I have always believed that great poetry should be the voice of reason.

When men lacked the language to communicate what they hold in their hearts, they resort to poetry.

Younglan's Elbow Room is a touring poem. Its title is misplaced. If I would name this poem, I would call it "Khadiija's Voice". Khadija being an unknown protester that joined in the #EndSars protest of 2020.

Elbow Room is a rejection. A rejection of our politics, our politicians, our system of governance, and our values. When he said "Look at us now, we are monsters", he could have been referring to the unprecedented, deadly, looting that happened during the lockdowns. Do you know, no one was killed during the main #EndSars protest in Jos, but that at least 3 people died at the warehouse where plateau citizens were looting?

We broke down the roofs of the structure, destroyed the gate, stole useless metals and went face to face with soldiers that had guns. We had become monsters.

But it is the making of selfish politicians, pot bellied big for nothing men that have denied us our rights and refused us the right to complain or cry. "An ordinary councilor in Tudun Wada has 6 cars", all bought with our tax payers money. When the new Councillor of Jenta Adamu came on board about 4 years ago, the first thing he did was to get a new car.

Yet every politician claims to be working for "your interest", the "voice of the masses", and to be worried about your plight. At least, when the election comes. Lies.

The touring thing in Younglan's poem is the hope. He lays his hope in the youths, that we will vote for the kind of society we want, and if our votes are rigged, we will vote again. And we will vote again. "Until the revolution becomes you and me".

A great poem should not end without hope. It should offer a vision. A dream. This one does that.

My only criticism of this work is that it was too short. Too short to say everything. But on a second thought, poetry should be short and mystical!

I expected to hear Edge Golbador say something, his voice was soothing but the absence of any words was disappointing.

There are very few poets in this city, Younglan is one of those. I'm always delighted by his work! Always. Dear Jos, you are blessed. Relish your greatness!

May we become the revolution.

You can find the poem here. https://alewahouse.com/watch/4583990495/

Much respect to Alewa House! This poem was neat. All your work has been neat.

Elbow Room review by Lengdung Tungchamma

Title: Elbow Room

Genre: Spoken Word Poetry

Artist: Younglan Ft. Edge Golbador

We are all seeking for space, and that is what makes Elbow Room by Younglan inescapably significant. Be a part of the awakening, “Work very hard that you might earn a place among stars”

Elbow: The elbow is the region between the upper and lower parts of the arm that surrounds the elbow joint. The term is specifically used for humans and other primates. The function of the elbow joint is to extend and flex the arm grasp and reach for objects.

Room: A portion of space within a building or other structure separated by walls or partitions from other parts.

In tune with primal traditions, whether of African, Middle Eastern or Nordic origins, Transportational music by Edge Golbador opens the Elbow Room. The unmistakable feeling of levitation, searching, expansion, and ultimately creative conjuring transports the listener into the words forming our present day human realities.

“Everything you seem to love now,

You might just end up hating

And everything you seem to hate now

You might just end up loving”

As humans, the transience, impermanence and shiftiness of our emotions and actions is revealed in this opening lines. The poet reveals that our experience either as individuals or as a people is answerable to change, continually, in a state of flux. However, we must, while our emotions and temporal knowledge lasts, take the necessary action that will better our lives and for the betterment of our community. We cannot leave our destiny entirely to chance or based on the fact that we cannot foretell the future. This line of thought is clearly revealed in the ensuing lines.

“So I am hating the president now

So that I might just love him later. . .”

In a beautiful use of juxtaposition, Younglan expertly balances the emotions of love and hate, subtly bringing leadership and governance to accountability. While not promoting hate amongst the citizenry for leaders or advocating blind followership by the citizenry, the poet implies that matters of state and life generally is a learning process, and as such, must be subject to regular review and accountability. As Socrates, one of the greatest statesmen and philosophers, opined, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” The same is applicable to present day governance and the living experience of every person.

“The earth has had enough of the poor man’s blood

These days, it regurgitates it even”

Meaningfully titled, the Elbow Room by Younglan is a search or demand for space by individuals and peoples to express discontent, either in politics, in health, religion, education, or lifestyle in general. The above lines are eloquent testimony to the discontent which citizens in every country across the globe feel against bad governance and politics deprived of humanity. The aim of such discontent, being to create significant awareness, stir up knowledge, and in some instances, revolution all in a bid to achieve betterment–better living conditions, better remunerations for workers, better health care services, better communication approach between leaders and followers and governance over-all because despite the seeming allegiance with protest and revolution the call for caution is strong.

“But if we all get guns

Then we all might die soon!”

However, whether or not the poet ends his diatribe with a call to arms or sues for peace. . . the listener will find out upon downloading and keenly listening to the piece.

Younglan’s excellent rendition, well-paced with controlled emotions, (just short of an outburst) alongside the superb blend of imageries, rhetoric, similes, and metaphors is an undeniable pointer to the fact that the poet in Elbow Room offers the creative world a master piece in the tradition of Taban Lo Liyong, Bob Marley, Achebe, Aime Cesaire, Langston Hughes, and every other bard who, in defense of humanity, has spoken out against injustice and oppression. This is one message that is sure to outlive us all.

Consider this review a tip of the iceberg. The entire piece is totally worth your listen, and remember to leave a comment and reach out to Alewa House with regards to sponsorship, downloads, and general details regarding Elbow Room, our effective tool in chiseling out corrupt practices and carving the tomorrow of our dreams. Elbow Room is a clarion call to which every person of good conscience must heed. Otherwise, “Can’t you see scars?”

Enjoy every bit!

Sylvia Ohiaeri Onyekachukwu

Youngman Africa Development Foundation

THE STORY OF 1,000 TRUE FANS

If you want to connect with anybody anywhere there is a theory you can use to achieve that, it's called the six degree of separation. It states that for every two people in the world there are at most 6 people standing between you and them. But well, you have to find them to get you there.

What if you want to make a living as an artist or a content creator, this one is called the story of a thousand true fans. Well, it's not actually a story but a theory. A theory i learned recently from a friend Asugh Iyorlaha

It says that you don't have to be a Davido or a Wizkid to make a living as an artist, you only need 1,000 true fans. By 1,000 i don't mean 1,000 followers on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook but a 1000 true fans.

Then what exactly is a 1000 true fans. Relax, we are getting there shortly, press play to Jack and Jill by Edge Golbador below and continue reading..

Now, let's proceed. A true fan is someone who will purchase anything and everything you make, put it out there and they will buy. They will drive for hours to see you sing. They will subscribe to your mailing list, waiting for you to announce your next event. They will buy your event T-shirts and talk about you to their friends. They are true fans.

How about that person that repeatedly tell you about Jesus. that's a true fan.

The Maths:
If you can get 1,000 people to buy 1,000 Naira worth of tickets for your shows spread over a year, you would have made 1M Naira per year. That would be 80k per month, an amount that would make you live comfortable in Jos.

"Whatever your interests as a creator are, your 1,000 true fans are one click from you. As far as I can tell there is nothing - no product, no idea, no desire — without a fan base on the internet. Everything made or thought of can interest at least one person in a million. The trick is to practically find those fans, or, more accurately, to have them find you." - Kevin Kelly

The robust tech infrastructure of Alewa House is built around this idea of a thousand true fans. It aims to help artists make a living off their art and this is how it addresses these problems:

• My friend Tabitha spent a lot of money to buy equipment to create contents for her YouTube channel. However, she is fed up. She does not have the required number of subscribers to earn money on YouTube, even though she puts in a lot of work. She's broke.
• I also know of filmmakers who have invested time into making good movies, and have to go through the hassle of pitching to Netflix or to film agents. Most of them are broke.​
• I pay $5 per month on apple music to listen to my home boys. By month end, their total earnings is less than 1 cent and they pay $15 to distribute the music globally. They are all broke.​

How Alewahouse works:

• A premium member contributes 30% of his membership fee ($9.9) shared equally to all the artists s/he follows​. Tabitha a content creator will make up to $594 per month from her 1k followers (Well assuming they also follow five (5) other artists on the platform).
• 70% of premium membership fee is shared equally across only contents that user has access to that month. Repeated views don't count. Tabitha will make an additional $693 if at least 1 of her content out of say 20 contents (from other artists) is accessed by her 1k followers on the platform.

If you have spent time on this platform before then you would know that to "Follow" a content creator on Alewa House is not free and requires a premium membership. Shoutouts to our premium members! This is unlike YouTube right? Basically, we pay you when somebody follows you and that way, you can earn and make a living with as little as 1,000 followers. Sounds cool right?

Register on Alewa House and access the following benefits:

- Grow with your 1,000 true fans
- Measure the loyalty of your 1,000 true fans
- Monetize effectively your 1,000 true fans

Do what you will with this information. This is the problem we are solving as the global digital content creation market size continues to climb.

First of all shoutout to all up-and-comer artists out there, your struggles end now.

For every big artist in Nigeria there are possibly a million other unknown aspiring Nigerian musicians. From the thousands of students in different universities both in Nigeria and abroad trying to either be like Wizkid or Davido to the up-and-comers in different ghettos trying also to break out like Phyno or Olamide. These unknown Artists are in various Nigerian States and in many countries all around the globe. They all have a minimum of a demo record and most times are very passionate about their music believing that their music is the next big thing. These are the unsigned musicians who by themselves are also the manager of themselves by performing all the duties that a recording or distribution company would have easily done.

"Yeah man...

It's mode nine! Shi....

You know what?

The whole game is crowded

You know, I need my space

I'm a grown man dog!

I ain't into battling no more

I won't jump on stage and battle

Just give me elbow room

...

Give me some space

Give me some elbow room

or I will force my way

If you don't watch me

" - Excerpts from Elbow Room by Mode Nine in the Malcolm IX Album

These artists go through a lot in the process of trying to blow. The real journey starts from making the first demo/single. Singing a song in your bathroom is free but the moment you knock on the door of a recording studio in Nigeria the prices you hear can scare the talent in you away. A local producer will charge as low as Twenty Thousand Naira for a beat while a popular producer may charge anywhere 350k to 750k per beat. This fee is excluding of Mixing, Mastering and Studio sessions.

The next struggle becomes trying to promote your music. Most artistes start by sending their music to blogs and Radio stations. Many Blogs will post your music if it is dope but many viewers will not stream or download it if the artist is not popular. The fact is nobody wants to spend their data streaming music that are not mainstream. Radio stations on the other hand have bills to pay and are trying hard to keep their listeners tuned in that they will not spend their air time on an unknown musician.

"Is purchasing behaviour not influenced by trends?"

If the artist makes it past the audio promotion stage he/she starts to think of shooting a music video. If an average video cost 750k then you can imagine how much a Clarence Peters or TG Omori will cost. If your video is of very good quality then MTV Base and Soundcity will play it but these days there are many good quality music videos so TV stations stick to the mainstream popular videos that their viewers actually want to watch. Other marketing channels exist for the up-and-comer artists and these include promoting mixtapes through DJs mixtapes and performing for free at events and shows.

Most times for an artist to be taken seriously he has to release at least 3 good songs which means he /she will go through the process above about two or three times which involves a lot of spending without recuperating any money invested. This can be discouraging especially when the artist is supported by family or is investing money from other businesses into the music business. After putting in a lot of energy and finances into music, it becomes very difficult to leave music. The persistent artists start learning music production as a result of long hours spent in music studios while some of them become sound engineers to mix and master music or even apply to become radio presenters.

With the evolution of Nigerian music it has become more difficult to break in to the mainstream music industry. Underground artists sometimes need the endorsement and guidance of other more popular artistes as seen in the Olamide- Fireboy success story or a Davido’s father to be an angel investor. These days only raw talent doesn’t cut the deal anymore, artistes need investors to foot these bills before they can become showstoppers like Wizkid or Davido. People want to go into music for different reasons either for fame or for passion but whatever the reasons are , there are big profits to be made therefore the entry requirements are becoming higher and tougher.

CONCLUSION

Alewa House has built an extremely robust tech infrastructure to support creatives in Africa by monetizing their digital content.

Alewa House aims to support sustainable creative initiatives in Africa by:

1. Empowering content creators to learn, produce, distribute and monetise their works.
2. Empowering them to export and create a global market for commercially feasible Afro-centric content.

To benefit from the above, kindly sign up today on alewahouse.com and secure your career.

If you enjoy reading this article, be sure to give it a knuckle below.

That's it! Happy Holidays!

Enjoy Mr Producer by 3Li Barzini

Breaking into the music industry has always been a challenge for artists from all genres. The whole process can be overwhelming, especially considering the constant flux the music industry presents.

1) OVERUSING SOCIAL MEDIA AND THIRD PARTY SITES/UNDER-USING OTHER MEANS OF ONLINE PROMOTION : It’s really frustrating to me when I try to get more information about a major artist who I’m a fan of , but can’t find anything about him/her besides what appears on his Facebook page and/or Twitter account. This is the silent struggles of music executives. And what’s even more frustrating than that is when people can’t find your music anywhere else but on the blogs where they were posted and the links you put up on twitter. Social Media sites are just one piece of the online marketing puzzle, they are just a tool. Your success is defined by how many fans you have, not how many twitter followers and Facebook friends you have. Build your own website, build your promotion as an artist without focusing solely on third party sites which you do not control. It’ll make people take you more seriously and intensify your fan base. When the big shows and events start rolling in, big industry players and promoters are more interested in the traffic you generate than the amount of twitter “followers” you have.

2) ARTIST DEVELOPMENT : Just as a house built on a weak foundation will collapse in no time, no matter how much potential you have as an artist, no matter how talented you are, jumping head first into your music career without sacrificing and spending time to develop yourself will cut the career you think you have in no time. No one is really doing any developing these days. People aren’t really going around looking for and picking up the young man with the great singing voice in church or on the street corner who might have the most amazing voice but knows nothing about song structure and song arrangement and just needs to know how to put a song together. Everyone is just looking for a ready made product to market, an artist who already knows how to do those things own his/her own. That’s why the need for development is even more essential now.

If you really want to have that edge, you have to show that you are ready for the industry, you can handle things on your own, not just come up with one “accidental song” with a catchy hook and beat, and then you can’t back it up with another song because you never took out the time to develop yourself as an artist, never spent time honing your craft and knowing yourself as an artist. Season yourself, practice practice practice, teach yourself how to write songs, find out what styles work for you. Don’t just loop a beat by mistake playing around with the music production software you only started using two weeks ago, record on your laptop with your friends on a drunk Friday night and think you’ve arrived! If you take a look at majority of the artists in the industry with longevity and consistency, you can trace back their history and see that they didn’t just show up out of nowhere with a catchy song one day, they worked their way to the top by getting better and better. How well you develop yourself is the difference between “HAVING IT!” and “MAKING IT!” and this development does not only involve music, it’s the whole package, it has everything to do with the artist you want to become, your personality, your performance, your IMAGE.

3) PERFORMANCE : It’s mind boggling to think of the fact that in an industry where majority of the musician’s income comes from shows, artists still neglect the importance of a great show and the importance of sharpening their performing skills. Your music may be good, but a live show requires more than just that. If people only want to hear your music, they’ll just stay at home, play your music and never come out and pay their hard earned money to watch you perform. If you want to be remembered, give people something to remember when you perform. Don’t just come out there and mime like it’s a school social night because you’re going to get paid anyway. Let people know they are guaranteed satisfaction every time they have to pay to see certain artists or trek miles like Moses and Aaron in the bible to watch artists perform.

4) OFFLINE MARKETING/PROMOTION : Despite the obvious importance of online communication, it’s just one part of the whole package. As hard as it is to believe these days, there are people who are into music but not just into computers and the internet as much as you and I. Think of them, they’re fans too, and they need to know what’s going on with you as an artist. Intensify your promotion offline, put yourself out there, create logos and other promotional materials to giveaway. Make shirts, hats, pens with your logo on them, stamp your brand on anything you can. Just assume you don’t have any form of online promotion, let your offline promotion be that serious and intense.

5) BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE : Just like in every other industry, the customer should always come first. Music companies and labels are the manufacturers, the artists are the products and the fans are the customers. Music consumers need to be given more options. There is a lot of good music out there that’s not being heard because fans don’t have a say in determining what kind of music they want to hear and what kind of music they want to be circulated. We just let DJs and Blogs determine what a “hit” is. More contests, giveaways and marketing surveys would be really helpful. Artists live off fans and need to always treat the fans with care and respect, find out what they want and do the best you can to satisfy their needs. Don’t get carried away by success and fame and put yourself on a pedestal.

6) PROFESSIONALISM : Contrary to what some think, the life of a music superstar can’t always be as glamorous and “rock star-ish” as it appears on TV. To get gigs that pay at home in Nigeria and abroad, an artist must exude a high level of professionalism often less glamorous than the lifestyle he/she portrays on TV and in music videos. Because most artists get paid to play or perform music for people, they have to get better at doing what those people want, be good at taking directions. Artists, Be on time for your shows, Keep your word, Perform the amount of songs you were paid to perform, don’t show up for a show or to meet with clients visibly intoxicated, be respectful to your fans. Promoters, Keep your word. Pay the artists the amount of money you agreed to pay them at the exact time you agreed to pay them. Get the venue prepared for the artist before the show. Don’t book 25 artists for the same show in one night without adequate preparation and have the fans attacking you because only 6 of those artists showed up. Sometimes it’s frustrating taking directions from people who don’t know much about music because they’re not communicating with you the right way, but as a professional you should be able to keep your cool and know how to adapt. Keep a calendar and learn how to keep to time. Not many things are more frustrating and embarrassing than tardiness, and in this highly competitive music industry where everyone is scrapping and scrambling for whatever shows are available, You’ll lose work if you can’t keep to time and keep track of things.

Ultimately, Preparation is the difference between a professional and an amateur. An amateur practices until he gets it right, a professional practices until he never gets it wrong.

7) CONSISTENCY : You go to the gym for 4 months, consistently, you start gaining strength and muscle, you start looking and feeling better, and then you just stop all of a sudden, and never go back for a year for whatever reason. You’re going to lose all the strength and muscle you gained, and when you eventually go back, if you do, you have to work even harder than you did before to regain what you lost.

As an Artist, think of your career that way. If you release good music people like and get yourself buzzing for 6 months, and then all of a sudden you get too comfortable and disappear from the scene for one year, People are going to start forgetting about you. It’s like that in every field. The more you fade away from your career and fans, the more your fans and your career fade away from you. Whatever you do, be you a DJ, Producer or Artist, consistency is the big difference maker that separates you from everyone else. Be consistent, always aim to be better, don’t get comfortable because you put in 110% effort in the beginning and got a lot of fans and now you think you can just do whatever and give your fans whatever and they’ll just accept it. Stay hungry, Keep working. Even when you’re not doing what people know you for, put yourself out there, stay in the news for positive reasons, do positive things the fans will enjoy.

8) ARTIST-FAN INTERACTION AND RELATIONSHIP : Few years ago, what an artist needed to have in terms of publicity and relationships was a publicist and/or manager, promoters, salesmen, and booking people. If all these people were in order, then getting and keeping the artist out there was a success, without the artist needing to maintain relationships with too many other people. Today it’s different. Artists need to get used to new, different kinds of relationships and how to maintain it.

Thanks to technology, artists have become way more accessible now.

Whether you like it or not, artists have become more human to fans now, and you have to get used to the resulting fact that you’ll have to engage in way more relationships with different people than the average artist did five years ago. Yes, you can hire a publicist or whoever to blog and tweet for you to avoid your feelings getting hurt, but nobody who is not you can be you on the internet 24/7. Eventually it’ll become very artificial.

You just have to deal with the fact that as an artist you’re gonna have to communicate with people more these days, some good, some bad, but you just need to get better at it. Try to be as professional as possible while also trying to be as “human” as you can when you interact with fans on the internet. Be open, listen to your fans, some will criticize you. Listen to constructive criticism and pay attention to what fans ask you for. Don’t just go around and start blocking people online because they tell you “You’re not putting out music as good as you used to”, Yes, many people are disrespectful and just want to annoy you for their own pleasure…..Just ignore them, don’t get pulled into any silly mess by silly people on the internet.

CONCLUSION

With these few points, I hope you are convinced and not confused that music business is beyond just singing and rapping.

Before you go away, watch Wonderland (Cover) by Meemah Jackson Original song is by Efe Oraka.