Patrick Ezema

Nigeria

Content Writer and Music Journalist at Freelance

Music and culture writer. Words: @takingCustody @NativeMag, @guardianLifeNG, @morebranches, @thelagosreview , @afrocritik, elsewhere.

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Articles

ID Cabasa is Connecting the Past and Present Through Reimagined Songs

1 month ago | culturecustodian.com | Patrick Ezema

Two weeks ago, ID Cabasa released Anytime Reimagined, which features street pop acts Bella Shmurda and Ayo Maff as well as the Port Harcourt rap duo of Ajebo Hustlers. The track is a reimagined version of 9ice’s soul-baring Anytime from his Tradition album of 2009, a song that Cabasa produced while they were both under the umbrella of his label, Coded Tunes.
Five Key Takeaways From The 17th Headies

2 months ago | culturecustodian.com | Patrick Ezema

The 17th edition of the Headies, Nigeria’s premier music award, was held on Sunday, and as usual, it was a festive music event, featuring both freshly minted stars and music legends alike vying for their own iconic Headies plaque. It also saw the return of the many drawbacks that we must now assume to be a part of the Headies experience—professionalism issues, technical errors, time delays—that were not mitigated even when the award was relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, for two years.
“5ive” Is Davido’s Happiest Album Yet - and That’s Enough

2 months ago | culturecustodian.com | Patrick Ezema

To open 5ive, the poet Alhanislam recites a spoken-word commentary on the album and the man behind it. It feels a little pretentious, rooted in the same idea that drives artists to label every new project their deepest and most personal work yet. Yet some of it does have grounding in real-life events.
Interview: Inside M.anifest’s Rap Philosophy and His New Album, “NEW ROAD AND GUAVA TREES”

2 months ago | culturecustodian.com | Patrick Ezema

M.anifest’s new album, NEW ROAD AND GUAVA TREES, has a cover that satirizes the ribbon cutting spectacle government officials love, apparently another of the many Ghana-Nigerian experiences. “It’s a bit of a caricature of our leaders, most of them trying to be commissioner-generals and commissioner-in-chief. It’s a very African occurrence,” M.anifest says to Culture Custodian.
The Pandemic That Reshaped Nigerian Music

Mar 5, 2025 | culturecustodian.com | Patrick Ezema

In 2020, as the pandemic brought the world to a standstill, forcing Nigerians into movement restrictions and lockdowns, it was also incubating music talent and creativity that would go on to leave a legacy five years after. In Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, clubs were shut, concerts were getting cancelled, even smaller festivities like weddings and birthday events were either held virtually, on a smaller scale, or postponed indefinitely.
Is Nigerian Music Embracing Violent Culture?

Feb 5, 2025 | culturecustodian.com | Patrick Ezema

In a snippet shared by Dxtiny on Twitter, the underground singer is performing his latest release, a song about demanding payment from a debtor. For some reason, most likely relating to publicity, he thought to provide the video with a violent turn by wielding a rifle as he delivered his lines. It may only have been a promotional video, but it is emblematic of a time in Nigerian music when artists are more keen to embrace needless gangsterism, and in some cases, violence.
Afrobeats to the World, But What’s Left for Nigeria?

Feb 5, 2025 | culturecustodian.com | Any Minz |Patrick Ezema

Last year ended on a crescendo for Nigerian pop culture. Closing out with the yearly Detty December activities that bled into a hectic Christmas season, an influx of I Just Got Backs and indeed, those who had never been before, brought the country, especially its cultural capital in Lagos, to life. Tyla and Gunna shared a stage at Flytime Fest to perform their single, Jump. Chloe Bailey spent a few days in Lagos in the company of Burna Boy.
Five Things We Hope To See on Davido's “5ive”

Jan 31, 2025 | culturecustodian.com | Patrick Ezema

A month into the new year, Davido is already set for what will surely be one of its greatest musical talking points: the release of his fifth studio album. The album, 5ive, will hope to surpass its generic nomenclature when it releases in mid-March, and for Davido, it represents a very important pivot.
Four Things We Hope to see on Qing Madi’s Debut Album

Jan 30, 2025 | culturecustodian.com | Patrick Ezema

Qing Madi’s debut album, I Am The Blueprint, debuts soon, and with it all the expectation of an artist who arrived on the scene as a teenager but almost fully formed. In two years she’s held her own in the industry. She’s enticed with her songwriting and mesmerized with her voice, while her seamless chemistry with a number of bigger stars reveals her maturity to be beyond her years.
In-House: Top Ten Songs of 2024

Dec 27, 2024 | culturecustodian.com | Patrick Ezema

By Patrick Ezema, Chibuzo Emmanuel, Shalom Tewobola and Alex OmenyeSo much music is released over the course of one year that a compilation of the year’s best songs feels a herculean, nigh impossible task. From Afropop grooves to Amapiano bangers to Alté experiments to RnB ballads, the reach and range of Nigerian music has never been wider, and thus the effort needed to discover new music has never been greater. For the same reason, this list has never been more important.