ALBUM REVIEW: DESPITE A DIP IN ARTISTRY, PHYNO STILL DELIVERS ON DEAL WITH IT

Phyno made a name for himself as an indigenous rapper with the least dependence ever on a groovy or catchy chorus.He always had an inch-perfect delivery for a track and the classy drift from ibo to english and back was breath-taking.When he tried his hands on afro-pop,he made 2 of the biggest songs in the country back-to-back in Connect and Father Father.It has to be said for him that no nigerian artiste has ever managed that prior.

A lot has happened since he released his sophomore album,The Playmaker where we saw him excel at new levels of versatility and display an abundant knack for the extraordinary.Everything that has happened since then are pretty much summed up on the 21 tracks on this album.

Though the unique quality the artiste has does pop up every now and then, in between he makes songs that at the very best,can be referred to as casualties of the very high standard he has set.Then finally,there are ones that make you wonder if you even know the artiste at all.

Noteworthy also is the heavier reliance on the indigenous elements of his game for Deal With It than ever before.Some times to great effect,other times not.He opens the album with much panache on the title track,Deal With It.Phyno oozes sheer class on a thumping Benjamz beat in a style quite reminiscent of the 'King of the East' we fell in love with.

Deal With It is perhaps the best indigenous hip hop song made in at least the last 2 years while the trappy and infectious Oso Ga EMe gives an insight to just how ingenious Phyno's creative process can get.Ke Ife O is sweet,refined and well produced with all the trappings of a new era love song.On his day,the Playmaker is a master of sounds.

However,what baffles about this album is the disparity between the great songs and others not on their level.God's Willing with Runtown lacked a genuine spark to lift it out of the ordinary while he had Phenom and Falz to save Get The Info and make the nice chorus count.A Major Bangz beat complete with a subtle soul sample and what is fast becoming a trademark switch in rap instrumentals make Speak Life sound perhaps more pleasant than it ordinarily would.

These latter set of rap songs are what you could classify as victims of an over-pampered listener.

But it is Body feat Harmonize and Recognize with his Pent hauze signee,Cheque that shockingly speak little of Phyno's artistry.He sounds many worlds apart from the artiste we have seen severally shuffle ibo and english lines with an absorbing delivery on the right beat.

While Recognize has a decent pre-chorus and chorus to serve as a healthy distraction,he is ineffectively fast and tasteless on Body.Phyno in addition to being a rapper also sings and a song with the highlife King and fellow Enugu boy,Flavour would have anyone salivating at its prospects but then Vibe is a huge disappointment.They never quite adapt to the native instrumental with Phyno's pace being put again to dismal use and Flavour's unmoving chorus making matters worse.When language starts to become a barrier when listening to a Phyno track,you know he has set himself up really wrong for it to come to that.

Judging from more recent antecedents, Phyno's best was likely to come from his pop songs.The Bag was so very well received by fans,everyone overlooked the not-so-impressive All I See featuring Duncan Mighty which could very much pass for the second pre-album single.There was the typical sprinkling of highlife elements but it basically had you stuck in foreplay all through with no raw cutting edge to drive it home.

Overall,it must be said for Phyno however that there are more outstanding pop songs on the album and a lesser gap in quality between them and the ones that aren't.

A lot of focus will be on songs with high profile features like Blessings which had the chorus-killing heroics of the maestro,Don Jazzy himself and a verse from his regular side kick,Olamide to complete the 'Father Father' recipe.Then also the very captivating Ka Anyi Na Yo; where Phyno and Teni combine so brilliantly with some great singing in ibo and yoruba.

But songs like Deri deserve just as much mention.The absorbing shift in rhythmic gears on that tempo is so dazzling.The ibos have proven time and time again they have a distinctive winning formula when it comes to gospel songs and Phyno taps quite brilliantly into that for the uplifting I Got Your Back.The Zoro assisted Uwam also has to go down as a memorable Phyno track.

On the other hand, Ride For You tops the list of songs that fall victim to the standard set by a singing Phyno even on this album.It has a big name feature in Davido and he did some really good singing in ibo.Ma Chi is a bit drenched in too much intensity for a love song and the only song to fall on the not-just-good-enough column is Problem.

Phyno may not quite be the artiste he once was but dripping this much quality in his current state attests to just how talented he is.Deal With It is an impressive album.

XENOPHOBIA: BUHARI HAS LOST US RESPECT IN THE EYES OF THE WORLD

Until at least the last 48 hours,there were videos online of nigerians being killed in South Africa almost on a daily basis.The only crime this men along with other African nationals committed was to be in South Africa and be prosperous enough to become a threat.A threat the South African Deputy Minister of Police,Bongani Mkongi clearly pointed out in justification of the killings-"there are many foreigners and one day,they could take over the country".

Our nigerian brothers and sisters lucky enough to escape being clubbed or macheted to death,sought refuge in the nigerian embassy but were shut out.Yes,the nigerian embassy shut its doors to nigerians for them to go and be killed.Government didn't issue a press release to deny or state why.Instead it serenaded us with some very uninspiring 'It is doing' stories.

Nobody in government talked about flight arrangements for nigerians willing to return or promised to look into how the South African law enforcement agencies allowed the crisis degenerate to this level.Finally,we were hit with a bombshell; Buhari wasn't even going to travel down to South Africa until October.Normally when lamenting government's inaction or non-responsiveness, we ask 'Is it till nigerians are being killed?'.Nothing could be worse than nigerians being massacred in the most godless ways and filmed for the world to see.Is it because there is a virtually non-existent possibility of any of those killed being fulani?.

Other governments preceding Buhari's may also not have given nigerians the sort of leadership they deserve but under them,we commanded a great deal of respect.In 2012 when South Africa sent back 125 nigerians for presenting fake yellow fever vaccination cards,President Jonathan responded in kind by deporting 84 South Africans in just two days.The then Minister of Foreign Affairs,Olugbenga Ashiru boldly referred to the conduct of the South Africans' as 'Xenophobic' and warned them to not take the conducive business environment availed them here for granted.Nigeria demanded an apology and that the yellow fever policy be reviewed.Just days later, the South Africans apologized to Nigeria through their Deputy Minister of foreign affairs who said deportations from then henceforth would be handled by the foreign affairs ministry.He also quite interestingly, added that they were not expecting an apology in return for the deportation of their 84 country men.

That was when we still had our reputation abroad intact.Jonathan may be a lot of things but Nigeria under him was more respected globally.He never travelled overseas to go and lament over how nigerian youths were lazy or how the US and UK countries didn't want us there because we were criminals.There is nothing nigerians are being accused of today that they weren't under President Jonathan but no one had the privilege of being able to refer to any corroborative remarks from our President.

South Africa was one of the very first places Buhari visited as President and he is on record as saying there that he was proud nigerians wherever they were in the world would make both 'positive & NEGATIVE' impact.Today,any South African not sounding preposterous with the claim that their land is being taken over is conveniently falling back on the notion that we are all drug dealers and fraudsters.

Buhari,perhaps forgetting he was proud of the 'negative' impact,then said in the UK months later while warning nigerians to desist from citing the boko haram crisis as a reason for seeking asylum there that our reputation for 'drug and human trafficking' had made it difficult for the US or the UK to accept us because they had too many already in their jails.Our global image has suffered a serious dent under a President more interested in piling up the dirt than laundering our image.

His tame response to the killing of our brothers and sisters abroad begets an undesirable impact on the travails of the every day nigerian there.To add that countries aren't bending over backwards to ensure they prevent our citizens from getting slaughtered,these satanic elements can wake up before his October visit to pick up from where they left with Garba Shehu issuing statements the South Africans ordinarily should on how it was an isolated breach.

There may be reasons to think even South African leaders themselves are xenophobic and may have allowed the problem thrive but there was a time when they would in the best interest of their country,ensure the safety of nigerians living there.That is no longer the case.At the risk of sounding immodest,we are now no different from the Tanzanians,Zimbabweans,Zambians and others that have run there for a better life.

Nigerians down here that have quite regrettably, resorted to vandalizing Shoprite and MTN outlets across the country do so because there are practically no South Africans to kill.They are in a more comfortable position.

I remember saying when MTN was fined N1trn for an infraction that despite our sad financial state,we must thread with caution so we don't frustrate a key player in our business community and one of the highest providers of labour in the country.Government did eventually take the right step by cutting down the fine to N330bn but only after the company had reportedly spent a lot on bribes.Notably the N500M allegedly paid to President Buhari's Chief of Staff,Abba Kyari.

Even if the South African President called or visited Buhari to intercede,he would have heard every story MTN also had to say.Why bother saving a South African company money that would subsequently go into bribes?.Whatever power any threat would have on their government had been severely watered down.We have never been this powerless towards South Africa and instead of Buhari to try and adapt to the climate he has created by making a sit down with the South African President a matter of national priority,he is sending people that will go and start whatever they say with 'Sir'.

It is our hope that the killings stop but ultimately,nigeria will need to command the respect it deserves.If not for anything,for the good of its citizens in the diaspora.

$9BN JUDGMENT: A BREAK DOWN OF BUHARI AND MALAMI'S INCOMPETENCE AND THEIR PATHETIC SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM

Expecting Abubakar Malami,the Attorney-General of the federation to satisfactorily defend the Buhari administration's handling of the Process and Industrial Development Limited situation is no different from giving him a chance to explain how Section 174 of the constitution allows him to disobey court orders-he won't make any sense.

President Buhari was sworn into office on May 29th 2015 and precisely 3 weeks 5 days earlier on May 3rd,PI&D had offered to drop its right to challenge the breach on the part of the Nigerian government of a contract to supply gas for a settlement sum of $850M.Jonathan then indicated to the company that he was going to hand over negotiations to the incoming Buhari administration and even if Buhari would deny ever being made aware,the arbitration tribunal's liability award just 2 months later in July wouldn't have escaped the notice of a proactive and responsive President.Buhari sat back and did absolutely nothing.

It is sad that we have sunk so low that 'Buhari had no Attorney-General for 5 months' is what some expect to us to accept as a plausible explanation.Why didn't Buhari in that period,order the Solicitor-General of the federation to monitor the situation and advise him?.Buhari could as a matter of fact have done what he ought to after assuming office any time after the tribunal passed its judgment-write personally to the company and plead for more time within which to have a sit-down.But he didn't.

Malami was appointed Attorney-General in November 11th 2015 and opted to continue with the lawyer engaged by the Jonathan administration to prosecute the matter,Olasupo Shashore SAN.Shashore only filed an application to set aside the award at Federal high court of Nigeria only 2 weeks after it was refused in the UK on the basis that the time to contend the award had lapsed by 4 months.The records show the tribunal as affirming the UK as the seat of arbitration in line with its rules within this period and as such no nigerian court has jurisdiction over its decisions.This was on May 27th 2016.If we count 4 months from May 2016,it stops at February in that same year.Malami had a whole 6 months counting from his appointment date of 11th November 2015 to facilitate the filing of an appeal against the award (different from an actual hearing for damages payable) which he failed to do.He even retained a lawyer 'smart' enough to think he could frustrate an arbitration tribunal in the UK with a nigerian court.

P&ID are not lying.Buhari and his Attorney-General are the reasons why we are paying $9bn as a judgment sum instead of $850M or even less.$850M is less than 10% of $9bn.As the company itself has said,Malami could have still negotiated an award of $850M or even less i add, when he took office instead of pushing all the way to a quantum hearing (to ascertain the amount of damages payable).He has gambled away 20% of our foreign reserves and 40% of the 2019 budget.Experts are saying off-setting the debt would lead to a dollar crisis that may lead to a dollar being sold for as high as N500.

It has become quite typical of Buhari and his proxies to always forget they are here because nigerians wanted better.If they were satisfied with how the country was being run under President Jonathan they wouldn't have voted him out.Malami's press statement instead of explaining the reason for government's costly inaction and matching the P&ID's version with dates and steps taken,basically had as its focal point a reiteration of the fact that the highly dubious contract and subsequent breach was under the Jonathan administration.Don't let the metaphoric irony skip past-Nigeria's problems have multiplied from $850M to $9bn.

It is sad how President Buhari has handled this matter so far.Instead of fashioning a reasonable way out of this mess,government has chosen to get confrontational and that would lead it no where.Malami's claim in an interview on CNBC Africa of the Jonathan administration doing nothing for 3 years while neglecting to point out how their incompetence led to us losing this much prompted P&ID to release its diary of what transpired.

Now paid protesters have been told to lay siege at the UK and Irish embassies for the next 7 days till the $9.6bn judgment is reversed.The danger in getting overly adversarial is that P&ID will gradually be dragged into a position where if it negotiates,it could come off as being subdued.These companies have entire PR departments writing reports on how decisions affect their public image and reputation.

The President we deserve or at least one smart enough to surround himself with living brains, would understand his priority at this juncture would be hopping on a plane to the UK to try and talk the Prime Minister into prevailing on his Irish counter-part to lean on P&ID to accept a settlement well within our means and not paying people to protest against both countries.Dialogue is the key and not war.These are not people he can arrest and dump in a DSS cell.

The british are our colonial masters and would as a matter of courtesy, pretend to care at the very least.If they can woo the Irish government to our side,P&ID can either be cajoled or threatened into making a deal.

Whoever said we would be lucky to still have a country left by the time Buhari was done wasn't exaggerating.

MY TOP 10 TRACKS & 3 ALBUMS OF 2ND QUARTER 2019

1.NON-STOP-TERRI

2.MEDUSA-WSTRN FEAT UNKNOWN T

3.SOAPY-NAIRA MARLEY / HATE ME-ELLIE GOULDING FEAT JUICE WRLD / BLESSED-SHENSEEA FEAT TYGA

4.RICH OFF-KEVIN GATES

5.UNUSUAL-CRAYON

6.I BEEN WAITIN-BIG K.R.I.T

7.BLOW MY MIND-DAVIDO FEAT CHRIS BROWN

8.WATER-BEYONCE FEAT SALATIEL & PHARELL / ALREADY-BEYONCE FEAT SHATTA WALE

9.DIFFERENT-BURNA BOY FEAT DAMIEN MARLEY AND ANGELIQUE KIDJO / ANOTHER STORY-BURNA BOY FEAT M.ANIFEST

10.ALAKORI-FALZ FEAT DICE AILES / THE BAG-PHYNO

         TOP 3 BEST ALBUMS

1.AFRICAN GIANT- BURNA BOY

2.ONLY THE GENERALS GON UNDERSTAND-KEVIN GATES

3.WILMER-PATORANKING

A DEVOTED BEAUTY AND AN INSECURE GIANT: A LOOK AT THE BURNA BOY-STEFFLON DON RELATIONSHIP

We may wake up tomorrow or next to find a Burna boy and Stefflon Don joint instagram post denying the story that they have gone their separate ways and it won't suprise to see a lot of people rush into saying it was all a publicity stunt.But then before anyone does that,it is important they study the facts available to us.First,someone leaked that video of Burna and the monstrously hipped Gambian actress,Princess Shyngle.There was a reason and for the simple fact that Burna boy isn't already promising to get whoever did it or threatening to shoot up instablog9ja for publishing it,he is the prime suspect.

A Stefflon Don post on her insta story read "Old Old videos,Please let it rest.We good over here.Thanks.".But a careful look at the videos will show while Burna's look on the Face time call was his in the period he shot the YE video,the look at the arcade machines where he was just a couple of seats away from Princess Shyngle is his look as of today.

On the Face time call,Shyngle is heard asking of songs he made while they were together which implies they had split even before he hooked up with Steff and it could pretty much be argued that since he wasn't by Shyngle's side at the arcade spot,it could just be that they happened to be in the same place at the same time.But that also leads us back to the million dollar question-why was that video leaked?.

A careful look at the Burna-Steff relationship will reveal an unpleasant behavioural pattern on the part of the African Giant.An inferiority complex manifests in several ways.While some guys depict a low self-esteem in public others try to over-exert themselves as the dominant partner and yet others,bottle it all up to punish their bigger partners with it.Stefflon Don showed up to celebrate with Burna boy after his BET best international act accolade and the first words out of his mouth in public were 'Our wife,you can't be dressing like this oo'.A lot of ladies would end the relationship there and then for not telling them so in private.

When interviewed on beats1 radio by Oldman Ebro,Stefflon Don's first reaction to the Burna boy question was 'that is husby' and in sharp contrast,Burna boy told Charlamagne tha god on the break fast club show before the African Giant album dropped that 'he didn't want to talk about that' when asked about his relationship with Steff.Then also add the fact that Burna made a whole album without putting her on any of the tracks.Our African Giant may not be as emotionally and psychologically secure as we would like to think.

For Steff to overlook the stuff we have seen her do means she loves Burna boy a lot.The leaked video could very much be an over-pampered lover trying to make his girl jealous and then get back with her afterwards just as much as it could also be an egoistic and psychologically insecure lover being eager to tell the world 'i broke up with her and not the other way round' irrespective of the scum tag that comes with it.Time will unravel everything.

REVIEW: ILLBLISS STEPS UP HIS GAME ON ILLOSOPHY

Illbliss won't give us jaw-dropping punchlines or awe-inspiring metaphors.We already knew that much.Illygatti is reputed for just about anything other than his hard core lyrics and for Illosophy to work in a way the Illyzilla joint EP with producer,Teckzilla didn't,Illbliss would have to decentralize the focus on pure content rap.This EP is splendid because he does just that.

He infuses components from his comfort zone of indigenous rap to create very catchy choruses and solicits a more groovy set of beats to de-emphasize lyricism and an erratic delivery.He captures his modus succinctly on Osadebe when he says-"Do my shit differently shout out to Johnny Drille,the lyricism nice but the marketing is key".Oh yes it is.

The hippy ibo/english chorus on the banging Suspekt beat for Ruler2 (RIP B-Elect) kicks in the adrenaline as soon as it comes on and has you nodding till the end.All Illbliss had to do was string together any set of rhymes.

Illychapo does combine a host of factors to make pleasant music but it also has to be said for him that he stepped his lyrical game up a notch.He was miles better than he was on Illyzilla.Its at a level where no one can say Illbliss can't rap,they can only say he isn't an outstanding wordsmith.He thumps gloriously on the Suspekt produced Lie Down Dia in perhaps his best lyrical display on Illosophy-"Mentally i'm chess; you lose more or less,wisdom reveals the devil in a dress.Prayers ensure i never digress,you don't wanna see the claws on a tigeress".

The Illyzilla EP may not have been a classic rap offering but it had a really top notch production.Those Teckzilla beats were better suited for an out and out lyricist.Most heads sprang up Mode 9 as a first thought and its good they have both hooked up for a joint project.Illy appears to have understood better on Illosophy that there are good beats and then there are good beats meant for the artiste.Major Bangz's breath-taking instrumental for the opening Player To Coach allows Illbliss strut authoritatively through his statement of intent.Even the worst pessimist would have to accept he may be in for a helluva ride.

Bangz replicates his magic on the triumphant Die there (Hustle) where another fresh beat comes on at the 1:48 mark for Illygatti to lay the same 'still winning' chorus and pick up the rhyme spree.

Black Intelligence sets him up perfectly on the absorbing Thankful where Illy drops some really hot bars-"I let the words paint on the pad,thats the canvass,acrylic whatever lyric,such a relic".Uzezi's singing complements him to great effect on the uplifting chorus.Overall,Illbliss has in Illosophy a 7 track EP,you can hit play,sit back and enjoy.No skippables.

If he'll get flak for anything its his lack of versatility.I remember saying on my Illyzilla EP review that he was stuck on the very first stage of a hardcore lyricist's evolution-the freestyle stage.Illbliss still beasts through an entire body of work solely self-glorifying.He only does it much better on Illosophy.

Even when a song is titled Thankful,he praises self till the very end where he reels out names.Grown Man Raps too which on the face of it,would have one thinking along the lines of Jay-Z's 30 Something.His friend and fellow thoroughbred,the late B-Elect was much more in tune with the message.Illygatti aka Illychapo aka Illy... doesn't talk growth,he just gets to painting that monochromatic image he is used to.Gratefully,he doesn't bore us here.

I'm pleased to announce llbliss has a winning formula for pure hip hop as well.Thats the major takeaway from the Illosophy EP.

THE REVOLUTION MEANT TO HANG SOWORE VS THE REVOLUTION THAT ACTUALLY IS

rev·o·lu·tion

\ˌre-və-ˈlü-shən\

noun

: the usually violent attempt by many people to end the rule of one government and start a new one

: a sudden, extreme, or complete change in the way people live, work, etc.

: the action of moving around something in a path that is similar to a circle 

(Culled from Merriam Webster Dictionary)

Omoyele Sowore never threatened to overthrow President Buhari and he never called on anyone to join him in doing so.He only demanded that government end the killings across the nation and that every government implements the N30,000 minimum wage to alleviate the sufferings of his fellow countrymen.In view of how the average nigerian has been made to live,Sowore felt it was only right he was rest assured that his children are educated in our public schools for free.There have been blackouts across several parts of the country for the last weeks and as if to mock our impotence,Vice-President Yomi Osinbajo came out to say N900bn had been spent on electricity with another N600bn due to follow.Sowore didn't ask Buhari to probe himself,all he requested was that the power companies ease our problems by abolishing their estimated billing policy and ensure that their costumers get a right to audit their electricity bills.Just so we are clear,this is a list of his demands-

*All governments must pay the N30,000 minimum.

* Abolition of tuition fees in universities and secondary schools.

* Stop the killings in the country and sack all the incompetent service chiefs.

* Stop all estimated billing by the power companies, provide pre-paid meters for free, and communities must have the right to audit the electricity bills they get, and review the licenses of all discos.

* Free all political prisoners now, including El Zakzaky and his wife.

* Employment for the youths.

But government having failed the citizenry understood what a medium as elaborate as Sowore's #RevolutionNow portends.The aggrieved will get a chance to voice out their grievances even if it means sleeping on the streets.Government will either cave in to their demands and face serious backlash for having to be forced into it or watch its citizens embarrass it by crying out to the world non-stop.In typical lawless fashion at about 1:45am last Saturday,the department of state security in breach of his constitutionally guaranteed rights to freedom of expression,association,liberty and dignity arrested Sowore and bungled him to their offices.The next day they issued a statement after the police also had,relying on the definition of 'revolution' that best suited their diabolic agenda of silencing a dissenting voice to government-one that meant Sowore was planning to forcefully kick Buhari out of office.It would have been easier to just pick him up on grounds that he was conniving with foreign enemies of Nigeria abroad to destabilize the country but pressure would be mounted on them to name those accomplices and that lie could boomerang right in their faces so they crafted a narrative that dwelled essentially on Sowore waging war against the government of Nigeria.The man just had to be stopped.In its rapid entrenchment of a lawless order,the Buhari administration has grown increasingly intolerant of criticisms.An attempt to point out the truth to it is an affront on its authority.

Sowore's demands were made publicly and he never said anywhere he would ensure Buhari is kicked out of Aso Rock if they aren't met.His revolution is totally in sync with the second meaning in the aforementioned text i referred to-"a sudden,extreme and complete change in the way people live,work etc".Enough of the killings,enough of the unemployment,enough of the hunger.Government must live up to its responsibilities.#RevolutionNow.

That was what Sowore invited every aggrieved nigerian out there to come and demand from its government without any sort of threat as to what would happen if they didn't comply.The only set of people that have threatened to take action if their demands weren't complied with is the Arewa group that demanded that the RUGA initiative be implemented within 30 days.And before that the one that ordered the ibos to vacate the north or face drastic consequences.

It is not half as painful as it is about our authorities choosing to so shamelessly wallow in self-inflicted ignorance and profound nescience than it is about how they have chosen to so do.They don't take into cognizance everything he has claimed to stand for or has proferred as his reason for publicly calling on nigerians to protest,they just say 'revolution' commonly means forceful change in government and as such,Sowore was planning to commit treason.Why not just say the man is mobilizing the masses to complain about how they are being governed and that that doesn't sit well with government?.Perhaps Sowore should have taken into consideration more the primitive times we live in.

The outrcry over his arrest has been massive and it is likely he will be charged to court soon just to save face if he isn't released outright.How demanding better and leaving it at that amounts to a plot to overthrow government will be answered.Only the guilty are afraid.

The revolution Sowore meant and as has been evidenced by every step he has taken in the furtherance of his cause,we all know.

I remind Buhari and all his dogs that nigeria belongs to everybody,it belongs to nobody.The clamp down on free speech and freedom of expression will only create more voices of dissent.The irrepressible nigerian spirit guarantees that.If Buhari doesn't want to be criticized then he must govern us like he should.If he can't then its better he moves back to his farm and cater for his stagnant number of 150 cows.Nigeria must move forward.

I am revolutionary Umar Sa'ad Hassan and i stand with Omoyele Sowore.His only crime is wanting better for his country.#FreeSoworeNow