Blessing Tangban Serves Timeless Melodies in New EP

After spinning several heart-stirring melodies in the past few years, Afro-folk chanteuse Blessing Tangban has returned with a timeless EP dubbed, ‘Out Of the Ordinary Feel’. The five-track EP sees the Cross River native row across ancient waters as she serves intriguing Afro-folk melodies bathed in her hometown Ejagham lingo.

Tangban’s foray across the music scene started at the turn of the 2010s, just as the flame of Afro-folk music began to dim in the country. Originally, a music style patterned after music gleaned from folklore/oral tradition, contemporary or progressive Afro-folk, is composed of poetic lyricism (content and style) stewed in core cultural lingo, as well as a fusion of modern and native African melodies. And within ‘Out Of the Ordinary Feel’, Tangban serves a supple dose of this.

Spinning off with the love-themed tracks, ‘Sir’m’ and ‘Fibiyin’, Tangban travels through familiar terrains on this EP, delving into relatable concepts such as unrequited love, and tragic breakups, while also giving it a didactic twist with the pep-heavy records of ‘Blessings’, ‘The Beat’ and ‘Africa’, where she nudges the listener towards self-affirmation, as well as pan-African patriotism.

Tangban, who is most notable for her viral hit with the love maestro Johnny Drille, ‘Grow Up’, soars for her masterful vocal performance on this EP.

Tangban, who has just bagged her doctorate in public policy administration, explains the inspiration behind the album. “I feel that we have little to no representation for our people and our culture. So, with my music I’m bringing back the culture,” she said. “With the EP, I am basically trying to share creativity that is out of the ordinary. This is why songs like ‘Sir’m’ and ‘Fibiyin’ were meant to go a certain genre, but I had to put my twist on it. You can’t really explain them.”

Listing her key inspiration to be the American singer John Mayer, Tangban also said she is proud of the work of her counterparts such as Lady Donli, and The Cavemen, among others, and would like to work with them.

As all eyes continue to gaze upon Tangban’s impactful discography, the young singer says that she hopes that her music would impact people, especially toward cultural appreciation, while endearing an audience of music lovers that whom she can share “genuine and intentional music with.”

Lagos International Jazz Festival is Back in Town

After a brief hiatus occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, Inspiro Productions, the organisers of the annual Lagos International Jazz Festival (LIJF) have announced the return of the festival. LIJF was last held live in 2019 and virtually in 2021.

In a statement, LIJF founder and festival director Ayoola Sadare said “We are glad that we can once again resume live performances and the staging of Nigeria’s premier Jazz festival – The Lagos International Jazz Festival amidst all the challenges we faced. Our goal of establishing Lagos, Nigeria as a vibrant global Jazz tourism destination alongside cities like Cape Town, Montreal, Montreux, New Orleans, London and Tokyo among others in Africa and the world is still on course.”

LIJF is designed to offer visitors and residents in Lagos world-class entertainment, attracting Jazz and contemporary music lovers to the city and by extension Nigeria. The festival has adopted and incorporated both the April Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) and International Jazz Day into its program. International Jazz Day On April 30 is the culmination of Jazz Appreciation Month.

Scheduled for April 29 and 30, the two-day festival will take place at Bay Lounge and is supported by Insurance giant Sovereign Trust Insurance (STI) plc, The Bay Lounge Waterfront and  Lagos Tourism.