Singer’s superb performance at Fela’s shrine made us forget that Lagos was flooded

The flood had hit Lagos with a vengeance.

Everywhere in Nigeria’s commercial capital, there was an ongoing battle between man and water. Today, water was winning, and it had done so by pouring from the sky for extended periods of time. It also overflowed from the banks of the Lagos lagoon and ran wild.

It rose high in the streets, poured into residential properties, business buildings, and swallowed cars. There was destruction in its wake, and Lagos made world headlines for it. This was the wrong kind of press. The type that shouldn’t have happened. People stayed at home, doors were locked, and prayers were offered.

When Fela Kuti recorded the classic record ‘Water no get enemy’ in this same Lagos in 1975, he hadn’t thought of a day when the elements would turn on the city’s inhabitants and wreak havoc. There was no way he could have pictured canoes sailing on major roads in Victoria Island. Nothing could have prepared him for the sorry sight of people, trekking from Ajah to Obalende (24 km) because the roads had become waterways.

But it happened. And coincidentally, Mr Eazi, a young man who makes music by biting off elements of Fela’s Afrobeat genre, was bringing his tour to his city. In fact, he was set to perform at Kuti’s artistic and spiritual home – The New Afrika Shrine.

The singer who released his EP "Life is Eazi Vol. 1: Lagos To Accra,” in February 2017, is touring different cities across the world to promote the project, and give fans live-performance experiences of the project. It appeared he had picked his Lagos stop on the wrong day.

But it wasn’t the wrong night. Young people shook off the day’s troubles to seek comfort in music. Where water had streamed into their homes during the day and robbed them of their joy. They were streaming into Fela’s home for art’s healing touch and escapism.

“Boss, let’s just forget what happened during the day, and have fun.” A resigned concert-goer told me. He had lost some books and his Playstation during the flood. But he hadn’t lost his love for music. More specifically, his love for Mr Eazi was still intact. Now, more than ever. He held a red cup of alcohol, and sang along as DJ Spinall spun records to keep the crowd warm.

I was in two minds about attending this concert. Back in December 2016, at the height of his new fame and success, Mr Eazi had organized a concert in Victoria Island. Young people showed up, but Mr Eazi struggled to entertain with live music. His performance on that night was not only poor, it was disappointing. And my event reports reflected it. It caused a rift in my relationship with Mr Eazi.

But July made it 6 months since that cold Harmattan night in Victoria Island. Time had gone by. Mr Eazi had released a body of work, and toured multiple countries. He had applied himself in numerous venues, and grown artistically. I hoped something had changed. I hoped he had learned the art of live performance.

“When I say life is Eazi, say Zaga dat,” Eazi screamed as he appeared onstage. The crowd hit a level of excitement than they had displayed for all the opening acts which included Niniola, Jaywon, Small Doctor and Terry Apala. The noise was deafening.

Eazi was resplendent in matching checkered pants and a jacket. He took off his signature raffia hat and placed it on a microphone stand. Poor hat. It spent the rest of the night hanging from that stand. Alone and without a head to keep it warm. Poor poor hat.

From that instant I knew something had changed. This wasn’t the guy from December. This wasn’t the Mr Eazi who had no stage presence. This version was an upgrade. He exuded confidence, moved with a spring in his step, and looked straight into the crowd like “. Heck, he was shirtless underneath. His nipples hung out in the air with confidence. This was a new man. And he was ready to entertain.

Every piece of the performance had been fine-tuned via hours of rehearsals. Eazi’s set alternated between DJ Spinall’s turntable, and the live band. A retinue of female dancers with artistic body paintings and African prints poured onstage, their backs turned to the crowd, buttocks shaking vigorously, in the manner that Fela Kuti’s dancer’s had popularized in his shrine. His photo hung above the stage, a stark reminder of his greatness and influence.

Afrobeat set the tone as Eazi performed his single ‘In the morning’. The melody on it was recreated, with emphasis on the trumpets and saxophones. A guy behind me knew every line from the song.

“Light me up like an ECG, cover me like a BBC, send to the world like a WhatsApp BC. From your phone like a WhatsApp BC.” He sang along, reacting to every Eazi move.

In January, Mr Eazi who was born in Nigeria but schooled and began his music career in Ghana, had been at the receiving end of anger from Nigerian fans. He had implied that the country’s music was influenced by Ghanaian Highlife sounds and Alkayida synths and sirens. He was abused on social media, his loyalty to his motherland was questioned, and some fans declared him a traitor.

But tonight, he was a patriot.

“My people, I’m so happy to be here tonight. Long time coming,” he said before attempting to teach the fans a new record that sang as “I love Nigeria…lalalalalala”

He got a lukewarm response. His patriotism was not shared. These people had lost possessions in Nigeria via flooding. Their country was not trying for them. The wounds were too raw for them to pledge allegiance to the Green-White-Green. They really aren’t feeling Nigeria right now. Check back later. Please.

That aside, everything was perfect. Eazi synchronized with every member of the audience. He performed every song on the "Life is Eazi Vol. 1: Lagos To Accra,” EP. Brought Lil Kesh on stage for ‘Sample you’, before disappearing for a while. Kesh handled things like a boss, with hit records dropping out of him. With his split from YBNL, it’s easy to assume Lil Kesh is on the decline. But seeing the crowd scream his name, and the reaction every song he performed had, we would all be measured in our assessment.

Eazi came back on for the final stretch. This was a victory lap by the liver performer who knew that he had done enough to make this night a resounding success. The live band and their reworked versions of his hit singles were gone. In its place, DJ Spinall had become the orchestrator. The bass banged hard, and the DJ controlled the crowd. Mr Eazi only nudged everyone to a climax,

“I dey confuse oh, I dey confuse when you turn around, baby you dey make I confuse ooo...” He wrapped up the night with ‘Leg over’, arguably the biggest song of his career so far.

Earlier in the night, the singer had shared some encouragement with fans about the importance of consistency and God in every aspect of work. He was using his personal stories to inspire and connect with the fans.

“Some people tell me ‘you say life is easy, but it is not easy’. All I see is positivity. Everybody say ‘positivity’.”

“Positivity!” the crowd yelled back. They needed it. The flood had taken its toll on their lives.

Eazi continued. “Everybody bin dey go through himown struggle. The fact say I dey smile, dey wear fine cloth, no mean say I no dey struggle. The hustle wey you dey hustle, just continue as long as say e pure. God go do am for you.”

“Amen!” the hall screamed in affirmation.

He waved plucked the raffia hat from its cold corner on that microphonerophone stand, and exited the stage. Thank God. Raffia hat life matters too.

Mr Eazi is a blessed man. One who had utilized his business acumen to attain relative success with his talent and passion. He continues to upgrade that blessing with improvements on every part of his artistry and music business. This performance of this night is one of his personal best that I have ever seen. And also one of the most riveting that I had experienced in 2017.

It was magical. Everything fell together and aligned for what was an emotional night. Regardless of whether mankind loses the battle against the rains, or we overcome our current struggles. We will all be fine, as long as art can occupy our moments, comfort us, and unite us all in our trying times.