Bantu, a music band, which is led by Adegoke Odukoya, popularly known as Ade Bantu, is set to release a ten-track music album on Friday, June 09, 2023.
According to the statement, the album is a social commentary on the state of the nation amidst the uncertainties the Nigerian citizens grapple with daily and continue to endure.
Titled ‘What is your breaking point?’, the rhetorical question aims to provoke a series of thoughts on their living conditions for Nigerians to ask questions and to probe developments in the past and present to arrive at tangible answers for a better future.
The Nigerian-German musician who was elated to make the announcement in a statement said: “Our new album titled ‘What is your breaking point?’ drops on June 9th. The question “What is your breaking point?” calls for retrospect and prompts for an in-depth reflection on the hard realities of our livelihood and survival as a nation.”
Speaking further, the music producer and social activist said every song on ‘What Is your breaking point?’ spreads its own bit of Nigerian stardust over its listeners.
The 10-track long player is the third in a genre and era-defining trilogy of releases including 2017’s Agberos International and 2020’s Everybody Get Agenda. With this new album, the 13-piece BANTU collective pushes the boundaries of funkiness and political prowess even further than its predecessors. It is also the first to feature a female guest lead, in this case, the renowned African American rapper Akua Naru.
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“As the unprecedented #EndSARS protests against police brutality and criminality began alongside the COVID-19 pandemic”, Ade Bantu said.
Nigerians have finally reached the breaking point. In this sense, ‘What is your breaking point?’ is as much a statement as a question, forcing the listener to pay attention to the changes in politics and the evolution of music in Africa’s most populous and culturally important country, and from a global perspective. In this regard, each song opens a rich tapestry of sounds, lyrics and narrative that weave together a compelling, angry yet hopeful vision of Nigeria and by extension, Africa and its possible futures.
“Exploring the album, the first track ‘Wayo and Division’ focuses on the deceit that is at the heart of Nigerian politics and social life. Referring to how successive governments have used tribe and religion to divide people while elites share the loot, they have stolen from the commonwealth. Since they don’t care about tribe or religion, neither should we, the song argues. So, we should stop being “hoodwinked” and falling for their deceit and being led to the slaughter like lambs, but instead come together and face the corruption head-on, as happened with the #EndSARSprotest”, Ade Bantu concluded.
According to TheVillageVoice, “BANTU’s music, as well as lyrics, have, from the start, addressed issues around corruption, injustice, migration, xenophobia and urban alienation – whether in Germany and Europe, or Nigeria and Africa. Aside from recording and composing music, BANTU has been credited with the recent revival of the live music scene in Nigeria through Afropolitan Vibes; a monthly concert series and music festival hosted for most of the last decade in Lagos. The show has featured over 190 top Nigerian and international acts and was voted as “one of the world’s best music events of the moment.”
Ade Bantu and his eponymous 13-piece band have remained more than 26 years after its founding. Without exception, it is one of the pioneering outfits with conceptual recording artists in Africa, Europe and in the world.
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