PHYNOFEST 2017 might have come and gone but memories of the hype, the music and the atmosphere that the concert created still remains.
I write this on my flight back from Enugu into Lagos. I’m tired; my legs are sore and my throat is hoarse from screaming as my favorite music superstar performed one hit after another.
PhynoFest2017 was monstrous. Phyno, his team and lead sponsor Nairabet went all out on this one, sparing no
expense and leaving no detail out to make this the biggest and best music show yet in Nigeria this year.
As the Nighlife.ng team arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium stadium on the night of the event, you could tell something big was happening, you could feel it in the air even as the people of Enugu thronged in droves towards the stadium. The traffic was totally Lagos. You could hardly find space for your legs! Our media bus was finally ushered into the stadium through the VVIP entrance. Yes the VVIP.
We were lead straight into the Green room after multiple vetting by the onsite security. Right from the gate heavy security could be noticed, from armed army personnel, the police and private security outfits with dogs looking like wolves in the wild.
The sound of the concert could also be heard through the still of the night. We could hear the sound checks from our hotel room miles away.
The performances from the concert still rings through my head, i virtually shivered when Runtown stepped on stage. Phyno’s entrance was electric. Zoro came through repping the Igbo culture. Since Enugu appreciates her own you can picture what the audience of about 35,000 people though of these acts.
The first perfomance of note was that Slowdogg aka Slowdiggy. As one of the rap gods of the East he was well recieved. He performed some of his old hits and exited the stage after doing his latest song ‘Testimony’. The song currently has a remix featuring Phyno and T.J.
Next on the list was NiggaRaw. His performance was a bit below par as it was mighty obvious that he had lost touch with his core audience. He seemed like the son who took a journey, came back and found out everyone had grown up. He needs to find his rythym again.
Mayorkun was next and as always he didnt disappoint. He was introduced to the stage by MTV Base presenter VeeJay Ehis. The reception was great. Mayorkun began by doing his first hit song ‘Eleko’. The crowd responded languidly until DJ JayMaster cued in ‘Mama’. The crowd went wild. At least here was a song they could relate to. They loved him and they showed him they did.
Lil Kesh was able to enchant the crowd with his hits and they rewarded him with a massive response. He romanced the audience with hits like ‘Gbese’, ‘Efejoku’ and other songs from the YAGI album. The young artiste had a great night.
Ycee’s performance followed next. The Jagaban crooner is indeed big in the East, he beat my expectations hands down. The stadium went crazy when he performed ‘Juice’, the song featuring maleek Berry. The crowd went wild and got uncontrollable as the security tried to stop them from surging to the front.
Skuki’s performance was electric. They kicked off their performance with their hit song ‘Banger’ and closed it with their recent hit single ‘Pass the agbara’. The crowd loved them. Their perfomance was put on pause when they killed the music to call out people fighting in the crowd. They showed real class when they did this. Nice one Peeshaun and Vavavoom.
Runtown can beat his chest and say he killed it with his performance at PHYNOFEST2017. The crowd went wild when he stepped on stage. You could feel the excitement run through the audience. They knew all his songs word for word. Note for note.The energy Runtown brought in with him was palpable. You could almost feel it with your hands. It was spiritual. The music god was with the ‘Sound god’ on this night.Runtown had the most crowd arousing perfomance of the night. They totally loved and adored him and sang along like it was a kareoke competition.
Yemi Alade came through, saw and wowed the crowd. While Runtown might have had the most crowd arousing performance, Yemi Alade worked the crowd with her music, her stage craft and her dance moves. Everyone in the audience wished they were the ‘Johnny’ she was looking for when she hit the high key as she performed the hit single. As the only female headliner for the concert she turned up and gave her best. I was impressed.
Dbanj remains the greatest. The undisputed king of live performance No one knows how the spin a crowd like Banga Lee. The crowd went mad here. The Afro Pop superstar went ahead to gift the audience cash from N50,000 to N20,000. And you know nothing moves people like music and money.
The Egberipapa 1 of Bayelsa came on and the audience had a great time with him. They moved to his music and girated to his sounds. They loved him and they showed him they did.
Paul AKA Rudeboy had a performce below the Psquare standard. I cringed as he struggled to work the crowd. They hardly responded. Truth be told, there will never be Rudeboy over Psquare. Neither will there be a Mr. P. The solution to Mr P and Rudeboy remains Psquare.
Flavour and Kcee had a great night too. However at this point the crowd was tired and wanted to go home. They stayed up as Olisa of Beat FM kept prompting them to wait up for them.
However somethings are worth mentioning, the behavior of the crowd was horrible, there were reports of attempted rape right at the venue. Girls were groped and their clothes torn from their bodies. While the security tried thier best, they just were not enough for the numbers that turned up for the concert.
Phyno should be proud. What he pulled with PHYNOFEST2017 is a feat. His sponsor Nairabet should be proud.
Lets not dwell on his performance. Phyno is the undisputed Warden from the East. With this concert, he has cemented his place in the history of Nigerian music.
The event was money well spent. His organization of the annual concert is spinning a movement nationwide. His friend Olamide who was notably absent from the event has moved his annual show ‘OLIC’ from the Eko Hotel Convention Center to the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere, the very heart of Lagos.
I’m already looking forward to PHYNOFEST2018. I daresay that it would be way bigger than what we saw this year. Phyno means business.
