THE DRUMMING NEW WORLDS PROJECT

 

Our group award as presented to us by the director of Goethe Institut, Lagos on Friday, September 15, 2023.

Last week, I mentioned on my Facebook profile that I was going to defend my project about the Dùndún Talking Drum and the Yorùbá Language and how they relate to technology at the Dreaming New World technology pitch.

Honestly, at that time, I did not understand what was going on. I did not even believe that I would be selected for the long list as I was simply going around in a rigmarole about what could be a suitable project idea.

How does technology concern the talking drum and the Yorùbá language? 😀

Well, my personal project explains it.

It is titled:

THE ACE in the ACHILLES' HEEL of AI

This project was among the long list of twenty projects selected from the multitude of entries.

Here, I wrote about:

💢Speculative Futures for Indigenous Technologies

This refers to the multiple ways in which indigenous knowledge is used to improve the lives of humans and ancient practices that have existed in various parts of the world and are still relevant and prevalent today.

What is relevant today in my indigenous culture, is the talking drum and of course, the Yorùbá language, which is the primary language used to play this talking drum.

Thus, no matter the existence of AI, there are some things that AI cannot do yet like manufacturing a talking drum or creating beats from it.

💢An Evolution of Language in the Face of Emerging Technologies.

Technology expands indigenous languages by generating new words with them such as internet, emoji, hashtag, artificial intelligence, infographics, gifs, etc.

The Yorùbá language is a dynamic one which evolves according to the growth and improvement in technology.

For example, social media can be called AYÉLÙJÁRA in the Yorùbá language.

This word did not exist in the Yorùbá language twenty years ago.

So, the existence of AI in technology is to my advantage as a Yorùbá indigene because technology enriches the Yorùbá language with more words.

💢Ethical Approaches to New Technologies in Africa

Information generated from Artificial intelligence cannot possess intellectual property rights in many countries as they are reserved for human beings only.

Thus, restrictions to aid the protection of rights have been enacted in countries like the USA where, if a person must use AI to generate words to write a book, lyrics, scriptwriting, etc., it must be mentioned in the article that that content was generated using AI.

This is because the information provided by AI is pulled from online sources which have been uploaded by their copyright owners from all over the world.

AI does not seek the permission of these copyright owners before using these intellectual property rights from the sources of information which it provides to those who use ChapGPT.

Thus, artificial intelligence tools and the works generated by them need to be protected by copyrights and patents.

Therefore, as much as AI helps to make my creative process faster, I do not support that it should be used to create the sound of the talking drum as it is unethical.

Its use will steal from the intellectual property rights of the indigenous drum composers and rip off their daily bread as most of the indigenous talking drummers from the Àyàn families have no other means of livelihood.

💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢

Afterwards, the twenty participants were grouped into four groups of five each.

So, we had five projects from each individual in a group to choose from.

My group members chose to work on my talking drum idea by finding ways to improve its sound and features by developing a new prototype for it.

The following team members will be bringing on their expertise in the following areas:

Member 1: Directing, Film and Photography

Member 2: Design and Experiential Technology

Member 3: Research and Experiential Planning.

Member 4: Poetry and Storytelling

Member 5: Music, Linguistics and Research (Irawo)

So, we came up with the name for our group project; DRUMMING NEW WORLDS.

Out of the four groups, my team, TEAM 4, won the competition!!!💥💪😇

Below are our group pictures and my personal award:

My team and I as we accepted our award from the director of Goethe Institut.

Our Project

Brainstorming Session before our presentation

My shirt was designed by my first son who is a visual and applied artist

It is a pleasure to work with an amazing team. I look forward to the presentation of our exhibition in November. ✌

Musically yours,

DJ Irawo

DJ IRAWO DEBUTS IN FOUR ONLINE SHOWS

Merry Christmas from DJ Irawo

 

The Red Cup Party

 

Art in Healing Exhibition at the Mother-Drum Healing Arts Foundation Festival (MODHAFEST) 2022

Event Promotion Video

Shortly after my music performance exhibition at Art in Healing Exhibition Modhafest 2022 - DJ Irawo

DJ Irawo

Ayan Agalu Festival 2022

 

DJ Irawo

The Ayan Agalu Amazons, our patron, Princess Aderonke Ademiluyi and creative director. Segun Adefila, shortly after having dinner with the Ooni of Ife where he acknowledged us as the Ayan Agalu Amazons of the Yoruba Kingdom.

Shortly before the Ayan Agalu drum procession.

Venue of our grand performance

Shortly after the Ayan Agalu grand performace

Preparing to leave for Lagos

The Ayan Agalu Festival 2022 took place at the Ojaja Arena, Ife Grand Resorts and Industrial Hub, Ile Ife, Osun State on June 30th, 2022.

The drum proceeding and traditional rights took place on the previous day at the Ooni of Ife's palace and its environs. 

My Mental Health Story

 

Yesterday evening, I had the privilege of speaking about my mental health experience with Grey Insights in commemoration of World Mental Health Day which comes up on October 10 of every year. 

Kindly watch the video of my live Instagram video via this link: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CU2rzo-Fhu8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Dear Irawo,

 

The Grey Insights team express our appreciation to you for your support and outstanding contribution to our World Mental Health Day series.

 

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak at this year's World Mental Health Day event.

 

We appreciate your enthusiasm and positive spirit in promoting Mental Health awareness. We hope to partner with you in future endeavours.

 

Best regards,

 

Adekunbi Bello | EAP Manager

Grey Insights Limited

Africa’s Premier EAP Provider

Creative Business Bootcamp 2021

I was one of the participants of the recently concluded Creative Business Bootcamp.

I learnt a lot about how to structure my business in terms of innovation, planning, modelling, taxation, networking, designing, sales and marketing, delegation, bookkeeping and accounting, processes, etc.

Drumline Entertainment is going places.

Musically yours, 

DJ Irawo

WITH LOVE FROM DJ IRAWO

 

Beginning from August 1, 2021, the following are the music, educational and promotional content that I have for you from Drumline Entertainment via my Facebook wall @djiraworocks:

1. COOL VIBE WITH DJ IRAWO

This is a music and talk show about mental health, music therapy and other therapies for mental health issues.

This show will come on Sundays between 6:00 pm and 6:30 pm.

2. INTERVIEW WITH DJ IRAWO

This is strictly a talk show where I will be promoting music artists, music professionals and entrepreneurs who have merchandise, services and content to sell.

Check out my promotion price list at Music Promotion.

3. DIVORCE SAVVY WITH DJ IRAWO

This is a music and talk show where I will be talking about divorce, separation, marriage and dating. 

You should join me when it begins.

4. SAVVY CONNECT WITH DJ IRAWO

This is a music and talk show where I try my best to link up:

• Divorcees
• Baby Mamas
• Baby Daddies
• Widows
• Widowers

........and spinsters and bachelors who do not mind starting a relationship with any of the above classification of people.

It is a call-in show.

5. FLEEK ARTIST WITH DJ IRAWO

On the Fleek Artist Show, I will be promoting music singles and music albums of music artists. 

This show can come up more than once a week if I am promoting a music album.

6. HOUSE PARTY WITH DJ IRAWO

I do my thing on my disc jockey controller and my talking drum.

If you would like to support my content, kindly send me a WhatsApp message on +234-(0)706-925-4843.

I remain musically yours, 

DJ Irawo

MY FOUNDATION STORY

 

Right from primary school through secondary school to the polytechnic and the university, I never planned to own a business.

My plan was to qualify as a chartered accountant, graduate from the university and work as a chartered accountant for organizations with a focus on auditing, taxation and management accounting.

The farthest that I thought that I could go was to be a consultant.

You will notice that I planned to qualify as a chartered accountant before graduating from the university. That is because I started writing the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) examination from my Ordinary National Diploma One (OND1) whilst I was an accounting student of the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos.

After OND, I did my industrial attachment with Equitorial Trust Bank Limited where I worked as a communication assistant, switchboard operator and receptionist.

After my IT, I began to lose interest in a 9 to 5 job. I did not really see myself going to work every day like my parents did; my father is a quantity surveyor while my mother was a nurse. I knew that I would be bored but I was already on the accounting path and did not see a derailment in view. 

There was no use of ruffling feathers since the altercation between me and my parents and my choice of class: science or commercial or art as I was about to get into senior secondary school. 

I knew that I wanted to be in the art class but I did not know exactly what I wanted to do but by the time I was done with secondary school, I knew that I wanted to study theatre arts. Your guess is as good as mine. It was going to be an impossible task to achieve.

I gave my thoughts about a change of course a chance while I was studying accounting at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun state. 

At the time that I was a student at this school, theatre arts was not taught. The nearest course to it was mass communication. 

My friends thought that I was making a mistake as I could run into complications with a change of course. So, I stuck with my accounting and graduated with a second class upper.

After school, I tried to get a job at about six advertising companies as a copywriter but they all kept referring me to their accounting department. I fled! 

I could not get any other job except at the banks based on my initial work experience. So, I got stuck with working from one bank and financial institution to the other.

During my national youth service, I served in Lagos state and I was a member of the cultural troupe. I won an award for my outstanding performance as a talking drummer. 

Afterwards, I got a scholarship to study music at the Pencils Film and Television Institute. I majored in the drums set and I graduated with a distinction and as the best music performing student. 

This is where my dream of becoming a  professional musician was birthed.

I worked a 9 to 5 and went for gigs on weekends.

I wrote my first song in 1992 when I was in SSS one. It was titled, Get the Job. It was a rap song.

I began to write songs professionally after I graduated from music school in 2008. My first professional song is titled, Masterpiece. It is going to be one of the eighteen songs that will make up my debut album this 2021.

In 2009, I recorded an EP that consisted of two songs titled, Excuse Me Dance and Now O'Clock. The latter song will be one of the songs on my debut album. 

I shopped for a record label, sharing my demo up and down the streets of Lagos but I could not get any record label that wanted to sign up a musician who played a local musical instrument, was a jazz musician, was married and already in her thirties with two children.

I did not fit into the hip-hop trend and I was not ready to change my genre of music for anyone or get sexually involved with anyone for the sake of my music career.

My self-worth must be intact at all times.

So, I decided to register my own entertainment business as an enterprise on the twelfth day of January 2010 to cater for my music content and services and that is how Drumline Entertainment was born.

Now, I can sing whatever genre of music that I like and provide whatever entertainment service that I want.

However, I have restricted myself to the following services and they are:

1. Authorship
2. Music Blogging
3. Music Promotion
4. Music Publishing
5. Music Performance as a jazz musician and a disc jockey.

I enjoy all that I do and intend to do so for many more years to come.

I am musically yours, 

DJ Irawo

BOOK WRITING HOLIDAY

 

I have been away from my blog for too long! I can feel weeds growing on my last blog. 

Well, here I am!

I was working behind the scene on my first book and as of today, I have written 96,932 words with more editing to go.

I decided to set everything aside to bring it to completion and possibly write four more books before the end of 2021.

This is the longest of my books. I am optimistic that I will be able to complete it as well as the rest of my books before the end of the year. 

I shall publish and sell as soon as I am done writing and editing. 

No time to check time!

I am still working on my debut album too.

This year is a year of debuts; debut book and debut music album. So help me God!

I shall endeavour to post one content per day. Join me tomorrow for another blog post.

Musically yours,

DJ Irawo

SECULAR OR GOSPEL MUSIC?

 

Chidinma Ekile: Source - bbc.com

It is no longer news that Chidinma Ekile has rebranded as a gospel musician.

She has gone as far as deleting all of her 'worldly' pictures from Instagram.

Good for her!

Nigerian 'Christians' have been welcoming her back into their fold with phrases like:

"Welcome back!"

"You belong in the gospel music industry."

"She has left worldly music," and so on.

Firstly, gospel music is not an industry.

It is a ministry for which you must be called by God.

If you are not called by God, you will turn your gospel music into a business and it will no longer become a ministry.

The honorarium paid to you will no longer be enough.

You will begin to demand for high-performance fees and special treatment.

God, who has called gospel musicians, makes provisions for them spiritually.

If you are not called but you decide to force gospel music on yourself just because you are a Christian, owu go blow you and it will turn into a struggle and black slide for you.

In order words, it takes a lot of spirituality, discipline and self control to be a true gospel musician.

Secondly, good music is good music regardless of whether it is secular or gospel or Islamic or a Bhuddist song.

I listen to all kinds of songs from all over the world.

Many Nigerian gospel songs do not come close to these ones.

Some songs are gospel music but are still wack!

One of my music teachers, Mr

Akapo Emmanuel

, once said:

"To be a successful musician, do great music, enjoy the process and don't forget to work on the business side of your music."

So, what ever kind of music that you do, do it well.

Thirdly, because a musician now identifies as a gospel musician does not mean that she is a saint and that those who continue with secular music are devils.

If you believe this, you are simply an ignorant being.

The kind of music that one creates and performs (ministers) is not a true reflection of one's character.

However, it is expected that gospel musicians be of good behaviour.

Fourthly, gospel and secular music have their place in our society.

You cannot play gospel music all of the time.

For example, do you play gospel music while copulating with your partner?

Certainly, you will need to play romantic and sensual songs to get in the mood and keep the atmosphere conducive for the occasion.

Secular music is needed for music therapy too.

Secular music is needed for self expression that cannot be found in gospel music.

Secular music promotes and preserves our culture.

Are your traditional/cultural songs gospel music?

You will need to listen to feel-good music just for the sake of it.

Some jazz pieces do not have vocals and you will delight in them.

You must have listened to Simi's songs.

She crossed over from gospel music to secular music.

Are her lyrics sinful?

So, when a musician decides to be a secular or gospel musician, pick your choice, take a chill pill, take a back seat and quit judging!

Read similar posts on this blog:

• Are you Called or Uncalled for Gospel Music?

• Gospel Music Versus Secular Music

© DJ Irawo

May 3, 2021