![]() Momoa's character, ex-military guy Ray Cooper, feels like one of those soft-spoken, "All-American" character parts, the kind that's currently being played by an array of fortysomething Anglo guys in baseball caps. It's about a man trying to get revenge for his wife's death from cancer at the hands of a depraved and indifferent pharmaceutical company while his daughter ( Isabela Merced) is pulled along by the currents of his rage. It's a sprawling, bruising, sometimes convoluted, often emotionally exhausting drama with action sequences stitched into it. “It will help circulate this name which represents the energy that my parents gave me.You can immediately see why Jason Momoa not only signed up to play the lead in the action-revenge thriller "Sweet Girl" but also executive-produced it. ![]() “I t's a way of paying tribute to where I come from,” Leke says. It’s fragmented and unified all at once, cohesive in its celebration of difference. In language, for one, it slides from Yoruba, to pidgin and English – spoken, rapped or sung – sometimes in the course of one song. The record speaks to a multiplicity of perspectives and places. “We are actively creating a new narrative for the modern African experience with a global perspective,” he says. This includes his film work, where he’s collaborated with directors like Abba Makama (director of Green White Green). “The amount of attention we are receiving now hasn’t been like that since the mid 70s,” he says. He is the founder of Lagos Music Conference, part of his efforts to encourage the creative energy that’s once again captured the city. Leke is part of a burgeoning music scene in Lagos. “I’ve always found the polyrhythmic intricacy of D&B drum programming very inspiring,” he says, “and it does pop up in some of my drum programming in subtle ways.” In the late 90s, drum & bass raves in London were the next step in his musical evolution, enraptured by the UK capital’s dominant sound in that period. He would tape tracks by the Four Tops, James Brown and iconic soul imprint Stax Records – the latter, for the drumming work of Al Jackson Jr – and splice together the parts whose rhythms grabbed his attention. His influences span from golden era ‘90s hip-hop to Gershwin, many of his formative influences heard through the radio, which he would – unwittingly – record and cut into what were essentially DIY edits. “The album is the soundtrack to the new diaspora,” Leke says, its tracks soaked in the memories of his different homes: from squat parties in Hackney Wick warehouses, in East London, to hanging out at Fela’s shrine in Ikeja. He’s continued to be based between the two, laying down roots in both cities as an adult, working as a sound editor both for Nollywood, the booming film industry in Nigeria, as well as for the UK’s esteemed Pinewood Studios. Growing up, Leke’s family repeatedly moved back and forth between the UK and Nigeria, most often between their two capitals, London and Lagos. Abeg No Vex is really not the result of a decision, but a search, a cultural tilt, an emotional movement.“ “The music allowed me to find who I really was. “I had to dive into this culture to verify that I had not lost my identity,” he says. His prodigal return home to Lagos altered his perspective on the culture of his home country. His relationship with his family and Nigeria, form the pillars: Culture, Love, Identity and Family as the important factors in the album. That includes Fela Kuti, who he first heard at age 11, the soundtrack to a nearby neighbours’ family gathering in Lagos. Abeg No Vex clatters the bass frequencies of UK soundsystems – from drum & bass to dubstep and funky house – with the styles and traditions of Nigeria. ![]() His adopted name is a nod to the Nigerian state, Ekiti, where his father was born. Roots are important to Leke (aka CHiF), the musician / vocalist / producer behind Ekiti Sound. It’s a starkly original record, built up of layered musical histories, papered over one another into a messy, exhilarating collage of sounds. His debut album wires novel musical circuitry into shape, soldering UK soundsystem culture, hip-hop and Afrobeat into new, haywire connections, a diverse chorus of global voices routed through its new configurations. Ekiti Sound spearheads a new musical dialogue between London and Lagos.
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