@deb we have heard it that raw

dbanj, oko yato si koko

dick is bigger than koko

gbam

all in all, i believe RAbati went too far in his critique. even though he is a respected figure in Nigeria & beyond doesn't give him the audacity to pounce on the youths in this manner. these same youths who look up to & rever him. well, its good it happened this soon rather than later when the effect of the betrayal would have been severely catastrophic & of  the degree of an avalanche or tsunami.

thumbs up for the responses, they were timely.

@deb we have heard it that raw

dbanj, oko yato si koko

privates is bigger than koko

gbam

Well, he simply followed the example of the older generation.
However, that is not to justify the koko master though.
I just want to condemn the hypocrisy by Reuben Abati

great responses from Eldee and Banky W. they are informed, confident and articulate. abeg what does Tuface have to say? or the other one trying to beat fela's record with his koko mansion?

mr.abati

I think he should be ashamed of himself for shooting himself in the foot!!

i think REUBEN ABATI SHOULD CHANGE HIS NAME TO OLODORABATI

very interesting topic i read the article and the replies twice and all the responses
my observations

1. The topic in question is one which is dear to tht heart of our generation as it is one of the areas where we have éxcelled

2. Mr Abati though factually wrong in certain of his comments is wrong to blame the identity crisis on this present youth as these has predated us ala SAP, june 12 bla bla

3. Mr Abati is right in that indigenous Nigerian music has been subsumed into the phenomenon called hiphop

4. Banky's response sweet

5. Eldee (not so sweet) but if you accuse a man for putting food on his table, u asked for it

6. As Sauron righly noted, there is rubbish in hiphop across the world like me i dont listen to lil wayne (apart from a few of his collabos) but men pple love that guy, thats cool everyman's fish is anothers poison

7. There is variety in the world and thr pple have spoken they love dbanj, timaya, p2 etc and it is being supported by money for these guys.

8. We have the opportunity to observe this social experiment. in another 20 years will pple remember dbanj etc time will tell

I think Abati's write-up was of displaced aggression. He was talking to nonsense to his last child who decided not to listen to the gibberish but was busy jamming NAIJA HIP HOP. So when the time for writing came, there was no other thing than to blame creative youths for his child's behaviour. So please, Naija Youths, pardon the 'yesteryears' man.

Mr Abati said the truth in realness of heart but was a little bit wack, yet Banky W and Eldee's responses were wacker. Songs from Banky W is still makes a lot of sense unlike the weather like Eldee who kept switching from following his heart to singing for money a fading commodity. Whether anybody likes it or not,Mr Abati has told the truth thuogh some incomplete research works. Eldee's reply was just a piece of crap for a wise mind Imean not dummies. Banky, pls kip up the good work like I heard your track for HipHopawards and it is complete sense. Eldee, you ain't keeping it real, you are a fake.So go to hellll

^^^^ Na wa!!!

Lol @ ofokasibe OlodoRabati. And dejiariyo, D'banj said Koko yato si koko. There was no oko in the line. I'm not saying these has not been vulgar but this generation didn't invent most of the crimes they are charged with

The man shot himself with a PRG!

Friends, it is unfortunate that most of you choose to follow the crowd. Mr Abati may have not stated clearly his points but I tell you, he sure got some valid points that in 10years some of you will confirm the reality of these points.
Music is a very powerful tool and our young people who are my colleagues are gradually destroying the moral fiber of this generation. Come to think of it. I am ignorant I agree but I like to ask some questions and I would want us to answer in 10years time.

1. What does most of these Naija hip hop titles have that can encourage youth to live right?
(when South Africa had the apartheid issue most of their musicians sang to fight the oppressors, why are not our youth focus on themes that encourage moral uprightness)
2. Why are the artistes exploiting the populace both commercially and morally? (go to the secondary schools you do be shocked at the level of immoralty, if you thought you were bad now you will see worse, it is not so easy more than ever to communicate your immoral desires, no thanks to our wonderful crop of artiste, they come out to say play safe AIDS is Real and go out to MO CAPABLE, please ) am no hater, just an ignoramo
3. What do you think will become of Nigeria in 50 years when laboratories and science courses are deserted all for the fame of Entertainment? we do be worse than Malawi by then, I pray this thread wouldn't have been deleted by then

4.Do you think it is wise for Glo to give millions to artiste while we have scientist roasting away? , do you think Intel (the processor maker) will do that?
5. Friends , honestly do you guys think if you grew up under the influence of these kind of music , think deeply please, do you think you do be anything close to who you are now? Even the worst of MJ was far better than what these guys feed the airwaves with?

6. Catastrophe do not start one day nor earth quake instantly, it starts gradually, when these money, fame crazy guys achieve all their objectives , I pray and wonder what will be left to the society? I know certainly whatever a man sows , he shall reap, whether be good or bad, time will tell?
Today we look back at Micheal Jackson and we say something? History will judge thank God they know, if MJ could go broke, hehehehehe , then I wonder what commercial success is worth destroying the moral value that a little secondary school student could keep.



See as ignorant as I am , I am very close to foreign aid Health assisted projects and the statistics are staggering, do not be deceive friends, musicians are not bringing any development compared to the irreparable damage they are doing to the moral fibre of our society , anything that destroys the future is wicked,

My point is true Nigeria may not be the best place and our leaders may have done badly but it does not justify us to become irresponsible. Hence just making anything as long as makes you rich and popular,
Look at the girls they parade on tv, how much do they pay to these unfortunate children, watch the videos, did you see what the initial ogbono feli feli video (the one that was band), what was the aim? let all these musicians educate us on the aim or the objectives of some of the things they do, I just want to know,

I appreciate their creativity but they should be mindful of the long term effect of their actions and inactions, some damage may not be proportionate with immediate gain,

as I said am ignorant, just think about what am trying to say, something is fundamentally wrong and if not check very soon we will lose the only thing we have that the whole world envy culture, morals, fear of God, etc


and by the way , why Eldee run come back Nigeria, just a joke



















remember I am ignorant,

akinnaija:

Friends, it is unfortunate that most of you choose to follow the crowd. Mr Abati may have not stated clearly his points but I tell you, he sure got some valid points that in 10years some of you will confirm the reality of these points.Music is a very powerful tool and our young people who are my colleagues are gradually destroying the moral fiber of this generation. Come to think of it. I am ignorant I agree but I like to ask some questions and I would want us to answer in 10years time.

No one has argued that fact but again on most issues he was plain wrong and shot himself in the foot. He quoted Fela as a role model. But mind you Fela had 27 wives, smoked gbana and performed half naked on stage. Still we love the man, his music and legacy. We did NOT critise him the way Reuben Abati is lambasting the young and upcoming artistes.Criticizing is easy, art is difficult.

akinnaija:

1. What does most of these Naija hip hop titles have that can encourage youth to live right?
(when South Africa had the apartheid issue most of their musicians sang to fight the oppressors, why are not our youth focus on themes that encourage moral uprightness)

Did you ask the goverment (and his generation) why they have failed this current generation? How immoral were they? Practise what you preach. No need to quote holiness when you (as a person) are far from it.
There are good songs and there are classics. Not all hip-hop artistes sing about sex, money, yahoo etc. We've got some very sensible ones. Do you want examples?

akinnaija:

2. Why are the artistes exploiting the populace both commercially and morally? (go to the secondary schools you do be shocked at the level of immoralty, if you thought you were bad now you will see worse, it is not so easy more than ever to communicate your immoral desires, no thanks to our wonderful crop of artiste, they come out to say play safe AIDS is Real and go out to MO CAPABLE, please ) am no hater, just an ignoramo

Listen, Do you know what atrocities were committed in those days? Now we get to hear more because the medium is there but you can't put the blame on this generation. Leopards give birth to leopards.

akinnaija:

3. What do you think will become of Nigeria in 50 years when laboratories and science courses are deserted all for the fame of Entertainment? we do be worse than Malawi by then, I pray this thread wouldn't have been deleted by then

Are you saying we should ban music in naija in order to have scientists? 
Sorry but I don't get it. How many scientist do we have today or in the past?

akinnaija:

4.Do you think it is wise for Glo to give millions to artiste while we have scientist roasting away? , do you think Intel (the processor maker) will do that?

And to pay 50 cents 50 million is wise? To bring Beyonce for mad fees for Reuben Abati to grop at is wise? Is that what you are saying.
You just like Abati shot yourself in the foot. Do you know that Intel partnered with Moby, for his nation wide tour. They sponsored his One music festival. In addition to Moby, Outkast, Incubus, New Order, the Roots and Nelly Furtado also took part. Now I'm not sure they did this for free.
Marketing bro. . .thats what it is.

akinnaija:

5. Friends , honestly do you guys think if you grew up under the influence of these kind of music , think deeply please, do you think you do be anything close to who you are now? Even the worst of MJ was far better than what these guys feed the airwaves with?

You ever listened to 9ice? Fact is most people may feel inspired by his tracks. And Ajasa's "talents they waste"?- Every single word is mentioned was for real.
What about Paul Play "IK Dairo"-Mo so ri re o? Don't tell me that ain't a good song?
Even 2 face's- African queen is a classic. Makes you wanna tell your loved ones how much you care about them. It's inspiration in a way? No? Again check yourself.

akinnaija:

6. Catastrophe do not start one day nor earth quake instantly, it starts gradually, when these money, fame crazy guys achieve all their objectives , I pray and wonder what will be left to the society? I know certainly whatever a man sows , he shall reap, whether be good or bad, time will tell?
T[b]oday we look back at Micheal Jackson and we say something? History will judge thank God they know, if MJ could go broke, [/b] hehehehehe , then I wonder what commercial success is worth destroying the moral value that a little secondary school student could keep.

How many Michael Jacksons (R.I.P) do you know in the world of music in the past and of today?  The guy is a legend. He is a standard by which every other artiste is compared. A musical signature that cannot be duplicated. You have no idea what creative energy and support was put into his music.
Life is unpredictable and anything can happen so that he got broke don't mean same nothing. IT IS THE LEGACY he left behind that matters.
But then you cannot hide the fact that Nigerian artistes need to make money. Blimey! everybody need money!

akinnaija:

See as ignorant as I am , I am very close to foreign aid Health assisted projects and the statistics are staggering, do not be deceive friends, musicians are not bringing any development compared to the irreparable damage they are doing to the moral fibre of our society , anything that destroys the future is wicked,


My point is true Nigeria may not be the best place and our leaders may have done badly but it does not justify us to become irresponsible. Hence just making anything as long as makes you rich and popular,
Look at the girls they parade on tv, how much do they pay to these unfortunate children, watch the videos, did you see what the initial ogbono feli feli video (the one that was band), what was the aim? let all these musicians educate us on the aim or the objectives of some of the things they do, I just want to know,

I appreciate their creativity but they should be mindful of the long term effect of their actions and inactions, some damage may not be proportionate with immediate gain,

as I said am ignorant, just think about what am trying to say, something is fundamentally wrong and if not check very soon we will lose the only thing we have that the whole world envy culture, morals, fear of God, etc
and by the way , why Eldee run come back Nigeria, just a joke
remember I am ignorant,

As bad as some video are, they are some good ones. Can you remember that even before there were no music video. Those that were available cannot just be watched. Very very poor quality.
Now that we have, it is no surprise that some of them are simply irritating or as you put it, immoral.
May I also remind you that there are ones with the good messages. Charlie boy is an inspiration to many (I presume) and I learnt he shot a Indecency flick. Do you mean to say that after that all Okada riders started and became big time actors in Indecency flicks?
Everyone in Nigeria cannot be holy and everyone cannot be bad. This is where parents come in and sensor what their wards watch and listen to.

PS: Those who criticize our generation forget who raised it.

Wait o everybody. We keep saying his generation, his generation. How old is Abati sef?
The man was born in 1965. A lot of people in this forum are close to that age lol (44). If we do a demographic exercise; we have a lot of 30+ in this forum, is that a lie? If u ask Abati too, he will tell you that is own generation was also affected by the older ones lol.
My own thots are as follows:
Abati was way off his marks in this. Mentioning names directly was not right. We all know a lot of the songs are plain meaningless but there is a better way to write and not elicit such a response. His hasty generalization of Nigerian youths as OLODOs (Well he did literally) also was a shot in his leg. Next time, he will face his role as a government critic. LOL
My biggest grouse with him is adding Rooftop MCs to his list. Shuoooooo.

And I think he has a very thick skin.
Till date; he has not responded to the allegations against him concerning the ABUJA land allocations. I find that very strange.
And if you must know, he returned to his turf today by writing about the FG/Niger Delta amnesty.
O ga gan ni. If u are waiting to hear from Abati on this, you might be like the proverbial man waiting on the shores of a river - trying to capture the breathings of a crab.

hayo:

And I think he has a very thick skin.
Till date; he has not responded to the allegations against him concerning the ABUJA land allocations. I find that very strange.
And if you must know, he returned to his turf today by writing about the FG/Niger Delta amnesty.
O ga gan ni. If u are waiting to hear from Abati on this, you might be like the proverbial man waiting on the shores of a river - trying to capture the breathings of a crab.

Topics like that (also Corruption, Electoral malpractices e.t.c) are usually safe, unlike critiques of Sports, Music, Film which may get reaction from people who are not politicians.

@ deji ariyo:
its is : koko yato si koko, pls go and listen to it well and stop following ur so call abati,

After Banky's bold belling of the cat, next thing you know is Eldee's show of irritation and Dare Art Alade's fan whatever invading my face book page on the matter, why do people seek cheap publicity by any means?

Two wrongs will never make a right! NEVER!

I am an avid reader of Abati's weekly columns though i enjoy his style of writing but i disagree with how he forces HIS opinions as though they are law. He can sound like a Saint waiting to be canonised (wheras actual saints talk like human beings who understand the very weakness of being human) I think this tendency has unfortunately put him in bad light in his article.

I agree with Banky W's beautiful and tacit reply, but still i admit that, despite Abati's obvious errors, he has some truths here and there.

To accuse the young generation of depravity as though we started or they did not exist in his own time is most unfortunate for man who i believe is deep and has sound grasp socialolgical issue.

The lewd lyrics he is screaming blue murder only developed from his generation, I am sure his elders would have complained about how bad his generation was.

THE FACT IS THAT what we all need to do is to admit this problem and work on stemming it.
We should be careful not to endorse depravity in our generation because Abati's careless and ignorant condemnation of an entire generation as the authour of a wayward and dissident culture.

We should ignore him and create positve change wherever we find ourselves. That's about the most we can do in our quest for human fulfilment.

I think Banky W's reply should be put as a RE:To Reuben Abati's write-up in the guardian newspaper

i really respect abati but he messed up this time


on the other hand, i'm waitin for the response of seriously indigenous artistes banky w n eldee hav been yankielized. . . . lol

Bunch of Low life nonsense!

hi,am a nairaland guy,27 dis yr,5ft 11,engineer,and ll like to make friends;08065287656-dbells

RA really dissapointed moi,

@ FBS thank you for the enlightenment but please let us not be simple in our reasoning.

I strongly reject the pointing of finger to a generation for the decadence we are experiencing, obviously the whole world is going gaga, all you need to see to understand that fact is just the newspaper headlines.

Now my point of contention is the fact that our artiste should educate us on the motives behind their songs.

after all people like Fela had motives, he claimed "emancipation of the common man". Even Fela's music was not available for all to hear on the airwaves because there was a restriction , something to do about royalty


check this out and draw a conclusion use you good mind please ,

INTRO
Yeahhhh
I'm back at y'all (2x)

CHORUS
Gongo aso, kutupu ahu, anywhere I dey now
Gongo aso, kutupu ahu, any show I go now
Ajisebi Oyo Laari, Oyo o'sebi Baba eni kankan
I be double now, aiye nlo, e' o ri nkan

VERSE 1
Gongo aso, you know am on fire no be beans talk
Gongo aso, you know eni foju ana woku ebora abalaso
This time no dulling
Everywhere wey I dey na party
Hennessy nlo, Moet nlo, Baccardi nlo [nloooo]
We no go stop, till the break of dawn, bebe nlo [nloooo]
Forget say you owe money
Call your pady dem make una join body
Chikitos dey there dem wan follow judi
Party jolly, jolly party
Fidi gbodi, make u shack scordi
Make your eye dirty
From now till eternity

REPEAT CHORUS

VERSE 2
You be government worker you collect salary
Ka mari, kin ma gbomi gbin
Kin ma jaiye ori mi before I play lotto
No be me
You know am ghetto solder
Khaki no be leather
Every friday for sandra's bar
Laroda ojo that kain weather
Life is too short you know
Nobody knows tomorrow
Dance away your sorrow
Do like no tommorrow
Money speaking, speaking
Any idea waiting, waiting
Tin ba je demi
Aiye a gbo
Oorun a mo
Gongo aso [you know]

REPEAT CHORUS

VERSE 3
Gongo aso, otiso, ewo ile ewo enu oko
Gongo aso, otiso, see people on the floor
Gongo aso, otiso, my personality no matter at all
Gongo aso, otiso, all I want is catch some fun
Gongo aso, tin ba nsile
Gongo aso, if I buy bentley
Gongo aso, kilode
Gongo aso, eje kin jaiye mi
Eje kin saye mi
Eje kin jaiye mi,
Saiye mi, saiye mi

REPEAT CHORUS (x2)

OUTRO
E juru, e juru, e juru, e juru
E juru, e juru, Maami
E juru
9ice, u no understand
Bebe nlo (echo out

See I just need someone to educate me, whatever is too much is bad, our hiphop artiste should take time to come up with lyrics that can ginger the youn minds to become advocates of positive change not just to tend towards frivolities,


Please our future is at stake Abati generation don go, this write up or criticism needn't have come from him, one of us should have written it,

sorry I had to continue no thanks to PHCN, juice finished on my other laptop, hence I conclude here


@FBS , am glad you took time out to respond to my ignorantly typed text. I appreciate some of your point and I must say I learnt one or two things. Thank you.

Now I must tell you that, you please understand my point, I only have one single motive in putting up this write up and if I have a national or broader platform to comment I do do the same, which is our artiste have got great power to set us free from the situation we are at the moment and they should think of the greater good of all as against the personal ambition.

My point is that they should prick the hearts of the young to stand up for a better Naija not the one of frivolities.

I am in Nigeria and in my early 30s , schooled in Unilag comfortable in Abuja. I know what am talking about. I was in Unilag when this whole entertainment revolution started

when I was in Unilag, TA , Behind, Teju,IK, Eldee n co, etc were also on campus

can you imagine if DJ Azeez sings a song dat informs his fans on the importance of education, he will gain much more than money and fame that ofokasibe begets, I have been to extensive northern corners of this nations and I see boys who can't even write or spell their names singing ofokasibe(funny though) but it shows you the power music has.
Please muse the minds towards greater good, the power is in your hands now Naija artiste do what our fathers have failed to do for decades with this great instrument in your hands.

Money and fame will fade but influence on lives will remain a legacy.

Is any of you guys in Abuja, why don't we arrange an under the tree discussion where we look at issue objectively not on this forum where we try to flaunt our intellectual prowess.

Thank you , remember, I am ignorant

There may be a few Nigerians who share Mr Abati’s sentiments and I will blame that on a lack of exposure, lack of wisdom or the need for enlightenment. This cannot be tolerated especially when it is being voiced by a journalist who holds such a crucial position in our media.

@eldee
why do you discredit yourself by attacking those who don't agree with you? by the way, i am very enlightened, and i do not lack exposure or wisdom ( in fact i am blessed with this in excess abundance).

I may not be a fan of Banky W and a lot of the new school musicians, but that piece was an excellent response: almost flawless. One would have almost thought the guy was a journalist. I liked his classy response and how he took the high road without insulting the Mr. Abati but just pointing the facts to him.

Having said all that, the only flaw that i have in the article is this.

And for the record: for every "Anoti" by MI, he has a "Crowd Mentality" or a "Talk about it". For a Naeto C's "Ki Ni Big Deal", he has a "The Devil is a Liar".

He could have explained why he used "anoti", "talk about it", and "the devils is a liar" as an illustration for example he could have rephrased it like this;

for every shallow hit like "Anoti" (by MI), the artistes also has a more introspective and reflective track like "Crowd Mentality" and for every "Ki Ni Big Deal" (by popular rapper Naeto C), there is a song like "The Devil is a Liar" that gives us a view of the artistes religious.
Either way, this was AN EXCELLENT RESPONSE. I still can't believe that a Nigerian can actually write this without name calling and insults. omo u too much.

Mr Abati's article on the other hand was waaaaaaaaaaaaay too long. He should have used only 2 examples, instead he kept on reciting the lyrics and the artistes who created them. Its as if he was trying to show that he was "current" and well informed and he just went on and on giving waaaaaaaaaaay too many examples. The man should have used at least a maximum of 3 examples.

@ Akinnaija . . . Fela did not start off making "conscious" music. It was later in his career that he went in that direction. He was also one of marijuana and promiscuity's biggest advocates, as has been stated several times on this thread.

"Ashewo to fi activator pa irun obo, ki wo sun falapa, ke mi sun falapa, kin gbe oko s'obo, e yin ibon s'obo, gbas!! gbas!! . . ." Fela taught me that at my one and only visit to shrine. I heard it just once when I was about 14, It has stuck in my head ever since . . Fokasibe ain't got nutn on that.

An artiste can express whatever he/she chooses. He/she is the aritiste after all.  If you want to be educated, go to a library,read a book. . .but even then not all authors write educational books. . .some just entertain.

What is the government's responsiblity?

What is a journalists responsibility?

What is a parent's responsibility?

These are people whose responsibilities you are deferring to an artiste. They do not have a choice in the matter. . .they MUST lead by example (maybe that is debatable for a journalist, but they have set standards to be followed that Abati obviously didn't).  An artiste makes a product for sale in a free market-place. He/she can do as he/she wishes, and as long as there is an audience willing to support him/her, that is all the justification needed, IMO . . .  as long as he/she operates within the limits of the law.

People buy music because they CHOOSE to hear it. Let us learn to respect people's choice, and not try to impose our own on them.

I think Mr. Abati is loosing it. Some of his recent articles have not hit the mark at all. People's taste in music differ, just like everythig else. There are people who will rather buy Tribune than buy Guardian, does that mean that they are not wise. I am extremely proud of the achivements of our Naija musicians. There used to be a time when you go to a party in Nigeria and its only foreign music that is played, but things have changed. I came back to Naija a few weeks ago for my brother's wedding and at the bachelor's party the music of Nigerian artistes were played non stop for the almost 8 hours that I was there. I was really proud.

If we want to blame anybody for the moral laxity in Naija( i will continue to use Naija hoping Mr. Abati will continue to be pissed off) it is definitely not this set of artiste. Where do you want to put politicians who steal our inheritance and turn young girls into prostitutes. Are these artistes also responsible for jobless graduates who turn into 419ners and robbers (please note am not making excuses for this set of people). These artistes have provided employment for more people than Mr. Abati and his Guardian newspapers. He should find more important topics to write about