Brymo goes 'through' Organised Chaos

It was Workers' Day, and as Brymo has come to be seen as an artist representing the average man, the date seemed apt and the venue, Freedom Park, was about right as well. At 2 000 naira ($6) for a ticket, the Organised Chaos event seemed markedly different from two shows preceeding it, Asa's self-titled Encore concert and the Runway Jazz event.

Although not exactly far in terms of local acclaim from the headlining act of the first of those shows, Brymo embodies something less ethereal and more concrete. He is part Fela, part himself and fully Nigerian. Where many pop acts take on aspects of Fela tangibly commercialised, Brymo at least channels some of the great man's spirit. His own concert had an all-standing audience: neither seats nor VIP sections were to be found anywhere.

At some point in the night, he lost his shirt, revealing a torso awash with sweat. His songs washed over the gathered fans, a packed group, many of them frequent attendees of the now quarterly Afropolitan Vibes series of concerts. One attendee yelled at nearly every interval, a wild shrieking that was as amusing as it was tiresome. Such was the atmosphere that such an action would have been unthinkable at the Asa concert. Onstage Brymo responded. "You wan kill yourself?" he asked in the shrieker's general direction.

After several songs backed by the night's house band, Brymo left the stage for Lindsey Abudei, who over the past few months has popped up at some events in Lagos after years of living and performing in Abuja. Two nights before, she had been one of a number of opening acts for Asa. At Organised Chaos, she amplified the organisation and tamped down on the chaos; a remarkable, if vastly different, performer from Brymo, whose songs and stage act seems like Lagos itself in how much both city and artist get done despite the surrounding chaos.

It felt right then that the headliner returned with 'One Pound', the ultimate Brymo song storifying Lagos from the Tabula Rasa album. He then launched into the chorus from Ice Prince's 'Oleku'. Many times Brymo seemed to seek the permission of the crowd to sing his songs. This, of course, is part of the Brymo Bargain: His schtick has been to make the audience feel invited, sometimes speaking directly to them, as Fela did but less militantly. Perhaps no other contemporary artist has used the second person pronoun "you" as pointedly as he does on 'Jungle Fever', a song neatly discussing the politics of possession in terms of pronouns and portions:

Check your time It's free yourself o'clock I dey for work, I dey find wetin to chop If you do your own, we go get enough to chop Dem other people no care if we no chop   The crowd at Organised Noise danced and sang along to a new version of Brymo's 2012 hit 'Good Morning'. It inspired the night's most rhythmic sways. Fans present at the concert will have a chance to re-enjoy the song as Brymo announced that the new version would be released as a single.


"Thank you to all the women who came out tonight," he said towards the end. He also thanked his sponsor, the streaming app Spinlet, and then Lagos for its support—without the state, he said, he would have had to charge "5k minimum". The vulgar 'Prick no get Shoulder' followed his thanksgiving. And afterwards, he offered a cheeky pronouncement: "Men go through things. And women go around things." A classic Brymo line, it was both philosophy and ribaldry.    The show ended abruptly not long after. Surprise turned to resignation for the crowd, as the night's DJ played recorded songs from the man's albums. While it could be said that although the man Brymo may leave the stage, his music will go on, for the surprised fan such a profound inference might have provided little consolation on the night.