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| ZINOLEESKY AND DOBALE: My experience at the Nigerian O2 |
A few weeks ago, one of Nigeria's fast
rising and Headies nominated artiste, Zinoleesky visited Oau.
Well, let me give you a rundown of what
you need to know about shows in Oau.
It is the "O2 Arena" of
universities, boasting of a large sitting area notably known as the
amphitheater, and a vibrant throng of students. The amphitheater has a capacity
of 6k.
As an artist, you should understand that
if you've been invited to perform in this large auditorium, then you must be
something huge, hence the need to perform the customary prostration known as
"dobale". It's a show of appreciation and respect to the student
community, even if it's big wiz, he would get his own fair share of "dobale".
On the other hand, it's no news that most
of the fast and rising musical acts stemmed from Oau, the likes of Fireboy
Dml, Blaqbonez, Asake, Fave, Chinko Ekun and even superstar artiste, Tuface
who was awarded a honorary degree from the University.
Oau Rave-up 2022
The show was organized by the Vesti App.
Trust me when I say this is by far the best publicity strategy I've seen. There
was a very large crowd which filled to the capacity of the large arena. Many
would argue that the large turn up was possible because it was a free show but
I disagree, Oau students are socially conscious. Even though the best way to
get Nigerians to participate is to give them something for free, Oau students
are unified and they like to support each other. Students swarmed the venue
like a hoard of bees.
After fighting my way to the front desk, I
had my app checked and got a "marker" stamped on my wrist. I
sauntered lazily into the venue and was stopped by one aunty who told me
"You can't go down there, it's VIP". I almost burst into laughter,
because I was wondering why anyone would offer to buy VIP tickets for a free
show- well I might be suffering from the poverty mentality syndrome. I calmly
obliged and went to find a "normal" seat.
"As long as I can vibe well with the
crowd and see Zinoleesky from where I was seated, it was no problem. I will buy
VIP tickets one day" I thought to myself with a mix of jealousy, and
anger.
Let the party start? No.
If you are familiar with Oau shows, you
will be used to the "order of events";
- Introduction of the MCs
- Introduction of the DJs
- A few dry jokes from the
MCs
- Battle of the mixes from the
Djs
- Giveaways
- Performances from "Oau
artistes"
To be sincere, these Oau artistes are
really doing their best and trust me, they can blow one day. However there's a
trend among them, in their candor- the stage management, dressing, damage
control and all of that. Most of them seemed overdressed and they tried so hard
to impress the audience, half of which was not there to watch them. They came
for Zino!
Zinoleesky
Would you believe I painstakingly sat
through the unending performances until I got hungry and decided to go get
something to eat. There was a no-food policy inside the amphitheater, so I had
to stand outside to eat.
Do you want to imagine how I felt when I
heard the MC counting down? Jeez! I just took a bite of my Kay's chippy
doughnut, and I felt like stuffing my face and doing 240 on lekki-Epe.
It's one thing to waste food, and another
thing to waste transport fare
by not getting a clear view of the artist.
By now, I've come to full acceptance that I have a huge crush on Zinoleesky,
and I started to hurry my partner, Mr X, spilling his drink in the
process.
We finally finished and walked down to the
far end of the auditorium. Thankfully, there were still empty seats, and I
braced myself for Zino's entrance. I kept all of my belongings safe in my
purse, there was going to be a lot of jumping that night.
"7,6,5,4,3,2…"
"So
for now…"
DJ Glitz welcomed Zino onstage and I
screamed the big girl right off my face.
He was quite playful, teasing the crowd
with a half-jump, half-prostrate which obviously, they booed. He finally
prostrated the right way and got the audience pumped- at this time I wondered
if the quality of the music at VIP was better than the one at regular.
The artist was obviously enjoying himself,
hyping up his fans and miming his own songs, fortunately for him, he didn't
attempt to "gift" his singlet to the audience.
However something else happened.
"Keep
on rocking, keep on poppin"
I was busy vibing and rocking and I didn't
even notice my crush was gone until Mr X tapped me back to reality.
That was it?
Zinoleesky's performance didn't even last up to six minutes. For someone that calls himself "the show killer", he definitely killed the vibe. I was shattered. More shattered when I saw the crowd of people swarming towards the bus stop. I had to choose between putting on my boxing gloves or sleeping out in the cold.
Vip is always better-
Anna Delvey.