Like a drunk, his very breath stank
hip-hop! An embodiment of the art in all its essence. A true-blue custodian of
the culture and an ardent disciple of the movement. Sometimes it may be wise
and expedient to exercise restraint when dealing with certain subjects in order
to capture them in just the right and appropriate colours and hues. No matter
how hard it is sometimes to find the right words, this here is a story that
must be told. The story of Yobemoh, When Hip-hop Comes Home to Roost!
Back in ’87 when most youngsters
his age are still struggling with their letters, young Yobemoh was messing with
hip-hop, soaking up a halluva pile of information that ordinarily would have
been a little sublime for the average mind, but then hip-hop has never been a
pastime for the weak minded or unintelligent. He found himself imbibing much of
the early hip-hop materials, songs of protest steep in the chronicles of the
challenges of African- Ameriacan inner-city youths in America. He collected and
listened to materials from early hip-hop groups and acts like De La Soul, The
Roots, NWA, Grandmaster Caz, Furious Five and Ice T among others.
In time, he encountered literatures
and also read auto-bios of great African- American human rights figures like
Malcom X, Martin Luther King Jnr., Louis Frrakhan, Mohammed Alli and others.
This brought a great insight to his young mind and a consciousness to his
immediate environment, pitching him among
hip-hop heads like Solo Dee, Efe ‘’Freak’’ Omorogbe, Black Masqueradaz, Ayo
Animashaun, King (Dee Weez), Osha, Dj Jimmy Jatt, Da Slug as well as Mode9,
Sixfootplus, Rule Clean etc.
Having a singer for a mother helped
sharpen his musical savvy which properly came to the fore when rap music began
to gain and enjoy mainstream acceptance. Yobemoh went around as a duo called
‘’Zulu Tribes’’ between ’89-91 recording materials that were hailed as
underground jewels which won for them respect, which was every MCs major
pre-occupation back in the day. And as the artform gained more and more
popularity, there arose a need to create institutions to promote the
bourgeoning art-form. He, alongside other hip-hop heads organized the first
Hip-hop awards dubbed Afro Hip-hop Awards and African Hip-hop Summit, a
workshop on Hip-hop Culture. He also created “Gully” a Hip-hop cultural
exchange that attracted participants from Brooklyn hip-hop scene among others
and also Lyricist Lounge, a hip-hop get together which afforded rappers and
hip-hop heads the opportunity to hook up, have fun and generally live out the
culture.
Before long, he was compelled to
ditch his recording career or better still, put it on hold in pursuit of the bigger
picture when he designed Illific Solutions, a Company that provided
entertainment marketing solutions in a fast expanding industry. Illific
solutions at various times guided the careers of a wide range of acts like Lord
of Ajasa, Mi-Fliss, Bigiano, Blackface, Roof Top Mcs, Malam Spicy, Oso Sensci,
Jonah D’ Monarch, K-Soul, Attitude just to
mention a few, As well as inspiring the media celebrated Plantashun Boiz
re-union of 2007.
After spending the last 20years or
more cross-crossing the broad spectrum of the entertainment industry and
leaving his mark in basically every sector, from recording, packaging,
promotion, marketing and distribution to
events, the artiste is ready to perch and eventually land. For a very long
time, his artistic instinct which lay dormant while he worked and contributed
his bit to the vibrancy the industry presently enjoys, now the artiste is ready
to resume and take his place as a recording artiste. To this end, the artiste has
commenced a recording onslaught with the release of his self titled EP “Yobemoh”.
Sometime in March 2012, he released his very first official single. “Original
Fine People” which has been winning rave reviews and garnering airplay on both
TV and Radio. He followed up with “Wait There” featuring Afro-pop sensation.
Isolate as well as collaborate on hot materials with acts like Lord of Ajasa,
Mallam Spicy, Mimmy Tea among others.
There is a palpable excitement in the
hip-hop community as heads wait with bated breath for about the most
anticipated album thus far. As a talent manager, he has quided some of the
brightest talents to stardom, as an enterpreneur, he has provided some of the
most brilliant marketing solution and largescale music merchandizing the
industry has seen and as a showbiz impressario, he has singlehandedly or with
his friends put together some of the memerable and key events that has shaped
the music industry with particular bias for hip-hop.
Fighting to position the industry
has been a worthwhile venture, now is the time to reap the fruit of his labour
as he prepares to put out his very first and official body of work, perhaps to
assuage the yearning of his legion of fans who have patiently waited a lifetime
to see their favourite MC on vinyl. And as we brace up to receive him as he
takes his place in the exaulted hip-hop firmament, we can’t help but imagine
what it would feel like to have Yobemoh, one of hip-hop finest, come home to
roost!
For
Press/Publicity materials on Yobemoh email: yobemoh@gmail.com
To feature in
an edition of ICON’S NIGHT call: +234-8064299227 or
email>iconsnight@gmail.com
