Ill Gee's "Nalweyiso": Mind-bending, bilingual, and refreshingly unpredictable
Alte refers to a popular alternative music genre and youth-led cultural movement that originated in Nigeria and was coined in the 2010s by the Nigerian music group DRB LasGidi.
Nalweyiso. Courtesy photo
Music Review: Nalweyiso – Ill Gee
I will admit, it is hard to come across new music that I can like.
It is often produced with an ‘Osso me’ sort of attitude, because the generation now putting out music have been told ‘You are enough’, and to ‘Speak their truth’. The result of this, as you probably suspect, can be painful to the ears.
There are exceptions, of course.
Usually, these exceptions will combine elements of emerging approaches to modern music, with established tropes of previously prevalent approaches, usually resulting in something intriguing to the ear.
Alte refers to a popular alternative music genre and youth-led cultural movement that originated in Nigeria and was coined in the 2010s by the Nigerian music group DRB LasGidi. It’s from the word ‘alternative’, and is a fusion of R&B, hip-hop, dancehall, reggae and soul.
Alte artistes are typically non-conformist in terms of their fashion tastes, tap a lot into visual arts, and tend towards complete freedom of self-expression. When it works, alte is fascinating, and it works for Ill Gee.
He has released a couple of songs this year within this genre, but the one that really stayed with me was Nalweyiso. The track opens with a diving, persistent groove, built on a psychedelic bed of sound that is somewhat disorienting.
It is deliberate because it forces you to focus on the unique vocal gifts that Ill Gee is packing. The psychedelic nature of the song meant it took me a while to realize it was dual-lingual – Ill Gee sings the song in English and Luganda.
He almost sounds like he is on an LCD high, and is spouting nonsense, but I imagine that is part of the charm of the track, it gets you wondering about what’s going on.
The alte genre gives room for mad creativity and Ill Gee digs into this aspect of it. His vocals are interesting, he doesn’t hide behind alte. He would thrive within any genre; his vocals are clean and strong. He delivers his inflections perfectly, without any contrived affectation. His whole production and song writing process reminds me of a certain Joshua Baraka, yes, you heard it here.
This is an artiste I feel could blow up under the right management – the talent certainly is there.
Look up Nalweyiso – it’s a bold bit of music, even then, musically speaking, still worth a listen.