven's gate and Streets of Africa were deliberate attempts to score a global hit and even if none ended up another Man's Not Hot,he made a solid impression.

Google searches for Kanye West's Ye (album) led to Ye,a song off the album and curious listens across the globe led to a regenarated buzz 5 months after its release and Burna capitalized on that to shoot a video for the song.Ironically,that was when it became a hit in Nigeria.What that moment proved was that if you didn't love the songs on Outside then you probably hadn't heard them.

Consistency is the word.That is what has gotten him from the undisputed title of Nigeria's most underrated artiste to the very best at the moment.Despite not being on the same pedestal as a Davido or Wizkid in terms of mega-hits, he has built a reputation as the GoTo man for music out of the ordinary.

The blue print of the previous year extended to 2018 and after just 3 months of the 'mandatory' waiting period for promotion,videos et al, he dropped his first post-album release titled Agbada.After that came Vampire and once Major Lazer caught a hard-on for afro-beats,it was only a matter of time before they kicked it with him.They made a super jam called All My Life.Gbona came and then On the Low.Aggressively in your face.No chills.

It has paid off handsomely.The world already knew the stuff he was made of,he just had to make it count.Burna boy may not have the fanatical following of his contemporaries but he can boast of being loved by every music fan.The Burna boy topic quells a Davido/Wizkid debate.

The willingness of both sets of fans to accept he has something extra their artistes don't exposes not only their sentimental attachment to them but also an acknowledgement of their being first and foremost, lovers of good music. He has not had anything outside of the music working for his brand.Quality,Persistence and Consistency.All it took.

MY TOP 20 SONGS AND BEST 5 ALBUMS OF 2018

1. BLACK EFFECT-THE CARTERS

2.MY OWN-STYLES P FEAT WHISPERS

3.SISI MARIA-MALEEK BERRY

4.CAN'T BE BROKEN-LIL WAYNE

5.GRINGO-SHATTA WALE / DIET-DJ ENIMONEY FEAT SLIMCASE,TIWA SAVAGE & REMINISCE

6.LAND OF THE FREAKS-2 CHAINZ / BANGING-MR 2KAY FEAT REEKADO BANKS

7.DEATHROW-YOUNG SCOOTER / HERE AND NOW-PRAIZ

8.PRAISE THE LORD-A$AP ROCKY FEAT SKEPTA

9.WHITE LABEL-NAS /AFTER PARTY-DESIIGNER

10.PLAYLIST-MI FEAT NONSO AMADI

11.SURVIVAL-DRAKE

12.KWEKU-CHIEF OBI / CHILLIN CHILLIN-BURNA BOY FEAT AI

13.SUPER EAGLES DODORIMA-AUSTINO MILADO

14.ALL MY LIFE-MAJOR LAZER FEAT BURNA BOY/ HOUSTONFORNICATION-TRAVIS SCOTT

15.OLA-PERUZZI FEAT MAYORKUN

16.ONE TICKET-KIZZ DANIEL FEAT DAVIDO / END OF DISCUSSION-RICH THE KID FEAT LIL WAYNE

17.NEGOTIATIONS-WALE

18.LOVE YOU LONG TIME-MALEEK BERRY FEAT CHIP

19.ON THE LOW-BURNA BOY / CALM DOWN-BURNA BOY

20.FRIENDS-THE CARTERS

TOP 5 ALBUMS

1.OUTSIDE-BURNA BOY

2.TRIPPPLE CROSS-YOUNG SCOOTER

3.STRINGS AND BLINGS-NASTY C

4.HEARTWORK-PERUZZI

5.DAYTONA-PUSHA-T