For the first time inNigeria, there is a consensus in the art on standard. After three hours of live music, everyone who attended 2Face Live in concert last Sunday in Lagos, left awed and pondering on the amazing talent and possibilities that lie in the Nigerian art sphere.
The show kicked off at about 9pm with talented and sultry Tiwa Savage leading the national anthem just before her
opening performance.
Red carpet began about an hour earlier so a large number of guests were already seated, waiting almost impatiently for Africa’s icon _ Innocent Ujah Idibia.
Hosts Banky W and M.I came up and reminded us quickly, of a few of the records Africa’s first MOBO winner, 2Face had set.
Next came a spectacular dance drama choreographed to ‘Odia’ one of the singer’s first pieces where he clamoured for peace in the country. Prisoner 2Face soon burst into the stage wearing an orange body suit, hands bound in long chains and singing ‘Free’. And that signaled the beginning of nonstop musical and theatrical entertainment. Changing into different costumes as the songs required, 2Face with the help of a live band reeled out his classics from the very old to the new ones and in a superlative way. This lasted for about two and half hours and is a first of its kind concert in Nigeria where live performances scarcely exist.
It was a gathering of the high and mighty in entertainment as nearly all Nigerian artistes in the country showed up even if it meant flying in and driving straight to the venue from the airport. Put together by Flytime Entertainment, Silverbird Productions and NowMusik, the new
Expo Hall of Eko Hotels Lagos venue was extremely busy as many guests who arrived hours before the show just to get a front row seat had to make themselves comfortable in the lobby.
The high point of thenight came when 2Baba announced that the children in the hall should close their eyes as he literally had sex under red light. The model, Nollywood’s Tonto Dike, joined him on stage to perform, ‘Flex’ – a controversial song he recorded with R.Kelly.
Masked Tonto was dresssed in a skin tight natural colour body suit and at some point the two performers went behind a transparent white flex where their silhoutees demonstrated the song. With 2Baba punctuating the lines with verbal sexual compliments, the crowd cheered while the exercise lasted.
Other songs performed for the night include; ‘Wish I cud fly’, ‘One love’, ‘For instance’, ‘U no holy pass’, ‘Edumare bless me o’, ‘Nfana Ibaga’, ‘If to say na just me’, ‘True Love’, ‘No ordinary love’, ‘If luv is a crime’ and ‘African Queen’ with which he crowned his
youngest child and daughter, Eni Idibia, on stage.The passion, intensity and dexterity with which 2Face manoeuvered the band and delivered his songs coupled with appropriate sound and lighting made the crowd’s emotions swing from laughter, to tears, and to excitement as the contagious mood music rippled in effects through the hall infecting the thousands of people in attendance.
It was so overwhelming yet professional that Ali Baba tweeted: “Now its official. Any show promoter that pays any foreign artiste more than 2Face is purely insane. Tubaba…that’s the new standard” Being his emotional self, Africa’s pop icon took out time to pay tribute to fallen soldier Da Grin with an orchestra led number titled, ‘Thank you Lord’. Kids numbering 26 (the age at which the rapper died) dressed in angelic robes bearing lit candles mounted stage. Winner of the recently concluded Project Fame West Africa season, Chidinma Ekile had her golden moment of fame when 2Face invited her upstage accompanied by Iyanya (winner of the show’s debut season). A few other colleagues with whom he had done
popular collaborations also enjoyed the night’s spotlight even if for a few minutes, when he called each up to perform their famous collabos.
The beneficiaries were newcomer Solidstar of ‘One in a Million’ fame, 9ice for ‘Street Credibility’, Ela Joe and Jimmy Jatt for ‘stylee’, Freestyle for ‘lighter’ and Sound Sultan for ‘Enter the place’. The night wouldn’t have been complete without oldies from the
Plantashun Boiz. And for this, Faze joined 2Face on stage to reenact the nostalgia of the past singing, ‘Baby don’t you know’ and ‘Knock me off’. The show roundedoff a little past12am when2Face got the crow partying to ‘Implication’his most recent club rocker.
He flirted, prophesied, sermonized, joked, danced,sang, entertained and above all, he delivered.
Roll Call @the event
Richard Mofe Damijo
and wife, Jumobi
Stella Damasus,
Ebube Nwagbo
The MoHits crew
Cecil Hammond
Blacky Inyang
9ice
Toni Payne
Tajudeen Adepetu
The Babaekos,
Omawunmi
Djinee
AY Makun
Koffi
Waje
Agatha Amata
DJ Jimi Jatt
Howie T
Gbenga Adeyinka
Ayo Animasaun
Cally Ikpe
The Murray-Bruce
Family
Ali Baba
Essence
ID Ogungbe
Femi Adeyinka
MAI Atafo
KSB
Eva
Abisoye Fagade
Adekunle Ayeni
Kingsley James
Iyanya and Chidinma
Olu Maintain and his
Kentro crew
Terry G
Ex_MBGN Munachi,
Toba Gold
Princess
Ini Edo
Annie Mcauly
DJ Zeez
Tonto Dike
Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/10/2face-implicates-mediocrity-blazes-new-concert-trail/
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