New Wave Magazine Issue III

KayKay Onyeobi

Ken Nwwadiogbu Adebayo Bolaji Shawn Theodore Olivier Rousteing Closing The Fashion Gap New Wave Brand: Cyke Clothing All The Stars Video 7 Screen Experience Cozz Seductive Transendence

By Kelechi Agomoh

H.E.R Emily Mutaako Culture II Huncho Jack Tyrone EP

Holon Design Meuseum

War & Leisure

Bosjes Chapel Money & Music

A

rt can be a form of speaking without words, telling a story though symbolism and composition, a curated expression of the genuine concerns of the artist or the people he or she wants to represent. Kenechukwu Nwadiogbu is a Nigerian artist from Anambra state whom creates pieces which vocalise his message distinctly, without sound.

His art almost literally tears away at the canvas to reveal emotions and feelings that may have been masked by society.

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, his love for his environment and the people within it has driven him to use his gift with pencil, graphite, and charcoal to construct photographic images that encourage his people, while at the same time showing their struggle through symbolism and expression. Ken is no stranger to the sciences behind design and construction as he has achieved a BSc degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Lagos, Nigeria.

During his time in higher education he began his journey in the art sphere, cited saying “I was reading one night, and I saw this guy who was drawing the then Vice Chancellor and he was very good and then I said to myself that I had to do that�, a left turn from the path he was taking but towards a destiny that will have him recognised as one of the vanguards of figurative hyperrealism in Africa, let alone the country of Nigeria.

His passion for art and his hyperrealism prowess were qualities that he had to discover within himself. Nwadiogbu searched all corners of the arts to find his path to success and self-fulfilment. Through exploring facets of his creativity, he stumbled upon the guitar, then soon after he felt as though poetry was his calling, then dancing and a host of other things which he felt did not suit him completely.

Nwadiogbu is quoted saying “Nothing was working. I had a lot of things to say, I just knew I wasn’t meant to be like the ‘ordinary average guy’ who goes to school and gets a job and has a planned life.” He wanted to break away from the norms of life and freely create while advocating for the people without a voice or platform to express themselves.

His story would not be complete without detailing the struggles he faced, one being the stigmas that came from co-ordinators of the Nigerian art world, not knowing how to react to such a talent with no formal training in fine art. Another challenge came in the form of the Nigerian art scene, he found it difficult to navigate his way around and connect with other artists to his preference. The biggest obstacle was something that many artists struggle with, money. Along with following his passion, which he believed would elevate him to heights that a regular lifestyle would not, he understood that this came with uncertainty.

Ken Nwadiogbu was hardly detoured by his lack of earning through his work initially, he found more value in creating and perfecting his craft that would later be recognised beyond the continent of Africa.

He is a trail-blazer for individuals with a vision and talent to persevere and achieve, practicing persistence, determination and a “deaf ear” to shut out negative energy and retain the passion to create from the heart and not the mind.

Ken has described himself as having the gift of vision, no-one will argue with that statement when confronted by the 3D-like imagery he creates, with a seemingly effortless finish. Although this gift is ingrained in his DNA, once it was discovered it had to be cultivated. As a self-taught artist, his talent was nurtured through study; Study of the human figure, study of the message he would therefore inject into his work and study of other artists. Ken sites creatives such as Yinka Sonibare and Kit King as inspirations, artists of very different mediums but intrinsic to the work of Nwadiogbu. He detracts fearlessness and carelessness from the work of Kit King, a fellow hyperrealist, and African tradition and pride from the sculptures on Yinka Sonibare. Yinka is also possibly an influence to add an extra dimension to Nwadiogbu’s work on canvas.

Nwadiogbu aims to express themes of courageousness and peace through his work, he hopes to plant the seed that will be fertilised within the viewers of his work to therefore feel the urge to be bold and to have empathy for others and the situations they find themselves in.

His experiences influence his pieces as the projects he explored are based on his interests and passion. His individual story and thought process is exemplified though his unbelievable work. The courage in his work may come from the strong imagery of a figure breaking through a paper barrier. This may represent the boldness of an individual breaking free from constraints, finding light beyond the dark, revealing themselves to the world and destroying a façade society may have put in place.

Although Ken Nwadiogbu may be sometimes frustrated by the inability of some to look beyond the surface, his message is resilient and readily expressed through composition and human emotion.

His art series’ serve as a method of curating his work to have a deeper connection of one piece to another, similar to an album by a musician or a photography book by a photographer, documenting a specific theme or idea.

One of his major series is entitled ‘The Black Mentality’. This collection delves into the dark psychology of human beings and how their actions and atrocities affect people deeply.

This series refers to scenes of robbery, theft, blackmail and murder amongst other heinous crimes, elements of the human mind that are morbid and driven by human frustration, envy and lack of empathy. The title of this series is very clever in the use of the word ‘Black’.

Many may mistake this title to mean the mentality of the black race, but that would be a misconception derived by only looking at the surface and not delving deeper. As previously stated Ken Nwadiogbu creates from experience, evident in the figures of African decent portrayed in his work and themes stemming from personal encounters of being robbed and blackmailed in the past, all these memories are the key to unlocking his frustration through art.

A piece that exemplifies this series is ‘Thy Brother is Not Thy Brother Indeed, (2017). This piece is exquisitely detailed with life like features that reach for the soul of the viewer. This piece maintains an aesthetic that is consistent in most of Nwadiogbu’s work, the ripped paper revealing a figure. Seemingly a self-portrait in this case. The brilliant symbolism is represented in the ripped paper, torn away to resemble an outline of 2 figures struggling with weapons, looking to harm one another.

The composition of the piece adds to the possible message of the thought provoking piece. Could it be that we only see one of the figures eyes because the other is still behind the façade? Could this represent how so many people overlook the atrocities of human behaviour, and our participation in such? The cold stare of the figures’ seems to be expressing a melancholy lack of emotion as though he had a part to play in the chilling scene that surrounds his features. An outstanding piece that reveals something new with each viewing.

A definitive series in which Ken Nwadiogbu tackles society’s lack of consciousness is ‘The Nylon Series’, designed to challenge the perception of things which are not seen or hardly visible. This collection subtly comments on the moral, social, and cultural climate. It is a beautiful yet uncomfortable collection that suggests how the loss of consciousness of values stifles human progression, forcing us to be stale and without a clear vision of the future ahead which is guided by noble principles and causes change for the better.

The collage of newspaper stories could be a reference to media and how news is reported, sometimes without consciousness of the truth but with full intensions of sensationalising a story for monetary gain. The collages’ quotation marks on each piece could also be inconspicuous methods of referring to how individuals are miss-quoted in the press, or may be a message to viewers to be conscious of our words and surroundings. This series contains 6 pieces that express the suffocation of morals in modern society

‘The Ókótógbam Series’ is a collection that began Ken Nwadiogbu’s focus on evoking emotion through art and symbolism. Ókótógbam meaning “all and none” echoes themes of human resource, resilience, drive, and dexterity, tapping into our inner soldier and reiterating this through the Adinkra symbols from Ghana as well as symbols from the Nsibidi group of Nigeria. The large tears in these pieces of art form these symbols and represent the struggle and hardships that we as humans face but these struggles shape us into the warriors that we are and exposes these traits beyond our struggles.

An excellent example of this is the piece ‘Soldier’, fittingly titled as the shape of the paper tear which exposes the figure is in the form of the Adinkra Symbol. Okodee Mmowere’ meaning “the talons of the eagle”, representing strength, bravery, and power. The vivid imagery and covert symbolism speak volumes and add a deep undertone to the already alluring hyper realist piece.

Nwadiogbu has continued to use his frustrations and struggles to create new opportunities for himself. He is a visual artist but also sees himself as an entrepreneur, creating platforms for artists like himself such as “Artist Connect” alongside his co-convener Fola David, an individual that was instrumental in bringing the concept to fruition and helping young artists in Nigeria to cultivate movements and build relationships. While finding difficulty exhibiting his work due to old standards and needless red tape, he developed his own exhibitions called “Insanity” in collaboration with FROT Foundation and Omenka Gallery for a team of hyper-realists. He is the founder of his very own design studio ‘Kenart Creations’, some of his clients being musicians such as Burna Boy and Mr Eazi.

He has been named ambassador of the Leadership Ttraining Program, the Youth Empowerment Summit (YES), motivating youths and potential entrepreneurs like himself. The reason behind all art and the definition of all art is to see, and give “art with definition”,this is his mission. His drawings are unparalleled and able to communicate and evolve strong emotions. He works in many mediums such as acrylic, oil and pastel but his principal medium of work is pencil and charcoal.

There will never be an end to his search of light and knowledge through the way in which he documents, analyses, and recreates the world through art, using figures to convey different messages. His future is luminous, and we see him as a pioneer in changing the mentality of art and artists within countries such as Nigeria.

-Derrick Odafi, New Wave Writer/Editor

C

reativity is built on imagination and individuality, things that are synonymous with the multifaceted artist Adebayo Tibabalase Bolaji; an abstract expressionist, poet, film director and actor. Bolaji’s imagination runs wild on canvases like a child in an energetic theme park, his individuality cuts through his work like the finest carving knife. His artistic spirit is connected to the great visual artists of the 20th century, some of which he studies and gains inspiration from.

Bolaji is an artist born of Nigerian parents in the London suburb of Perival, Ealing. As a youth, one of his first loves in the arts was acting. At the age of 14 he made his West End debut with the National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT), a theatre group that nourished the talents of actors such as Idris Elba and David Oyelowo.

Bolaji took part in their 1997 production of Bugsy Malone at the Queen’s Theatre. In the NYMT he had the opportunity of travelling, through the vehicle of performing arts, putting on shows with his peers in Edinburgh, Tokyo and prestigious theatres in London such as Palace Theatre and Lyceum Theatre. Although his experiences in plays and productions were growing, Bolaji would continue to turn to drawing throughout his journey as a youth.

Growing up in an environment where religion, Christianity to be exact, and a future in the corporate world were engraved into the fabric of his being, music and education were a fundamental part of his upbringing. His exposure to music through his church choir practising in his house gave him an opportunity to play the drums. Academically, Bolaji credits his father as the individual that constantly preached the importance of Mathematics, English and Science, perceiving Art as ‘a poor man’s profession’. His father felt as though a life as a doctor or lawyer would be the best way for his son to combat racial oppression and acquire a considerable amount of financial freedom. Bolaji however, had a plan for himself that exceeded the expectations of living his life in a hospital or Law firm.

After his experiences in the National Youth Theatre, which was integral in his development as a creative, he began to search for his place in society and develop an understanding of the world around him.

Although he remembers this period in his life as a time filled with love and comradery with individuals of similar interests, there was no escape from the fact that he was different to the rest, this would be pointed out to him through ill advised statements and unpolished thoughts and opinions. These situations caused Bolaji to ask questions within himself, questions such as who he is and what destiny lies ahead of him. At the end of this period in his life, his father’s expected course of his life and the path he wanted to take were at a cross roads.

A battle between what he wanted and what was believed to be best for him ensued. This battle ended in Bolaji enrolling into law school at the London Guildhall University.

These three years where a time in his life that drove him to ask questions of himself. “Why did I give in?” “why did I not just do what I wanted to do?”

Questions that many with conflicting emotions of obedience, fear and passion would have in that situation.

He recollects his period in Law school saying “I hated it so much that I cannot remember one person’s name from my three years of doing that degree….

I literally would just clock in and out”; a reclusive mentality that was different to the personality that he was known for prior to higher education.

An outgoing, expressive young actor became a solitary, socially uninterested bookworm. However, the nature of this course wasn’t all negative and uninspiring. Bolaji’s constant reading paved the way for a road towards creative writing. He began to evolve naturally from hating books and reading to being infatuated with new knowledge and information. Through this voyage of finding himself in an uncomfortable environment he came to be obsessed with three things; creative writing, cinematography, and serenity.

Bolaji’s personal projects of writing screenplays, poetry, and social essays were an escape from his immediate surroundings. Imagination, changing the parameters of his world and growing in an art that would later be a vessel of visual as well as written expression. The work of icons in film such as Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese and Ernest Dickerson enticed him into an infatuation with cinema, his study of this discipline gave him the tools to create motion pictures that speak to the vitality and vivid imagery he loved. He takes some of these motifs into his work for his theatre group Ex Nihilo.

Self Portrait

Graffiti

Untitled from study series

His search for serenity would continue as law ended and a life which was planned for him had begun. Bolaji soon after began work in the city and ‘played the game’ as he often describes it.

However, this period would soon come to a halt, his energy to continue to ‘play the game’ had run empty, with a body breaking down due to exsessivestress and a mind full of racing thoughts crashing against his cranium.

Memories of a friendly message to follow his dreams echoed around him during this time saying, ‘listen to your body, your body knows who you are, what it wants… and if you don’t, eventually you’ll fall sick.’ Bolaji’s family began to realise that life as a lawyer was not the destiny of their son/ brother. His mother just wanted her son to be happy.

Peace of mind, rejuvenation and clarity came in the form of a small philosophy and theology book shop, a place to recalibrate and find his passions again; creativity, imagination, and individuality.

This environment allowed him space to think ahead without drowning in the daily demands of corporate life. The zeal to be artistically productive began to re-emerge. He began to shoot spontaneous short films in his area of London, directed plays and his passion for drawing returned, releasing his inner child as it was an activity he had kept dormant since his youth.

This was the genesis of his abstract style as he found his art to be very emotional and subconsciously driven, a form of self-meditation and discovery. Bolaji’s time at this bookstore gave him the thinking time to find himself again and build the confidence to pursue his acting career once again, a decision that yielded great fruits.

‘I thought I would never act again, but now everything seemed possible.’ These theoretical possibilities manifested in the physical as Bolaji was accepted into The Central School of Speech and Drama. Things in the life of Bolaji were taking a turn for the better.

However, there was still an element of nonsatisfaction as he continued to fall. Regardless of a successful career, by definition of most, he originated the role of the Subway Ghost in the award-winning ‘Ghost - the Musical’, directed

by Matthew Warchus. Bolaji also appeared in the James Bond motion picture ‘Skyfall’ and was also cast in Tom Hooper’s movie version of Les Misérables, but had to withdraw due to film schedule conflicts. Bolaji worked as an actor in the historic Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, wrote and directed for the London stage and devised experimental theatre with designer Carl Robertshaw, a very impressive resume.

Regardless, something within him continued to speak to him in a language he could not comprehend. To relieve himself he would begin to write, but end up drawing. At first, he would be confused as to what was driving him to draw abstract figures rather than write a meaningful story, drawing to a point where notepads would be launched across the room in frustration. His reluctance came to acceptance when after a morning of fatigue and melancholy moods moved him to find a solution to his feelings. Rather than writing, a calm and convincing voice urged him to do something different…buy paint.

He obeyed his sub-conscious and opted for strong, heavy, and dense paint. Bright, glaring, and unapologetic colours were a torch that Bolaji would now have in his possession, passed on from the likes of Jean Michel Basquiat and Cy Twombly… all this was purely instinctive, a free roaming stream of consciousness.

His studies in other arts such as acting provided the parameters for his individuality.

“As an actor one is taught to be metaphorically naked, to leave oneself alone, to be in the moment and yet understand that a story needs to be told within a specific given space and time. One also understands process, especially in devising new work or creating a character, dealing with layers, understanding what is necessary and putting the story at the heart of the matter. These principles are so strong and valuable that they cross over to almost every art form, especially painting.”

His performance art beginnings taught him self awareness, this allows him to take a front row seat as his creative flow puts on a show for him to witness, as though he paints and draws outside of himself. The nakedness and child-like carelessness necessary to reach the deepest elements of acting are the same intangibles that he spreads across his canvases.

He often cites Francis Bacon’s unapologetic unravelling of the human body to add a wellinformed connection between these two crafts.

Bolaji’s work is understood and complete well before he puts pencil to paper or paint to canvas.

His paintings are improvised plays with a sense of guidance and constructivism, some residue of characteristics from his life as a law student.

Themes of objectivity and subjectivity inspire his obsession with philosophical idea, therefore referenced in his art; allowing the physical to be a tool for the mind to express his inner self through contemporary art. It is an emotional and thrilling experience; no mechanical technique involved, just self-examination. This is abundantly evident in pieces such as ‘What I Feel Like When’, ‘Nepalse Tsasho (Laid)’ and ‘Space’; colourful and buoyant pieces documenting the course of action from the cerebral cortex to the physical. Art for Bolaji “becomes a complete medium that feels effortless and enjoyable and in turn allows me to communicate fully, for that moment”, the most fulfilling discipline in which he has at his disposal.

Space A self-taught contemporary artist, who drew throughout his younger years, Bolaji has become a renaissance man in the creative stratosphere. Comparable to the work of Francis Bacon, Basquiat and Twombly, he discovered his path through colour and boldness on canvas through the darkest of days. He demonstrates Twombly and Basquiat’s freeness yet, maturity in composition and execution whilst keeping his unmistakable individuality. An artist to watch in various capacities.

Bolaji currently has a book of his poetry and art called ‘We Are Elastic Ideas’ available to the public, in addition to short films of his poetry, directed by himself which can be streamed on Vimeo and newwavemagazine.com

-Derrick Odafi. New Wave Writer/Editor

P

hiladelphia is the city of brotherly love, and a melting pot for creativity and artistic expression. West Philadelphia native Shawn Theodore, born in Stuttgart, Germany, is an artist that expresses creativity in multiple domains; photography, videography, and collage. His work communicates a quality of pride and strength as he documents the state of African and African Americans in the current climate.

His surroundings are the muse for his photographic compositions. As of late we often see fine art that can easily be mistaken for photography, but Shawn Theodore’s work is art that has the unique quality of being easily mistaken for fine art. This is one of the reasons why New Wave Magazine has chosen to delve into the brilliance of Shawn Theodore.

Theodore’s alias on Instagram is “xST”, a simple moniker with a deep meaning which explains his artistic philosophy. Of course, “ST” are his initials but the alias is short for ‘exist’ which in turn is an abbreviation for ‘existentialism’ which is a philosophical theory or approach which emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent, determining their own development through acts of their will.

This could be a reference to the responsibility Theodore believes he possesses when creating his art, to create scenes that explores the disposition and distortion of African American and African diaspora.

His work experiments with themes of systems of control within the fading black community, themes of spirituality, patriarchy, matriarchy, and class the structure within these communities.

His journey of artistic journalism began in two forms, the physical and the mental. The physical relates to the time in which Theodore was gifted a Pentax K-1000 by his mother at the age of 13. Through improving his skills with the camera, he worked in his school’s yearbook committee. This camera was a sort of investment from his mother into the future of her son and their family, as money was not easy to come by at the time, purchasing that camera was with the belief that it would be a tool of great success for years to come.

His mental realisation of how important photography is occurred through his trips to the photo booths downtown in Parkway Zeta, near the arcades on 13th & Market Streets. This was a time when camera phones and even mobiles were a thing of the future; these times of laughter, posing and capturing expression allowed Theodore to connect with photography on a deeper level.

This was a period in which Hip Hop culture was at its genesis and on a rise and in his teens, he was unaware of how important that time in history would be. Hip-Hop culture grew exponentially, and he saw the world change as people came and went, forms of expression bursting from everywhere imaginable, an epiphany that brought Theodore to realizing the meaning of photography.

2008 was the year of new discoveries for Theodore. Through a meeting with Jamel Shabazz, an internationally renowned African American fashion, art and documentary photographer, this encounter influenced him into approaching the world of photography in his unique way. Theodore saw the beauty in Shabazz’s conversations with people and his photographs, this fuelled him to create his own dynamic dialogue with people.

In his own work he was hesitant to submerge his work into portraiture due to the oversaturation of the genre. He aimed to find a basis to create though exploring his surroundings. He started to just walk around and develop an emotional connection to his community, sensing the vibes of the cities he found himself in and feeling the pulse of the people around him through their movement; the beginnings of his existential psychology. Then getting deeper into it, he started realizing that his deepest connection to his experience which forced him to create is the people he saw getting marginalized right in front of their doors.

Gentrification. ‘‘On one side of the street, you have brand new homes with $25 million tax statements, and then on the other side of the street, it’s just hard times’’ he recollects, these dichotomies festered in his mind, pondering the disposition of natives in his immediate surroundings. And the light bulb went off, his recognition of covert oppression gave him a message to disseminate through creativity.

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison spurred this creative concept. He would walk through the streets of Crown Heights, Bushwick, Fort Greene, feeling the desolation and disposition of the people. He was present amongst the people but unlike Shabazz, no conversations were had.

Invisible until further notice…

Theodore’s beginnings with a camera transitioned into his professional work through street photography, willingly losing himself to the pathways of the community. Capturing the now as it occurs, his subjects give his work great authenticity and innocence due to his subjects usually engulfed in their day to day life and happen to be photographed in the process.

Capturing figures in Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore, Theodore details the bright spirit and energy of the people within an environment of sometimes unpleasant qualities. This series of images is documented in his ‘Street Portraits’ and ‘Avenues’ projects, carried out from 2011 to 2016. These projects embodied the spirit of African American people, young and old and the relationship between people and architecture.

Photography with a feeling of person-ability that highlights the strength and energy of the people in these communities and how they express themselves through typography and colour, the colourful backgrounds and ranges of expressions put a spotlight on the importance of people through photography.

His knowledge of journalism through his time at Temple University in Philadelphia helps his art through curiosity and using composition to tell a story through various characters; Stories of happiness, struggle, maintenance and working class strive, characters such as youngsters, adults, church goers and hustlers and giving his audience beautiful spectrum of the black experience.

Theodore’s work therefore evolved from documenting the spirit of the people to exhibiting the opulence and majesty of being black. He created a new mythology to parallel that of the Greeks and Romans.

Depicting figures that embody the ethereal and supernatural beauty of the black experience, set in the current day.

This project is called ‘Church of Broken Pieces’. This collection is in reverence to the continuous progression and unwavering strength of the dynamic melanated people.

This image portrays figures of this new mythology as full examples of excellence and nobility.

The religious undertone comes in the attire of the figures, the elegant compositions and powerful poses that send subtle messages of the upper echelon dexterity bound by blackness. There are ironically no broken pieces at all, just resilient symbolism, and an amazing sense of pride.

The project by Shawn Theodore that first exposed us to his work was ‘The Fruit of Comets’.

These outstanding photographs also have those same connotations of black excellence and affluence as seen in the ‘Church of Broken Pieces’ project. The striking juxtaposition of vibrant, draping garments and exuberant head scarves against the dark skin tones of the figures add to the alluring aesthetic of these pieces. These photographs almost have a quality of fine art with compositions similar to works from the renaissance era.

The figures seem to typify the grandeur of renaissance paintings, displaying the figures in exquisite sophistication and magnificence.

Theodore uses elements of his street photography, such as the colours captured and the interesting backdrops, and combines this with more directed and constructed configurations to disseminate his message. These figures seem to be African dignitaries whom find themselves in the modern surroundings, a collection of dazzling imagery.

Theodore only cares to shoot people, in uniquely isolated situation, he prefers to allow his work to speak. He challenges himself to create images that evoke the feeling of collage and painting. He reduces the visibility of the details of faces and bodies of his figures with absolute blackness of a naturally occurring shadow, while boosting the colours of the backdrop or background. This purposefully connects to those in an isolated state, looking for a mood in that person, drawing out emotion through deep, saturated colours and deep dark shadows. An admirable artist with immense pedigree. His clients such as Apple, Louboutin Homme and The Smithsonian Magazine see the value in his creative perspective.

-Derrick Odafi, New Wave Writer/Editor

K

aykay Onyeobi is an exceedingly talented visual artist, and our first ‘Photographer Spotlight’ on New Wave Magazine.

She is a Nigerian artist currently located in Famagusta, North Cyprus for her Bachelor’s Degree Program in Visual Arts and Visual Communication Design.

Her work encapsulates themes of beauty, warmth, and refinement that automatically connect to the viewer. Her portrait photography possesses the ability to express a sense of personality of the figure in the image and a consistently soft aesthetic, supplemented by her use of light.

Kaykay’s work has a vulnerable quality to it that signals thoughts of the story behind the photo.

Nature and the outdoors are also a consistent part of her work, allowing natural light to highlight her figure and give her photography a potent essence of attraction. Kaykay explores themes such as the masculinity of black men, beauty within the raw/uncut and reflecting on herself through her photography.

Although she has a refined eye behind the camera, Kaykay is also captivating in front of it.

She has a definitive presence in the frame and the composition usually speaks to a strong and dominant disposition. She also seems to take the concept of expression into her photography as her work seems to have her models disseminate feelings that range from mystery and solidarity to seductive and vigorous.

Kaykay is a visual artist that has plenty to offer creatively in her interests in fashion, beauty and lifestyle and we at New Wave believe that she has a distinct approach that reaches out to all interested in optic artistry. She has been featured and interviewed on top online sites such as Bella Naija, Radr Online, Hassy’s World, Beyond Classically Beautiful and more, a creative with a future as bright as her work.

Oliver Rousteing posing with Jenifer Lopez as she models one of his pieces.

O

livier Rousteing is a French fashion designer and the creative director of Balmain, Paris, born in France on the13th of September,1986.

Rousteing grew up in Bordeaux, moving to Paris to study at Ecole Supérieure des Arts et Techniques de la Mode.

Graduating in 2003, he began his career as a designer at Roberto Cavalli , quickly climbing the ranks to become head of the brand’s womenswear division.

He worked alongside Robert Cavalli as a designer from 2003 to 2009.

Rousteing was then hired by Balmain in 2009 as the women’s ready-to-wear designer, he worked closely with the house’s then creative director Christophe Decarnin who became a mentor to Rousteing.

When Decarnin stepped down from his position in April 2011, Rousteing was appointed his successor and became the second-youngest designer to head an established French fashion house, only second to the legendary Yves Saint Laurent.

Known for his engagement within social media, the designer has over four and a half million followers on Instagram, making him the most followed French designer on the platform. Rousteing uses Instagram to interact with his Balmain Army.

French designer is consistently inspired by the strength of women, and aims to empower them with his bold designs.

In a British Vogue interview Rousteign states that a woman who is going to wear Balmain is a warrior.

A Balmain woman is powerful, strong and a woman who is going to change the world.

At this point, it’s hard to think of what new venture could be done by Rousteing at Balmain, considering he has achieved so many things, such as a H&M collaboration, launched a childrenswear line, collaboration with Vicoria Secret, worked on a Kanye West music video, collaborated with L’Oréal Paris and opened a New York City store.

Olivier Rousteing as the creative director of Balmain is known for the $4,000 sequined evening dresses and $2,000 gold-buttoned men’s jackets. He plans to shi owhis design aesthetic and open up Balmain to a wider audience.

Having introduced accessories for fall Rousteing is looking for additional ways to draw new customers to the brand. Rousteing indicated Balmain would expand its audience without straying from its core luxury positioning by offering casual luxury, with more denims, jersey and knitwear in the collection.

Balmain has become one of the most visible and trend setting brands in fashion industry due to Rousteing daring silhouttes and designs. Balmain has become a brand favourite to celebrities such as Kim Kardashian West, Kanye West, Rihanna, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner and Jennifer Lopez.

Balmain’s fall 2017 show received the highest overall social engagement during Paris Fashion Week, reaching 1.9 million people.

Rousteing now plans to develop his daywear for women. The designs are catered to the powerful and confident Balmain woman. He soughts to bring fragility and romanticism to this collection by exploring different styles and aesthetic but also being true to the Balmain brand, the DNA which he and the brand is known for. Also, Rousteing aims to also explore a new Balmain male consumer as the current men’s collection is inpired by the rock n roll or hip-hop style and pop stars. Rousteing is a modern fashion icon and a staple in the industry.

With so many accomplishments by the age of 32, we can expect greater things from Olivier Rousteing and Balmain as a whole.

-Teresa Mwangi, New Wave Fashion

The significance of streetwear is now being dictated by the financial interests of high-end fashion brands. Streetwear sites like Highsnobiety and Hypebeast used to focus on the latest Supreme drops. Now these sites work with luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Dior and Gucci.

Last November Gucci partnered with Highsnobiety on a shoppable lookbook promoting its graffiti inspired Cruise 2017 collection, created in collaboration with former snowboarder and artist Trevor Andrew, aka GucciGhost.

W

ithin the first days of the campaign the lookbook images featuring a group of New York skaters generated over 1 million impressions and drove 2,700 clicks to Gucci’s e-commerce site within its first week according to Highsnobiety.

Highsnobiety currently attracts about 9 million unique visitors per month.

For years luxury brands kept their distance from street wear brands but with the growth and interest in the Millennial generation in street wear fashion, sites such as Hypebeast and Highsnobiety began to close the gap between high fashion and street wear. This led to the birth of street-luxe labels like Vetements.

The shift began in 2006 with the rise of Shayne Oliver’s Hood By Air and could be seen in Riccardo Tisci’s streetwear-inspired work for Givenchy.

CLOSING THE GAP BETWEEN STEET WEAR AND HIGH-END FASHION

By 2012, everybody from Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga to Alexander Wang had referenced streetwear in some form in their collections. The same year Kevin Ma featured Dior Homme artistic director Kris Van Assche on the cover of Hypebeast’s inaugural print issue which explored the synthesis of high and low culture.

Luxury labels over the years have realised the rise of streetwear in the Millennial generation; as they are one of the largest generations in history to enter their peak purchasing years.

At the same time the media landscape has impacted the close in street wear and luxury by dramatically changing away from the traditional advertising way towards more sponsored content like sites such as Hypebeast and Highsnobiety.

-Teresa Mwangi, New Wave Fashion

Photography by Sheldon Evans

Models: Urban Outcasts (Jordan Buckley and Jordan Hurrell) Photographer: Derrick Odafi

Urban Outcasts

Urban Outcasts are a collective of two creatives inspired by fashion and videography. The leaders of the movement are Jordan Hurrell and Jordan Buckley,@ezhydro and @yeez_jordan respectivley on Instagram. These talents look to bring a new angle of brilliant editing and cinematography into urban street wear and fashion in general. As Models and Photographers also, these visual artists have great potential in the creative industry and are the latest addition to the New Wave Team.

New Wave

Photographer: Derrick Odafi

B

orn in Nigeria and bred in East London, Harry Uzoka, 25, quickly rose to prominence and became a household name/brand in the fashion industry. Characterised by his classical handsome features and his innocent look ,Uzoka would eventually be signed to Premier Model Management, a model management company that has guided the careers of household names such as Naomi Campbell. Harry would go on to work with world renowned brands such as Mercedes, River Island and G-Star.

Even at the start of his career before he would really make his mark, Harry was always attempting to push boundaries.

The movement JustANorm was created by himself and a group of friends in 2014. They aimed to open more doors for young black males in the modelling world, especially those who had other hobbies; their message was this, “yeah we love modelling don’t get us wrong, but we want to bring our other passions and interests that we take part in day to day into our shoots, it’s normal for us hence the name JustANorm.”

Uzoka was a man who was very self aware and channeled a positive energy at all times; he was known to be very expressive with his style, exploring with brash colour and fashion choices which he made fashionable to young people that followed his journey to be able to wear.

He collaborated with many high fashion brands like the Dior for the Dior homme collection, Gstar for the Gstar Elwood denim collection and a personal favourite he’s royalty inspired shoot for Kenneth Nicolson.

A patriot through and through, Harry never shied away from his heritage and constantly showcased Nigerian culture in his style, promoting music as well as art.

He also worked with fellow British Nigerian, Tinie Tempah to help showcase Nigerian fashion on the runway.

He was hailed by many and his modelling agency described him as “a very friendly and easy-going guy to work with”. He was about to take the new year by storm after wrapping up a great 2017 with a shoot for Mercedes.

Harry, despite his huge influence and extremely bright present and future was a victim of a stabbing incident last month where he unfortunately lost his life. An alleged dispute with a fellow model, George Koh, whom was very successful in the field of modelling in his own right. The dispute was reported to be over a love interest, therefore ultimately led to the unfortunate event. Uzoka and Koh scheduled a meeting along side friends respectively.

A prosecutor details the events, describing a fight over an unknown woman that was instigated over social media. While Uzoka and an unnamed friend arrived with pipes, Koh, Okigbo, and one more unnamed person appeared with knives, chased Uzoka, and stabbed him three times in the heart. Koh, whom has also modelled alongside Uzoka turned himself in to the authorities four days after the police found Uzoka’s body in the Shepherd’s Bush neighborhood streets.

Koh has been charged with ‘possession of an offensive weapon’ And Murder. A positive influence to the youth lost to knife crime, a continuous issue in the United Kingdom.

He was a great inspiration to many and paved the way for other young black models from the same background to come through the modelling scene and thrive; although young, what he has done for the scene will not be forgotten.

-Charles Ogunmilade, Head of Photography

Seductive Transcendence The moonlike revelation of the full form of pupils Gives rise to a medicine delivered in the way of oral vibrations Amid an evocation of paradise from an intoxicating fragrance Stirring up delightful memories inside recipient buds At the thought of delving teeth into fertile flesh To reach a heightened state of consciousness

As if a voice could release liquid energy from its vibrations The tingling swam to an experience beyond auditory flesh Breaking the seal on the soul and freeing pupils To an expanded state of consciousness Drawing power from the rawness of human fragrance And now the voice is evident in the language from the land of buds

The literature of spellbinding referenced in a fragrance Throwing enchantments between nasal flesh Giving rise to a cauldron of lust stirring within taste buds Soon to crack open and release molecular vibrations Hurriedly pouring out to stimulate pupils Therefore, increasing the watts in the light bulb of consciousness

As words leak through lips to relieve pressured buds And the language from the land of buds drowns ears like musical vibrations Pounding with the muscle of drums at the door of consciousness In an attempt to awaken resting pupils From a frozen spot like an odourless fragrance Forms a picture worthy of penetrating the hearts flesh

Subtly moves the carnal desires of the flesh In the growing darkness of the pupils Triggering a reaction hidden from consciousness But recognised in the wine flowing through the buds Of two people giving off intimate vibrations As noses fill with the scented candle’s fragrance

A signal of invitation for the merging of consciousness Serves the sign of the enlarged pupils To expand psychic vibrations Through an intimate interaction of flesh Motivated by the writhing of taste buds Thrilled by the suggestive effects of a ripe fragrance

While Sun and Moon exchange fragrances and vibrations The seal of innocent consciousness blackens in the Eden of the buds While wine sparkles in cups like the soul beyond the pupil’s flesh

-Kelechi Agomoh, New Wave Creative Writing

A

rchitecture has a way of defining the activities that will take place within it. Building design is important to the culture of a particular location or institution, whether that be education, medicine or design itself.

The Design Museum in Holon, Israel has been described as ‘a catalyst for transformation’ with regards to its location and cultural impact across the architectural spectrum. It is a fantastic sculptural building bound to capture the imagination of its visitors.

The transformation occurs with the Holon Museum being the first museum in Israel to be dedicated to the discipline of design. A structure planned and designed by Israeli architect and industrial designer Ron Arad, the design museum is a beacon towards the continuous development of Holon into an epicentre of culture and education.

This building aims to drive forward the sensibilities of design in the country of Israel and inspire creativity from the exterior to the interior.

Holon over the past decade has made efforts to inject life into the culture of the arts in the city populated by almost 200,000 people. The city has invested into a variety of edification programmes, cultural festivals and other museums but the design museum is arguably the greatest step towards their objective.

The primary goals of Design Museum Holon are to inspire and challenge the design community and the general public’s perception of design and the way it affects their lives. Ron Arad therefore proposed a construction that exemplifies fluidity and ambition, quietly inspiring natives to take notice of what great design can bring forward.

The bright and distinctive colours of the building make it unmistakeable and the fluently repeated rings give the building a playful undertone that gives the budding cultural city of Holon a different dynamic. The Design Museum has features that elevates the field of design into a leading position on the Israeli cultural agenda.

The museum, opened on the 3rd of March 2010, is surrounded by other cultural buildings such as the Holon Institute of Technology, Mediatheque and the National Israeli Cartoon Museum. The Leaders of the district designated an initial total of 17 million dollars to facilitate the completion of the project which would create an iconic building, providing visitors with an immersive environment. The budget also accounted for maintenance during its first 5 years of activity.

The site designated for the museum occupies a semi-rectangular 3,700m² lot.

The spacious public plaza to the north of the site was recognised as an appropriate introductory public space and entrance route to the Museum. The gently elevating topography of the site is articulated by the arrangement of the museum facilities over 2 staggered levels, connected by an external sculptural ramp – the museum’s prime circulation route.

This therefore capitalizes on the tension between an internal arrangement of efficient box-like spaces, and the dynamic and curvaceous external envelope, an excellent juxtaposition that guides the design principle (and economic safeguard during design development) for the entire museum.

One of the most notable parts of the museum’s external appearance is the five dominant bands of Corten steel. This steel doubles as as the structure which allows the bands to undulate and meander their way in, out and around the museum’s internal volumes, at times in unison, or apart, enclosing space, or notionally defining it. The bands act as a spine for the building - both supporting large parts of it structurally and dictating its posture in relation to its surroundings.

The topography of the bands is further emphasised by a gradation of treated patinas and the subsequent weathering of the steel over the lifetime of the building, allowing the building to readily adapt to its climate, near the Israeli desert. The bands are never entirely obscured from the visitor’s sight, and act as a visual key to one’s position within the museum. These bands also create beautiful sculptural forms above spaces within the building, creating shaded locations that allow sunlight to permeate into the area.

The form of the building wraps around itself in a sublimely engineered manner.

The weathered steel is an elegant joint and envelope for the two primary galleries and a number of diverse alternative exhibition and education spaces in-between. The Gallery 1 is 500 Sq Meters in size and celebrates the abundance of natural light in Israel and the qualities it can bring to the display of threedimensional objects,. This space also allows curatorial flexibility by modulating light levels, important for the adaptability of the building.

The second, smaller gallery, (200m²) is taller inside but offers a more intimate, personal relationship between the visitor and the object on displays

This building is an exceptional example of pragmaticism and artistry. Ron Arad, having great experience in product design and not much in a realised piece of architecture up until this point gives Holon a building fit for purpose and a prime location with regards to aesthetics, space and materiality. A mesmerising structure even 8 years later.

Derrick Odafi, New wave Writer/Editor

T

here have been various typologies for places of worship in the past few centuries. Churches like The Old St Peters Basilica, where the current church stands, was a medieval building with a courtyard and a procession of a nave (central pathway in the church), aisles on either side for seating and an alter at the top of the building.

These buildings would possess high ceilings to create an intimidating feel within the building. These themes have continued throughout history from the medieval time to the renaissance and baroque era, these themes have slightly adapted overtime with the introduction of new materials and perspectives of what a church should be.

A Steyn Studio interpretation of a church located in Breederiver Valley, South Africa is the Boajes Chapel. Completed in 2016, the building is a modern and majestic example of what post-modernist architecture and the concept of a church can merge to create. No matter what your background is or your beliefs the structure is an alluring construction that is inviting to everyone and anyone.

As Jesus turned water to wine, it is only fitting that the chapel is located within a vineyard in South Africa and is designed

by South African born architect Coetzee Steyn. Similar to the Design Studio in Holon referred to in the previous article, the chapel has a very sculptural aesthetic that lends itself to aiding the structure of the building simultaneously.

Its elegant shape is a sophisticated reference to the building’s mountain rage surroundings, whilst paying tribute to the historic Cape Dutch gables dotting the rural landscapes of the Western Cape.

The parabolic roofing system has a great resemblance to the L’Oceanogràfic designed

by Mexican architect Felix Candela, completed in February 2003. The structure is constructed from a slim concrete cast shell, the roof supports itself as each undulation dramatically falls to meet the ground. The Steyn Studio construction is arguably more playful than that of Candela as at the corners of the square plan, the concrete meandering roof structure creates an overhang, revealing the glass wall and frames that incapsulate the space within the chapel.

Where each wave of the roof structure rises to a peak, expanses of glazing adjoined centrally by a crucifix adorn the façade, a brilliant method of allowing light and air flow into the building and providing shade at certain times of the year whilst using the structure of the wooden material for added symbolism.

The beautiful wave of the structure also has the subtle quality of thinner concrete at the top of the building and thicker close to the foundations for extra support. The structure has the ability to stand on its own without the wooden frames which support the glass walls.

The Bosjes Chapel is a rhythmic reference to the bible passage Psalms 36:7 which reads How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

This quotation is brought to the physical through the wing-like roofing structure but also through the dynamic structure’s pure white colour helping to luminate the interior as light bounces off its surface. Beside the building is a reflective pond, emphasising the apparent weightlessness of the structure. Another subtle connection to the building’s religious purpose.

The building is also slightly lifted upon a plinth above the flat land to give the building a little more prominence within its surroundings. New planting around the chapel includes a vineyard and pomegranate orchard create a lush green oasis on the otherwise exposed site.

Internally, a large, open assembly space has been formed within a simple rectangular plan, a flexible space that can be transitioned for various needs. The whitewashed ceiling casts an array of shadows throughout the day, while polished terazzo floors help reflect light; a naturally luminated and ventilated building that is passively effective. A neutral material palette not only allows parishioners to focus on prayer, but also enables the framed views of the surrounding landscape to take prominence, wonderfully crafted simple wooden benches with dark blue padding are positioned on either side of a central aisle towards the altarr.

Inspired by the simplicity of the Moravian Mission Stations established on Cape Dutch farms in the 19th Century, the Bosjes Chapel embodies a sense of significance in relation to its impressive natural surroundings. The form of the exquisite chapel is an open embrace which invites visitors in. The chapel is also a space that extends outwards into the valley and mountains beyond, raising the awareness of God’s creation in the immediate environment.

-Derrick Odafi, New Wave writer/editor

Photography by doublekickonesnareshot

C

ause and Effect; The principle of causation, the natural agency or efficacy that connects one process with another process or state, a course of life that connects deeply with a 24-year-old lyricist from 65th and Western, South Central Los Angeles.

A wordsmith with an ocean full of passion through his lyrics, a tone of voice that punches through the instrumental like Ali in his prime, a parallel that applies to Cozz’s ability to melodically dance on an instrumental like the late great himself. Cozz is arguably the most aggressive and potent artist in the rap game, only Kendrick and his mentor J Cole can aggressivly race next to the former track star, Cody Osagie.

Born on October 1st, 1993, Cozz has experienced a relatively fast insertion into the music business.

As a youth he was a product of his surroundings, an active LA kid that went from a middle school in his neighbourhood to Mira Costa high school in Manhattan Beach, California, a school recognised for academics across the state. What he saw as his first ticket out of the streets was football and athletics. At the age of 16 he began rapping as a hobby, competing with a friend by the name of Chris Morton.

2 years go by as Cozz continues to improve his skills, writing and recording every chance he got while still performing at a high level in football and track.

He had a record during his time at Mira Costa highschool. Tragically an accident occurred, pulling his hamstring and his hopes of getting further in sports were unfortunately torn along with his hamstring.

Luckily for him sports was not an unwavering passion for him, he took the setback in stride and continued his journey through music, improving himself and learning the tricks of the trade that made him the artist he is today.

At a time where his skills began to develop, feeling the urge to take his music further, at the age of 18 he met with his current producer ‘Meez’ and manager Tone, individuals that helped craft his sound and make his rise to becoming a Dreamville artist, with only one song and video released to the public, possible. Initially they developed the idea of creating a demo tape to be presented at Interscope Records, coincidentally the major in which Dreamville Records falls under.

Tone was an intern at the record label and felt as though there was a chance of Cozz being signed.

This project later became ‘Cozz & Effect’, a fan favourite and his Introduction into the music industry.

During the recording process for this demo Cozz recorded ‘Dreams’, an amazingly relatable and ambient record that speaks to his ambition and aggression to find riches. A song that reflects on the possibility of him going the normal 9-5 route, but he catches himself in thought saying “Nahh f**k that”, willing to do anything to achieve financial freedom. The chilling record was heard by an official at Interscope, a connection was made to a video director John Merizalde, whom they shot the video with for $600, and the rise began. Cozz says on his record ‘Cody Macc’ “Man I was poppin on twitter before a n***a even got one”, true indeed.

The song went viral and the record labels started calling in, meeting with executives and seasoned rappers looking to sign him. Cozz recollects the process saying “we finally met up with this dude named Matt who showed Cole directly. He loved it.

The next day I went to Cole’s house and we discussed business. He loved the rest of the music. It connected; it was cool.”

Soon after, J Cole remixed another prominent record on the Cozz and Effect project, released 2 days after his 21st birthday, ‘Knock the Hustle’.

This record Stamped Cozz into the industry as they went one after the other rapping about the struggle of the human emotion of jealousy and hate, and the drive to overcome it over a jazzy trumpet sample and break beat.

His first project was received by the masses extremely positively with hard hitting and inspirational records such as ‘Cody Macc’ and ‘I’m the Man’, Anthems.

Cozz was a part of J Cole’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive tour in 2015 along side artists such as Big Sean, Jhene Aiko and Jeremih. He was also part of Bas’ Too High to Riot tour in the USA and was also featurd in Cole’s Dollar and a Dream tour, he is a travelled artist with plenty to offer the music world and time to develop into a well renowned artist. In a crew with lyrical monsters such as J.I.D, Bas, Omen, Earth Gang, Lute and of course Cole it’s a lot to say that Cozz is a stand out artist in the collective. Cole has been documented as saying he sees Cozz as a younger version of himself, the aggressive and ambitious Cole fans can hear in records such as ‘Dreams’, ironically, ‘Autograph’ and many more.

As a businessman in his own right, he is the founder of his own record label ‘Committee Records’ aka ‘Mittee Gang’. Cozz aims to develop into an executive to give other artists an opportunity to experience the rise and the journey through music. Giving his audience more of a connection to him, he raps on ‘Knock Tha Hustle’ “Let me touch you with my words, Kiss you with a song”, the energy of an artist looking to be around for years to come.

Cozz has released his new project ‘Effected’ in February 2018, this project featuring artists such as Kendrick Lamar and J Cole will hopefully propel him to greater heights and acclaim, a project the New Wave team is definitly bumping as we speak.

-Derrick Odafi, New Wave Writer/Editor

For some reason His secpnd record ‘Nothing Personal’ did not make as great of an impact as his previous offering, despite great records such as ‘Tabs’ featuring his label mate and rap chameleon Bas and a touching and outstanding record called ‘Grow’. For real, check that record out. Powerful.

M

usic has many styles and sounds, even within a specific genre. Artists can find inspiration from pioneers that came before them and intertwine sounds to create something new. That something new comes in the form of Emily Mutaako, A 22-year-old singer/ songwriter from Hackney, London, a resilient artist that aims to create no matter the circumstances.

As a lady of Rwandan heritage it is no surprise that along with music, education was a big part of her journey. Emily is a graduate in law from the University of Kent, no surprise that this great achievement came with battles between her studies and her music. During her time in higher education; Emily would often take trips back and forth from Canterbury to London to work on her passion, music. At this time Emily was in the process of finding her own distinct sound while battling with the daunting and continuously intense task of working towards a Law degree, a difficult task for even the most dedicated individuals.

Continuing to pursue music is something that she remained persistent with through the highs and the lows of the process, as an artist with classical, gospel and jazz vocal training, her love for music is unwavering and allowed her to create in a way that gives her a unique voice and sound within the musical landscape. During the process of finding her sound, her first body of work ‘Heart and Mind’ was offered to the public. Heart and Mind is a 5 track EP created alongside Emily’s go to music producer ‘Jay Jay Musika’. His sonic landscapes provided beautiful chords for Emily to exhibit her stellar vocals by singing powerful ballads that put the listener in a sentimental mood.

On this EP Emily sings about a romance and relationship within her life, sometimes in an ambiguous way, which may seem to refer to a significant other but in actuality expresses her love for music. This theme in her music is directly referred to on the song ‘This Love’. The song that closes out the project is ‘Still Feel Like Judas’ is a jazz and Neo soul fusion with a piano accompaniment. ‘This Love’ ties the project together by expressing her battle between her heart and mind of pursuing music, the struggle of most creatives of settling for a safe lifestyle and not fulfilling their creative dreams due to fear of failure in contrast to being fearless in following their heart not to fall into temptation of their surroundings like the biblical figure Judas. Betrayal of someone is one thing but betrayal of yourself is a completely different burden.

-Derrick Odafi, New Wave Editor

Emily along with being a previous law student is a student of her art. An avid listener of music, she takes great inspiration from artists such as Nina Simone, Fantasia Barrino and Chrisette Michele amongst others, she synthesises elements of each into something she can call her own. Whilst finding herself and refining her sound after her first offering, she began to use her government name ‘Emiliy Mutaako’ as opposed to her previous stage name ‘Emily Grace’, a change that also speaks to the personal progression in her music.

Emily being a truly independent artist. She is an artist that manages all her affairs, which is a feat that many may find difficult to comprehend. She books her own shows and performs readily at various venues around the city of London. Emily has continued to develop her sound and her reach with her latest single ‘Fall’, a more up-tempo instrumental with an infectious hook, an experimental sound that Emily seems to execute well by keeping her soulful identity.

Definitely a must listen for lovers of Rnb/Soul and lovers of love.

Emily is an extremely talented artist that has an ear for easily accessible songs that the masses will love, regardless she is not afraid to experiment with her sound and have that challenge her vocally and lyrically. She’s not afraid to exhibit the range of her voice in records such as ballads to Contemporary Rhythm and Blues, oh and she’s bringing back scatting in a very big way, you read it here first.

Emily is a great talent and an even better person, trust me I know...

I

n an era plagued with oversharing and easy access to information, its rare not to know everything about your favourite musicians.

However, for singer-songwriter H.E.R. this is exactly the case. Ironically, H.E.R. stands for Having Everything Revealed however, the mystery concerning her identity is much more than a marketing strategy. In an interview with the LA Times, the singer explained that the secrecy behind her identity is so that the music is the sole focus of our attention. She wants “…women to really feel how honest and vulnerable [she is] and to understand that they are not alone and that these are all human emotions”. At the end of the day, its all about the music.

In 2016, H.E.R. first showed up on the scene via Soundcloud when she released her EP, ‘H.E.R. Vol 1’. The seven-song EP, including a cover of Drake’s “Jungle”, takes fans on an intimate journey providing a glimpse into the emotions of her romantic situation. Despite all the mystery, the singer certainly captured the attention of listeners, earning support from the likes of Alicia Keys and Wyclef Jean. The EP also, made it onto iTunes’ Best of 2016 R&B/Soul Albums list, with the popular song “Losing” making iTunes Best R&B/Soul Singles list.

In June 2017, H.E.R returned giving us ‘H.E.R. Vol 2’ - a continuation of her pure and melodically refreshing music. Wearing her heart on her sleeve, she delivers another part of the story, allowing listeners to delve deeper into her relationship that has taken a downward turn. Popular tracks, “Every Kind of Way” and “Gone Away” sophisticatedly translate the raw and honest emotions, that are once again completely relatable.

In October 2017 HER released another gem, meshing together both ‘H.E.R. Vol 1’ and ‘H.E.R. Vol 2’, to form H.E.R. - the singer’s first debut album. Using songs from her previous works and combining them with new songs such as, “2” and “Rather Be”, H.E.R tells a story laying everything bare. Listeners are taken through her journey of love from the beginning to the very end. On this album H.E.R also teams up with the talented Daniel Caesar, to give listers the track “Best Part”. The voices of both artists blend perfectly together to form a sweet conversation of loving reassurance, hypnotising listeners.

Overall, 2017 has definitely been a busy year for H.E.R. Last year she was nominated for ‘Best New Artist’ at the Soul Train Music Awards, as well as making Rolling Stone’s ‘10 New Artists You Need to Know: March 2017’ list. H.E.R.’s smooth, sultry and relatable music takes us through the emotional highs and lows of simply being in love.

She might just be the future of R&B. This coming March, H.E.R. kicks off her ‘The Lights On Tour’with shows across the UK. This might just be the opportunity for fans to get a good look at the talented woman behind the shadowy silhouette.

-Brigitta Ben Eghan, New Wave Music

T

he work-rate of the Migos has been suprb since they blew up on scene around 5-6 years ago. They have put out various projects whether it has been a for the streets mixtape or simply collaborating with another artist to make a hit single. Already in 2018, Migos have released part 2 of their accliamed culture album. The first culture album had various hits with tracks such as ‘T-shirt’, Bad and Boujee’ ‘Call-Casting’ and so on. Therefore, Culture II will allow us to evaluate the Migos’ ability to maintain the win-streak and produce an even better sound for this album.

Arguably my favourite track on the album is ‘Superstars’. This record really displays Migos’ flow and delivery. Takeoff really ‘takes off’ in this track as his doubletime flow combines well with the beat. Honourable C note deserves a lot of credit for his work in producing these track as it has the ‘Atlanta’ feel to it that gives Migos the platform to deliver the way do.

‘Walk it Talk it’ ft Drake is another great track.

The last track Drake was featured on a Migos track was ‘Versace, a record that propelled Migos into the mainstream’. In ‘Walk it Talk it’ Migos point to the fact that many people could not walk their shoes, insinuating that they have done so much to get this far.

In addition, they have made so much money and stamped their authority in the rap game, therefore, they walk like they talk/rap.

I really like the sound of the record ‘CC ft Gucci Mane’ which is another track that compliments Migos’ flow and style, especially when Quavo is on the hook. CC refers to the Chanel brand, and in the hook where Quavo says, “Chanel like CC, upgrade a bit*h from Bebe”, shows that Migos have a lot of money so that afford to upgrade their girl from B cup to a C cup through paying for breast implants, pretty funny right? Ha! we think so too.

The song ‘Stir Fry’ is very well constructed in my honest opinion. The fact the track is called ‘Stir Fry’ and the video has an action based film setting based in Hong Kong makes it creative but also humorous. It is also funny because they refer to ‘Stir Fry’ as whipping ‘work’ (drugs) in the kitchen.

You can hear from the beat that the track has an Hong Kong influence to it especially in the hook. Migos seem like they are attempting to broaden their horizons further than music, don’t be surprised to see one of the members in upcoming films in the near future.

The track and video for ‘MotorSport’ ft Nicki Minaj is a popular track which I have taken a liking to. I feel that Quavo definitely made this track with his melody and flow. However, Cardi B brought a lot of energy in her verse which was a nice addition to the recordl. Nicki Minaj punch lines were funny but she also displayed her lyrical prowess also. additionally, I enjoyed the video to this track which also increased the popularity of the track.

‘Movin too fast’ was nice track and was different as Offset was on the hook this time and he did a very good job. Quavo’s verse at the end was the icing on the cake on this track as he always brings the nice melody that goes well with the beat.

Migos ft Post Malone, ‘Notice Me’ has a very chill beat to it. I am sure this is sampled from a song that I have heard a long time ago, I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Anyway, most tracks that Post Malone features in rarely disappoints but the Migos definitely made people ‘Notice them’ on the track. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if this becomes a more popular track later on along with a video because in my opinion it is definitely one of the top tracks on the album ‘Made Men’ is a song that makes me want to work as hard as I can to provide for my current and future family. Takeoff really had an impact this track, especially in the hook where he states “Don’t worry the whips, the houses and jewellery, everything is paid for”. I really enjoy Takeoff’s vibe in this track because it was the same flow but much slower and chill so the listener can really understand where he is coming from. This track sounds quite suave in a way.

All in All, although there are quite a few tracks that I enjoy I would give this album 3.25/5. The album was considerably long with 24 tracks and many tracks have the same message whether it being about drugs, bad bit*hes, money or jewellery. I guess you can give Migos credit for the fact that have stuck to their idea where they make ‘turn up’ music. It was interesting to see features from artists such as Drake, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Gucci Mane, 21 savage etc which gave the album a better outlook.

I did expect the album to be better overall with the various features. Surprisingly, the fact track that I thought would be the best track, White Sand, featuring Travis Scott, Ty Dolla $ign, and Big Sean did not really provide me with much excitement which is why it didn’t make the list. Overall, a decent album, although I expected a bit better, however, I will still be looking forward to future projects from Migos.

_ Seun Lasile, New Wave Music

H

uncho Jack, Jack Huncho, the debut studio album by American hip hop superteam Huncho Jack, which consists of Travis Scott and Quavo. The album, which initially was just an idea was demanded by the fan bases of both Travis Scott and Quavo of the Migos. The album was anticipated to bring the beautifully orchestrated song structures of Travis Scott and the infectious choruses and melodies of Quavo. The project was released on December 21, 2017, therefore giving fans plenty of time to sink their teeth into this widely requested rap collaboration. For the hip-hop heads who have been holding off on listening to this album, this short review will help guide you on whether it’s worth your time or if you should look elsewhere.

Middle of the road 2017 seemed to be the year of surprise collaboration albums from major artists, with Future and Young Thug bringing out ‘Super Slimey’ and 21 Savage, Offset and Metro Boomin releasing ‘Without Warning’ for a Halloween shocker. Therefore the world of Hip Hop was waiting to hear what 2 of the most recogniesed artists in the industry for quality music would produce.

With songs like ‘Oh My/ Dis Side’ and ‘Pick Up The Phone previously recorded, there was very high expectations. Projects by Future/Young Thug and 21 Savage/Offset, while having no prior expectations to live up to managed to accomplish a good standard with quality and effort shown throughout all the tracks. The same can’t be said for Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho however as both Travis and Quavo unfortunately fail to deliver anything more than average sounding album with good production.

Travis seems to take a backseat on most tracks while the same sound and style we’ve heard from Quavo drones on in the forefront to the point where I’m beginning to tire of him entirely.

The moody instrumentals and hypnotic beats can’t help but all blend into each other throughout the course of this album leaving a very uniform and very bland piece of work that struggles to have any standout moments.

However, there are some things worth mentioning as the album has features from both Takeoff and Offset which break up the monotony of Travis and Quavo. Also, the dark and moody trap beats are mixed and produced quite well shining on tracks like ‘Saint’ and ‘Go’.

There isn’t much lyrical substance on this album as that was never its intention, but even so, the tracks still feel poorly written especially considering the weakness of the hooks on songs such as ‘Eye 2 Eye’ and ‘Saint Laurent Mask’.

Run of the mill Discussing the points of this album is as tiresome as listening to it – which is a word that really captures this whole album; listenable. It’s certainly not terrible but there’s a lot left to be desired. With no standout tracks or performances there is not much to say about Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho, both Travis and Quavo put out a better effort on their previous projects with none of the same energy on this album.

Ultimately, the album is forgettable and anyone wondering whether it is worth their time should check out both ‘Birds In The Trap Sing Mcknight’ and ‘Culture’ for a better projects from both artists. This album gets a 3/5 Waves from me.

- Chuck Ononkwo, New Wave Music

As we get deeper into the tape, Mez switches it up with ‘Octopus’, a funky grime sizzler, which will have you dropping the maddest skanks in the rave. He then takes it from the club and back to the block, with ‘Ready to Skeng’, where he fully goes in on this thunderous track, devouring the instrumental like a raging tiger. For the closer, he cools down the temperament, giving us an alternative side of himself with ‘Different Faces’. The last track, gives Mez the opportunity to reminisce over the various raves his craft has taken him to and how this is allowed Mez to meet people of all colours and creeds.

M

ez is an electrifying MC from Nottingham, and 2018 has been good to us so far, as January saw the rapper releasing his latest EP, Tyrone. In the run up to the EP he gifted us with the dub face inducing, ‘Magnum’, which is an ode to the tonic wine of the same name and the track gave us a lot to look forward to, in terms of a project from Mez. Fast forward to a couple days before the release of the EP, Mez drops a bomb on us, in the form of ‘Angles’. The grimey cut, produced by Lewi B and Sabz, allows Mez to unleash a flow to reckon with, over a thumping beat and the track served as the perfect introduction to his tape, which dropped a couple days later. Following ‘Angles’, ‘Tyrone Freestyle’ is next up on the EP and Mez is abusive on the minimalist instrumental, laying down bars of vengeance to flex his lyrical prowess on this naughty number.

Mez keeps up the momentum with ‘Follow Us’, which is really what you call a wicked skengman freestyle and he utilises the blistering Jeb1 beat and goes in on it like a man on a mission, whilst he laments over MC’s replicating his style. Following up with ‘Knowledge’, Mez keeps his lyrical foot on the listener’s neck and this one harkens back to an early Eskiboy, with its icy synths and Mez’s Arctic cold flow.

Mez has started the year very strongly with this project and with the various flavours he cooked up on this genre defying tape, he’s given the people a lot to feast on. Sink your teeth into the EP (Top Left).

- Denzil Bell, Art Collection UK

M

iguel released his fourth studio album, “War & Leisure” on the 1st of December 2017. And of course, Miguel doesn’t refrain from lyrically diving into the topics of “Sex, Drugs and Rock N Roll”. Miguel dips in and out of genres, in this album we hear R&B, Pop, Neo-Soul and Funk. The new album “War & Leisure” is into the meaning of the songs. Miguel expresses in an interview how the album portrays his current experiences and the world around us. The album introduces us to Miguel’s political views, as we witness many political references throughout the album. The songs “Now” and “Told You So” are both examples of songs with political references.

Miguel asks in the song “Now”, “Dear Lord are we numb? Where we going right now?”. With the many references to world events, and humanity in the song “Now”, Miguel turns to religion and God for answers.

The up-tempo funk production of the song “Told you so”, may distract listeners from the underlying message, however we get a visual understanding through the music video. The music video shines light on the worldwide events including footages depicting Civil rights, Woman’s right, Trump protests and Armies from various countries. The visual masterpiece, supports the lyrical references including “Every pleasure you taste has its price” and “I don’t wanna control you/I can set you free”. Miguel seems like his hinting at something more political. Perhaps Miguel is implying that we are programmed to believe that detrimental worldly events are for the benefit of the people however, it tends to be the citizens who pay the price.

“Skye Walker” and “Come Through and Chill” are two songs from the album which received radio play. The songs both consist of two wellknown rap artists Travis Scott and J Cole. “Come through and Chill” really gives listeners a cool relaxed vibe, another collab from the two artists which grabbed many listeners attention. The Star Wars inspired lyrics “Sky Walker” allows Miguel to express his inner ego, as he mentions “I’m outstandin’ so I stand out” and “I play for keeps and I don’t lose”.

“Banana Clip” and “Pineapple Skies” provide strong vocals, harmonies, funk and a real sense of R&B. These are the songs that we look forward to, with every Miguel studio project. The songs give a pinch of Miguel’s signature gritty vocals juxtaposed with his soft harmonies.

“Pineapple Skies” is the perfect song to let us know that whatever happens, “Everything will be alright”. Whereas “Banana Clip” describes the extent he’ll go for his love interest to express his love for her. “Banana clip all my love for you”, we can guess is another reference for fighting for the one you love. Through songs such as “Banana Clip” we can understand why Miguel named this album “War & Leisure”.

“City of angels” has a rock n roll feel, with alluring R & B vocals against an electric guitar. In this album we see Miguel create songs such as “Wolf” which is a Miguel whose raw, and more dramatic. After the song “wolf” we hear exquisite vocals with a less dramatic approach to express how he feels about his love interest in the song “Harem”.

This album is full of surprises, every song on the album gives listeners something different. We hear the traditional R & B vocals that we expect, but whether it’s due to the lyrics or the execution of this album we are left wanting more! Therefore, the third studio album by Miguel recieves a 4.1/5 from me.

-Daniella Francis, New Wave Music

W

ith the paradigm shift in the way we experience music in the last two decades, the understanding of how artist actually make money from music can be confusing at times, even for people within the music industry. The traditional structure of an artist’s pay was essentially that you were “discovered� by a company representative who would then give you the opportunity to take out a high interest loan and receive 3-5 years of wages in advance. This wage advance made sure you took time off work to focus on recording the album they were giving you a loan to produce. With luck, the time and work paid off and your record sold well, meaning you made more money than the label spent recording, distributing and releasing your music. With further deductions for further expenses the label incurred such as touring and *ahem* lifestyle adjustments.

After your recently affordable and seemingly pertinent cocaine and caviar habits are paid off, whatever remained was your to keep. You would be paid the same percentage of royalties for the rest of your life, 5-8% of the (probably) post-prime sales of the album. To cut a long story short, labels were originally just niche angel investors, vulture venture capitalists who bought out small business opportunities, pumped them up and milked them for every penny of profit possible. The artist was an investment vehicle who made a pittance on the back end of the sale. How does that compare to how artists make money these days.

However all good things must come to an end and that end is usually met with the evolution of technology.

The hippie movement birthed the internet (no seriously, look it up) and with the internet came digital albums, easy access singles, then iTunes and eventually; in 2018 we have streaming services.

An expanse was created between the earth and the heavens, and on the third day a new seven seas was formed. Those running the heavens had their angel investors scour those seven seas and the earth in search of gullible new talent upon horizons never before so easily reached. Amongst these same seven seas sailed pirates, plundering in a form never seen before. After an until surge in sales which saw artist sell like never before, music could now be stolen with the stroke of a finger. It was with furrowed brow, Jimmy Iovine took stock of Napster; realising that the party may well be over. Suddenly, for the first time since primeval history, we, the beasts of the earth held the power.

This long winded introduction essentially serves to say that with the advancement of technology, music is no longer a high investment low-reward endeavor for artists. Now, with ÂŁ200, a ÂŁ15pcm Wi-Fi connection and the willingness to work hard and network an artist can start a lucrative and rewarding career with control of their creativity and importantly, their wages. The aim of this article is to give an insight into how artists actually get paid and the most cashflow efficient ways to put your music in the hands of listeners. These avenues can be used independently and many definitely are used by labels.

Breakdown The image on the left shows the results of a survey of 5000 professional music artists by Professor Peter DiCola of the Northwestern University School of Law. Both sales of recorded music and royalties for composition and songwriting account for a mere 6% of a musicians income, whereas the takehome from live shows and touring is significantly greater at 28%.

The following sections focus on the most common income streams (no pun intended) for artists and musicians in the modern era.

In 2014, with the domination of streaming services as a means of music distribution the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) was forced to recognise streams as having some level of equivalency to actual album sales.

Thus, a ratio was born: 1500 streams is equivalent to 1 album sale. However, whilst this applies to the awarding of platinum plaques for a million units sold, it doesn’t directly translate when it comes to artist royalties.

Nipsey Hustle, a champion of the independent artist business model recently tweeted about the different fee structures of different streaming services. What we find is that the amount an artist is paid per stream is inversely proportional to how many users the platform has.

YouTube pays approximately 0.0007 cents per stream but they have something in the region of 1 BILLION users

Spotify is in second place with 140 Million users. That is an absolutely huge gap. So whilst Nipsey’s tweet may be correct, it is slightly a-contextual. An artist needs to find balance between using a platform with high user rates and one that pays well. Napster is actually the platform that pays most for streams ($16,700 /1 million streams) but Napster has approximately 12 people who know it still exists in 2018; so you’re very unlikely to get to 1,000,000 streams on that platform as a lesser known artist. The logical conclusion of course, is to distribute your music on all platforms that exist. Don’t leave money on the table.

From here it’s rather simple. Whatever you make from streams, if you’re signed to a label they give you your percentage out of that after recouping their initial investment. If you’re independent all the proceeds are your own to keep

These pre-sales are recognised by RIAA and most importantly, can more or less guarantee profit from a project depending on how well you budget the money.

Alternative Sales The internet is a wild and whacky place and the creativity of artists to market has been brought out to the fullest. There are a few noticeable and in some cases replicable ways artists have been able to get paid. The first is patreon: a service that allows content creators to get paid and supported by their fans on a subscription basis. If someone is a fan of you they can pledge as little as £1 per month to support you and all you’re doing The second is GoFundMe. In the last few years, more than a few artists and bands have come forward with appeals asking their fans to donate to their Go Fund Me campaign. By doing this, not only have people been able to crowding their album but essentially, they have made sales on the album prior to even releasing it.

A more unconventional and perhaps less replicable crowdfunding technique was carried out by the band Vulfpeck. They put out an album called Sleepify, an album consisting of 10 tracks; all consisting of 31 seconds of absolute silence. Why? Because Spotify only recognise streams on songs 30 seconds or longer. They appealed to their fans to play the album on repeat when they went to sleep; causing them to get so many streams that they made $20,000 (around £14,000) from it before a disgruntled Spotify took the album down.

As promised, they used this as an advance to record an actual album which was released to strong commercial success.

Absolute genius. However if they had read this article, maybe they would have released the album on Napster instead and made $75,000 (around £53,000) from the same number of streams

- Michael Larbi, Rice At Home Podcast

Tour life. The road. The kit is in the van. The band is on the tour bus. It’s about to be a movie. For us mere dreamers the idea of touring seems like a different world. However, in reality, it probably isn’t too dissimilar from any other project. An excellent Management, Marketing and core team are needed to make it a success.

One thing that’s clear from an outsiders viewpoint is that a good tour is NOT cheap. It’ll require a good deal of capital investment, not to mention significant sacrifice in time. From the moment an Artist or Band decides to set out on tour there is work to do. Let’s take a little look into some of the financial constraints of touring: As a touring musician, you’ll need the funds to pay for venue and equipment hire, as well as marketing and other promo. Also you’ll probably have significant travel costs which will need covering. Don’t forget you still need to pay your tour staff too.

Where’s the Money?

Touring and live shows account for about 28% of an Artists total income.

In order an artist to make money from a tour, they simply have to sell tickets. The key to selling tickets? Marketing. What effective marketing does for sales is not unlike what water does for plants – Promotes growth!

Because of the sheer necessity of driving sales in order to make the tour profitable, it is not unusual to see a large capital investment in Marketing and promotion in the build-up to a tour. The promoter will be massively involved in this.

The promoter is the one responsible for the organization of the tour a promoter may be an individual or company depending on the scale of the project. Promoters are responsible for obtaining venues and necessary equipment, pricing the tour and arranging transport. They also seek to negotiate merchandising deals and brand sponsorships for the tour. Like most music industry careers, the promoters financial compensation will be largely based on the level of success of the project. The promoters aim is to sell-out.

Knowing their operating market and target audience are critical factors in ensuring success.

Tickets Sales Approximately 10% of the ticket price is swallowed up by booking and processing fees, most of which go directly to Ticketmaster or whichever broker is handling the tour. After transaction fees are deducted a small percentage of the gross income from ticket sales will be paid to songwriters/ producers as royalties for public performance.

The remaining income, which figures indicate amounts to an average of about 84% is then shared between the band and the promoter.

However there is still much more to be paid for.

Costs and Profit Margins Profitability is the metric which drives any industry. It is no different in touring. Artists, agents, labels and promoters want to minimize the cost a maximize the profit.

The fact is, in touring there are certain costs which aren’t avoidable. Venue Hire and staff, electricians and additional power, scaffolding, barriers, catering, security and insurance are all some of the essential costs What is avoidable, however, is making all of these things your problem.

Promoters will often try to negotiate the particulars of a deal which can alleviate costs, in order to chase a tasty profit margin.

For example, a typical deal might require the venue to pay for catering, security and insurance out of their cut.

The reality of it is that, In actual fact, many artists don’t even know how much (or how little) money is made from their tour. For the most part, they will be paid a set fee regardless of the return on investment, therefore making the venture risk-free for the performer.

The promoter will take on the risk and as a result take a large portion of any profits made after all the deductions have been made.

Merchandising Items and trinkets adorned with an artist’s name, logo and likeness are designed, produced and sold to eager concert-goers. These goods are in high demand at any live performance due to their exclusive nature. But do high merchandise sales translate directly to the artists profit? Not necessarily.

Approximately 2% of music artists’ income comes from merchandising deals. For new and upcoming artist merch sales can be extremely lucrative.

Someone sets up a table, you do your show and tell the audience where that table is and let the sales begin. Out of any profit you’d need to pay a ‘hall fee’ to the venue but other than that the money goes to you and your team. However as your influence grows, the tour merchandising vultures begin to circle.

Tour merchandising companies license the right to use your logo, name and likeness not produce tour goods. Working closely with the artist and a professional design team they work to create a full tour specific merch package. They also handle the production and sale of the items. As a result of the merchandising companies high involvement they naturally take a large chunk of the profits. The amount that an artist receives usually depends on their influence and will be quoted as a figure before tax and credit card fees.

Above: Tyler in Golf Wang Clothing Left: Model in Justin Beiber ‘Purpose Tour’ merch

For a big tour an artist can expect a deal which will see them receive anything around 30% of the total gross. The key factors in striking a profitable deal for both parties include, but are not limited to tour length, artist profile, ticket sales to date, and projected sales, and any endorsements. The tour promoter will be heavily involved with negotiations for merchandising contracts.

-Travis Hill, Rice Art Home Podcast

What does an endorsement deal consist of?

An endorsement deal is when a company uses an artist’s name and likeness to advertise their products to their fan base. An endorsement deal can be very advantageous for many reasons.

Firstly, you get paid for your endorsements.

Secondly, companies finance all marketing materials needed for the advertisement which means the artists is given the chance to be creative and elevate their personal brand. A perfect example of this wouldbe Sean (Diddy) Combs being a brand ambassador for Cîroc and in 2007 has since taken over the marketing and branding efforts and owns half of the company alongside Diageo the founder.

With endorsements, comes contracts. Most endorsement deals come with contractual agreements mostly dealing with exclusivity.

Brands want artists to stir away from brands that are similar to theirs or are in direct competition with them. Secondly, since you are representing a brand besides yours, artists need to be mindful of their professionalism in the public eye. Ultimately, an endorsement is beneficial is mutually beneficial. Brands are able to showcase the artists to their following and the artist can do the same for the brand.

Things to consider when working with brands: • What can you offer the company to help them grow?

• How marketable are you?

• What is your social media presence like?

• Does the brand you want to work with match your personal brand?

Important Steps to creating a successful personal brand Here are 4 tips to think about when you are building your personal brand. Personal branding not only attracts brands to you but also will allow you to create your own profitable products and services.

• Differentiate yourself from other artists in your genre Everyone is the same. The key to personal branding is allowing individuals to see you as a different entity against your competitors. If you achieve this successfully, you will be able to grow and nurture a loyal following.

• Imitate your idols whilst exceeding them in the areas they are lacking in In order to be successful, you have to do what successful people do. Recognize artists you admire and are similar too. Imitate their strengths and take their weaknesses and make them strengths of yours.

• Recognise you have a voice and use it In 2018, people want to know artists views and opinions on world topics, pop culture and politics.

Be aware that people want to get to know you, therefore, use your voice and many will hear you.

• Aspire, inspire and be creative Think big, execute big and continuously exercise your creativity - this will take you far.

• Speak to your followers/ fan base on a regular basis, followers want to be connected to the people they listen to as much as possible. If you are a person who replies and talks to their fan base regularly, you will create a genuine relationship with people and this will help to grow your following organically.

A few examples of artists earningsy through endorsements in 2015:

Personal brand building is imperative and extremely profitable for an artist in the long term. While Endorsements don’t necessarily pay as well as other avenues of income, it nice to know that you can get paid for just being you.

-Ama Amo-Agyei, Rice At Home Podcast

Photography by doublekickonesnareshot

A

s excitement for the forthcoming release of Marvel’s Black Panther continued mount, Kendrick Lamar and SZAs “All the stars” has quickly turned into an obsession for all of the fans who were anxiously awaiting the film’s upcoming Feb. 16 debut. The Video for All The Stars is directed

by David Meyers, who has also given you videos with big name artists like Missy Elliot “Pass that dutch” and Jay Zs “Dirt off your shoulder” to name a few,. The director has made a name for himself since the early 90s with great visual art on screen, giving a unique view on how the artists message in the song is portrayed on screen. This unique quality is what attracted an artist like Kendrick Lamar to collaborate with him on the visuals for the lead single of a soundtrack to 2018s most anticipated film.

All The Stars is a video that varies in themes, which are masterfully pieced together, notably and unapologetically pay homage to the beautiful tapestry of African culture. In the breath taking clip, Lamar is seen sitting amid a small village of people, who are all brightly dressed for the gathering.

He’s also depicted navigating a forest with a large group of panthers in tow, and later walks a maze of beautiful queens donning gold crowns. Meanwhile, SZA is shown belting out her lyrics to the song while being flocked by her own squad of colorfully clothed dancers. Not only is this video pleasing to the eye with the vibrancy of the colour but it also gives the mind a lot to think about in terms of how Africa as a whole really is as opposed to the media’s version of its “constant” struggle.

This video just as much as the film shows the power that the African woman has as seen at the end when Kendrick walks up to 4 goddess like figures in a beautiful cinematic shot, this is accompanied by how SZAs hair shapes out the whole African continent. It seems Kendrick and Dave’s collaboration seems to get better and better as he was also behind the creation of the visuals from Kendricks Award winning album Damn, with songs like “Humble” “Loyalty” & “Love”. All The Stars is the latest visual that these two have given us and in my opinion had a more powerful message, both lyrically and visually. I feel this video really kept to the idea of the film without doing the common thing that most film soundtracks have done of adding clips from the film itself. This video created the same story just a powerful with different techniques both in editing and lighting.

The feedback for the visuals has been incredible across the board and I personally feel this is one of Dave’s best work to date, it’s good to watch something brilliantly creative that you can tell all parties involved in the creation of it enjoyed making it, I wasn’t just inspired by the finished video but also the process had my mind working overtime which I haven’t felt in a long time.

-Prince Molife, New Wave Film

A

rchitecture and Film have had a very long and relavent relationship throughout the years. Most of our favourite sci-fi film designs have been the product of a great mind that manages to bring the set to life. One man who not surprisingly decided to take this to new lengths was none other than Kanye West. In 2012 Mr West decided to make a short film shown on seven cinema screens surrounding the audience inside a pyramid designed by architects OMA at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

In my opinion I feel this is probably the closet that we would get to being in the Artists head when it comes to things that he rants about. The film Cruel Summer was shot in Qatar on a seven camera rig, which was then shown in a seventy foot pyramid structure that was elevated off the ground. The screens in the showcase were placed in a very specific formation that makes the audience more immersed into the visuals as well as the sound.

According to OMA “Cruel Summer was envisioned for this space as a constellation of projections that wrap around the audience through the configuration of the screens”. The panoramic view of the screens really captures the audience in a way that I feel by now more cinemas showed be using this technique by now and more filmmakers should strive to want to create films that will be shown like this to the audience and instead of just having surround sound we can also give them surround visuals. It’s safe to say that I’m a big fan of this idea because I’m for the evolution of film and how its shown. The CGI and cameras have improved so why not improve and update how we give the audience our works of art.

It amazes me that this kind of idea did not make it into the mainstream side of the industry, could Hollywood have thought this was too much of a risk to take in terms of money and spending?, this is just one of the thoughts is had when researching this installation and its intensions.

When I look at this I don’t just see as Kanye wanting to be different from everyone else, I see this as him showing us how else we could enjoy how we consume movies in the future.

I have repeatedly tried to look for the actual film Cruel Summer online but I can’t seem to find it anywhere, which was a bit of a downer because I would have loved to see what Kanye’s cinematic mind is like when he creates film, even though its about 6 years old at this point, but as a film maker I can understand why it may not be available online to watch because it’s more about the experience. According to Kanye, the two cannot live without each other, which as I feel every film maker should aim to achieve, giving our audience a great film that’s more than just visuals but and experience that strikes any emotion out of the viewer.

-Prince Molife, New Wave Film

Photography by dmitri Krasovski

The ultimate creator gave us the power to express thoughts and emotions through creativity. Change perseptions with our vision, mold our surroundings with our ideas. Being a creative is an insatiable feeling that guides us to a common goal, from Photographic and musical composition to artistic/architectural Detail. The New Wave begins now and continues forever...

-Derrick Odafi

Editor/Curator: Derrick Odafi Head Photographer: Charles Ogunmilade Fashion Consultant: Teresa Mwangi

Instagram: @nwavemagazine Twitter: @NWMagazine Spotify: newwavemag

Assistant Curator: Maria Krupnik Blue-Pencilers: Timileyin Adedipe and Derrick Odafi Writers: Derrick Odafi, Teresa Mwangi, Rice At Home Podcast, Daniella Francis, Faith Utulu, Brigitta Ben-Eghan, Seun Lasile, Prince Molife, and Kelechi Agomoh Thank you to the New Wave Team, Graphic Designers, Artists and Photographers

newwavemagazine.com

Youtube: New Wave Media Tumblr: nwavemagazine.tumblr.com Facebook: @newwavemag Issuu: New Wave Magazine