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The giant of Africa, as Nigeria has been fondly termed, has seen stars in music, football and movies come and go. Still, the new wave of talent is, now more than ever, enforcing the world’s most populous black nation as an unmissable force in entertainment both in Africa and globally.
Meanwhile, this creative outburst as we have it now was not without its fair share of struggles and humble beginnings. In music, Nigeria had difficulty creating a unified whole from the different styles specific to varying ethnicities at different times.
The 1920s saw the proliferation of Juju, probably coined by Babatunde King and tempered by the likes of IK Dairo. The 1930’s witnessed the popularity of Apala, a style which is a larger part of Fuji music. While the 1950s, 60s, and 70s saw the explosion of music stars who mastered the art of merging traditional styles with foreign instruments, such as Ebenezer Obey, King Sunny Ade and Fela Kuti with his psychedelic Afrobeat.
It was not until the end of that decade that Hip-Hop music became widespread in Nigeria, with the centre being Lagos, Nigeria. Its pioneers include Ruff Rugged & Raw, De Weez, Black Masquradaz, The Trybesmen, The Remedies, Plantashun Boiz, Kenny Ogungbe’s Kennis Music, Paybacktyme Records by Solomon Dare and Nelson Brown’s Dove Records.
Unsurprisingly, being an institution at the core of the entertainment capital, the University of Lagos (UNILAG), even with the transition from Hip-Hop to Nigerian pop music, remained an incubator, churning out stars in music, TV, movie and media. These include MoChedda, Kush, Darey Art Alade, Toke Makinwa, Stella Damasus, Denrele Edun, Funke Akindele, Koffi, Cobhams and many more. Of course, this was due to the mandate of the institution to equip students with poise for the outside world; but more importantly, the environment facilitated connections and better access to the industry’s great and good.
For example, Wande Coal got his big break after meeting Don Jazzy on the Unilag campus. Speaking with UK-based Nigerian broadcaster, Olaide Adesope, on his Afrobeats Podcast, Don Jazzy revealed that he met Wande Coal when Wande’s crew pulled up and asked that they dance for him. After then, they iterated that they could sing, too, and they went on to perform on stage and steal the show. The rest, as they say, was history.
It was, therefore, little surprise that many young people who had a knack for showbiz desperately wanted to go to Unilag.
Louis Fido, a musician and wardrobe stylist who is an alumnus of Unilag, gave credence to the school’s influence in incubating stars.
“Till date, I readily announce that I graduated from Unilag everywhere I go. This is because most people – readers and audiences – are either fans, one-time fans, graduates or relatives to graduates of the school and so it’s easy to gain recognition and acceptance among audiences as a performer.”
“Unilag has a very big influence. It gives you the opportunity to connect with the industry on a casual level. I cannot count the number of shows where I’ve been given the opportunity to perform just because I finished from Unilag. People believe that I must be a genuine talent even without prior performance. In fact, my first set of songs to be played on radio were played for free through the influence of the famous Radio Duke whom I met on Unilag campus”, Fido revealed.
Akinnawonu Daniel, a graduate of Law from Unilag, corroborated Fido’s take. To him, many teenagers wanted to go to Unilag because of its ability to make stars out of ordinary men.
“I had friends who never attended classes in school but they were students. Their aim was primarily showbiz while academics was secondary. All they did was go to the studio, attend shows, hang out with budding celebrities and hobnob with producers. The Ironic thing is that many of them are doing well today while we, who were always in the library, are still out here hustling (laughs).”
Indeed, the belief was that being in the Unilag environment alone gives one an edge over others – regardless of the course of study. Unilag was a stepping stone to stardom.
Meanwhile, at that time, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) was making waves as the site of interventionist activism for student rights and human rights, with no substantial mark on the entertainment industry and only a few stars being produced now and then.
Catching us unawares, however, OAU now appears to be the trending breeding ground for stars and content creators – including musicians, comedy skit makers, YouTubers, actors and media personalities. This is not to say that talents aren’t coming out of other schools or that OAU had not been in the business of producing people of reputation in the society, but the frequency and fluency of this web of alumni as a real force within a new creative upheaval is something to note.
So, you may want to ask: “who are these stars?” and “what are the possible factors for the upsurge of creatives from Obafemi Awolowo University among its counterparts?”. I’ll take your inquiries a step at a time; but before then, it should be noted that this article was not written by an OAU alumnus nor is it intended to pitch one institution against the other. The conclusions herein are purely based on objective observation and industry trends. That being said, let’s get right into it.
Ololade ‘Asake’, who studied Dramatic Arts, is the trendiest sensation among this new wave of OAU artists and creators. Signed to YBNL records, he has dropped back-to-back hits, earning him the NET Honours 2022 Breakout Artiste of the Year Award. Others include Adedamola ‘Fireboy DML’ Adefolahan, who studied English Language; Emeka ‘Blaqbonez’ Akumefule, who studied Engineering; GodsFavour ‘Fave SZN’ Chidozie; Adesokan ‘Shank Comics’ Emmanuel, who studied Engineering; Michael Sani ‘MC Lively’ Amaseni, who studied Law; Bukunmi Oluwashina, who studied Dramatic Arts; Akanbi ‘Cheque’ Bamidele Brett, who studied Engineering and Taiwo ‘Jaido P’ Olajide.
Other notable mentions include Bayegun ‘Woli Arole’ Oluwatoyin, Oladipo ‘Chinko Ekun’ Olamide and Osundare ‘Asiri Comedy’ Damilare.
Reasons for Creative Upsurge from Obafemi Awolowo University
Learning, Culture and Centennials
Obafemi Awolowo University is a glorified institution structurally, academically and culturally. It boasts of the best lecturers out there – specifically in the area of Dramatic Arts and communication. Beyond that, as one walks from the gates into the very depths of this institution, one must inevitably take in the air of study, the beauty of monuments, the smell of nostalgia, and a feel of an artistically and culturally charged environment in time and place. To cap it off, the school is situated in one of the most culturally grounded places in Nigeria: the seat of the Ooni of Ife, in Ile-Ife, regarded as the origin of the Yoruba people. Throw all of these, together with the uniquely inquisitive and utterly creative minds of Gen Z, into a blender. What you get is a people with a subconscious feeling of stardom and, of course, a deep-seated consciousness towards art.
Adeyemo Adewuwo, a principal and resident dramatic artist at OAU, told me that the rich culture of the university is one of the reasons why it is gradually becoming the new soil of new stars.
“OAU new boys and girls cannot but do well. When you have digital natives domiciled in an environment as rich in culture as OAU, those products are likely to outperform others,” Adewuwo said. “There is and there has been a strict adherence to standard here, as well as a crossbreeding of culture. When all that merge with this young generation’s creative minds, you’ll get a creative outburst. What OAU has is endemic to OAU: culture”.
The Olamide Factor
Olamide is passionate about lending helping hands to up-and-coming artists and “street” talents. No wonder the most trending street artiste at the moment, Portable, got his big break through Olamide’s feature in the breakout song “Zazzu”. Olamide, although not an alumnus of Obafemi Awolowo University, has positioned at least three OAU alumni as forces to reckon with in music.
For example, Chinko Ekun got signed to Olamide’s YBNL Nation in 2015, a year after featuring in the latter’s Street OT music album on tracks “100 To Million”, “Bang”, and “Usain Bolt” and appeared on Olamide Live In Concert (OLIC).
Again, Fireboy DML’s breakthrough single, “Jealous”, first appeared on YBNL Nation’s collaborative album YBNL Mafia Family (2018). He has since been thriving under the record label.
Asake, one of the newest on the block, is also signed to YBNL Nation, with Olamide’s verse in his “Omo Ope”, taking the song to epic proportions.
Moreover, Jaido P became popular after Olamide jumped on Cracker Mallo produced “Testinapot”, and Fave has been projected to be Olamide’s record label new princess due to the close connection that has been firing up.
The context behind Olamide’s affiliation with OAU alumni is unclear, but whatever it may be, it is a welcome development for the institution and Nigerian entertainment at large.
The Drive to Compete
There has always been a massive competition among Obafemi Awolowo University students themselves.
An alumnus of the school, Olusola Idowu, who graduated from the Department of Geography, revealed that OAU’s distance, about 212km from Lagos, which is the base of music stars, also contributed to the rise in the number of stars from the school.
“Ife (OAU) is farther to reach for stars than Lagos. So, when celebrities are invited to our many shows, there’s a chance they’ll run late. But it was good because all our talented friends would climb the stage and perform before the guest artists arrived. So, we already knew who was talented, the guitar guy, the dancer and who was going to ‘blow’. We competed – but it was a healthy competition,” Idowu said.
Idowu’s assertion captures the kind of new yearning for arty expressions and drive that OAU invests in its students – even in the face of serious academic handling. For some other universities, it might be hard to say the same.
History of the Institution
OAU is a university of historical significance. Having been established as far back as 1961, it has produced a lot of recognised alumni who are at the top of the chain in their different industries. Some of them include Akinwunmi Adesina, President of the Africa Development Bank (AfDB); Chief Dele Momodu, CEO and publisher of Ovation International; Dr Olusegun Mimiko, former Governor of Ondo State, Nigeria; Lagbaja, afrobeat musician, singer-songwriter and percussionist popularly known for his signature use of mask; Nigerian lawyer and Human right activist, Femi Falana and a host of others
The unique thing about these alumni is their ability to stay connected, keep interpersonal relationships and bring one another on board. Along such lines, Olamide’s affiliation with Asake, Fireboy and Chinko Ekun – all Obafemi Awolowo University Alumni – might not be far-fetched. They could easily have linked one another up.
Meanwhile, this culture of togetherness no doubt imbues students with a sense of pride, belonging and, more importantly, a sense of self-belief that they can be and become.
The Nigerian entertainment scene is a hub of creatives. Still, new talents are emerging every day to stake their claim in the industry, with the 2022 PWC report showing that Nigeria with a 12.1% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), will be the world’s fastest-growing Entertainment & Media (E&M) market over the coming five years. Although these stars are being churned out from different walks and different backgrounds, Unilag and other talent factories must beware. OAU is becoming the soil of new stars.
Did we leave any artists off this list? Is there any other factor contributing to the production of stars by OAU? Let’s hear from you.
The post From Fireboy to Asake: How Obafemi Awolowo University Is Taking Over as the Soil of New Stars appeared first on Nigerian Entertainment Today.
Source: TheNet
