On the Shoulders of Giants Working with the Okoye brothers Peter and Paul was a hard chance to pass down for Akinmayokun Awodumila or May D as he is fondly called. Like all prospects with dreams of lyrical stardom, his were answered two-fold when his friend Alaye introduced him to the sonorous pair with the P Square alias. The episode surpassed his wildest dreams and since then, the only place to look for the suave-looking fellow has been up. “It’s really been a privilege that I’m very thankful for,” he said regarding his meeting with the duo. “Hard work does pay so my belief is that sustaining the tempo should not be a problem.” Being called a protégé of the twins has in no way overshadowed May D’s agenda for his music. After featuring on their “Chop My Money Remix” that also featured American-based singer Akon, he has followed up with five singles that are keeping the audience on their feet ahead of his upcoming album. There is no title for his maiden contribution but the quintet of tracks that include “Ile Ijo”, “Soundtrack” and “Pum Pum” continue earning rave reviews that attract more music lovers to his sonorous output. With “Soundtrack” showing his R&B potentials, other songs in his quiver reflect an artist bent on being an all rounder with Pop and dancehall inclinations. It was not a one-off decision. He puts it down to a love for music. “I’ve always been involved in music right from my younger days. So as far as my memory serves me well I have liked music.” May D also tells me he packs more dance skills than a masquerade. Beyond his boogie in the “Ile Ijo” video that featured dancer Kaffy, he remarked that he could do more than the occasional body movements. But since music is his primary focus, it was logical that dance would occupy the sidelines. “Even though I held my own as a dancer in my secondary school days, music was always a driving force,” he said with confidence. Like most of his colleagues, he tells me his inspiration could spurt from anywhere. So, various trips to concerts around the globe with the P Square pair should leave him with a lot to sing about in the years ahead. A long term deal with Square Records is also in the bag for the singer bursting with an admirable hunger for success. “It’s pretty hectic, you know; travelling the world for concerts but we get by. It’s all part of the job. My long term plan is to be recognised the world over for the type of music I create.” His music is loud but strangely deep when you look beyond some of the slang he seasons his tracks with. He adds that he is just trying to retain the indigenous flavour and build on the strengths Nigerian languages avails him with. “Pum Pum” is a freestyle I did a while and I don’t even think it gets any airplay. “Ile Ijo” and my other singles is a part of the type of music I create which is a fusion of Pop, R&B and Dancehall.” With two videos for “Soundtrack” and “Ile Ijo,” May D is just getting warmed up for the long haul in an industry he speaks of with tons of reverence. His dream is to carve a niche and this will come in a number of projects aimed at placing him in a suitable position while he stands on the shoulders of the giants embodying Square Records. “Being around P Square will only serve to inspire me because of what they have achieved in the industry and the recognition it has brought them. My dream is to have the same level of success as they have if not even better. So there is no fear, just inspiration.”

when love hurts

When Love Hurts An hour of waiting for the play to commence was soon forgotten once Wale Ojo and Elfreda Rowland appear on the dimly lit stage. Seeing these faces, which were usually indentified with the screen on stage, made some members of the audience betray smiles. Ojo’s role in Phone Swap and Meet the Adebanjos preceded him while Rowland’s long sabbatical from Nollywood was quickly forgotten once she ascended that stage. Her presence was more apparent than the stained glass replica that stage backdrop during the June 3 premiere of the play. • The Hallelujah chorus of the choir does little to douse a sombre opening made more glaring by the use of lights revealing only the characters within the church. There is stubborn Joseph ( Michael Asuelime jnr ) who gets a reprieve earlier in the play from the Reverend Father (Wale Ojo). Such obstinacy in a young choir member is strange until Uncle (Omisade Ajibade ) reveals the familial cracks that have forged the boy’s impious nature. • The passing of his dad has made a headstrong son. Seeking solace in the world, his mother Stella (Elfreda Rowland) abstains from church and seeks solace in her solutions. Sadly, these have failed to plug the cracks she has discovered during years of single motherhood. It is all going downhill while her son becomes more inquisitive concerning the whereabouts of his father. The priest’s confidence in the efficacy of the sanctuary is expected but not everything can be solved with ten Hail Marys and other remedies. Still his interest in the case births an invitation for the lady to attend confession, and the complexion of the play changes with revelations in the shoebox confines of the confession cubicle. Rowland delivers in her role of a mixed up mother. Arriving in church for a much-awaited confession, her reluctance eventually caves in to the appeals from the reverend for her to share her burdens. “My last confession was eight years ago,” she reveals amidst tears. “This truth is like a time bomb waiting to explode.” Her unwillingness is continuously diluted by the infectious optimism of the greying reverend father, and gradually she shifts under the weight of his welcoming words by revealing her dark past riddled with frozen hopes. Apparently, it seems the father of her son might still be alive. But like most humans, the absence of a loved one and zero communication has drowned the initial hope she had in a union her parents and those of her baby daddy refused. Also, her abandonment at the age of 20 with a baby was too bitter a pill for her to swallow. “He did not even fight back...Joseph is the Jesus I seek now,” she adds with bitter resignation. Like the archetypal priest, the father insists there is always a spiritual way forward. His deluge of remedies also packs some sparks of common sense which he adopts to challenge the feckless arguments by the confessing mother. This reveals the conflict between the truth and the obvious. But there are other clashes during the play’s journey to a long-awaited climax. “The best way to defeat your fears is to confront them,” the priest argues with some discernible impatience. “You only have one life, do not let experiences to weigh you down.” Several musical interludes add some pep to a long-drawn performance. Asides from some songs like Islands in the Stream, some choir members also provide pleasing relief from the play’s organic but lagging plot with powerful renditions that light up the stage. Disclosures are not limited to the unhappy mother alone. The Reverend Father also has some skeletons in his cupboard, and some push sees him revealing his secrets to Joseph’s mother. Roles surprisingly switch and his confession unearths his subdued frailties. While alluding to his pre-priesthood days, he has also loved and lost but finds solace in church work and expectations of making heaven. A woman is also involved in his story. But time has filled the absence of a partner with other duties. This is peculiar to him and the lady confessing. “I am also human. She betrayed our love and I have never seen her again,” he says of his lost love. At this point supposed opposites are gradually being alike with the missing gaps in the first confession coming to life in the other. Directed by Michael Asuelime with music from Lolo Eremie, there are flashes of genius in Grey Area’s attempts to dwell on the importance of communication when building relationships. Also the tensions created with the absence of one parent are also laid bare in how Joseph turns out. Far from being a product of a failed union, he represents the negative traits a partial upbringing could unearth. He is aggressive, stubborn and unrelentingly obtuse. Some of love’s many traits are also visible in the play. There is the painful aspect peculiar to the agonizing mother while the contented priest embodies the patience synonymous with this soft emotion. But the conclusion of love’s persistence is an interesting angle to the performance.