In My Opinion

 
I used to be a very judgmental person but I've learned to stop judging people so much. Once I notice I'm starting to do that I try to restrain myself. I might not be critical about people a lot anymore but I'm very critical about things that I'm passionate about. Things like my country, my discipline, God, sports, religion, arts and etc. I'm a huge fan of soccer; I had to stop paying attention to it about 2 years ago. It was way too emotional for me. I remember crying once when Nigeria lost via penalty play-out and got second-place at the ACN. Anyhow since I quit soccer, I have had more time for music again. I've always been glued to TV screen since I was a child. The most interesting stories for me are reflected via music videos. I would spend all my time watching MTV channels. I got to know music video directors like Hype Williams, Dave Meyers and etc. I love music and I love videos.


 
For a while I was disconnected from home; there was no African music on MTV and very little content on Ben TV. Ben TV was the first TV on Sky Digital to provide us with Nigerian content. It was like luxury for us. We just wanted to feel closer to home. The only issue with watching content on TV was that we didn't have access to them anytime. So I spent time searching the internet for something about home. I remember when YouTube was launched, the boys in the computer lab used to watch stupid and prank videos. Sometimes I watched interesting clips with them but I refused to register on YouTube. I just watch the clips and leave. I did this for almost a year. The day I came across a video of King Sunny Ade, I was forced to register because I wanted to save the clip as a favourite. Since then I craved for more content from Nigeria. I look for the arts online. I tried to read Yoruba sentences online. One day I stumbled upon www.gbedu.com. I was so happy. They provided streaming for winamp, realplayer and windows media player but I found a way to get it onto iTunes. The site provided request services. So I would request songs and listen to all old classics and the new modern songs.
 
As years go on more content were online. More Nigerians blogged and interacted online. More Nigerian videos surfaced on YouTube. I just watched and appreciated it all. I came across a video that made me see growth in the industry. I didn't expect the industry to grow so much. Have you ever watched Kas' Secret Lover video? Or Big Lo and 2shots' Very Delicious? Look for them. You might cringe while watching them now. Then we didn't criticise these videos. We were just happy to have Nigerian content. Then we had shows hosted by Dj Abass and Ronke Apampa. I think it was both produced by Ayo Shonaiya. We will all stay glued to the TV waiting for them to show us content from Nigeria or interview a celebrity. When more videos started surfacing on YouTube it made me really happy. As much as I love Dj Abass' and Ronke Apampa's shows, I was just happy to have access to content at demand.
 
I didn't have to wait weekly before I can watch these videos or listen to the songs. I've Gbedu site, Duduradio site and YouTube. The first video that didn't make me cringe was branded. I don't need to even mention the director. His branding style reminded me of Hype Williams. It wasn't awesome but it was beautiful to me then. So ever since then anytime I see the brand on a video I watch it. After awhile I felt mediocrity wasn't acceptable anymore, we Nigerians are now paying more attention to modern Nigerian music. I want them to be shown on MTV. I remember the first time I saw 2face's African Queen video on Trevor Nelson's The Lick. I was screaming! He was nominated for the EMA so Trevor announced it and played the video for a bit. I went loco. I voted several times for him. I even mailed him asking when he's coming on a tour to Ireland. Don't even ask how I found his mail. Don't forget that I'm a nerd. :P I was angry when I didn't get to see 2face collect his award. MTV just didn't show it when I watched it. My friends in college saw it though and I felt so proud to be a Nigerian. This time Nigeria is in the news for something good, not because of fraud.
 
I'm a major fan of Nigerian modern music. As time goes on, I started voicing my disappointment with some songs and videos because I've seen good songs and videos come out of the industry and I know it's possible. At the time I might not have been aware of these artistes' struggles but shows by Ayo Shonaiya and co educated me in regards to that. Yet I expected more. We are very intelligent people, I feel like if we wanted to do something really well we can. Even with all the challenges. The industry has grown in the last decade. Now there are a lot of artists out there; some are wonderful, some are mediocre and some should not even be an artist. We have very few music with good content, more music with little or no substantial content hence critics and fans complain; these people are always label as haters. Artists come out with reasons why they can't give substantial audio and video content. They blame social, economic and whatnot issues. We know we are facing a lot of challenges in Naija. I grew up with the industry, I followed its story wholeheartedly, observed and studied it.
 
I've never been a diplomat. There are so many challenges the industry faces and so many issues they have but let's call a spade a spade, challenges should not deter one's creativity, it is suppose to fuel it. I'm sorry artists, producers and directors can't tell me that a video is crap because they didn't have e.g. electricity when it's glaring the video lacks e.g. concept. How many students go to their lecturers to give excuses about assignments because of social, economic and whatnot issues? How many students attach a note to their assignments to inform the tutor that they couldn't finish their assignments because they had no electricity or they didn't eat for two days? Can a student attach a message to an answer script that he couldn't study for his exam properly because there was no light? They don't care about your struggles or background. it's your submitted content they care about. I grew up in Nigeria for 13 years, I've also used candles to study. You don't have to invest all your money into a video to get the best result. I know a good few videos that are expensive but pretty much crap. There are directors out there that make low budget videos look like a millionaire bucks. It's the concept of the video, styling, artists’ performance (if applicable), editors' and the directors’ skills that put a video together.
 
You have to remember that critics and fans don't know what you went through and the challenges you faced to make a song or make a video. It is not their concern. Their concern is to interpret what they feel from their point of view. When I see a piece of art, I interpret it the way I see it. We have to learn to accept criticism, not everyone that critique you hates you. They want to see growth. Criticism is a way of evaluating your work. Artists you should only aim for the best, circumstances and challenges should drive you more. You should want to be better than Kanye West or Janet Jackson. You should want to work so hard that you will make Kanye wish he made your song. You should want to make him think that wow even with all those challenges they face in Nigeria he made that! Everyone gets evaluated in their line of work. People will always have something to say about your work. The fact that they even say anything is a very good sign for you. It means they are paying attention to you. You are not invisible; they know you.
 
Some people in Naija don't work for the passion they have for a job, they only work for the money. Hence they are not willing to put in 50% talk less of 100%. They are just waiting to get paid. Now that the industry is booming, everyone wants to be an artist. This is one of the problems Nigerians have; they all want to face the same direction. I want to say most Nigerians but I cannot. As a scientist I know better; I cannot generalise, I need to have statistics to back up my figures so I will keep using some. If one Nigerian come up with a new business strategy or idea and it works well, some people will follow suit. They don't want to go and look for other problems to fix or other ideas to generate. Some don't bother to acquire any or the right skills in order to be able to implement this new business idea or strategy efficiently.
 
Not everyone is an artist. If you really want to be an artist, if you are in it for the passion not for the fame and money, you would strive for the best. You will become a perfectionist. You will wake up in the middle of the night to write down new ideas that pop up in your head. You would get up early and work on your weaknesses and boost your strengths. Sometimes our weaknesses work in our favour. So you will learn to find your style, you will learn how to make your weakness work in your favour and adapt to changes. You will keep pushing yourself. Yes we face a lot of challenges but Nigerians are intelligent people who can do anything with determination, passion and drive. There are too many artistes right now....the competition is tough. It's the survival of the fittest. You have to step up your game. Whatever we accepted 8-5 years ago isn't acceptable now. Each year you are suppose to set a goal for yourself. Aim for the next level.
 
I understand that it's not easy. Arts have always been innate to me, I can draw, sketch, paint, sew, write, and I dropped singing ages ago. I just don't have the time to learn to control my vocal range. I can't invest my time into it because it's not what I passionately want to do for a living. I do know it's not easy at all. Nothing comes easy in life. As a poet, I still have issues with Spoken Word. To speak in front of people isn't an issue but when I'm in a recording studio I just freeze or get overwhelmed. It is something I know I have to deal with so I try to practise on my own free time. Plumbline has tried to get me to face the mic in studio on two occasions and it was just hectic for me. I pray he or Kraft never release any of the stuff they have me on. I will be the first person to review myself brutally. I always try to evaluate myself. I set my goals and my standard. I also get evaluated in my line of work. I used to be very emotional about my art. I had to learn how to detach my emotions a bit from it so I can be open-minded to listen to criticism.
 
I designed a blogger web template twice for a collaborative blogging project; the first time I put in so much effort I was so excited. Of course as usual I asked for everyone on the teams’ contribution. I send them images and always verify if they are happy or not with a feature I want to add to the design. I was told to change this and that after I was done. I did. I had two main issues; I used a hideous colour and I used xhtml to design it. I asked them about the colour. I showed them what it looked like and no one objected. After my whole effort someone on the team complained about the font size. I changed it and then someone else complained again about something else awhile later. At this stage I couldn't take it anymore. Firstly, I'm not getting paid for this and secondly I've my college workload and other projects to focus on. I sat back later on and thought about it. Why had I not used xml to design the site? If I had use xml instead of xhtml the team won't need me all the time to make changes to features.
 
Blogger already has a User Interface (UI) that support xml for editing the design without touching the design script. It is easy and straightforward. Using xhtml means only someone who is knowledgeable about scripting can edit it hence they need me to edit it all the time. A year later I looked at the site and I hated the colour. It's so baby-like. I was too emotionally connected to my arts to see this at first but I've grown since when I designed the site and I had become less emotional about my art and more open-minded. I was overexcited when I was designing the site and I just channelled some teeny emotion by designing an awful cartoonish theme. The only thing I could stand up for was the site's layout. The colour was just completely off. The next time I designed the new site template. I used xml. I consulted someone on the team about the design, she was happy with it. I put whatever colour and told them that they can change d font style, size, colour and etc directly on blogger UI.
 
My cousin and I were working on a project. I decided to design the website for the project. I told her about what I planned to do. Asked for her opinion about colours. She didn't do her research so I looked for a trendy colour swatch. I mailed it to her and she said she didn't like any of the colours. I changed the colours and mailed her the new version, she settled for one colour. I showed her a sample of what the site will look like. She agreed. Ok everything is on board. I started designing the site...along the line I didn't like the design. It wasn't want I was hoping for. So I stopped working on it and looked for my muse. I didn’t know my cousin felt the same way. She didn't speak up in time. She sent me a tutorial, something like Web Design for Dummies. I was livid.
 
She said she does a refresher in her field from time to time. In my head I was like you don't do refresher for web design, you know the basic and you keep up with the ever changing trend of web 2.0 by reading and learning more. If she had send me a link to a new trend or features of the web I wouldn't be livid. It was like being sent to learn how to read ABC again. I didn't bother to spend more than 60 seconds on the site. I felt it's her opinion and I don't care but I listened to her complains about the colour. So instead of sketching a new design on a paper like I usually do. I design the web design final look on Fireworks, mailed it to her and asked her to request for adjustments hence I can edit that design and show her the final work again. If it needs more tweaking we will continue to tweak until we get it right. Once she's happy and I'm happy I can then write scripts to design the site.
 
If I'm to submit a paper for a competitive scientific paper publication, I've to follow a certain writing format. Once they review my paper among the other thousands that was submitted, if I get accepted, they give me feedback. They point out all my strengths and weaknesses. They demanded I fix my weaknesses in the camera ready version. Sometimes you will get feedback about how bad your English is. If any of you have ever written a scientific paper you would know how annoying it can be to follow formatting, proofread, write, list references and put references in the right places.
 
Whenever I design a software for any of my courses deliverable I've to write a report and in my report I've to mention all the type of testing that I have carried out to ensure that my application is efficient, robust, reliable, meant for what it is designed for and etc. If there is any issue that I couldn't fix before the deadline I've to state it in the report. In the real world, it's different. While I was on my internship with Telefonica, I learned that all the problems have to be fixed. Even if I can’t meet up with the deadline, I have to write a report for the deadline and state what is going on. Then I've to return to the problem. If the product doesn't work properly, it cannot be deploy by consumers. I've to do all my testing and ensure that everything is working before I give a presentation titled "Using ABC to track bugs" and this is because I would be expected to give a demonstration.
 
Furthermore, I will be bombarded with questions by experts and people who want to learn from my work. Hence I have to be able to stand behind my creativity. There is a difference between giving presentation for an ongoing work and a final product. In artists case you can also do both, sometimes you release a snippet or unmixed version of your new piece and you also release a video teaser to your fans. If they critique what you released, try and detach your emotions from your piece. See if what they are saying makes sense to you, if it doesn't and you feel like you are on the right track, stand behind your creativity. It's your aesthetics, so stick to it if that how you feel. Don't start playing political games with your fans and critics.
 
I heard people like me can get assaulted for speaking their minds. If this is really true. Then we are doomed. Please don't apportion blames to the government on this sort of issue if you personally cannot take criticism and you feel it's your right to shut people up. It means you are suppressing people from expressing themselves. If what they are saying isn't right why is it getting to you? If they are right, learn something from it. If you feel that you are happy enough with your work, ignore what anyone else says and stand by choice. Our mindsets have to change. If we want change, we have to start by setting a standard for ourselves. Challenges will come, stay determined, be prayerful and be hopeful...even if you try and fail, get to understand why you did and try to figure out how you can avoid whatever it is that causes you to fail in the first instance.
 
I love arts and I always try to be objective with my interpretation of arts. If I'm not knowledgeable about something I don't talk about it. For example, you wouldn't see me criticising anything in fashion in details. All I have is my own personal style. I don't follow fashion trends. I hardly read about fashion. I just buy whatever I like and style myself according to my taste. If I'm passionate about something, I always do my research and learn about it. I'm not an expert in anything. Not even in my field. As a Computer Scientist, I learn on daily basis because of the ever evolving technologies. We all learn daily. When I state how I feel about an art piece, it's my opinion, objective or subjective, I'm entitled to one. I usually don't write contemporary poems. Some of my poems are very hard to understand for some people. One line in some of my poems could be inspired by three different things. It's up to the reader to draw whatever they want from it.
 
It's very important to do what makes you happy. Make work fun for you so that when the challenges come you will still have your determination, passion and drive to get you through. I've done all sort of jobs, not menial jobs but for me they are jobs I would hate to do for the rest of my life. I got my first job at 18. I've been a sales assistant at NEXT, a shop assistant at Centra, a lab monkey at Eircom. I'm current a Teaching Assistant in my university. I've been for almost 4 years now. It is not what I want to do for a living. Everything I see and experience pushed me to work harder in college so I can be what I really want to be. What I know I would enjoy doing. It's not just about making money; it's also about the passion. When u r passionate about what you do, you will always aim for the best and push yourself no matter how hard things are for you. Your determination and drive will not let you push mediocre materials or downright junk out. You will always evaluate yourself and ask people to evaluate you.
 
That's all. Catch you on the next post,
Lati.