No gossip or gimmicks here. Culture Custodian provides African Pop Culture coverage like none other with a focus on breaking down the stories that are important and relevant from an informative standpoint.
Despite his embattled situation, writing Wizkid off is a bit premature, he still has a huge fanbase and the talent to command rave reviews from critics.
2 months ago
A significant portion of Wizkid’s imminent HBO documentary Wizkid: Long Live Lagos is devoted to excavating the suffocating grief that arrived in the wake of his mother’s passing. As the documentary reveals, on the day of his historic show at the 60,000-capacity Tottenham Stadium, his mother, Morayo Balogun, was undergoing an emergency surgery. In clips […]
5 days ago
To open 5ive, the poet Alhanislam recites a spoken-word commentary on the album and the man behind it. It feels a little pretentious, rooted in the same idea that drives artists to label every new project their deepest and most personal work yet. Yet some of it does have grounding in real-life events. Alhanislam hails […]
2 months ago
Last weekend, the youngest of the Uzama brothers, Osahan Uzama, more known by his moniker, Famous Pluto, joined the ranks of his brothers—Shallipopi, and Zerry DL, both fierce advocates of Benin Street Pop—with the release of his feverishly anticipated single Na Scra. Before its official release, the song had been making the rounds on TikTok, […]
3 months ago
The wooden chair wobbled as seven-year-old Jola Ayeye hunched over a page, pencil gripped tight, tongue peeking out in concentration. Around her, the floor was a patchwork of unfinished stories, half-colored sketches, and a notebook filled with lyrics to songs no one else knew. “What do you want to be when you grow up, Jola?” […]
4 months ago
A new Wizkid album is a major cultural event. It is anticipated for months before and dissected and discussed for weeks after. For Morayo, his sixth, the crescendo of anticipation peaked even higher, but not exactly for the right reasons. Wizkid has become a more prominent presence in Nigerian media in 2024, and it’s down […]
7 months ago
Before Netflix transformed Nollywood’s financial landscape in 2020, Nigerian filmmakers navigated a labyrinth of revenue streams that shaped the industry we know today. Understanding this history—and the revolutionary impact of streaming—becomes crucial as Netflix contemplates a shift in its compensation model. The story of how filmmakers generated revenue begins in the post-colonial era, decades before […]
7 months ago
Today’s zeitgeist subliminally demands for career and identity to collapse into a single entity; to be inextricably connected, two sides of a coin. For Halimotu Shokunbi, no career path defines her. It is this openness, this nimbleness, this generosity of spirit, that has forged her into a mercurial multidisciplinary. Redolent of a renaissance artist, she […]
7 months ago
Since the dawn of time fashion and the entertainment industry have been inextricably connected. Clothing represents a tangible medium for expression and for bolstering the make-believe of show business. In the Nigerian music scene, still coming of age, fashion is being deployed anew, and to interesting effect, through method dressing. Rema, since releasing his obsidian-inflected, […]
7 months ago
In many cultures within our country, especially among those from poor backgrounds, there is a deeply ingrained practice: when someone escapes poverty, they are often expected to provide financial assistance to siblings, parents, or relatives. While helping family members is a universal value—reflected in the African philosophy of Ubuntu—the concept of “black tax,” or generational […]
7 months ago
On the 30th of August, Rema returned home to Benin City. It was his official homecoming since his rise to fame in 2019. The city stirred with excitement right from the airport, where emissaries of the Oba, draped in traditional Benin regalia, ushered him into the city with songs of welcome. Days after, escorted by […]
7 months ago
Washington DC-based Nigerian artist, Mannywellz, has been one of the most prominent voices in Nigeria’s alternative scene since 2022. Since his debut in 2017, he’s perfected a mellifluous but gorgeously poignant sound that takes equal inspiration from RnB, Hip-Hop, and Afrobeats. He recently released a snippet from his just-released Lala EP. Almost immediately after its […]
8 months ago
Ayo Maff’s very first trip outside the country was to go perform at London’s O2 arena. This was for Asake’s concert in September, an experience that he describes as “a dream come true.” In truth, the entire year has been nothing short of dreamlike for the 19 year old christened Ayorinde Mafoluku. His two-pack of […]
8 months ago
