Artistes gather for WordSlam IV

There was also room for upcoming artists in the “Open Mic” session which gave them a chance to perform before an audience.  Adding some depth and more eccentric angle as the sun went down was the dramatic entrance by Adé Bantu and his band giving the evening an electrifying tone with his a mixture of […]

There was also room for upcoming artists in the “Open Mic” session which gave them a chance to perform before an audience.  Adding some depth and more eccentric angle as the sun went down was the dramatic entrance by Adé Bantu and his band giving the evening an electrifying tone with his a mixture of hip-hop, reggae and afrofunk which he calls “the sound of fufu”.

Many of the guests habitually loaded with fufu, were able to blend “majestic” steps to with Bantu’s fufu beats.

The musician, who describes himself as an Afropean, during the ‘School Outreach Programme’ of the World Slam series, gave poetry-interested school kids from Ajegunle and Ikoyi the opportunity to train their writing and performing skills. The conductor showed the kids how to use rhythm and rhyme, how to act on a stage and how to capture an audience. The results of the workshop were displayed along the other performances of the evening.

Adé Bantu seemed very happy with the performance itself and described his work with the children as “wonderful and enriching”. Residing in Lagos and Cologne as well where he was raised, said he is constantly inspired by both continents.

Speaking on behalf of the organisers on the event Ingo Tegge said, “WordSlam is one of our major programmes and I am personally very happy that it now made its fourth edition. Apart from the great show (which had many very talented poets and a great concert final), I really enjoyed the two workshops. Seeing how much Adé Bantu could teach these children in just a couple of days made me really optimistic. I believe that we need to focus more on working with school children – especially those from public schools – and we all at Goethe-Institut and the Culture Advocates Caucus are willing to do that.”

He also explained that, the success story of WordSlam continues with this current edition including new features: As in the last three editions, WordSlam IV continues to offer a platform for notable spoken word artists from all over Nigeria but this time it will culminate in a concert of German-Nigerian musician Adé Bantu and his band.

 This edition of the poetry slam reaches out to the youth; the results of a workshop with secondary schools, conducted by Bantu himself, will be presented along other performances by poets, lyricists and modern griots. The workshop’s purpose is to raise the school kid’s interest in the exciting Nigerian traditions of poetry and storytelling.

Adding: The last WordSlam edition already incorporated a workshop in which Adé Bantu and Lari Williams trained upcoming poets and spoken word artists in stage performance and acting. Thus, the WordSlam stays true to Goethe-Institut Nigeria’s mission: to bring together German and Nigerian artists in an attempt to create cultural exchange and foster mutual understanding. Adé Bantu is a perfect example of German-Nigerian cultural ties – he was born to a Nigerian father and a German mother and is equally famous as a musician in Europe and Africa.