MONTHLY MUSIC PLAYLISTS: OCTOBER

MONTHLY MUSIC PLAYLISTS: OCTOBER

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 Helloooooo Therreeee Brethrens !!! Once again, The Kingdom greets you!

Dearest reader, The juicy month of October is finally upon us! It’s what we can call the beginning of the end. And as we enter this final trimester, the lap of the year is slowly drawing its curtains to a close.

Can you believe it? 2024 is about to be history. I guess October’s the month where we catch up with whatever’s left of our resolutions and make the most of the rest of the year. What do you think?

Either way, the start of a new month also means…Drum Rolls, please!!!

Another, Monthly. Music. Playlists.

I can assure you we will never get tired of getting psyched to recommend the best songs for you, with the most creative theme you’d ever expect.

As we’ve established earlier, October is the wake-up call and get your things together, month. Yes. But that’s not all that October is special for.

“Well then, What else?” I’m glad you asked.

October is also what we can call Nigeria’s month! There’s inarguably no month in the year that gives ‘Motherland seasonnn’ vibes like October does.

I can see it, You’re thinking, you’re thinking, Yeah the answer is None period thank you.

Okay yeah maybe December or whatever but here’s why October is super convincing, walk with me. October is a very special, pivotal month for Nigerians and Nigeria. We first scatter the ground on the 1^st of October, entering the month in celebration of our Independence as a country.

For a quick recap: In 1914, All the protectorates were brought together; Southern Nigeria and Northern Nigeria, and most importantly, they stayed together. They were like yeah I kind of vibe with this, I want to be associated with this family for life, and that led to the creation of Nigeria…but as a colony.

But on October 1^st, 1960, Nigeria gained an independent identity, and a solid foundation, shedding the weights of a colony to become a new being of its own.

October 1^st was the moment Nigeria became a country, a home to diversity and united strength, housing a myriad of cultures, traditions, and languages which came together in an agreement to live in harmony, and each year we celebrate that green, white green flag.

Likewise, the annual Felabration Week- a music festival conceived by Yeni Anikulapo Kuti, in memory of her father, Fela Kuti- occurs in October, falling in line with the posthumous birthday of the legendary musician.

On the 20^th of October, we also honor the labors of heroes past, with a silent prayer that it will never be in vain. This day stands as a reminder to celebrate the lives of the Lekki Tollgate warriors, who stood for something.

So, October is undeniably a monumental and festive month for us and in Honour of the Nigerian people, Today’s monthly music playlist is all about the celebration of Nigerians; ever rich in culture, diversity, and downright beauty! In this stance of inspiration, our theme of the month is ‘Naija artists and their cool ethnicities’.

Nigeria is a country with approximately 371 Tribes and 250 Ethnic groups, yet there is so much we don’t know. To be fair, a number of us don’t know more than 5 of these ethnic groups.

But there’s no judgment here and in celebration of the sheer beauty of the Nigerian people, their diverse customs, tribes, ethnicities, food, slang, and traditions, Our theme of today, hopes to give you a glimpse into some of this diversity, highlighting Nigerian artistes from different ethnic groups, alongside our favorite song recommendations from these artistes. Without further ado, let’s get to it!

Phyno (Igbo)

If there’s any rapper on the planet who represents the Igbo culture, heart, soul, and mind It’s the iconic Igbo rapper Phyno. Though he’s a native of Anambra state, Phyno was born and bred in Enugu. One thing about Phyno is, that he’s going to speak Igbo. No matter the time or weather, he can never be caught slipping from that native tongue.

         Phyno shows his listeners that there’s something undeniably beautiful about expressing art through the language that flows most freely through you. Keeping his culture in high regard, Phyno does a perfect blend of English and Igbo on every single track and whether or not you understand, one thing is for sure you’re gonna vibe to it.

       That remains to date,  a beauty in music.  It transcends language barriers and pierces straight to the heart. Phyno loves his Igbo culture so much, that he makes sure to spread that influence to everyone around him, both locally and globally. Our song recommendation from The iconic Phyno is his latest release; ‘Time of My Life’ featuring Ardee. Phyno had the British rapper, speaking a bit of Igbo in his verse so breezily. We stan a true cross-cultural collaboration! You do not want to miss out on the song and its crazy flow like always you are bound to be captured by that Igbo language, vibe, and energy

Ice Prince: Agas (Ngas)

Ice Prince Zamani, remains to date one of the best veteran rappers in the Nigerian music industry. Never to be caught uncool/icy, the rapper always stands out repping that North Central culture. Hailing from Plateau State, he is of Agas ethnicity, an ethnic group in the north-central state who speak an Afro-Asiatic language called Ngas. Though not as widely known, there are 727, 000 Ngas people in Nigeria today and I don’t know about you but that’s mind-blowing!

          The Ice Prince song rec today is “Aboki”. Not only does this music take us back to simpler times but Nothing screams “I rep Northern Nigeria” more than Aboki. You can tell just how proud he was of his guys. He put the northerners on the map as the big spenders that you can’t test. There’s money and then there’s money. Aboki just reminds us. It’s not a myth they got that bag and they are not to be finessed!

         And We hear him loud and clear. Let’s go back in time with ‘Aboki’

Di’Ja: (Hausa)

Di’ja is a female Nigerian singer born of a Seria lonneian father and a Nigerian mother from Kaduna and she never fails to represent her northern heritage. Our Di’ja song recommendation is ‘Te Amo’. Te amo is a beautiful song about the regrets of not loving someone as beautifully as you are capable of and noticing this when you’re no longer together. Te amo, has us in our feels, reminiscing of the good things that got away.

Asake: (Yoruba)

For some of us, our occupation and solid side hustle is the title ‘Iyawo Asake’ and to be honest, this is a table I wholefully reside on.

Ololade Mr. Money, comes from the beautiful tribe of the Yorubas. The Yorubas are also a dominant ethnic group in Nigeria and outside the borders of Nigeria, stretching to some minorities in Benin and Togo.

Asake is a man who is well known for wearing his culture and his language on his sleeve, making it a huge part of his steeze and charisma. You can hardly ever catch the dynamic artist in a full song without a section that’s repping that irreplaceable Yoruba aura and language.

As a king of Fuji fusion with the best-modernized interpretation, Asake shows everyone that you can spin a Yoruba verse on absolutely any genre you like. He shows us through his music that Nigerian music can flow with anything and any ground encouraging people of that heritage to stand proud of it.

One of the music fusions that blew our minds from his new album, Lungu Boy is “Uhh Yeah”. From the first beat, something is compelling about the intro that gets you gingered on impact. It’s such a get-up and grind, let the day begin kind of energy. It is truly iconic and refreshing how he manages to bring a Techno and EDM vibe to the endless world of Afrobeats. Hence, our Asake song of Today is UHH yeah.

Rema (Benin/Edo Tribe)

Touchdown Benin Boys!!! In all regards, Nobody screams Benin Boy in a higher tone than the show-stopping entertainer and music genius, Rema. The Benin people when it comes to rich history and culture, have just about everything to be proud of. They have a total of about 42 ethnic groups, spanning across different regions in Nigeria and even Africa as a whole. The young artiste was raised in the heart of Benin City and lived there up until 2018. He remains a Benin boy through and through and is never afraid to show it. Constantly driven and inspired by his culture, he always loves to blend that ethnic side of him with his creativity and loves to display it at his concerts.

      One that particularly sparked a media frenzy, was his performance at the O2 Arena which featured a mask he wore that alluded to Queen Idia, a National Hero in the Benin Kingdom. Moreover, the visuals for his EP ‘Ravage’ also sparked more controversies about Illuminati and Devil worship as it featured bats, unusual hairstyles, and a lot of red, and black hues, all of which were a part of his creative expressions.

       Just as members of the Bird app have said, You know you’ve made it when people start the Illuminati allegations against you. In response to this, Rema claimed that his “Ancestors’ Bronzes sit in the museum of this very city (London), so I remade mine. Hence Edo is redefined, the map reshaped, your minds awakened & the mask reborn…”. Yeah we stan a culturally woke king and in honor of this proud Benin man, here’s “Benin Boys” featuring his fellow Benin boy, Shallipopi, to get you going through the day or maybe week! Once again, Touchdown Benin Boys!!!

Wizard Chan: Ijaw (Okrika, Rivers)

Speaking of people who seek to always put their culture and Indigenous people on the map, we have Wizard Chan, A proud Ijaw man and native of Okrika. The Ijaw people, otherwise known as the Ijo, are an ethnic group found in Niger Delta, Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers. They also occupy small parts of, Edo, Ondo, and Akwa Ibom. The Ijaws are considered the 8^th largest ethnic group in Nigeria. Impressive? Tell me about it! Wizard Chan comes from the Eastern Ijaw clan, often found in Rivers and Akwa Ibom, they include the Kalabari, and Okirika, from which the artiste hails, Bonny, and many others.

Whether in his music, lyrics, or audiovisuals, or even from his consistent music collaborations with the Boma Nime, Chan never fails to educate or share with us, a part of where he belongs. The sound and traditions of his people, particularly the Afro teme style, He sees as a large part of him and his artistry. He credits his music style and its effect, to the deep spirituality of the Ijaw people and language. Just as he told Pulse.ng, “A typical Ijaw person sings with so much soul and passion that it feels like they are crying, so that’s why when I sing in my language it’s very soulful.” And woweee we do not doubt at all about that spirituality. So, Our chan recommendation for today is the beautiful, thought-provoking and deep track, ‘Time Traveller’

Omah Lay: Ikwerre

Still with Rivers on the map, we have Omah Lay, who is a native of Ikwerre. Ikwerre as well, is an ethnic group in Rivers State, Nigeria, and the Ikwerre people are found in 4 local government Areas; Port Harcourt, Obio Akpot, Ikwerre, and Emohua. The young musician was born and raised in Port Harcourt. If you’ve ever listened to his music and noticed some terms or slang you’ve never heard before, it’s the sounds of the man repping his culture. A thing about Port-Harcourt men particularly the creatives in entertainment is that they constantly lift each other, put each other on, and maintain an unmatched brotherhood. His music cover art on ‘Holy Ghost’ was done by a fellow Portharcourt indigene known as EdwardTheCartoonist. Love an Ikwerre man today, they’ll always lift you and everyone around you. In celebration of the talented artiste, check out his newest hit single, ‘Moving’

Terry Apala: Isoko

The Isoko boy who sings Apala, stunned us all when we found out he was not a Yoruba man but a native of Delta state.

Yes, Terry Apala is just so talented, that he repped the Yoruba music, language, style, and mannerisms so well we thought he belonged there. However, he hails from Delta State and is from the Isoko ethnic group. This is what we love about Nigerians, the way we embrace the beauty in our diversity is one for the books. In his recent performance in Echo room, he made sure to let his fans know the origin of Apala music, and how it represents African music and traditions as a whole.

Terry Apala, is a connoisseur in maintaining and keeping African culture alive. So in celebration of the Isoko boy ton Korin Apala, here’s our rec; ‘Apala Disco’ by Dj Tunez ft Terry Apala

Iyanya: Efik

Here’s another amazing artiste that gave us epic, timeless bangers, peak 2013. Iyanya is a Nigerian artiste of Efik origin and ethnicity. His career took off right after his emergence as the winner of the first season of; “Project Fame West Africa”. He released his break-out single, ‘Kukere’ in 2013 and the journey went all the way uphill from there leading him to be one of the biggest music stars in Nigeria for close to a decade. Still Maintaining his musical discography down to 2024, Iyanya continues to be solid vocalist, songwriter and waist king (after flavour)

amongst many other things. Our song recommendation of the icon is ‘Like’ featuring Kizz Daniel and Davido. This afropop sweet tune took the music scene by a storm in 2022 and the vibes are ever the same, even now. Let this song by this Efik star kiss your ears warmly.

Well that’s all we have today guys! We hope you learnt a lot and were inspired to dig even more into the culture of Nigerians as a whole. Until next time, xoxo!

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