#i started with ode to mo since it’s the one i have the most direct involvement in but here come the rest of our songs in ep order!!

[killmelastband]

lyrics: my love for myself is intense, no matter what i’m up against / i’m the motherfucking best, the one you losers detest / look at you with no friends, while i’m in a cool band / got my ladle while you’ve got your bare hands / i’m devouring foods with my silver spoon / all you’re eating is your loser peasant finger food / i’m the sweetest, finest delicacy / everything you’ll never be / i’ve got a god complex / simply better than all the rest / that’s right / it’s true, be impressed / i’ve got a god complex / in simple words, i think i’m the best / ‘cause i am / it’s a fact, i am / living like me, it’s exhausting / trust me, i only speak the truth / when i say / i’d rather die than be you / it’s kinda funny how i never need to study / can’t imagine having your weak identity / long ago i found my clarity / it’s being better than you / i’ve got a god complex / simply better than all the rest / that’s right / it’s true, be impressed / i’ve got a god complex / in simple words, i think i’m the best / ‘cause i am / it’s a fact, i am / i’m the one to judge your awful deeds / i’m important, the one you all need / i’m talking when no one’s asking / still i know you’re all listening / they said i was gifted at a young age / spotlight shining on me on the world stage / the star of life’s final act / i make the moves, all you do is react / got a great view from my high horse / of the world’s light, i’m the source / you better keep my pedestal polished / your role’s already replaced / i’ve got a god complex / simply better than all the rest / that’s right / it’s true, be impressed / i’ve got a god complex / in simple words, i think i’m the best / ‘cause i am / it’s a fact, i am / intense, so exhausting / the bowl of fruit is spoiled rotten / built up tears flowing from my face / i’m starting to miss my younger days / i’m rattled to my core / my relations turned nothing more / now the room’s closing in on me / all that’s left is my own heartbeat / but it’s too late to admit / so fuck it, i’m great / i’ve got a god complex / in simple words, i’m the best / ‘cause i am / it’s a fact, i am / i’ve got a god complex / destroy this raging mess / the price of being the best.

[dippedanddripped]

Old Nollywood aesthetics and fashion may be considered trendy today, but the films were not always so well-regarded. In the 90s and early 2000s, when these movies were made and watched in parlours across Nigerian homes as they were shot, straight-to-video, they were considered as bad entertainment, or ‘low culture’. To watch and enjoy Nollywood films was to celebrate mediocrity. But today, nostalgic young Millennials and Gen Zers are overlooking the jarring audio, grainy pictures, and sometimes hammy acting, to appreciate not only the grooming and style of the actors, but the original and diverse stories that reflect unique Nigerian experiences.

It was for this reason that sisters Tochi and Ebele Anueyiagu started Nolly Babes, a nostalgic Instagram account dedicated to celebrating the cinematic period’s women. Started in December 2017, their first post was of Nollywood’s biggest star Genevieve Nnaji; a still taken from 2004 film Sharon Stone In Abuja, directed by Adim Williams. Nnaji plays the titular character, a sexually liberated young woman who uses her beauty and charm to ensnare unassuming men into doing her bidding.

The account is an ode to the female characters of old Nollywood who were often portrayed as warning examples. The storylines were steeped in moral principles rooted in the patriarchal culture and the dominant Christian religion of Southern Nigeria. A large number of the female characters were considered immoral because they kissed other women, challenged men, smoked and drank, or wore mini skirts. Today, Nolly Babes and similar accounts are reimagining these women, taking their scenes out of the moralistic context of the films, and turning them into iconic feminist personas.

The first time Nollywood content seeped into the mainstream internet consciousness can be traced back to 2017 when videos of Nollywood’s favourite comedic duo Chinedu Ikedieze and Osita Iheme, better known as Aki and Pawpaw, rose to popularity due mostly to the influence of a now-defunct Twitter account @nollywoodroll ran by Nicole, a woman based in Brazil.

Their memes became the go-to reaction videos for expressing a wide range of emotions: joy, disappointment, sadness, frustration. The appeal was in seeing children making mischief or in adult situations – drinking beer and smoking cigars, wooing bigger women, or in oversized suits shouting instructions at people twice their size. Although both Ikedieze and Iheme were in their 20s in the early 2000s when most of the films were made, they mostly played children because of their body stature. By 2019, the memes had achieved such virality that brands like Rihanna’s Fenty would use them for social media clout.

Theodora Imaan Beauvais is the curator of Yung Nollywood, another archive of clips and stills from old Nollywood paying homage to its controversial female characters, after screenshotting moments from Nollywood she found “appealing or inspirational”. Yung Nollywood is remarkably distinct from Nolly Babes for its subtitling of the films’ stills from Nollywood films, something she attributes to Tumblr. While the idea to give witty captions to the actors’ facial expressions came from watching Netflix. “I thought, ‘If someone could describe Nollywood reactions in short phrases it’d be an art form on its own,’ and I became that someone.’”

In December 2019, Tochi and Ebele hosted a Nollywood-themed party in Lagos. Nollywood actor and musician Nonso Bassey attended the party dressed in a two-piece jean set and bucket hat, a signature look of the bad boy/alpha male archetype, and a role reprised multiple times by older actors such as Hanks Anuku, Emeka Ike, and Jim Iyke. Since that party, Nonso has attended social functions and premieres in outfits that make a nod to the fashion choices of that era of Nollywood. He insists, though, that he isn’t cosplaying Nollywood characters of that era. “I’ve always been attracted to the idea of merging old world charm with a new school approach,” he said.

The party caused a cultural stir amongst Nigerians and Africans both at home and in the diaspora – every other week, there seems to be a Nollywood-themed party held either in Lagos or London. Take for instance friends and business partners Imani Okunubi and Aseosa Uwagboe, two Nigerian-British kids who grew up in the UK. Nollywood was one of the ways they could connect back to their roots. That experience informs their event brand, Lasgidi to London, targeted at Nigerians living in the UK. “We wanted to create events that were reminiscent of the Naija hall parties (Owambe) we attended as kids, as we don’t want to see that culture die,” Aseosa said. Their next owambe is a Nollywood-themed party and guests are expected to come dressed in their “best nolly Y2K aesthetic”.

Below, the Nolly Babes sisters talk about creating and hosting the first Nollywood-themed party and the cultural moment it has inspired.

How did that first event come about – please take me through it, from the planning to how it turned out?

Nolly Babes: From the inception of Nolly Babes, we knew we had to throw a party. Fashion is a huge part of what makes Nolly Babes different from other Nollywood-themed pages and we knew we were the only ones that could set Nolly Babes as the dress code and have people commit as they did. There are many iconic Nollywood scenes and scenarios. The daughter meeting her evil mother-in-law, the ominous visit to the Babalawo, the campus stroll – just the mere mention of these scenes evokes images that have been embedded in the minds of our fellow Nollywood enthusiasts. The party scene is probably the most iconic of them all. Whether it’s in a club, a mansion while mum and dad are out of town (but coming home early to crash the whole thing) or poolside, the Nolly Babes party scene has its staples: mad music, dancing, and sick outfits.

December in Lagos is notoriously hectic. On each day, there are day parties, beach hangouts, concerts, and we just knew we had to be a part of it. Our flyer was the first thing we made sure was done right, and that has been replicated (but never duplicated) many many times. We went through at least six drafts of that until we got the flyer to be a realistic replica of the home video covers from the golden era. The DJs Kemi Lijadu and vIVENDII Sounds understood the assignment and played music from the Nolly Babes era. We’re talking Tony Tetuila, Mo Hitz, Wande Coal, Plantation Boyz… We curated a special cocktail menu: Genny Colladas, Jim Iyke’s Hard Lemonade, MargaRita Dominic, and our Lagos Island Iced Tea, in tribute to Nollywood stars Genevieve Nnaji, Jim Iyke, and Rita Dominic respectively. We had a video projection on the famous red wall at Nok showing a mashup of emblematic scenes. We were partying while seeing images of a young Jim Iyke dressed just like many of the attendees were dressed. It was magical! We have an event we’re planning in New York for the summer – it’s going to be a madness.

Did you envisage it becoming the cultural movement it’s now become?

Nolly Babes: We really didn’t. We hosted the party because we knew people were taking inspiration from our page for styling jobs and music video treatments, and wanted to give everyone a chance to recreate some of their favourite looks. Now every week we see people planning Nollywood-themed parties and sending people to our page for references. It’s awesome. Toke Makinwa even recently attended a Nolly Babes-themed party and she was dressed as a character we have immortalised – Regina Askia in President’s Daughter. She killed it! Even though the character wasn’t referenced, it was clear as day and it was awesome to see that she pulled it off! Honestly, when we see people really pay attention to detail and execute the theme well it’s so, so dope.

How has TikTok helped grow Nollywood's influence? You posted a scene from Girls Cot, the famous “you stink with poverty” clip on TikTok and it went viral and birthed these recreations even by non-Africans.

Nolly Babes: We’re just happy to see that another aspect of Nollywood that we champion – the iconic scenes and one-liners – is also resonating across the world. We see Nolly Babes as an archival work and as much as we focus on beauty and looks on Instagram, it’s nice to be able to point people in the direction of the scenes that are forever embedded in our brains. These are scenes we recreated in jest ourselves before there was even a Nolly Babes to begin with, so to see it catching on TikTok is exciting and a new frontier for us to fully explore. I think what distinguishes Nolly Babes from other Nollywood pages and what contributes to our TikTok success is that we really watch Nollywood movies. We grew up watching these movies and continue to do so now so we can capture those moments in films that the casual consumer or poster of Nollywood content might not.

What are your thoughts on Nollywood’s influence on the Alté scene? Music videos of artists such as Lady Donli and Odunsi nod to the aesthetic and fashion styles of that era.

Nolly Babes: Nollywood, and specifically the aesthetic we have shone a spotlight on, is probably one of the biggest influences in terms of visuals in that scene right now. I have never seen so many Eucharia (Anunobi) eyebrows on TV and we love it! It’s awesome to see our images and scenes being used in treatments and storyboards. If we’re being candid, we think it would be great if we got the chance to step into our stylist/creative direction bag and help with the execution of the aesthetic.

“The bottom line is really that Nolly Babes has brought what was already an international cultural influence to the modern social media realm with a new lens” – Nolly Babes

How far do you see Nollywood's influence on pop culture, beyond Nigeria and Africa?

Nolly Babes: When we moved to New York we found our Dominican and South American friends had also grown up watching Nollywood films. The bottom line is really that Nolly Babes has brought what was already an international cultural influence to the modern social media realm with a new lens. Nollywood clips were online everywhere – but it was always in a comedic way. Aki and PawPaw are meme gods now, and that’s because their expressions transcend cultural boundaries. Black Twitter eats that stuff up.

Nolly Babes chooses to center the beauty, style, and iconic imagery, even the home decor with our #NollyDecor hashtag of the golden era of Nollywood. We share the makeup, accessories, fashion, iconic phrases, and scenes in a way that isn’t just comedic but inspirational and aesthetically groundbreaking. I see Nollywood being at the centre of this Y2K resurgence that is happening all over the world, from TV to runways and fashion collections. That era is coming back around and, this time, the Black experience is being revisited and centered in a way it wasn’t back in the late 90s and 2000s. (Black people) were always the originators of the trends and this time they’re tapping into the source and Nollywood, particularly the era we celebrate as Nolly Babes, is a great resource for that.

Follow Nolly Babes on Instagram

[evilradmedieval]

Gorillaz - ”Humanz” Review

I seems like it’s been forever since we’ve heard from 2-D and friends of the famed British virtual band Gorillaz, masterminded by Blur frontman Damon Albarn. We’ve been blessed by seminal albums Gorillaz and Demon Days, both of which were notorious for their cryptic songwriting, atypical instrumentals and completely unexpected collaborations. Gorillaz have been working with a myriad of musicians spanning a diverse spectrum of genres, including: underground rappers Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Mos Def and De La Soul; singer-songwriter legends Bobby Womack, Mark E. Smith of The Fall fame and Lou Reed of Velvet Underground; and other random features such as Little Dragon and Snoop Dogg. Since the release of the poppy and electronic-sounding 2010 release in Plastic Beach, there were reports of another Gorillaz album being completely out of the question, as Albarn and Hewlett had a falling out. Albarn then proceeded to continue with other projects, releasing a solo debut album in Solo Robots and the 2015 Blur release in The Magic Whip. Yet, rumors again resurfaced around the release of The Magic Whip in which Albarn confirmed to reports of a new Gorillaz album in the works, which was confirmed with the long-awaited release of four new singles earlier this year in “Andromeda”, “Hallelujah Money”, “We Got the Power” and “Ascension”, in which the latter of the four was the only track I was actually enamored with, due to the upbeat, fiery and glitchy instrumental and Vince Staples’ standout performance. But once Humanz finally released, I tried as best as I can to eliminate those initial first impressions to allow for the full effect of hearing the full album in context. Before listen, it was also interesting to see that although we live in such a politically volatile time, there were reports of Albarn removing all direct references to president Donald Trump. In a way, although Gorillaz tend to be political at times in their discography, this can be equally beneficial and detrimental, as it may leave a sense of topical ambiguity and lack of direction, yet not sound like a complete “FDT-inspired” album. Additionally, there seems to be a more emphasis on features this time around, allowing Albarn to not completely hold the reins for the entirety of the sound of this album.

Again, with the intro track being “Ascension”, Vince Staples completely goes off. He gives us a very passionate performance, giving us imagery of the end of the world. The instrumental is very punchy and hit hards, yet is a change of pace from the generic trap-flavored synths we’re used to since it has these pattering drums and choppy choir samples looped throughout the catchiest hook on the entire album. 2-D’s appearance actually goes great with Vince Staples’ as well. 

The next track gives me similar vibes to tracks off of Plastic Beach: poppy, synthy yet colorful tracks, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as I was actually a fan of the stylistic change. “Strobelite” features singer-singwriter and musician Peven Everett, who gives a pretty soulful set of vocals, especially with the hook. His vocals are backed well with these female choir vocals, and I especially love those synth breakdowns towards the middle section of the track as well. The song is probably one of the most well-produced tracks, and has a pretty dance-y vibe to it, despite its subject matter of the end of the world and other apocalyptic themes.

Popcaan appears on the next track “Saturn Barz”, which actually doesn’t feature a dancehall-inspired track to my surprise. Instead, we get this incredibly grimey, bass-heavy track. Play this track in a car with a decent sound system and you’ll be blown away at how ridiculous the sub-bass is. On paper, this isn’t a track that I should like, however I thought that Popcaan delivered a pretty charismatic performance, and his rap verse was actually not bad. Somewhere online, I read about how Popcaan was supposed to depict this villain-type role somewhere on this track, yet didn’t really get that from this feature. Despite this, I though his contribution was great, and again we get an appearance from 2-D, yet in a more subdued role commentating about the overuse of technology in society and harmonizing in sync with Popcaan towards the tail end of the track. This one definitely had to grow on me though, yet is still one of my favorites.

The next track was such a letdown, however. The more and more I listen to it, the more I can’t stand it. De La Soul makes an appearance on “Momentz”, an incredibly off-kilter track with a super upbeat instrumental that borders Dutch house and hip house, which I thought wasn’t necessarily a good choice for hip-hop legends Posdnous and friends. Unfortunately, I really enjoy the lyrics and theme of the song, but wasn’t a fan of how silly De La Soul sounded on this track. Their delivery and vocal inflection with Autotune at times sounded eerily similar to Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am. And this is why I can’t unsee this track as a will.i.am-esque production from the “I Got a Feeling” era of the BEP. Definitely a must skip for me.

Eccentric rapper Danny Brown and PBR&B singer Kelela appear on the next cut in “Submission”, in which the latter delivers a decent set of vocals, which goes well over this punchy, synthy instrumental. Towards the middle half the track, however, there’s this really awkward, off-key set of poorly tuned guitars, which kind of foreshadows the really minimal and underwhelming Danny Brown feature. For some reason, I felt like he was either heavily underutilized or simply completely out of place on this track. This is a pretty upbeat and catchy song, however a Danny Brown feature simply didn’t work as well as I imagined.

We finally get some electric guitar samples with the track “Charger” featuring supermodel and singer Grace Jones. With this track, however, the instrumental can get quite redundant with the repetitive guitar riffs and Jones’ annoying chanting of “charger”. She seems to spend more time refraining the hook throughout the majority of the song, and doesn’t really start singing until the tail end of the track, which then suddenly ends and falls into the next interlude.

I really enjoy the subsequent track, however, with “Andromeda” being one of the lead singles. Unfortunately, I wish they utilized the D.R.A.M. feature more prominently, as here he seems like a musical footnote drowned out in the song. At times it even seems difficult to distinguish between 2-D’s harmonizing and D.R.A.M.’s crooning. The instrumental is pretty vibey and upbeat, however, and I love how it slowly transitions into “Busted and Blue”, a cut that features 2-D and 2-D only. The track is the only instance where he grabs full reins without any additional outside vocal contribution. The instrumental is atmospheric, ethereal and really backs his vocals well. This is also one of the few moments on the tracklisting where the overall vibe is more laidback and not as poppy.

“Carnival” follows up with a Anthony Hamilton feature, who delivers very impassioned vocals. The beat is also a lightweight banger, however although the vocals and instrumental were great, they simply just don’t fit well together. Hamilton's voice seems more fitting on a slower, lower tempo track to really give more punch to his voice. The heavy beat sort of takes away from that in my opinion, as an aggressive rap verse appears more fitting here. Despite this, I still enjoyed the track, but at the minimum could be improved with a rap verse.

The next track is an absolute banger. “Let Me Out” was one of the later singles released right before the album’s initial drop, which features awesome vocals from Mavis Staples and a grimey verse from G.O.O.D. Music president Pusha-T. There is definitely some political undertones all over this thing, especially with that hook. 2-D makes for a great performance as well. Definitely one of the better tracks on the tracklisting.

“Sex Murder Party” is one of those tracks that you play in the background of a party because it has an upbeat and vibey feel, but doesn’t really stand out. Rapper Zebra Katz and singer Jamie Principle’s performances are snooze-worthy at best, and the instrumental is pretty repetitive and has little to no variation throughout. 

Kali Uchis is also one of the several musical guests that contributes little to no impact to the album, as her voice is nothing special or distinct on the subsequent track “She’s My Collar”. 2-D initially comes in with a pretty monotone performance, and Uchis doesn’t come into the track until the last 30 seconds with a boring vocal delivery. The beat is pretty poppy and upbeat, but again has little to no variation and isn’t that hard-hitting or interesting enough to make both performers sound good.

“Hallelujah Money” is an existential, politcal track featuring poet, singer and multi-instrumentalist Benjamin Clementine. Clementine comes through with an interesting comment on the political landscape of America, without being too overtly straightforward. His performance sounds great here, backed with some choir-esque vocals. 2-D isn’t bad here either, however the instrumental can be meandering at times. 

We then end with a throwback 80′s synthpop ode to the human spirit. It features Savages’ own Jehnny Beth, who gives a decent performance. However, although the sentiment is there, the actual sound is god-awful. This song sounds like one of those tracks you’d hear on a Tae-Bo workout tape. probably one the worst ways to end a Gorillaz track, but still I commend the intention.

Not necessarily a Gorillaz fan per se, but I pride myself in being a fan of their earlier work in their self-titled debut and their sophomore effort in Demon Dayz. Plastic Beach wasn’t too far away from being a great record as well. However with their comeback LP Humanz, their excessively long tracklisting of filler and uninteresting tracks fell short. Although they are more reliant on features as you go more recently down their discography, this makes room for error than actual quality. Artists like Danny Brown and Anthony Hamilton sound great with their features, but sound so out of place on their respective tracks. Legendary rap collective De La Soul was the biggest letdown, however. Additionally, 2-D doesn’t fully have the reins on this LP as well, as he makes minimal contribution to the album and when he does, it’s hit or miss with that same monotone singing and rapping. The overall theme is pretty incoherent as well, despite there being a slight nod to the current political landscape of the country and also alludes to the end of the world here and there. Despite this, there are some great dance-y tracks and some bangers as well. I understood what Albarn and friends were trying to do here on Humanz, but it just didn’t work out as well as I would have envisioned.

RATING: 5/10