Qdot and his Alagbe Album
Let me attempt a sales pitch here. You, the reader, are identified as one with a trained listening ear and indeed a refined taste for music. Even if a song passes the mainstream test of repetitive hooks and popular acceptance, you, the reader, can still sieve the magical from the mundane. Or as in genuine art appreciation, you, the reader, can separate elegance from kitsch.
I want to talk about a phenomenal indigenous popstar, a wordsmith extraordinaire — Qdot. He has a new album out — “Alagbe”.
Beyond his mastery of the Yoruba language, his genius, I would argue, lies in helping to sustain the tradition of what was once the mainstay of apala — the Yoruba genre noted for philosophical contemplation on existence, human foibles and the wittiest trash-talking. This dude puts a modern spin on it all. His influences are as rich as one expects from someone who must have spent quality evenings with older people and delights in the power and aesthetics of elevated language. One notices what sounds like tinctures of Cherubim & Seraphim in some of his songs and confirms that his influences are indeed as far-reaching as they are fecund. He integrates them all together delicately like a genuine artist, indeed — genuine artiste!
There’s the other incredible guy, Terry Apala, less prolific, mostly unsung too, who has been on a mission to modernize apala. But Qdot is more vibey, more conceptual and clearly nods more to dance and street wit than devoting to modernizing apala. I always marvel at what he did with “Aare” and “Ijo Gelede”. In particular, “Aare”, for bringing the historical Yoruba-Fulani feud to pop consciousness. Same as the mischievous “Alhaji”.
His Alagbe album delights for various reasons but these tracks are solid in every way!
Moriamo.
I’m reminded of the episode of the Netflix documentary on the British royal family, of the relationship between Prince Charles and his grandmother, when his mother, the Queen, has been too busy with the crown. It seems that having the right (and rare) type of grandma is a life win for some people, men especially. The benefits of the filial connection only become obvious long after grandma leaves the world and the grandson is left to navigate everything with tools handed over by a gracious grandma.
This track is a dirge, a really painful one, chronicling a grandson witnessing his grandma’s travails, sacrifice, and endearment. The song is made even more sombre by the rawness of the story, quite unlike the rather oedipal complication of Lil’ Kesh’s tribute to his own mum in “Ishe”. Qdot still misses his grandma.
Duro
This track might as well be the song version of the “for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health” of Christian wedding vows. Sustained by a slow and simple tempo, the ballad directs some serious questions to a love interest, asking if she will stay when the storms of life happen to the relationship. One wonders if non-Yoruba speakers aren’t missing out from the sheer beauty of the poetry. Or, rather, one wonders if the song will retain its resonance when translated to, say, the English language. (PS: That it is named “Duro” is a personal delight).
Ewe
Well, I don’t know what “ewe” really translates to as I’m not familiar with the different version of substances. Maybe Marijuana, maybe Cannabis, or Weed, or Cocaine, or whatever. But what Qdot extolls here is not your regular leaf or as he says, in clever wordplay — “Ewe is different from ewe ewedu.” Or the Genesis connotation of, “In the beginning was the weed, created by The Almighty, with all substances. And everything The Almighty created is good, and for good.” I cracked up, knowing that this guy is funny as hell!
The song compares to 9ice’s “Ganja,” another work by a fellow weed-head with the remarkable ribaldry of Jahbless announcing that “toto no sweet reach igbo.”
I’d say this is the most conceptual and certainly the most creative of all the tracks, made more brilliant by its reggae-ness. Maybe it’s deliberate to associate the song with reggae given reggae’s connection to Rastafari — to higher level of consciousness. Otherwise, one assumes it’d better be the work of weed that a Yoruba griot will render this song with reggae. That said, “ewé da fún àwon èwe”. Lol.
Other favourite tracks are Magbe (feat. Patoranking), Maria (feat. Xsmile), and the tungba — Dance.
I should stop. I’m not on his PR payroll.😎
Kudos, Qdot.
