2015 AND ITS IMPACT ON OUR FUTURE

We have always been told that we are the leaders of tomorrow and I have always believed that, but we especially youth have always taken it out of context. I would address this issue as a Nigerian and believing that its up to us to grab the bulls by the horns so to speak. The leaders are not ready to relinquish the position of leadership and the youth are not even ready let alone prepared to take up such delicate positions so why do we clamor for something we are not prepared to have just because we have been told it belongs to us.

THE STATE OF THE SITUATION: TASUED

Once a people especially youth have no viable leader the inevitable happens, things get escalated because they and even the tiniest of situations get to be blown out of proportion just because they can and have the freedom to do so. This is the case of students of Tai Solarin University of Education who for reasons best known to them decided to take matters into their own hands and show their grievances in ways they know best.

There has been previous situations like this that has been resolved without anything being vandalized or the media getting wind of it. The fact that the students believe they can vandalize school property and get away with it still baffles me as it’s their future that is at stake here anyway this situation pans out.  Vandalizing properties and passing your information are two different things, where one tells of what you really want the other just simply shows what you would do if such happens or has happened as the case may be.

STATE OF THE NATION: DEATH OF THE NATION

As I sat in front of the screen and switched the channel to the popular news channel and low I saw my Nation being the headline of the ‘World News’. If it was a good report I would have rejoiced but it is far from good and if I'm correct it is far from news anymore, there has been a rise in the level of violence in the country that it can easily be compared to other nations in crisis. Nigeria has been under the spotlight since the abduction of over 200 girls and although these girls have not been rescued there have been other attacks by the deadly terrorists showing the government that they can strike at any time.

The level of security in this country is so bad that citizens do not trust men in uniforms any longer, the deadly group has been said to wear the uniform of the military in their attack and that tells a lot. For the sake of security I would not write anything that can threaten national security as the country is in a delicate state

I WEEP FOR MY COUNTRY

As I heard the news about the bomb blast I could only just shake my head and look to the sky and asking under my breathe ‘Not again’. There have been quite a lot of killings in the past month and the government seems to be calm about doing something about it. Although I am not a good commentator of politics either am I someone who gives much interest into how it is run except the law aspect of it and the fact that there are some things the Government of a country is expected to do.

                                                                                      

I was actually urged to do what I'm passionate about and though I'm passionate about writing I don’t think my piece could get into a writing competition because all I want to do is get my message across, that being said let me simply get the ball rolling.

A day after the bomb went off the news and the interest in the issue died down as fast as the dust settled after the bomb blast. Its just disheartening to see such a terrorist attack on the capital of a nation to be taken with levity, there is no comment on what would happen next neither is any mention of investigation on the issue. In fact I do not think there has been any mention on the kind of bomb it was or the things used to make the bomb either it was local or mechanical. These are what would make the public know if you are really on the issue and make the perpetrators know that you are on their tails. The president visited the site and made a statement and that settles it? The Police did not make any comment and neither did the Defense Minister. These people won’t stop and I am very sure that appeals won’t get to them either.

I don’t want to compare my dear country to other countries but I just can’t help it. Nigeria is a country where the police don’t even look for forensic evidence, they don’t take witness testimonies seriously and are even ill equipped, we live in as country where we don’t trust ourselves and we are divided even amongst our domestic communities and I wonder how we have survived this long. I cannot deny the fact that we are blessed but we are taking that blessing for granted and its only a matter of time before that blessing starts metamorphosing into a curse as is evident now. Where young girls would be kidnapped and all the minister of Public Affairs can say is “I'm appealing…” how would you appeal to people who are ready to kill? It’s the parents that should appeal not you, its either you talk tough or you just do you job and let it do the talking. I think our leaders have talked enough and its time they start putting their words into action.

I would not even make mention of the president before I get swooped by some Agencies neither would I commit treason just because I want to make my point but I would always say we do not know the value of what we have until we lose it, the Northerners are crying now and the rest of the country is just reading the newspapers and changing channels and I hope its not when the bomb starts going off in our backyards that we start taking it seriously. If the government cannot help us we can help ourselves. Firstly we can be observant; no matter where you are either in a crowded place or in a remote environment make sure you observe all that is happening around you and maybe you might avert another attack. Secondly always stay safe; no matter how hard you pray there is still a place of wisdom which is the right application of knowledge and that being said I believe you understand, I don’t need to spell it out for you and staying safe is not staying in your house but when you are out always look out for strange situations and be at alert to move quickly. Thirdly, this is one I'm skeptical about but its what we must all embrace and it is when you see any strange movement by any individual call the police. I mean that’s the best you can do rather than hunt the person down and render jungle justice on them.

Finally, I can only but hope that this country would overcome its greatest opposition yet and hopefully every part of this nation would be safe to visit again. The government should tighten its belt and face this goliath with its might because if half of the populace of this nation is wiped out I wonder who they would govern over in the next couple of years. I cannot say much more than I have done and hopefully this would be history for the library and for the next Chimamanda to write about.

TASUED CYPHER: THE REVIEW

I have waited for a while before i made my thoughts known on the first Cypher to be recorded in Tasued. Although i laud the efforts made by all the parties involved but as you all know by now especially for those of you that has listened to the track you would agree with me that there are two sides to this cypher and there some so called rappers that should not have been placed in that track at all, that being said it was a good effort and as it has been labeled 1.0 then we should be expecting a 2.0 in the nearer future.

Like the saying goes there is always 'the good, the bad and the ugly but in this scenerio there is only two sides being the good and the ugly. As a cool and calm guy as i am i would prefer to start with the good but what sort of critic would i be if i cannot start with the ugly.

THE UGLY
There are some artists that should not even surface in the preliminary of this cypher, although im not a rapper but my secondary school lyrics would still school some of the people in this category. In no particular order I list them

OLTASKILLZ
He is not as bad as i have portrayed the rappers in this category but his 'R' factor is so evident that you cannot mistake it anywhere. his flows are not dope but with the way he delivers it then you feel he should have done  a lot better than this cypher has been hyped to be. If it is said to be the Best rappers in Tasued then maybe there are only a few rappers in the institution maybe two or three i must say. 4/10


YOUNGWHALEX
What in the world is this dude doing on this track? Not only was he too slow for the beat, he was so watery that even his flows cannot compete with the Lagos state water corporation tap flow. Seriously he should be in a cypher on his own doing nursery rhymes in which "Mary had a little lamb" would still school him. He is someone i know and if he wants to be relevant even to himself he should drop mentors like Seriki and any other slow rapper he thinks he is following because his end point would not even get to the starting point of Skales. I don't mean to be harsh but this guy was wack, however there is one that is still wacker than he is. He gets a 2/10


FLOWPSYCH
This guy did not really impress me after he dropped a track that seemed to take the whole school by storm and turning it into an anthem and when it was time for him to turn up he just simply went low while others just took the shine. Nothing much to say about him because he was below expectation so i say i give him a 4/10


LIL' PITCH
I hope i don't get this wrong this time around. If this is the guy that was dropping lines like 'I'm Very imcredible o le pe mi ni VI" then i think the guy should just quit music entirely not only rap but music. He was so wack that he could make a lover of rap lose interest in the genre entirely. his flows are so weak and watery that if he should have a face off with Youngwhalex he would be schooled with the rhymes of 'Two Black Birds" he is that wack. He gets a 0/10

There are some i would have loved to mention but i dont even know who is who on that track except the ones i have heard before and have felt i know their style of rap to an extent

THE GOOD
The ones are more or less the very good ones in the school. I would not waste time on them as we all already know them.

MERCURY
This dude just killed the track he was one with dope lines and madt delivery in his dialect and he does it with ease as you can hear in his voice. He gets a 7/10 for me.

SHIGOSLAVIA
This guy is more or less like Olamide giving us rhymes that make us giggle even as we lsietn and we also rewind to listen again. He made his style known even in the crowd. He gets a 7/10 for me

ZAYO
This guy justifies why he won the Koga Competition, switching from slow to fast and teaching the types of Youngwhalex and Lil Pitch how to do it even if you are a slow rapper in the midst of fast ones. He gets an 8/10 for me


RALIO
He needs no introduction. 'There are two things he wraps women and words'. This guy is just off the hinges on this cypher and evidently it is known as Oltaskillz said there are professionals in this game and i must say Ralio shows he can be one of them. He gets a 7/10 for me.

There are also worthy mentions from this cypher and they are;
DAVETUNES 5/10
T'JEAZY 5/10
BREEZY 5/10


Although i am not a Hip Hop head but I believe i am one and my opinions just seem to be right most of the time. This is not a jab at anybody but for them to look inwards and know that this industry allows no room for mediocrity. Because you are good doesn't mean everybody would accept you or because you are trying and that is your style doesn't mean people would accept it. For the ones that were good get better and for the ones that were ugly well its either go BIG or go Home, its your choice.