#YNaija2016Review: Flavour, Tiwa Savage, Falz… Look who else made the best 10 videos of the year

by Okon Ekpo

Visuals interpret a song, bringing it to life in ways that the audio experience alone cannot quite manage. We present to you 10 of the most striking we saw this year. From bottom to top.

Hint: Clarence Peters directs half of them.

  1. Something good is happening- Brymo

Nothing much happens in the video for Brymo’s doo woop flirtation. Just shots of Lagos city and its inhabitants smiling for the cameras. But in it is rambling, pure form, the video is proof that in life sometimes the best moments are the quiet ones when nothing momentous is happening but you come to the realisation that you are indeed glad to be alive.

  1. Omini knowest- Waje

Clarence Peters directs Waje in this deliciously demented stroll through the mind of a much put upon pop star. The video throws back to timeless performers (Michael Jackson, Charlie Chaplin) to underlie the direction Waje intends to go with her career. The song itself is a brilliant account of the perils of fame and Peters produces a worthy visual depiction.

  1. Holla Holla- Sugarboy

If there was ever an award for song of the summer, it would probably go to Sugarboy’s infectious charmer, and plenty of this has to do with this Aje Filmworks directed video that dreams up visions of hot summer days, bikini clad models and harmless grooving. When Sugarboy wails, We live for the party/Oh! lord have mercy, anyone who has ever fallen under the spell of a good party knows he tells nothing but the truth.

  1. Love don’t care- Simi

The Clarence Peters directed video for Simi’s bruiser about love conquering tribal safe spaces is essentially a gimmick. One long continuous shot that is rehearsed to perfection and everyone hits their mark in time. But Simi sells it with her wistful voice and devotion to her material. She does not just act out her lyrics, she means every word she sings and the emotions pour out all over the video.

  1. Pray for me- Darey ft. The Soweto Gospel Choir

Darey’s Pray for me video directed by Mex is about as subtle as a Jennifer Hudson ballad. The superstar tag team of Olu Jacobs and Joke Silva, the story designed to wring out tears from your eyes, the Soweto Gospel Choir in background swaying and harmonising. Everything is set up to manipulate your emotions, and guess what? It all works, Credibly so too.

One comment

  1. Yet most of this videos didn’t get nominations at the HEADIES. We all can see the rubbish they’re doing.

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cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail