Patrick Ezema

3 weeks 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.

1 month ago | 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.

2 months ago | 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.

2 months ago | 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.

2 months ago | 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.