I attended the Hip Hop World Awards for the first time on Saturday October 22. Ayo Animashaun and his team deserve a huge pat on the back for a job well done, especially as this year’s award held without any headline sponsor picking the bills.
If you have been part of the organisation of an event of that scale, you would appreciate what Ayo has been able to pull it off without a sponsor. In general terms, it was a worthy effort, but, as with all things, it had its highs and lows…here are my thoughts:
Stage and Lighting Design:
The stage looked good but lacked functionality. It was cool to have the screamers placed within the stage area but that then became a problem as they took a large chunk of the size of the stage. It meant that performances became restricted and monotonous. It would have worked better, I believe, if the stage had been bigger.
Lighting was pretty poor. I have always wondered why a lot of Nigerian shows prefer dark stages. Why spotlight a singer that is performing with 6-8 dancers? Is the dance not part of the performance? What’s the use of stylized lighting when the audience cannot see what’s happening on stage properly? It didn’t look to me as if lighting was specifically designed for the show. It came off as if whoever was in charge of lighting just decided what to do as people came on stage.
The Hosts
eLDee looked comfortable, spoke confidently and got the job done without any unnecessary speech or action. He kept the show moving, which is a host’s primary duty. His one flaw on the night even looked as if it wasn’t his fault. On one of the occasions when the hosts had come out from back stage to say something, a documentary started playing on the screen behind them. Something obviously had gone wrong and the hosts were left standing uneasily all through the documentary. At a point 2Face went close to the stage and lit eLDee’s cigar, which would have been cool but for the fact that the documentary playing on the screen behind him was on ‘rape’. To smoke while an issue as serious as rape was being discussed looked insensitive.
Rita Dominic sucked. She looked uncomfortable in the dresses, she was largely inaudible, and her carriage lacked confidence; which is surprising, seeing that Rita is an actress. I do not think that she made more than four appearances all through the show. At some point, it looked as if eLDee was running the show alone. This may be a blessing in disguise though, seeing that the few times she came on stage was so quickly forgettable that one wished she had remained backstage.
Transition
This was probably the lowest point of the night. A transition from one performance to another or from one appearance on stage to the other is possibly the most important factor in putting a show together. There is need to keep the pressure on, to keep the adrenaline pumping. There were long spells when nothing happened at all on stage. At a point, one wondered if one could quickly go home, make eba and Nsala soup, quickly have dinner and return to meet the show in transition.
Performances
Sound Sultan’s performance was magical. It was easy to see that he had put some thoughts into what exactly he wanted to do that night. He came prepared. He has been one of the most brilliant musicians of his generation for a long time and it showed. M.I is always a crowd puller. Give him a mic, put him on any stage and he would deliver. He seemed to have added screaming to his act though. Not good. Tiwa Savage‘s performance looked like a poor imitation of her videos. The dances looked too familiar and the singing was below par on the night, especially as Waje and Omawumi had performed before her impressively. However, one must confess that seeing her stride up and down the stage with those naked long legs did leave one imagining possibilities of…erm…sprinting, yes sprinting!
Leaving Wizkid to the very end was a risk that didn’t work out well. I have always had issues with putting any performance after the last major award has been giving out. At the point he was called on to perform, guests had started leaving. That’s not a good way to end a show or make use of an artiste who’s possible the hottest property on the scene right now.
Man of the Night
2Face Idibia wears stardom like fitted amour and looks extremely comfortable every single time. He stole the show, not because he got three awards, but because every time he stepped on stage the air of anticipation grew heavier, and he never disappointed. His second coming provided the moment of the night: the dancer, Kaffy, obviously pregnant, had been on stage to present an award a little while before and, taking his cue from her appearance, 2Face goes: ‘Sebi una see Kaffy, abi? It wasn’t me.’ The hall erupted. Classic. What is it they say about greatness? Yeah, some are born that way.
*Ihidero is a Lagos-based Writer and Filmmaker.
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