I made up my mind ever since two years ago not to punish myself over attending musical shows involving Nigeria artistes, both Gospel and Secular. Reason for this has been best known to me from day one - our artistes are lazy, an eyesore and arrogant on stage.

So I was at the Eko Hotels yesternight for the Glo Laffta Fest. Who doesn't love a comedy show? For me, it was the best moment to ease myself of the many pressures I've been subjected to of late. Honestly, I had forgotten that music was added. I guess I wasn't really expecting a thing from any of the artistes. The code has worked ever since; love their songs over the air (TV and radio), avoid their live performances like a plague.

After laughing to no end, Burna Boy, just like every other Nigerian act came up without a single back up. It was solo, perhaps more money to him. Calling on DJ Jimmy Jatt at intervals, I could remember Burna Boy singing over six songs within 10 minutes. Which successful artistes does this

Within 15 minutes, Burna Boy had almost finished his album. His average time for each was 2 minutes each, worst of all, they were all lip-synced

The presence of DJs at shows meant for artistes have done more harm than good over the years and this is in turn affecting our music beyond the shores of Africa. The cliché has been the same over the years; they come on stage with the intention to "sing along" all in the name of performance.

It doesn't make sense attending events and all you hear on the stage is "DJ! Let's Go!!" and all you see afterwards is the annoying, regular, unrepentant and unprofessional catwalks they exhibit on the stage. Parambulating like it's a fashion show.

For Pete's sake we watch other foreign acts and they don't do all these. I keep a particular video close to my heart, a live video of Jay Z (a rapper) performing "Young Forever" with Beyoncé. One would think we have not started compared to these folks. We claim our music has attained a reasonable standard, yet they all tow the same line, boring walks, calling on DJ's to play the next track just to "sing along" or lip sync in the name of performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmfmdKOLzVI

Although the subsequent comedies from Basketmouth, Bovi, I go dye and others resuscitated the show. Perhaps our artistes would fare better if they don't sing, come to the show, sign autographs and go home because I can't fathom how they justify the word "performance".

Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Beyoncè, 50cents, Ashley Simpson, the great R-Kelly, Jennifer Hudson, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears among others have been caught in the lip-synching SCANDAL at some point in their careers, yet we brandish it in Nigeria like nothing is wrong with it.
www.forbes.com/sites/michelecatalano/2013/01/25/from-michael-jackson-to-beyonce-a-brief-history-of-lip-syncing/

Perhaps this explains why our glorified international acts struggle in the international scene, save for those who take their shows to these folks. Life, as far as music is concerned is beyond cut and paste in the studio. It continues on the stage not with mediocrity but giving your all.

I honestly couldn't wait to leave the venue after seeing Korede Bello, Dija, and Reekado Banks trying to find their way to the backstage to prepare at about 10:30pm. The scenario is all too familiar; better to have me listen to your songs in my house than see you jumping around while you sing your 2 mins songs with the cliché "DJ! Let's go!!"

PS: For those who don't know, lip-synching is considered offensive and highly scandalous if roped around an artiste in saner climes.

Cc
Lalasticlala

That is why you'll love Tuface,over time he has improved his game and has come to be arguably the best stage/live performer.

Djicemob:
That is why you'll love Tuface,over time he has improved his game and has come be arguably the best stage/live performer.

True that, Tuface, Lagbaja and a few are the only ones we have around as far as live performances are concerned.

What do you expect them to sing when auto-tune was doing the singing for them in the studio.
We dont have real vocalists in Naija (except for very few). All we have are commercial hit makers with no real singing talent. Put most of them on stage and give them a standard classic song to perform and 90% will flop so hard. Most Naija ppl dont even appreciate real singing talent. They love auto tune and could care less if an artiste is performing life or playing the very studio record u already have on ur i pad

Good music is literally dead in Nigeria. Our musicians don't know what a live performance looks like, what they do mostly is have the DJ play the song and they just jump around the stage lip-synching.

I remember a very shameful event that happened last year during the campaigns when Harrysong was performing energetically on stage not knowing that his mic was bad. All along, it was the dj's song that was playing until the moderator changed his mic.

It's a shame the idea of rehearsals is alien to most of our indigenous artistes. Ne-yo had everyone in Durban jumping in July despite being an R&B artiste.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfSxgnJzP-U

Some fans see you live on stage only once in their lifetime... You (the musician) have this incredible opportunity to ingrain yourself in their memories forever with a performance to remember, rather you choose to present them with the memories of a lip-synched performance... Little wonder some musical careers die quickly.

Octaves:
What do you expect them to sing when auto-tune was doing the singing for them in the studio.
We dont have real vocalists in Naija (except for very few). All we have are commercial hit makers with no real singing talent. Put most of them on stage and give them a standard classic song to perform and 90% will flop so hard. Most Naija ppl dont even appreciate real singing talent. They love auto tune and could care less if an artiste is performing life or playing the very studio record u already have on ur i pad

You're quite right but I beg to disagree with your assertion concerning "real vocalists". We have them and they're many. Iyanya, Praiz, Tuface, Dare art Alade, Tiwa Savage, Chidinma, Yemi Alade, Timi Dakolo, Omawunmi, Waje, Ige, Banky W, GT da Guitarman, Capital FM, among many others. Again, I beg to differ with "most people don't appreciate real singing talent". We do and the consciousness is fast increasing. It would have been better if you said that genres that support good vocals are not really appreciated here. Auto tune is largely the problem. Who would love to disgrace himself on stage?

9jabox:
Good music is literally dead in Nigeria. Our musicians don't know what a live performance looks like, what they mostly is have the DJ play the song and they just jump around the stage lip-synching.

I remember a very shameful event that happened last year during the campaigns when Harrysong was performing energetically on stage not knowing that his mic was bad. All along, it was the dj's song that was playing until the moderator changed his mic.

Hahahahahahaha Harry Song must have been engrossed with the lies that he forgot he was lying to himself. You can imagine. Unfortunately, this same Harry Song started out as a live performer, singing at a popular club every night before he was discovered.

DoctorDoom:
It's a shame the idea of rehearsals is alien to most of our indigenous artistes. Ne-yo had everyone in Durban jumping in July despite being an R&B artiste.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfSxgnJzP-U

Some fans see you live on stage only once in their lifetime... You (the musician) have this incredible opportunity to ingrain yourself in their memories forever with a performance to remember, rather you choose to present them with the memories of a lip-synched performance... Little wonder some musical careers die quickly.

You raised the most important point there. Rather than leave people with something worth remembering, the keep revelling in a wicked vicious cycle. No Nigerian artistes has ever left me speechless with their performance. My sole purpose of avoiding them overtime remains the same.

Sanchez01:

You're quite right but I beg to disagree with your assertion concerning "real vocalists". We have them and they're many. Iyanya, Praiz, Tuface, Dare art Alade, Tiwa Savage, Chidinma, Yemi Alade, Timi Dakolo, Omawunmi, Waje, Ige, Banky W, GT da Guitarman, Capital FM, among many others. Again, I beg to differ with "most people don't appreciate real singing talent". We do and the consciousness is fast increasing. It would have been better if you said that genres that support good vocals are not really appreciated here. Auto tune is largely the problem. Who would love to disgrace himself on stage?

most of the people you mentioned have real talent and they are included in the 'very few' in my previous comment. I've seen Yemi Alade and Tuface live and was impressed. Tiwa and Chidimma studio voice sounds autotuned; havnt seen them live. I know Darey Art is good. I heard Waje has 3 octaves of singing voice but i havnt heard much of her material to see what she's doing with the octaves. Other ones u mentioned, i havent heard live. U're right, genres that support good vocals are not appreciated here

I know that touring can put a lot of stress on performers. But they should know their voice is their business and take care of it. Arrange your shows so that u have enough time to rest your voice in between shows. Avoid alcohol, smoke and substances that dry the vocal chords and invest in ones that enhances it (eg honey). Hire a voice coach to tighten up your technique so u can sing with ease without hurting or straining ur voice. Rearrange ur material (if the studio arrangement is too demanding) in such a way that u can handle them well life and still make the same impact as the studio version (eg adele rarely sings the high notes of someone like me live but it always sounds soulful and heartfelt and amazing)

Nobody does better live performances in naija than P-square, Banky W, Timi Dakolo and Flavour and most recently, Yemi Alade, everybody else na wash. Davido and Timaya have to be the worst everrr, why waste money on them when the DJ still plays back the song? So, I go pay DJ, still pay artiste again, I dey crase? @Sanchez01, the issue is, live performances will cost you more and most event organisers don't want to pay more

safarigirl:
Nobody does better live performances in naija than P-square, Banky W, Timi Dakolo and Flavour and most recently, Yemi Alade, everybody else na wash. Davido and Timaya have to be the worst everrr, why waste money on them when the DJ still plays back the song? So, I go pay DJ, still pay artiste again, I dey crase? @Sanchez01, the issue is, live performances will cost you more and most event organisers don't want to pay more

My dear, I've seen Psquare a couple of times and they went the way of others on stage. Although, theirs bring vigour and a whole lot of energy. Maybe it's because I love them. I trust Timi Dakola though but haven't seen him on stage before. Your veiwpoint about paying DJs and paying artistes is hilarious but unfortunately true. Such is the way of the world as far as Nigeria and shows are concerned. Honestly Dear, organizers would up their games the moment our musicians do the same. It's really tiring.

Where's lalasticlala when you need favours

Sanchez01:

My dear, I've seen Psquare a couple of times and they went the way of others on stage. Although, theirs bring vigour and a whole lot of energy. Maybe it's because I love them. I trust Timi Dakola though but haven't seen him on stage before. Your veiwpoint about paying DJs and paying artistes is hilarious but unfortunately true. Such is the way of the world as far as Nigeria and shows are concerned. Honestly Dear, organizers would up their games the moment our musicians do the same. It's really tiring.

Where's lalasticlala when you need favours

it goes back to what the organisers paid for. If you saw a lip-syncing P-square, that's what the organizers paid for. You pay at least an additional 2 million for a non-lip sync performance and organizers looking to cash in big won't pay for any extras. That's why someone like Timi only does high profile shows. You think award shows or comedy concerts can pay him?

Sanchez01:

Hahahahahahaha Harry Song must have been engrossed with the lies that he forgot he was lying to himself. You can imagine. Unfortunately, this same Harry Song started out as a live performer, singing at a popular club every night before he was discovered.

That's the terrible thing with our industry today, great acts become famous, they get swayed by the delusion in the industry and throw away their talents.

Imagine guys like Nyanya and co who won project fame singing great songs suddenly start singing rubbish after becoming famous just to stay relevant.

Ain't we missing something??!

safarigirl:
it goes back to what the organisers paid for. If you saw a lip-syncing P-square, that's what the organizers paid for. You pay at least an additional 2 million for a non-lip sync performance and organizers looking to cash in big won't pay for any extras. That's why someone like Timi only does high profile shows. You think award shows or comedy concerts can pay him?

I think I agree with you.I remember some years back when psquare performed at d yearly calabar festival.I was amazed and suprised at their performance coz it was flawless.the liveband,choreography were simply worth it and even if it were nt free,I stil would av paid to watch them again.I still think it goes down to what the organisers want and are willing to pay for

Sanchez01:
I made up my mind ever since two years ago not to punish myself over attending musical shows involving Nigeria artistes, both Gospel and Secular. Reason for this has been best known to me from day one - our artistes are lazy, an eyesore and arrogant on stage.

So I was at the Eko Hotels yesternight for the Glo Laffta Fest. Who doesn't love a comedy show? For me, it was the best moment to ease myself of the many pressures I've been subjected to of late. Honestly, I had forgotten that music was added. I guess I wasn't really expecting a thing from any of the artistes. The code has worked ever since; love their songs over the air (TV and radio), avoid their live performances like a plague.

After laughing to no end, Burna Boy, just like every other Nigerian act came up without a single back up. It was solo, perhaps more money to him. Calling on DJ Jimmy Jatt at intervals, I could remember Burna Boy singing over six songs within 10 minutes. Which successful artistes does this

Within 15 minutes, Burna Boy had almost finished his album. His average time for each was 2 minutes each, worst of all, they were all lip-synced

The presence of DJs at shows meant for artistes have done more harm than good over the years and this is in turn affecting our music beyond the shores of Africa. The cliché has been the same over the years; they come on stage with the intention to "sing along" all in the name of performance.

It doesn't make sense attending events and all you hear on the stage is "DJ! Let's Go!!" and all you see afterwards is the annoying, regular, unrepentant and unprofessional catwalks they exhibit on the stage. Parambulating like it's a fashion show.

For Pete's sake we watch other foreign acts and they don't do all these. I keep a particular video close to my heart, a live video of Jay Z (a rapper) performing "Young Forever" with Beyoncé. One would think we have not started compared to these folks. We claim our music has attained a reasonable standard, yet they all tow the same line, boring walks, calling on DJ's to play the next track just to "sing along" or lip sync in the name of performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmfmdKOLzVI

Although the subsequent comedies from Basketmouth, Bovi, I go dye and others resuscitated the show. Perhaps our artistes would fare better if they don't sing, come to the show, sign autographs and go home because I can't fathom how they justify the word "performance".

Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Beyoncè, 50cents, Ashley Simpson, the great R-Kelly, Jennifer Hudson, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears among others have been caught in the lip-synching SCANDAL at some point in their careers, yet we brandish it in Nigeria like nothing is wrong with it.
www.forbes.com/sites/michelecatalano/2013/01/25/from-michael-jackson-to-beyonce-a-brief-history-of-lip-syncing/

Perhaps this explains why our glorified international acts struggle in the international scene, save for those who take their shows to these folks. Life, as far as music is concerned is beyond cut and paste in the studio. It continues on the stage not with mediocrity but giving your all.

I honestly couldn't wait to leave the venue after seeing Korede Bello, Dija, and Reekado Banks trying to find their way to the backstage to prepare at about 10:30pm. The scenario is all too familiar; better to have me listen to your songs in my house than see you jumping around while you sing your 2 mins songs with the cliché "DJ! Let's go!!"

PS: For those who don't know, lip-synching is considered offensive and highly scandalous if roped around an artiste in saner climes.

Cc
Lalasticlala

Its only Asa that performs live. That's why she tours Europe like its her kitchen

safarigirl:
Nobody does better live performances in naija than P-square, Banky W, Timi Dakolo and Flavour and most recently, Yemi Alade, everybody else na wash.

Where's D'banj's name ?

airmark:


Where's D'banj's name ?

D'banj Live performance What year did he start this

Honestly I'm not sure anything can be done about it. Their lives give me the strongest case of second hand embarrassment. At least rappers try small cause their own na to just spit out words and not keep a tune.
The whole situation is pretty ridiculous.

Sanchez01:
D'banj Live performance What year did he start this

I hope you know the meaning of a live performance? don't get it twisted.

airmark:


Where's D'banj's name ?

D'banj ke? That one wey dey act film for stage? Does he sing? I saw him last year, nothing interesting. People like Tu face, Seyi Shay and Sound Sultan are better performers than D'banj

MrsPhyno:
Honestly I'm not sure anything can be done about it. Their lives give me the strongest case of second hand embarrassment. At least rappers try small cause their own na to just spit out words and not keep a tune.
The whole situation is pretty ridiculous.

Yeye woman !

Trying to stand in for ur own huzby abi?

Dem say pikin no know book, u dey talk say hin get handwriting , smh smh smh

#shoro niyen

jcmaiah:

Its only Asa that performs live. That's why she tours Europe like its her kitchen

Asa is based in Europe and blew from there that's why she majorly performs there, it's not her live performances that make her a toast. Timi is a better artiste than Asa by any ramification, but you don't see him everywhere in Europe

safarigirl:
D'banj ke? That one wey dey act film for stage? Does he sing? I saw him last year, nothing interesting. People like Tu face, Seyi Shay and Sound Sultan are better performers than D'banj

You are just hating as usual. He is one of the best live performers over the years in naija.

Sabrwahaqqo:


Yeye woman !

Trying to stand in for ur own huzby abi?

Dem say pikin no know book, u dey talk say hin get handwriting , smh smh smh

#shoro niyen

Lol what could u possibly be referring to
Don't start dis night o

It's true sha. The rappers betta pass the singers, small

#oya mi lenu ooooo

safarigirl:
Asa is based in Europe and blew from there that's why she majorly performs there, it's not her live performances that make her a toast. Timi is a better artiste than Asa by any ramification, but you don't see him everywhere in Europe

Which Timi? Abeggi! He is a good singer but not a better singer than Asa. I have watched their live performances and can't ever give it to Timi.

airmark:


I hope you know the meaning of a live performance? don't get it twisted.

Nigerians, we're fond of answering questions with questions. And yes, I know what LIVE performance is. D'banj is a lip syncher, last I checked. This brought about my question "when did he start doing LIVE performances?"

Sanchez01:

Nigerians, we're fond of answering questions with questions. And yes, I know what LIVE performance is. D'banj is a lip syncher, last I checked. This brought about my question "when did he start doing LIVE performances?"

He has done live band performance which he did nt lip synch before, which I attended in Texas in 2012. It was a great live performance compared to psquare and others I witnessed before. Ask those who have witnessed it before. They bill more for this that's why they don't always do it. Talk what you know about.

MrsPhyno:
Lol what could u possibly be referring to Don't start dis night o
It's true sha. The rappers betta pass the singers, small
#oya mi lenu ooooo

Well, I was referring to they MRS on your MrsPhyno if u kwim

I guess u don't grab d meaning af my 'saying'
Loools

MrsPhyno:
Lol what could u possibly be referring to Don't start dis night o
It's true sha. The rappers betta pass the singers, small
#oya mi lenu ooooo

Well, I was referring to they MRS on your MrsPhyno if u kwim

I guess u don't grab d meaning af my 'saying'
Loools