Black is Gold concert soothes Kaduna
The Black is Gold concert, whichย took place at the Bilhat Garden in Kafanchan, Kaduna state, at the end of October, was lit up by displays from a cast of Arewa (northern Nigeria) music stars, DJs and comedians.
On the bill were Ibi, Cinch, Rockbaze, Kheengz, J-black, Shama, K-ruff, Jebo, DJ Marathon, DJย Salmz, DJย K1, Mc Mama, MC bold and others.
The Black is Gold concert, organised by a brand of vibrant emerging Northern Nigeria Artists named Zanfada, was conceived this year at the Afrinet Bluebreeze centre in Kaduna. It bringsย fanfareย and music to several towns across northern Nigerianย states with the aim of using music as therapy for areas afflicted with violence.
The event, billed to commence at 4pm, eventually startedย about 8pm with an entrance byย the duo K1. They performed โThe Oneโ,ย debuting it on the concert stage. The audience wasย jubilant.ย K1’sย appealย canย be attributed to their mastery of street slang andย sexually explicit lyrics.
But their energetic display was not without hitch.ย Power was interrupted twice, drawing protest from the crowd,ย but the duo improvised, responding to the situation by engaging in a rap battle during theย outage.
Shama was next onย stage.ย The audience wereย on their feet when he strolled in with his signature smile, rhyming in hausa โGatanan gatanan kuโ. The crowdย chanted and danced to the chorusย like he had held a prior rehearsal. Shama embodiedย the Northern vibeโhe playiedย on multiple languages, and alludedย to mythic figures. His style was slow but engaging.ย He spoke ofย the essence of love and celebratedย beautiful ladies in the audience. His dance steps blended modern acrobatics, Hausa, Ham, Bajju and Fulani traditional dance steps, placing the traditional in a modern context. He used the Hausa language to blurย barriers amongย theย multi-ethnic audience.
The emergence ofย popular DJ, producerย and recording artistย Cinch on stage was highly anticipated by the audience.ย Heย transitioned from one hit song to another with ease, and his Hausa version ofย Olamideโs โWo!โย tempted the audience to join him on stage. Security personnel on duty had to intervene.
Cinch was joined by Ibi towards the end of his performance. And together, they sang Ibiโs song โHaka Ta โkeโ,ย an ode to love and youth.
These upcoming artists performed in Hausa in a manner reminiscent of the famous Funkiest Mallam, Eedris Abdulkareem and Danjuana of the early 2000s;ย artists who perfected the craft of blending Hausa lyrics with a domesticated English language that is enriched by humour.
If concerts like Black is Gold are meant to discover the next voice of Northern rap, then the biggest acts in coming years will be the talented three:ย Shama, Ibi and Cinch.
The rebirth ofย Hausa rap in Northern Nigeriaย and the sustenance of its tempo by emerging talents will, inย coming years, provide more nights of music and dance. At the Black is Gold concert, these emerging acts demonstrated that music can heal and mend broken bonds. For these young acts, survivors of conflict may be soothed by love, sex and melody.