Feature Archives

Faridah Folawiyo’s Year of Yes

A recurring theme in Folawiyo’s discussion of her work is accessibility, not as a marketing term but as something closer to a personal correction.

Taiwo “Ogogo” Hassan, The Custodian of Action and Nollywood’s Voice of Reason

Nollywood actor Taiwo “Ogogo” Hassan, who has died aged 66 of an unnamed cancer, inspired Nigerian film audiences and industry practitioners with his commanding performances and recorded goodwill. The actor who has stayed away from mainstream attention and conversation was the face of recent conversation after one of his daughters posted a video detailing the […]

Seyi Lasisi

3 weeks ago

“Starrgirl”: Ayra Starr Trades Becoming for Being

In Starrgirl, Ayra Starr does not ask you to reconsider Ayra Starr. She assumes you already know who she is and expects you to keep up. The title alone sends listeners a message before they press play. Her first two records were titled around age — 19 & Dangerous introduced a fearless, fast-talking teenager; The […]

Mid-Year Review: The 10 Best Nigerian Songs of 2026

In the spirit of culture curation, Culture Custodian has put together a list of the best songs of 2026, so far.

What Exactly Is All This Sex Doing in Blood Sisters?

Blood Sisters Understands That Sex Can Tell a Story. It Just Doesn’t Always Know What Story It’s Telling.

Naomi Ezenwa

3 months ago

The Return: Tobe Nwigwe is Coming Home

Five years ago, Tobe Nwigwe asserted the supremacy of Nigerian jollof. “Factually speaking, Nigeria’s jollof is just way better than Ghana’s,” he told Ebony in a cover interview, a statement that signals his bona fides as a second-generation immigrant with genuine reverence for his ancestral and [partly] cultural roots. That pride in being Nigerian has […]

Culture Custodian Editorial Team

2 months ago

Nollywood Needs More Male Characters Like Tunde Kelani’s Ajani

Conversely, if Nollywood, as one of the country’s culture shapers, is committed to corrective cinema and global storytelling, it needs to aspire beyond its single framing of men as connoisseurs of violence, provider, and rigid.

Seyi Lasisi

2 months ago

Between Myth and Reality: “A Siege of Owls” Questions Belief Through African Folklore

For centuries, African folklore has served purposes beyond entertainment. Myths, oral traditions, and spiritual beliefs have long been used to explain the unknown, preserve cultural memory, and communicate moral truths across generations. Contemporary African storytellers continue to draw from this tradition, but many have moved beyond simply retelling folklore. Instead, they use it as a […]

Anjola Akinmade

2 months ago

Rolling Stone Africa Partners with Martell, Launches Culture in the Room

If you weren’t there, chances are you heard about it. Rolling Stone Africa’s inaugural Culture in the Room arrived in Lagos on June 20 as the kind of event the city has always needed: intimate, intentional, and filled with the people actively shaping what Nigerian and West African culture looks and feels like today. The […]

Anjola Akinmade

2 months ago

What It Means to Grow Up with Timaya: From “Dem Mama” to “Kontrol”

by Dennis Ade-Peters It takes a certain level of steely resolve to pursue a path in music. Especially when it’s in Nigerian music, at a time when the barrier to entry was higher than it is in our current post-digital reality. Timaya had his conviction set from the beginning, it was music or nothing. Music […]

Culture Custodian Editorial Team

2 months ago

As Told By Ada: I Keep Discovering Parts Of Myself That Don’t Fit My Parents’ Blueprint

As Told By Ada is a Culture Custodian weekly series exploring the unique and often chaotic experience of navigating life as the oldest daughter in a Nigerian household. Over the course of these mini therapy sessions, we give you a peek into the ups, downs and lingering effects of growing up “the first.” I […]

Naomi Ezenwa

2 months ago