Apology to Innocent Tuface Idibia

Tuface. Source:http://www.naijaloaded.com.ng/

Electric power influences everything in a nation. We are a nation in which jobs have become elusive, with the population of the unemployed climbing every day. I am lucky that I have a job that has saved my life from ridicule. However, I have had a number of experiences that showed me how regressive, a paucity of electricity supply or lack of it causes a community, region or nation.

One painful thing about the power supply is not the fact that it hardly comes, but the fact that you cannot predict when it will come. If one is certain that every morning there will be electricity, he would wait to accomplish whatever task that demands electricity the use of electricity. Sadly, however, the supply pattern is never predictable. If the few hours of supply come with a rhythm that one can predict, however, it would be better than an unpredictable pattern that can be of no use to one.

It was after I joined a writing forum, online, that I saw, vividly, how lame power cables can slow down the progress of a nation. In the forum, called Fanstory, there are members from all parts of the world –Australia, USA, Canada, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Germany, Jamaica …  On Fanstory,  which is a union of authors, you write and then post. Other members will read your post and write reviews. Since I, at times, stay for days without electricity, it is the reason why I don’t always post: I will stay for days without logging on to the site. By the time power returned, other members would have posted uncountable numbers of short stories, book chapters, poems, scripts, etc. Each time I post a single stuff other members would have posted dozens of their work pieces.

Every month, I often buy up to 3 Gigabites of data for my browsing, but I never use all of it due to power shortages, or lack of it. On the 10th of May for instance, I lost 1.4 Gigabite of data at expiration because there was no electric power for a greater period of the month. I felt like crying, losing that amount of data. Yet, at the end of the month, the power authorities brought a funny bill, expecting me to pay for electric power not supplied, a service not provided. I just laughed and threw slap across the face of their manager.

This brings me to the purpose of this article. Some years back, I discovered Nigerian pop music King, Innocent “Tuface” Idibia, let loose a brand new album titled Away and Beyond into the market. I bought the album to listen to it and write a review, but there was no electricity. So, I resorted to buying fuel to power my electric Gen and play the album. Since I was not using electricity, I never settled down to listen to the songs adequately. Usually a music album is most understood when heard for a good number of times. I listened to Away and Beyond hastily and, in the end, I wrote a review that wrote off the album as the worst album Tuface has ever released. I remembered writing that Tuface’s fame and fortune had made him lazy and explained the horrible nature of that album, that he needed more time to spend his money than the time to make new albums.

A few years later, there was news that Tuface’s wife had given birth to a bouncing baby child. The story as I monitored it on one of Nigeria’s music channels had the video of Blood on the Dance Floor, a song from that very album. But, since I never listened to the album, adequately, I was unaware that the song, which turned out to be a hit based on my judgment, was from that very album that I had reviewed. The album was tucked somewhere in my CD rack. Funny enough, I had to go online looking for the song to download when it was, actually, in my room.

One day, when something let me to play the album again. I, then, discovered Blood on the Dance Floor was in it. That beautiful song was not the only good one, but there were many other good songs from the album, as well. They were songs Usman “the Wizzle” Agio had often played in his show on Peace FM, Jos. I had thought the songs were singles, each time he played them. My conclusion now (sincerely speaking) is that the album is the best album Tuface has ever done.

I felt extremely bad that I had branded the album as the worst in Tuface’s music history. Remembering that many had read the review, I was left wondering how people had rated my status as a music reviewer.

Nightingale writes this apology to Tuface for the injustice the review did to him. It is what the notorious power authorities, an organization that is riddled with corruption to the pit of its rectum, caused. We pray Tuface accepts Nightingale’s apology.

 As a Nigerian, Tuface makes me proud each time he performs overseas. I feel the pride the most when songs from that very album are featured in the concert, as they exude maturity and sophistication.

I am not sure I will find justice if I should take the Power Holdings of Nigeria Plc to court; as birds of the same feathers, the judiciary and the power authorities are sympathetic of each other. I pray things change with the new government.

OB Vans Relayed Joe Black's Shows

Joe Black

In the 1980s Radio Plateau, now the AM arm of Peace FM Jos, alongside night clubs such as Nenman Night Club, Murtala Mohammed Way; Jockeys, Ndagi Farouk Close and the club section of Tati Hotel, Gada Biyu created a feel of New York and Hollywood in Jos. They did this playing the big music names of one of the most extraordinary music eras in world’s music history, the Disco era.

There were DJs who led this colorful era of music life in Jos.  Some were exclusively on radio, others on TV and a last group that were in the clubs, solely. There were names like Nansel Nimyel, Daniel David Dalyop, Joshua Pwajok, Uncle Steve, Steve Amok, Sholly Brown … Joe Black was however, the most conspicuous of them and was sought all over. Hence he was on TV, radio and the clubs.

When I met Joe Black at Tudun Wada suburb of Jos, I could not believe what I saw. He was younger than I thought he should be. He used to wear an Afro hairstyle. When I met him, however, he was clean-shaven and remained as slim as he was back then, still exuding the darkness that earned them the last of his stage name, “Black.”

Joe Black was born Christian Osume by an Urhobo father who was attracted to Jos by tin mining.  Joe Black went to St. Paul Primary School, Jos and then a number of secondary schools that spanned through Commonwealth College of Commerce in Jos; Gyel Commercial College (now Zang Secondary-Commercial School); Jula Daco High School and eventually St. Finbarr’s College Akoka in Lagos. St Finbarr’s had a band from which he learnt drumming. He said, however, that his major interest was Disc Jockeying. As a result he joined renowned DJs in Lagos to play in clubs. Some DJs with whom he worked in Lagos included Patrick Oke that used to present Pop around the World on radio over there in Lagos. The others included Jacob Akinwunmi Johnson (J-A-J), who still works with Rhythm FM today; Kelly Moore, Black Stone and many others.

Satisfied with his experience in Lagos, Joe Black returned to Jos to lead the definition of the extraordinary era. He presented music shows on NTA Jos, Tin City Showcase with Musa Azores on Plateau Television or PTV, for short. PTV is now the TV arm of Plateau Radio and Television Corporation (PRTV). Joe Black says Tin City Showcase was inspired by Don Cornelius’s Soul Train in the US.

 Joe Black gives credit to Fred Chagu for his rise to the spotlight. Fred Chagu was an actor who starred in Behind the Cloud television series that used to be produced at NTA Jos and transmitted across the country on Sundays.

On Radio, his most spectacular show were The Big Beats on Saturday afternoon on Radio Plateau (AM arm of PRTVC) and another, later in the day. The letter show used to happen in the clubs but was relayed through radio, using PTV Outside Broadcasting (OB) Van that was driven to the club premises.  When Joe Black left the radio, the evening show came to be hosted by Steve Amanga Amok, better known as Papa Steve Amok. This time, Steve hosted the show directly from the studio of the FM arm that was already operational at the time.

Pop musicians also define fashion and so it would have been incomplete to talk about the Disco Era without discussing fashion. The trousers where tight at the hips but opened up at the feet. They were known as pantaloons overhear and, at times, “keep Lagos clean.” The shoes were the high heel shoes with layers varying from three to four. Hairstyle was the huge ball of hair known as Afro. Joe black said girls use to weave his hair. They would then unravel it just hours before going to the night club. The aim was to make it as huge as possible. Often, hot-picks could be used to condition the hair to give a striking Afro look.

Joe Black now runs a recreation center at Tudun Wada, Jos where people pay to play games and watch European league matches.

How to Become a Music Maestro

By Yiro Abari High

Chapter One: Introduction

In keeping with tradition, this book begins with definitions of terms that are inescapable and fundamental to the understanding of the subject of the book.

Sound

Sound is a sensation that is perceived by the ear and which is caused by air vibration. If one should strike the leather surface of a musical drum, it vibrates. The vibration is relayed to the surrounding air. The air, in turn, relays the vibration further until it reaches the ear. The sensation this causes to the ear is called sound.

Beat

In chemistry, an atom is the building unit of matter. In biology, the cell is the building unit of organisms. In music, the building unit of sound is the beat. Music beats are commonly referred to as musical notes.

Music

A regular arrangement of sound notes constitutes music. By technical implication, an irregular configuration of sound notes gives rise to noise.

Melody

Melody is the audio identity of a song. Melody is what comes out when sound notes are arranged in a distinct way. The basis of melody in a song is in the uniqueness of the time gap between successive notes, the pitch variation of the notes or both.

If one should take two sets of five notes each and of the same pitch intensity but modify the time lapse between the notes in each case, he ends up with two distinct melodies. In a second case, if he maintains the same time lapse between the notes in the two cases but modifies the pitch intensities of the notes, he ends up with another set of distinct melodies.

Rhythm

The time gap between the first and the last in a train of musical notes which are played repeatedly in the course of a song is known as the rhythm of the song.

Different instruments in a song could play with distinct rhythms but they are shuffled, appropriately, to produce a bigger, harmonized rhythm. Rhythm is the heartbeat of a song, the pulse of a song.

A song

A song is a piece of music with a distinct melody and serves the purpose of message delivery, relaxation, dancing, healing, etc. It can be purely vocal, instrumental or both. When a song is solely vocal, it is referred to as a-cappella.

 Singer

A singer is the person whose voice is heard in a song. His action, referred to as singing, involves dragging or compressing the lines of his message, known as lyrics, to fit into the rhythm of the song that could be imaginary if the song is without instrumentation or real if there is an instrumental accompaniment.

 Music Elements

Music elements, as used in this book, refer to the different bits that make up the music. They include the vocals, lyrics and the sounds from the different instruments used in a song.

 Music Composition

The act of putting together the different elements of music to make a song is known as music composition. A music composer is one who puts together the different elements to make the song.

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Nigerian Radio and Music Standards

Traditionally, two forces have often set standards in the music industry. These two are the music recording companies and the radio stations.

Musicians signed to music recording companies make songs for an upcoming album, the company listens and decides which should or shouldn’t feature in the upcoming album, based on the quality of the songs.  To make sure music fans get the best, recording companies place high thresholds. Musicians, wanting to be released, would have to aim high, leading to the high standards that have been the mark of the best music acts the world has known.

The next hurdle music-in-the-making would have to cross, prior to reaching the fan, is the radio. Music distributed by music recording companies would have to sound convincing to the radio music presenters whose occupation is to bring the music to the doorsteps of the fans. Thus, radio plays a decisive role in the elevation of standards in the music industry.

Information Technology brought an overwhelming revolution that cut across all fields of life. The music industry is one field that enjoyed a jump in prosperity as result of the revolution brought about by Information Technology, cutting across music education, song writing, composition, production, distribution and usage.

Since coming, Information Technology has, through computer software, placed the power of music production in the hands of individuals rather than allowing the big recording companies to hold on to their monopoly in music production. This happened because Information Technology made music production so cheap that a kid can sell his sneakers and use the money to make a single that, if good, serves as a springboard for a successful music career.

What this means is that recording companies have lost the exclusivity of setting up standards within the music industry.  It leaves the ratio stations as the sole means by which high music standards can be sustained.

Since the arrival of Information Technology, how has the radio fared in its role of maintaining high standards within the Nigerian music industry?  Despite the proliferation of FM radio stations across the country –a situation that should be a blessing –one can say that standards have rather fallen from the clouds where they had been. Everyday, one listens to the littering of airwaves by the irritating music the radio stations play. It means that the radio is either not playing that role anymore or is not playing it adequately.

One of the reasons includes the fact that most radio presenters work on part time and are not adequately rewarded. As it has turned out, this has served as a huge escape for untalented or unprofessional musicians. Desperate aspiring musicians who would not have been able to cross the high hurdles of recording companies approach the radios directly and bribe their ways to the airwaves. The presenters have come to see this racket as the source of conventional income with which to sustain their lives. They take as much raw music as possible to earn as much money as possible.

Round pegs in square holes within the administrative hierarchies of radio stations are also responsible for the low standards. Some persons in the administrative hierarchies of radio stations are persons who either don’t see the beauty in talents or have chosen to ignore it for selfish reasons or are afraid of fighting an unhealthy bandwagon. The general believe now is that a lot of guys/ladies who find themselves anchoring music shows come by virtue of being best friends of radio authorities rather than best brains.

The excuse, wacky presenters often give to defend their jobs, is that they are doing it to help promote the local artists. An artist is only promoted when the presenter, in his own judgment, sincerely believes the music has met a reasonably acceptable standard. What we often hear are, rather, chains of deplorable mess that tend to suffocate the airwaves. A good music presenter should, first, listen to a song and decide if it is truly good enough to be aired. You don’t play what is unprofessional on radio to allow the fans to judge. The radio is not a stage within the production phase of music. It is a stage for relaying what is professional.

Sometimes a situation arises where journalist employed to edit and read news find themselves anchoring music shows. If they never had any music interest prior to this, it leads to a situation where they lack the pertinent criteria needed in deciding which music should be on air. Persons with music interest follow trends constantly and have even, at one time or the other, nursed ambitions of either becoming musicians or music presenters. Hence merely reading a field that qualifies one to be a journalist does not necessarily give you the orientation a music presenter should have.

In every village, town, city or nation, talented people are always there and are God’s gift to that village, town, city or nation. When engaged, they bring joy and pride to the radio stations they work for and the host city. Still, it is the right of such talents to occupy such positions as they are most qualified to do so. The only way such persons can be pulled from the secondary schools, polytechnics or university campuses is by auditioning. One doesn’t hear of auditioning anymore.

The obnoxious effect of this trend is that Nigerian music fans are turning towards global music channels and the cable TV is serving them adequately. What that means is that our local stations would lose out in the competition that digitization is engendering.