We Plug 2 You... Kahli Abdu - Ministry of Corruption

Happy NEW Year you! Hope you're having a good one so far... 2010 was really good for GOOD Emerging Music and it seems like 2011 is picking right off from where last year ended and long may the year go on as it's started...

I really DO not have much background info about what I'm about to share with you other than 'Ministry Of Corruption', the new mixtape from Emerging Nigerian Hip-Hop artist Kahli Abdu is a mixtape inspired by the King of Afrobeat and one of the most political musicians we've ever witnessed, the late GREAT Fela Anikulapo-Kuti... Now at this point, any trepidation would be understandable! I mean its Hip-Hop mixed with Afrobeat? It's FELA-inspired? You're thinking this has all the ingredients to go wrong BUT you'd be wrong and we'll just have to let the music do all the talking.

Upon first listen, not a lot of the songs immediately leap out at you on this 13-track mixtape BUT you cannot help but fall in love with the Afrobeat infused musical backdrop upon which Kahli Abdu laces his politically charged & hard-hitting lyrics. From the first song, 'Fear Fear Factor', which begins with an indelible Fela vocal sample & those unmistakable drum patterns before leading into glorious horn riffs trademark of that sweet Afrobeat sound, you are (dare I say it) hooked and the short introductory track certainly leaves you wanting more (it sort of tails off after the 2:15 mark which almost ruins it for me) up until the last song, 'Wonderful Material Property', which is a mellowed down Afrobeat song with a great Soul Music touch that Kahli Abdu raps over with absolute precision and finesse to ride this tape out and then half way through the song, you hear the final of many great Fela vocal samples saying...

"Music is a spiritual thing. You don't play with Music. If you play with Music, you will die young, you see because when the Higher forces give you the gift of music, musicianship, it must be well used, for the good of humanity. If you use it for your own self by deceiving people and doing this, you will die young. I've told people this many times so I'm gonna prove them wrong and prove myself right..."

Ok NOW let's get into a few of my favourite songs from the mixtape...

This next song has gotta be one of, if not my most enjoyable song on the mixtape. It's called 'Categori' and everything from the beats produced by Charlie X to Kahli Abdu's lyrics just work for me quite frankly. I guess on this one, Kahli chooses to show some versatility and instead of giving a message as with most of the songs on 'Ministry of Corruption', he sorta introduces himself to his audience with clever punchlines and a dope flow as he lays into this one hell of a beat. It's Hip-Hop at it's cocky best if I do say so myself with the vocal sample on the hook saying...

"You can't touch my style!"

This next track is called 'Kpako' and it features Yung El on the hook and if you thought this mixtape was gonna be overly political from front to back then this song serves as a ample detour. On this one, Kahli Abdu shows that he can have a good time with his music (although NOT diverting from the main theme of the mixtape too much) and he spits very witty bars filled with much braggadocio, audaciousness and 'partying with girls at the party' on this Chopsticks-produced thumping Hip-Hop beat with Yung El delivering the covert message of the song at the bridge (they just couldn't resist), what do you think?

This next one is the Charlie X-produced song titled 'Demo Crazy' which samples the hook from the very popular Fela record, 'Teacher Don't Teach Me Nonsense' and on this one, Kahli Abdu drops some thought-provoking lyrics about the history (if you will) and deceit that's rife in Nigerian politics. You will not want this head-bopping production from Charlie-X to throw you off Kahli's words on this one so please listen carefully and understand the message. Listen below...

SO what do we think so far???

In conclusion, I think this is a very stellar body of work as far as Hip-Hop Music goes... The music treads experimental boundaries of merging Afrobeat with Hip-Hop and succeeds (where others have failed) while still remaining traditionally Hip-Hop in my opinion... The lyrics, flow and wordplay are fresh, they're sharp and I quite enjoy Kahli Abdu as a rapper... And as far as African Hip-Hop goes, this is really cutting edge and refreshing to listen to from Mr. Abdu. I like that he's sticking to his lane and NOT tryna be commercial or popular BUT I must have said the same thing about a certain M.I and his 'Illegal Music' mixtape but alas I digress...

I must warn you though, this is Hip-Hop with a message! I have NOT heard any African body of work that's this politically charged in recent times and some of it might leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth BUT isn't music meant to do that? Incite a feeling, whatever that feeling is? 'Ministry of Corruption' does that (quite A LOT!) and I highly recommend that you download it.

Download: Kahli Abdu - Ministry of Corruption // Alternative Link

Until the Next Time...

Peace, Love & Good Music

Another Quick ONE!!!

So I dunno if you've noticed it too but I've been suspecting a pattern to the recent 'We Plug G.O.O.D Music' features and I spotted it while I was puttin together this latest blog... All of the music we showcase on each of our features literally span the globe... from the U.S 2 Africa and back to the U.K! While it's certainly not been intentional, it does go to show the GLOBAL appeal & reach of the 'We Plug G.O.O.D Music' movement!

... And like we always do it, let's get stuck right into the G.O.O.D.M.U.S.I.C!!!

The 'quintessential male R&B artiste' is somewhat of a rare/almost extinct phenomena in the U.K these days & has been for a while now I might add... YES we all know Craig David came thru & crushed the building BUT to be fair, dude went a bit more Capital Radio than Choice FM with those last two albums! C.D is still that dude though and for successful U.K R&B, he's undoubtedly one of the very few benchmarks... I definitely give nuff ratings to Jay Sean (he looks closest to breakin that ever elusive U.S market at the mo') & Nathan, Taio Cruz, Darren B & Lemar all rep their corners majorly BUT in Autumn of 2007, THIS REPLY to T2 & Jodie's 'Heartbroken' started gettin serious play everywhere and I was like 'who's this brova anyway?'

Well 'that brova anyway' was/is Soundbwoy Entertainment's 18year-old singer/song-writer from North London, Young Nate and he burst on the scene properly with this 'UKG sounding' stellar effort that had production oozing with the Soundbwoy signature... Lets listen!




& he even managed to get 08' MOBO Award winner, Chipmunk to jump on the radio cut remix generating over a hundred thousand views on youtube alone & constant rotation on Choice FM, 1 Xtra and cross-over radio station, Kiss FM... & I know you're liking that still but the real reason I'm featuring Young Nate on 'We Plug G.O.O.D Music' is this right here...




U-U-U-UKKKKK!!! What you jus heard is called 'I Wonder' (The colossal Wretch 32 graces the REMIX & its so heeaavvyyy yo!!!) and its official release date is May 11th and its the second single (at the back of 'Mixed Messages') of the forthcoming debut E.P, 'A Piece of Me' which is to be released this summer and after he KILLED IT at a rammed out O2 arena as the opening act for Bad Boy Record's Day 26 & Donnie Klang back in February, this kid is definitely the FUTURE!

DO you Like? Tell me... Tell me... Tell me!!!

So straight from an 18year-old British singing sensation that's about 2 BLOW, we're gonna take you over 2 Africa where another 18year-old (see what I did there lol) emcee is sounding like he's ready to get his 'shine' on all over the hip-hop circuits. He showed up @ last year's Nigezie Tru Search in Nigeria & WON in the North-Central region of the competition... & in ways that only we can, we've got a couple exclusive records! Ladies & Gentlemen, I Plug 2 Y.O.U... Skales!




This right here is called 'Feel the Music' and I must say that I quite like the tune! First of all, it's one of them musical records & you know how I get with them ones! The production is simplistic wiv its soft instruments and it just works... this record is one of em ones that'll sound sooo good liive... I see a live band going nuts wiv it and the fella on the hook? He sounds quite G.O.O.D to be honest and as for the emcee? Well he's good too! His flow is on point & he's very easy on the ear which is good but his delivery is patchy at times & them lyrics aren't anything special! However he's only 18 & if he sounds like this now, in a couple years & with the right opportunities to hone his craft, he'll definitely be BIG...

This next one is rather boldly titled 'Heading For A Grammy'




NOW I cannot get this tune outta my head... I been goin 'headin 4 a grammy, one man army' over & over for a whole week lol! Part of it, I think, has to do with the production on the record! the thumping beats are that G.O.O.D head bumping kind that we love and what did I tell you about the flow? Dude can switch up his style to go all energetic on a ridiculous beat like this and still go all gentle when he needs to, like on 'Feel The Music'. & did you notice the backing vocals on the second verse? I thought that was brilliant, it adds that haunting feel to the song. It sounds very much like a fight song and I suppose that moniker fits right in as Skales tells us he's literally gonna go tooth & nail to bring that Grammy back home... We wish him all the best & we'll be sure not to stand in his way!

BUT this is where I have qualms with his management team.... For a brova who's heading for a grammy? NO myspace? NO website? No reach? NO presence? Come on guys, what are you playing at?

ANyway ladies & gentlemen, what do we think of Skales???

Soo if the pattern we suspect is true, we'll have one more artiste 2 feature and they'll be from the states, if the pattern exists though???

Cue in 23year-old Nigerian Born, ATL based R&B recording artiste (honest to God, its all a coincidence), Keno Kenett or jus Keno for short (lol)... Describing his style as inspired by Blues, Jazz & Afro-Beat with influences to include Etta James, Donna Hathaway, Nina Simone & Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, what you get from this 8 year veteran is NO games... No gimmicks... just his voice in its true form and that's where he says the music lies. You would be permitted to expect ALOT from this airy falsetto singing ladies man, cos I know I do!

We got first dibbs on a couple records from his upcoming album (we think its gonna be called Love Drunk but we're NOT sure) & your opinions are very much needed and appreciated... First off is what might be the first single of the L.P, its called 'Selfish 24/7'.




Wow!!! He says he's got enough soul for an eternity & after hearing that, how can we doubt the kid... I know I'm always harboring on about how 'musical' certain records are & I hope you get what I'm on about BUT you can't fault this record, the production is so on point giving it that summer-in-your-'top-down'-riding-slow feel to it... the gentle lyrics & the dude's voice jus add to the GOOD MUSIC that is 'Selfish 24/7', although the talking at the end there could have been avoided in my opinion.

And to ride this listening party to the end, Keno laced us with an uncompleted version of another top tune from the album, it's called 'Never Gonna Stop' and the completed version is supposed to have a female emcee somewhere in there and the beats jus need to be tweaked a lil more but its sounding quite CRISP already... Aww where are my manners? Listen and let's continue this conversation in about 4minutes!




Like I was saying ladies & gentlemen... Real G.O.O.D Music right here or what do you reckon??? Your feedback is especially welcomed by Mr. Kenett himself and you know I always love the conversations!

And that's it folks from 'We Plug G.O.O.D Music' at the moment... all of your feedback and comments are much appreciated, please keep em coming! So as per usual... tell us who & what you're feeling? Who & what you're NOT feeling?... Keep it a 100 like always!

Until the Next Time...

From London 2 Lagos & Right Back x