that's right tos, we ain't afraid of nothin'!

We should be happy for debate. That a writer has written what might be inaccurate, biased or just wrong does not mean he should be crucified. There's no need for polemics or abuse as I see it. No one is perfect at what they do.

Mr Abati's rebuttal/apology is welcome.

when I see insults flying around from fans it makes BW's response less effective especially as he did not resort to such in his riposte.

Even the late great Fela made the occasional gaffe (I remember the one against Bob Marley)-- he later apologised. It is a mark of a great man to put his hand up to own to a mistake. But when insults fly around it makes it harder to get this response.

We have this saying where i come from i'd say it in pidgin "When person tell u say make u respect yourself no be insult"

What stunts was Mr Abati trying to pull here?he should please stick to politics cos entertainment is not his forte! Reading the article was just stomach curdling as he kept making goof after gaffe and gaffe after goof i'm sure he was either high on Makpo or on a full tank of cheap fluid before writing this shameful article! This is a representation of the double standards and hypocrisy this older and so-called golden generation is guilty of.Are these musicians responsible for the sorry state of Nigeria today?bad roads,poor healthcare,ASUU strikes and ish! Abeg this man should stick to politics and stop trying to be versatile or funkadelic

P.S: I'm suprised he knows so many foreign artistes this man is trying too hard! He left out Rich Boy,Polow da Don,Sizzla,E-40,Snoop,Kardinal,Rafael Saadiq,Bun B,Slim Thug,Paul Wall

@A40
the asshole just googled the american rappers, he doesnt even listen to em ,


plsu somebody should inform the asswipe abata ruben that he should come to nairaland . someone should go to guardian website and mail. nairaland is waiting to tear him into pieces ! after sauron comes ruben abacha !

“The emerging young generation lacks the discipline or the patience to write complete sentences or think through a subject to its logical end.” - R. Abati

Even though I tried hard to respect Mr. Abati's write up as his opinion, I can't help but feel appalled by his stating opinions as facts. The dude simply crossed the line. He showed his unpatriotic nature by basing his argument on one major thing we should do away with in the world, GENERALIZATION! How can you discredit a whole generation Mr? Generalization is the cause of tribal wars, religious intolerance etc. Is this the course you want us to thread, Sir?
If nothing, I hope you’ll learn these lessons and teach it to your wards.
• Show some tolerance to things you feel different about.
• Every generation has its style and it should be respected.
• Opinions are never facts; therefore it should not be stated or imposed as one!

Damn!!! my stomach hurts!!!   I can't believe I read all these essays. I bow for Mr. Reuben. The man sabi American rappers more than I do.   and isn't it funny how he mentioned Nas twice?

I love Banky's reply. The word 'naija' is synonymous with what people from Barbados call themselves - Bajans. Even though the original term is Barbadian. How did the use of 'naija' bring about a corrupt government and poor education system? He needs to find a seat and do something with it. And who cares about the name an artiste chooses to go by? Banky and Eldee set him straight since the use of nicknames by artistes didn't start with this generation.

He's one of those typical 'agbaya' naija   people I resent, the kind who think they know everything because they're old. Tell that to somebody who cares. He probably listens to these so-called bad acts from America that he mentioned in the confinement of his living room. How come he knows so many names? hypocrite!

I'll keep saying 'naija'. . .LOL @ the Lord Lugard story, chei chei chei. Ignorance is bliss. faithful servant even after slavery/colonial times.

I love naija!!!!!!!!!!  

Damn! Banky W just earned my respect. His reply was direct and on point without been disrespectful.
Eldee should take a walk in Banky W's shoes. His own reply despite the use of sarcasm sounded too immature and pubescent. I doubt whether Guardian would have published his reply.
Finally,u'all shouldn't go about criticizing the older generation cos I don't think our generation will be any better.
Just take a stroll to the tribalism,secterianism and religion sections of this forum and u'll be shocked by the tribalistic crap spewed by our so called youths.

just my 2cents.

Damn!! There is no excuse for that kind of goof. Not for someone of his stature. Shame!

Abati's write up shows one of the thing wrong with Nigeria, and quite frankly one of the things still wrong with Nigeria, current generation included. The general lack of good fact driven thoughts.

It is easy to say that Abati's mistake was down to is generation, but that would just be BS. Its is down to quite frankly a lack of standard.

Our current generation is no better, we are so self centred that I have to wonder, if names weren't mentioned in the article, would there have been such a response.

Did the injustice of the Hiphop world awards get treated with such guesto, NO! And now the SMVA is no better.

Even on this very tread, Tosin points out, "SSP one and only hit", I mean, how untrue is that, SSP for the record, dropped 3 amazing albums that still been enjoyed by lovers of juju music till date. (An Abati like mistake from the current generation).

I think Abati had good intentions in his article, but got it wrong.Though, 1 or 2 reasonable stuff there. I think naija is how we call Nigeria in Yoruba b4 it became a nationwide slang.
But Eldee could have been more polite anyway.
I wont be surprised if anyone goes to the studio to record a song about this article.

semid4lyfe:

Damn! Banky W just earned my respect. His reply was direct and on point without been disrespectful.
Eldee should take a walk in Banky W's shoes. His own reply despite the use of sarcasm sounded too immature and pubescent. I doubt whether Guardian would have published his reply.
Finally,u'all shouldn't go about criticizing the older generation cos I don't think our generation will be any better.
Just take a stroll to the tribalism,secterianism and religion sections of this forum and u'll be shocked by the tribalistic crap spewed by our so called youths.

just my 2cents.

Gbam. QED

Okay at the risk of repeating what everyone has already said, I drop my 2 cents

To Abati: I haven't been this disappointed in anyone in a LONG time. I mean, Reuben is a really smart guy who makes sense most of the time and he was someone I used to boast about as being one of the few intelligent minds, along with People like Pat Utomi. So I was SHOCKED at his numerous goofs in his ill-researched piece. So shocked, I was almost willing to believe someone else wrote it for him, or something like that.

While he had a few salient points (like the lyrical emptiness of most songs these days, lewd nature of music videos, miming on stage, sole dependence on computers for beats rather than acoustic sound) which he obviously didnt pass across as a kind advice to the younger folks, but rather an outright rebuke, most of the rest of his article was just plain, with due respect, CRAP! (e.g bias for the origin of the name Nigeria, hatred of 'Naija', Stage names, Lagi mo (how cud he??), amongst MANY others). What was he thinking??
Truth is I respect him so much, I am willing to give him some time to offer an apology or something . Quick!


To Banky W: whoa man! I don't know what to say. Wherever you are, I duff my hat to you. This is a classic case of convert from critic to fan! Truth is when Banky first came out with 'ebutte meta' I was so disappointed. I thought, wot a waste of a great voice and talent. Then he came out with capable and his album and he was winning me over. Now, with this reply, it's official. I'm a FAN!!
Articulate, objective, respectful and on point! Plus, i like the fact that he admits this music era isn't perfect and needs true advise and not outright blasting. I'm truly impressed man, really!

Now what we should do is take all the criticisms, insults and rebukes and pick out the aspects we really need to work on.
That will make us a better generation!
Peace out!

PS. Like someone said, this should make the front page

YourFather:

Abati's write up shows one of the thing wrong with Nigeria,  and quite frankly one of the things still wrong with Nigeria, current generation included. The general lack of good fact driven thoughts.

It is easy to say that Abati's mistake was down to is generation, but that would just be BS. Its is down to quite frankly a lack of standard.

Our current generation is no better, we are so self centred that I have to wonder, if names weren't mentioned in the article, would there have been such a response.

Did the injustice of the Hiphop world awards get treated with such guesto,  NO! And now the SMVA is no better.

Even on this very tread, Tosin points out,  "SSP one and only hit", I mean, how untrue is that, SSP for the record, dropped 3 amazing albums that still been enjoyed by lovers of juju music till date. (An Abati like mistake from the current generation).

I kinda understand where you are coming from. . .  But Abati is a journalist. One of the most respected in the country. If anyone can be excused for that nonsense it is definitely not him. You don't write an article based on zero research and feed it to a nation (presenting ur opinion as MOF), especially when all the article does is shit all over people. (pardon my francais)

The man is an idiot, imo, regardless of how impressive his record has been (I've never heard of him so i don't know his record tbh). I doubt this was the first time he has put out inaccurate info. This was, imo, just the 1st time he did it so blatantly, and he got called on it.

I find it very troubling that in Nigeria, someone, ANYBODY, would criticize young people trying to make a LEGITIMATE living. Regardless of the quality of the music they put out. This guy just took a shit, not just on the industry, but a whole generation.

I don't think people in Nigeria really appreciate the impact the Nigerian Music Industry is having on this generation. I haven't been in Nigeria for about 14 years, and I'm working my ass off to make sure I can go back ASAP. I'll give anything to be a part of this whole movement. Like Banky W said, it is cool to be Naija. I'm trying hard to get rid of my accent, my girlfriend thinks i've run mad because i now, sometimes, accidentally speak to her in pidgin. . .I go around blasting "puyanga" in my car. I've even downloaded Naija songs, put them on CD and given to my friends that are DJ's to play at local parties that have nothing to do with Naija. A generation of people with the odds stacked against them have given Nigerians something to be proud of, and this agbaya won't just let them be. God punish am!!

Nice reply by Banky.

Succinctly defeating most of Abati's flawed arguments. You can't criticise someone like Timaya for using a stage name and praise Asa in the same breath, when their stage names are the same.

I personally even believe the country's name should be officially changed from Nigeria to Naija. I can't imagine anyone 'dreaming' about how a bloody colonialist named the country.

That said, some of the 'music' coming from naija these days is senseless - everybody wants to do a 'party track'.

debosky:


That said, some of the 'music' coming from naija these days is senseless - everybody wants to do a 'party track'.

It's a global phenomenon. . . . . . .
How sensible are Lil' Wayne and Soulja Boy?
Hip-hop has evolved, move with the tide Mr. Debosky.

~Sauron~:

It's a global phenomenon. . . . . . .
How sensible are Lil' Wayne and Soulja Boy?
Hip-hop has evolved, move with the tide Mr. Debosky.

I agree it's happening in other countries as well, but it's endemic in Nigeria at the moment.

debosky:

I agree it's happening in other countries as well, but it's endemic in Nigeria at the moment.

I like the madness in Naija abeg. . . . . .
Whenever i watch SKY 204, it's dancing/laughing time for me.
It's amusing to hear Igbo peops using Yoruba lyrics and vice versa. . . . . .

Ma best song now is "Ndoli Ndoli", who woulda thunk an Igbo song would be that funky after Oliver de Coque's gibberish back in em days?

Have you heard the 'who get this thing on the dancefloor'? I think it's Igbo too. Seriously, some of the songs are too daft.

There's even a song about Man Utd, Chelski, Liverpool and Arsenal - show your colour. Muppetry.

good to know that not all our artistes are school dropouts like Tuface 'direct entry, unsheathed' idibia or half baked like p square . i  have not read the entire banky w article, and i really don't care much for nigerian music, but i am impressed. i skimmed through rueben's article - it sounded like the geriatic rant of a geezer no longer with it - (we'll all get there evventually)

btw i think we'd all appreciate it if this kind of composure etal could leak into the nigerian music industry. where are the philosophical, socially conscious rappers ? etal. from where i stand its only asha .

oh well, just like in the us , socially concious rap etal doesn't sell records 

debosky:

There's even a song about Man Utd, Chelski, Liverpool and Arsenal - show your colour. Muppetry.  

THIS!!!

I have heard stupid songs but this one takes the cake.
"If u love ur club, show ur logo rah rah". . . . .What the Bleep is that?
The most annoying thing is the guy that sang it looks educated cos he was talking about what inspired him to do the song.
His English wasn't bad at all so i cannot fathom out why anyone with half-a-brain would do a song like that. . . .

Ohhhh. . . . . .I remember another one.
"Why? Tell me. . . .No network!!!"

i got to say thank you to banky W, this cat defend our generation so well, i love u
I really hate it when older cats try to diss our generation comparing it to thier s and the so called lost glory forgetting that the state of Nigeria today was caused by them.
they are always buck-swapping. they talk about everything from the decay of the university system to corruption.
they forget that the very university of today has people of their generation as lecturers (who ask and collect these bribes, who refuse to positively impact knowledge), the corruption and yahoo boys they forget that if these guys had something meaningful to look forward to they wouldn't not result to these type of acts. they talk about the fashion and music they forget that what counts is a persons character not his outward appearance (martin luther king) and for christ sakes fashion evolves over time and it did not just spring up all of a sudden.

debosky:

I agree it's happening in other countries as well, but it's endemic in Nigeria at the moment.

That doesn't mean it's wrong . . . at the end of the day, the consumers control the market
Barrister and Kollington Ayinla and SSP all used to do that exact same thing . . . no one complained

debosky:

I personally even believe the country's name should be officially changed from Nigeria to Naija. I can't imagine anyone 'dreaming' about how a bloody colonialist named the country.

cosigned

Krayola:

I kinda understand where you are coming from. . .  But Abati is a journalist. One of the most respected in the country. If
I find it very troubling that in Nigeria, someone, ANYBODY, would criticize young people trying to make a LEGITIMATE living. Regardless of the quality of the music they put out. This guy just took a shit, not just on the industry, but a whole generation.

I don't think people in Nigeria really appreciate the impact the Nigerian Music Industry is having on this generation. I haven't been in Nigeria for about 14 years, and I'm working my ass off to make sure I can go back ASAP. I'll give anything to be a part of this whole movement. Like Banky W said, it is cool to be Naija. I'm trying hard to get rid of my accent, my girlfriend thinks i've run mad because i now, sometimes, accidentally speak to her in pidgin. . .I go around blasting "puyanga" in my car. I've even downloaded Naija songs, put them on CD and given to my friends that are DJ's to play at local parties that have nothing to do with Naija. A generation of people with the odds stacked against them have given Nigerians something to be proud of, and this agbaya won't just let them be. God punish am!!

. . . . . . .  lol


The older generation should be ashamed of themselves for plunging naija in the mess it is in today and Mr Abati should be ashamed of himself for doing' cut and paste' for most of that silly article.  

I love Nigeria Naija!!

eldee:

That doesn't mean it's wrong . . . at the end of the day, the consumers control the market
Barrister and Kollington Ayinla and SSP all used to do that exact same thing . . . no one complained

Don't get me wrong mate - it's not the fact that many people are doing it. In fact, I'm glad many musicians are singing in our languages now. What I'm not pleased about is that even people with no musical talent come up with some crazed name and release a 'party track'.

Ruben is obviously out of touch though, anyone who hates gongo aso should be in an old people's home.

rapjunkie:

cosigned

. . . . . . .  lol


The older generation should be ashamed of themselves for plunging naija in the mess it is in today and Mr Abati should be ashamed of himself for doing' cut and paste' for most of that silly article.  

I love Nigeria Naija!!

i am not a fan of abati and his type but what most of you here seems to ignore is that nigeria has nothing in place for the drugs, hopelessness and moraly vacum that goes with the lifestyle he is condemning.

take europe as a case study. majority of the price europe is paying today are the result of the stupidity and free love
generation of the 60s and 70s. lets not do america today.

what is in place to bail out nigerians when the bottom cave in? you wish the music and entertainment industry will give you the solutions.

I rather listen to 9ice than waste my ear drums on King Sunny Ade or Obesere.

this is no topic,

for d bad lyrics put out , good one

The lesson that i want every nairalanders to learn here is that it is good to be educated. If not, Mr. Abati would have gone away with his write-up. Being educated is no little weapen of self-defence when its come to things like this.

Naija 4 life.

eldee:

That doesn't mean it's wrong . . . at the end of the day, the consumers control the market
Barrister and Kollington Ayinla and SSP all used to do that exact same thing . . . no one complained

Exactly. . .The music business has always been the same.


Music is about expression. . ."do you!!!". Not everybody is "conscious", not everybody is educated, not everyone likes to dance etc. But music transcends all of that. We are all guilty of having, at some point, been crazy about some dumb song that made no sense!

Most of the people that have posted on this topic are better educated than Beyonce, Jay z, Michael Jackson, Eminem etc. I think I can even say our Nigerian artistes (as far as pop culture goes) are some of the best educated on the planet. An artistes job is to entertain u, not to educate u, inspire u or whateva. If he/she can do all these things at the same time, great!! It makes him/her much more appreciated by a larger audience. But those are not the qualities that make an artiste, its about how well u get across to ur audience. What does ur stage name have to do with anything? That mongrel wrote like 2 long ass paragraphs on that. . .just blowing grammar for nothin 

I don't mean to sound so confrontational but this man is obviously clueless about a lot of things.  I've never seen such well written garbage in my life! That is a really long article he wrote. . . at some point he must have stopped to think about what he was writing. He doesn't know any better. He is a good writer, but I wouldn't take anything that comes from him very seriously, on whatever issue.

eldees response is so so on point

Very articulated and incisive
im impressed!!!

Banky W too
these guys just blew my mind
Tot they were morons
oh shit, Abati wont be able to sleep. hes been fcked up by the 'commons'
very nice

tkb417:

eldees response is so so on point

Very articulated and incisive
im impressed!!!

Banky W too
these guys just blew my mind
Tot they were morons
oh shit, Abati wont be able to sleep. hes been fcked up by the 'commons'
very nice

See this old man dey try to join our younger crew . . .
Abeg ooh . . . stick to your Kollington and Raskimono, no dey form youngie with us
Next thing now, 55-year old Doyin go wan join

Krayola:

Exactly. . .The music business has always been the same.


Music is about expression. . ."do you!!!". Not everybody is "conscious", not everybody is educated, not everyone likes to dance etc. But music transcends all of that. We are all guilty of having, at some point, been crazy about some dumb song that made no sense!

Most of the people that have posted on this topic are better educated than Beyonce, Jay z, Michael Jackson, Eminem etc. I think I can even say our Nigerian artistes (as far as pop culture goes) are some of the best educated on the planet. An artistes job is to entertain u, not to educate u, inspire u or whateva. If he/she can do all these things at the same time, great!! It makes him/her much more appreciated by a larger audience. But those are not the qualities that make an artiste, its about how well u get across to ur audience. What does ur stage name have to do with anything? That mongrel wrote like 2 long ass paragraphs on that. . .just blowing grammar for nothin

I don't mean to sound so confrontational but this man is obviously clueless about a lot of things. I've never seen such well written garbage in my life! That is a really long article he wrote. . . at some point he must have stopped to think about what he was writing. He doesn't know any better. He is a good writer, but I wouldn't take anything that comes from him very seriously, on whatever issue.

That's a bit harsh . . . but all the same, you made my day

chei! children of nowadays no get respect again. Na Uncle Rueben una dey call by name so

Uncle Rueben no mind them jare. Its part of the thing you are talking about abi? We are following the americans and british by calling our father's mates by name. no respect at all!

By the way sef, Uncle Rueben, where were you when Kwara State Givernor (a man from your own generation) brought in Beyonce and JayZ to Nigeria and named a street after JayZ in Kwara state? or have you not attended several ThisDay shows organised by Nduka Obaigbena (another member of your generation) with all the american 'role models' in attendance, the most recent one with R.Kelly who just escaped jail for sexual offences. Maybe you did not hear that one of the governors (another sad reminder of your generation) flew in 50cents for his wife's bday party?

And you also talked about us having the wrong role models. Please sir, name one role model from your generation. From all the 36 thieves who call themselves governors to the numerous ministers or even you journalists from your own constituency who go behind and collect brown envelopes and plots of land in Abuja from Waziri and co. Are these the people we should model ourselves after?

Like Banky rightly said, we are willing to learn but where are the teachers?