Africa Is Not The Naughty Step

I don't know when it happened. I'm not sure what brought it on either. But there was a point in my life in England when going back to Nigeria was a source of great anxiety. It's a curious little thing really. I wasn't born in England and although I spent a significant portion of my life so far there I was, fundamentally speaking, brought up in Nigeria.

What I noticed fairly quickly was that this anxiety wasn't relegated to me or Nigeria. My friends from other African countries seemed to have the same problem. And you might be wondering where it came from. From our families! Parents, guardians, siblings, church folk all threatened us with the dreaded Africa. If you misbehave you're going back to Africa. You get bad grades we're shipping you off. Trying to act like these white kids? Back to the jungle you go!

There is something profoundly wrong with the idea that your home is a last resort or punishment for your children. You cannot instill that mind set into them from birth and then question why they refuse to return home when they come of age. Perhaps their threats were innocent. I can't say that I know for sure one way or the other. But as a race, black people are generally quite quick to point out when someone belittles them even we are just as good at degrading ourselves as anyone else.

My back-to-Nigeria anxieties didn't ease up until I moved to Dubai and visited home from here. Even though it was a fairly quiet affair, I was profoundly aware of a reawakening of senses. It actually felt good to be home! Surprisingly good. Yes NEPA still surprises you mid way through a meal by cutting the power. Yes the roads are still bad and the drivers are worse. Yes mosquitoes are still disfiguring my skin. Yes the politics, policies, work ethics and everything in between are questionable at best. But, somehow, it is still home isn't it? The food is still great, the people are still a crazy kind of joyful and there is no rain like the rain in the motherland. The fruit is fresh and the air is different and even when you're bored beyond recompense you find happiness and peace.

Perhaps I'm being a bit too unrealistic with my descriptions. My point is for all the criticism we Africans make against our home could we please take a minute to respect her struggle and uplift her? I don't think it's too much to ask. 

MOSES | The Crossroads.

Album Cover. Get your copy on Bandcamp

“I pride myself on innovation”. He said it in his usual tongue-in-cheek way. But this is just one of the things about MOSES that I found inspirational to begin with. This young Nigerian gospel rapper based in Manchester, UK saw off 2013 by releasing his debut album, The Crossroads.

The Crossroads is simply a musical manifestation of the artists life, his struggles and triumphs as a Christian; “Nothing too abstract or indie unfortunately”, he punctuates with humour. But for all its simplicity the album touches on scenarios that most Christians will understand or have experienced. From Questions where he samples a track of the same name by Nigerian artist Asa, to the title single Crossroads MOSES addresses real life Christian issues with humility and understanding.

When asked about his favourite track from the album MOSES replies “the truth is my favourite track changes pretty much like Manchester’s weather. At first it was Because Of Your Grace then it was Bar For The King then Questions and now it's New Dawn” I’m no expert but I guess this is what they call a labour of love: “The concept for The Crossroads was pretty much based on my life. I wanted it to be fully based on my life experiences and decisions”. I myself have struggled to find a favourite, fluctuating between all 10 tracks on the album as they shuffle on my MP3.

That might be the hardest part for us, but not for MOSES. For a young artist the work only begins after recording. “I had to then start promoting and letting people know about it.” Most international or well-known artists come complete with their own publicity team that take care of all the running around for them. All they have to do is sing. But for MOSES he also got the chance to flex his promotional muscles and sell himself: “It was all very fun though”.

Bold Renegades Never Back Down

After all his hard work no one would really call him out if he decided to get something out of it. But in typical MOSES fashion he blindsided us by making the album available for free on Bandcamp. “I made the project as an introduction to my music, for everyone to then be able to make a decision on how they feel about my music. So it didn't feel right charging for it.” He called his debut a free gift that he had intended to be free from the start. 

Although there are no other artists featured on the album MOSES was privileged to work with some inspirational people from the gospel genre. “I did have the pleasure of working with a good producer ‘big brother’ friend of mine Barry aka Arc Beats who you might have heard doing his thing on the new Levites3:12 track 'New Season New Day'. I also had another friend of mine Tim Gosden of CrossFya doing some post production work on it.” It seems this young man has his foot firmly in the door.

Now if you were hoping for an epiphany about the message of this album I hate to disappoint you. The final message is what you chose to take away from this musical sermon. For MOSES it was two of Christianity’s most popular mantras – grace and love. “I don't think I would have even been in a position to make the project without God's grace & love and that's the message I tried to instil in some way or another in the tracks”. Simple enough but powerful all the same.

Hard work pays off

What’s next for this young up and comer? Well the New Year brings new promise for all and MOSES is no exception. He became an associate artist with MJK & Crossfya in November 2013. What this means for his fans around the UK and Europe is a lot of events and a lot more of MOSES. For veteran fans that also means that Retro Days is about to be developed into an EP with Arc Beats so watch this space. He’ll be featuring on a few projects with established names on the gospel scene. “Finally a collective which I am part of called 'R.I.S.E' is going to be releasing a debut album this year so it's a very busy but exciting year ahead. Thank God.” Of course there are many other possibilities in the pipelines but you’ll just have to stick around to find out.

Find him!

For more some social media stalking you can find MOSES here: Twitter @imjustmoses and Facebook facebook.com/imjustmoses

For his work and more MOSES news find him here: Facebook Fan Page facebook.com/imjustmosesUK; Soundcloud Soundcloud.com/imjustmoses and YouTube Youtube.com/imjustmosesTV

For your digital copy of The Crossroads album visit his Bandcamp imjustmoses.bandcamp.com

For bookings and any queries, information etc. drop him an email on imjustmoses93@gmail.com.

Happy New Year!

Hello!

I trust my wonderful readers made it across the time-borders of 2013/2014 safely. Well let me take this opportunity to say "Welcome to the New Year" from Phase Rant!

This year I have some big plans and goals that I want to achieve personally and professionally. As always I want to take you along with me but this time things are about to get a little more serious and hopefully a lot more interesting. My goal for Phase Rant this year is to have my readers (though you are few and far between) get to know a bit more about me through my 'work'.

As you must know from my bio I'm current a journalism and communications student. To God's great glory I am now in my final year of undergrad and although I won't be lunging straight into professional journalism when I finish, I would like to flex my writing muscles a bit more in that sense. I plan to do this through a series of interviews that will posted on this blog.

The plan is simple. 12 interviews with 12 people I know (either vaguely or personally) who I find inspirational, over the 12 months of 2014. The first is coming next week in the form of a young gospel rapper so stay tuned. Also in the pipelines is a Valentine's day blogpost collaboration with Museboxxe who has left the nest of Blogspot for the wilderness of Tumblr and Wordpress.

Be rest assured that my irregular Rants will still be featured on the blog. I'll also try to classify things in a way that'll be easier for you all to navigate.

Well it seems that I have my work cut out for me! I hope you come along for the ride.

See you soon!