Using Beyoncé and Ariana Grande as examples, I want to share thoughts that no one asked of me about the importance of a great sophomore album. What inspired this thread? My baby girl, Dua Lipa. To be honest, I did not really pay attention to her until the release of ‘Don’t Start Now’ and the brilliant press tour and a slew of performances that followed. Now there is a poster of her on my wall.

Every single since has been intentional, cohesive and accompanied with brilliant visuals. Why the Beyoncé comparison? After Mrs. Carter released her debut album, Dangerously in Love, she certified that she was one to watch but she needed to do something else with her next project, certify that she will be here for a minute. In my opinion, a good debut album should announce you to the world as a force to be reckoned with but a good sophomore album should cement that force as one that will be a part of music history.

In many ways, Beyoncé’s sophomore album, Bday, is a collection of singles but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. This is the same thing with Ariana Grande’s sophomore, My Everything. A collection of singles that work as an album because of the persona behind the microphone. Both Bday and My Everything saw Beyonce and Ari collaborating with a diverse team of collaborators where they made “music for everyone”. No matter who you are, you would find at least one song for you on those two albums but it works because of the sheer talent and character of the two ladies. These two albums are also the earliest versions of the Beyoncé and Ariana that we know today.

“Irreplaceable”, “Get Me Bodied” and “Listen” are the three types of songs that Beyoncé would go on to hone throughout her career. A female anthem, an instructional choreography tune and a vocally stunning ballad. It became the formula that no one else could pull off like she could. For Ariana, I consider My Everything to be her debut album to much of the general public. I was one of the first people to listen to her debut album, Yours Truly but in terms of the Ariana Grande of 2020, “Problem”, “Bang Bang”, “Love Me Harder”, and “Break Free” made her the one to watch.

For both Beyoncé and Ariana, their sophomore albums allowed them to step into their “It Girl” eras. I honestly believe Future Nostalgia will do this and more for Dua Lipa. Of course, she will need some controversy like whether or not she is dating JAY-Z or why she refuses to rock any hairstyle except for a ponytail to help her. Illuminati rumours also begin to spiral at this phase because if all goes well, she will be on the charts for a while and our society has decided that the Illuminati alone can do that.

Camila Cabello was on track for a similar fate save for the song selection and the racism controversy. The high energy, vibrant and colourful feel of Future Nostalgia felt so familiar and I realized who and who it reminded me of. Everything from the throwback sonic vibes, to the samples and the high budget music videos, is very Bday and My Everything. I am rooting for Dua Lapeeps and hope one day, I look back at this thread and say I told you so.

I always find it funny when bus conductors reject money because it’s wrinkly or ‘not fresh’. It’s not that I don’t think bus conductors or traffic hawkers don’t deserve the crispiest naira notes but I just don’t understand why they make a big deal when they don’t get it. They start fussing and hollering and its even much worse when it is with female vendors.

The female vendors simply don’t have it. At least you can plead with or ‘change it’ for the male bus conductors, female vendors won’t even sell to you most times if your money is not worthy of their goods and I think its hilarious.

It’s all fun and games with crispy money drama until people start overstepping their bounds and invading people’s space. Let me give you an irritating example. Here I was trying to get an Opebi/Allen bus to get to work, which is like trying to find Gold in Antarctica when I noticed this rather short curvaceous woman at the bus stop. She wasn’t entering any of the other buses going to Ojota or Ikeja, so she had to be Opebi/Allen bound. After what seemed like a decade of waiting, an Opebi/Allen bus finally came through.

As expected, there were only two vacant spots so everyone was pushing and struggling to get inside. Men in suits and ladies in heels lose all sense of composure when it comes to getting into an Allen bound bus because you don’t know how long you’ll wait till another one comes around. I had hustled my way past a number of people so it was myself and the short curvaceous lady that was left on the final leg of the Allen bus Olympics. She tried to use her ‘curvaceousness’ to eliminate me from the glorious seat, but I have a Father that will never ever fail me.

We both got into the bus last last and I slipped away into the world of Camila Cabello’s ‘Camila’ with the help of my headphones only to be interrupted three songs in by shouting and hollering. What did I miss and why was the curvaceous lady grabbing the bus conductor’s trouser? Apparently, the bus conductor had given her change that was not as good as the money that she gave him. We were now parked at her bus stop and out of anger, she was holding on to the conductor’s trouser insulting him and pointing at his face. The guy was relatively calm.

He showed her that he didn’t have any more change after which she proceeded to put the money inside the man’s shirt! At this point, I was furious! Why would she do that and why would this other lady be supporting the curvaceous lady so fiercely. Finally, one guy brought out change and the lady left. I felt badly for the conductor especially because there was a lady in the bus, who kept shouting at him long after the curvaceous lady had gotten down.

Every day, people like that bus conductor get the rude treatment for things as inconsequential as change and people like me sit back and watch it happen. No one came to that poor guy’s aid. We all just minded our business as the woman was egged on by another. We allowed those women to pour out their aggression, invade his personal space and hurl insults at that guy for no reason. We all need to do better, you and I. I’m not saying you should get involved in every bus fight your experience but the next time you experience bullying and injustice of any sort, be a voice. One of these days, you might be the bus conductor in the equation and you may not be able to keep your cool.

From The Lagos Side,
Adeoluwa

It’s easy to live a fake life these days. While I am not saying that everyone goes out of their way to put appearances and cause people to perceive them in a certain light, I am saying that a lot of people do it subconsciously. Social media, in all its glory, has made it easier than ever for us to tell one sided tales, half truths.

Of course most of us do without meaning to or even thinking about who’s watching and otherwise. However, from my experience I have learned that somebody is always watching. Everyone, no matter how old or young and regardless of how large or small their following appears to be, has a following. We all, thanks to Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Instagram and Twitter, have a sphere of people whom we influence. Whether it is through our display pictures or our likes, there are people discovering and uncovering new things because of us.

So what exactly are we using this great power for?

Even if it’s just ten contacts you have on WhatsApp, that is still ten human lives that you are using affecting.That is ten days, you leave an impact upon and ten hearts you make an impression upon. What are you doing with all this power?

Are you promoting your business? Are you sharing mindless memes? Are you oppressing people with your Toju Foyeh dress? Are you inspiring major FOMO with your weekly club outings? What exactly are you doing with all this power?

What many of us fail to remember is that we all have brands whether we ,like it or not. Your Instagram page communicates a certain message to anyone that visits and your status updates on WhatsApp leave a certain mark in the memories of your contacts. Whether you choose to identify as one or not you are brand and the sooner you embrace the truth, the better things will be for those in your sphere of influence.

You are a mutant. A comic book character of sorts. You have been bestowed with this unique gift and a curse to make an effect on a particular number of lives. It could be 50, it could be 5,000. There is money to be made but there are also souls to be saved. Who do you choose to be? A hero or villain?

Remember that for every time you choose to be a villain; everytime that you choose to post something that will make another feel inadequate intentionally, someone who you follow is plotting the same reality for you. It is true that we have no control over how people will react to things we choose to share or otherwise, but it is also true that if we consciously identify with our brands and make a decision to be a hero for someone following us, we will have a more blessed impact on the timelines of those who following us.

With great power comes great responsibility and those who are faithful with little will be faithful with much are two quotes that should guide how you define your brand. If you didn’t know before now you do and if you did know before, here’s your friendly reminder. So who are you going to be?

T’Challa or Erik Killmonger?

Death almost happened twice this week.

I’m a fairly happy child, Ajebutter and all. I have almost nothing to complain about. I lead a good life. The problem with being blessed is that you tend to take your blessings for granted. It’s hard to not. What’s more, sometimes we even create fake problems for ourselves. Until death almost happens and puts everything in perspective.

The first time was on Monday night when my friend and colleague quite literally would have been burned to death in a ghastly bus accident. The bus burned to ashes but my friend survived. The dude is a champ so he showed up to work the next day after going to the hospital, but it was a moment of reflection. What if he didn’t escape the bus accident? After all, someone in that same bus died because she couldn’t get out early enough. What if I was writing this same post but with a different ending? What if?

The second time was this morning when I was going to Surulere for my CDS. Area boys at Fadeyi had a shoot out and a lot of innocent lives were taken. My BRT missed the gun fight by a couple of minutes. What if I didn’t get to write this post at all? What if?

I think we’ve passed the stage where I remind you to make every moment count and live like there’s no tomorrow or even that you shouldn’t take life for granted. Yes, all these things are important but I expect that we should all walk in those truths already. The stage I think we should be in the stage of living a blessed legacy.

If now, was your last now, what footprint would you be living behind? I’m not talking about what you will be remembered for or what accomplishments they would read at your funeral. Those things barely linger only in the memory. I’m talking about your day to day, moment to moment way of living life.

Are you always thankful for everyone and everything? Do you walk out your existence realizing that everything could be way worse? Are you a person that takes a second to realize that you live a blessing? Do you know that you are blessing?

A blessed legacy is what I’m about now. Every second knowing and living consciously in my testimonial life. I want to leave behind a footprint that endures in the universe’s heart.

Death almost happened twice this week but I’m blessed, I’m alive.

A Moment Of Grace

Don’t keep it in, don’t do that.

Let it go, let it free

Allow the triumph to see the light,

All these scars, let them breathe.

There are a million tales trapped in this hurt,

One thousand poems that will never be touched.

In this glorious pain and heart thugged strain,

We find ourselves only when we loose ourselves.

We pray, we remain.

Not by will, please forget strength.

We pray, we remain

What we do for love, what have we not spent?

The lights within that shine for you

The songs in keys that sing for you

They live in graceless moments,

They follow matchless trails.

Don’t keep it in, don’t do that

This truth of yours, let it out.

There’s something magical about wanting to start over. There’s a certain glimmer that accompanies wishing to become new. Human beings like new things: whether it’s a brand new iPhone or a bouncing baby, new is cute. New is sweet, new is lovely, new is desirable.

This is why we get touchy about new years, new months and even new weeks. From motivational Monday posts to new year’s resolutions, there’s a constant. Everyone desires a fresh start. But why?

Why does it have to be a fresh start? Why do we feel like opening a new book is cooler than reading the next chapter of an old one? How many times will you start over? When will you stop going back to the drawing board? Why do you have to start from scratch?

Don’t get me wrong. New days, new weeks, new months and new years give us time to reflect an strategize, which is excellent. However, we fall into this illusion of progress when we start over and sadly that’s all it is, an illusion.

Today I challenge you to try continuing. Pick it up from where you stopped and learn from yesterday’s experience. You’ll find that allowing yourself to exist in a familiar space is more magical than you’d have ever expected.