Alapomeji Boss, 9ice Launches New Album

The usual Ahmadu Bello road heavy traffic that precedes any major show at the prestigious Eko Hotel was nowhere to be found on the night of Sunday March 11, 2012 when multiple award winning singer, 9ice held his album launch concert. Not only was the traffic light on the evening, gate-crashers were just a handful which is surprising for a concert headlined by an artist that is much loved for his originality and perceived excellent connection with fans from the grassroots. At about 10pm, the red carpet also stood bizarrely deserted; this is another unusual sight, even for a Sunday evening concert, as it is usually the time when the socialites love to make their arrival. However, it was a different story altogether in the hall. 9ice stood on a stage with native and ghetto themes, doing a hippity-hoppy dance that is getting the impressively numbered guests cheering. It wasn’t a flop as feared. On his own, he did well getting guests, which by the way included Mrs. Abimbola Fashola, wife of the Lagos State governor, to connect to his performances. The songs were already popular tracks hence it wasn’t much of a challenge getting the crowd to sing along and match his dance steps. The show was never short of energy. However, the singer who has enjoyed rave reviews for making excellent songs still struggled with getting in sync with featured artists while on stage. The very popular love peddling track with Tiwa Savage, which got the crowd roaring at its introduction, was performed too simply. They both kept moving about on the stage and refuse to show any chemistry. Despite that, the crowd still went ahead to sing along and dance to the wonderful track. The Alapomeji boss also performed alongside the raving Okoye brothers, P Square as they reprised ‘All The Way’. Wizkid came on with his enchanting persona on ‘On Point’, and his entire old Coded Tunes affiliates also showed up on stage. The Coded Tunes crew led by ID Cabassa included Lord of Ajasa, Jah Bless and Reminisce. Their presence inspired throwback tracks including ‘Lefe Nu So’ with Ajasa and ‘Ganja Man’ with Jah Bless, which even excites the crowd the more. Although the night was about 9ice, he wasn’t on stage all the time. At different intervals, he gave room to some of his colleagues to take over the stage proceedings, and they did not disappoint. Mo’Hitian Wande Coal upped the energy level in the room as he came on to perform his latest singles. However, the Mo’Hitian who got the best response was the imprint’s boss himself, Don Jazzy, who 9ice summoned unprepared to perform ‘Without My Heart’ with Miss Savage. Although he did do much, his presence on stage alone got all screaming. 9ice’s son with his now estranged wife, Zion made a cameo appearance too. The show however hits a crescendo when Fuji music maestro, Ayinde Wasiu popularly known as Kwam 1 took over the evening. The crowd wouldn’t just stop screaming as they sang along and danced to his many hits.