Adekunle Gold, Seriki, Malaika rouse Felabration crowd

As with most sessions at the annual event, up-and-coming acts were given a chance to perform between more established artists. Most have to compete with the audience's inattention and the less than optimal sound equipment available. And so it was last night as well-known acts overcame these hindrances by force of their command and pre-installed goodwill; others were not as successful.

At some point past midnight, Bez came on dressed in a black outfit and red shoes, guitar over his shoulders. "How we dey o?" he asked, before playing 'You Suppose Know'. He continued with 'Zuciya Daya' and closed with 'That Stupid Song'.

Jaywon succeded him, performing a series of songs, his 'Facebook Love' and 'This Year (Odun Yi)' stirring the crowd. The night's true star was probably Seriki. The underground rapper came on to whoops and applause and left to same, his skinny frame, microphone and delivery enough to send the crowd into a fit of cheers. Every word from his songs, which receive little attention on mainstream radio, was thrown back at him. Though his verses were little more than rap ciphers in Yoruba language, they were received like pop anthems.

Viktoh from Olamide's YBNL label and Sugarboy performed briefly, but the night's last major act, Malaika and his large band, played for nearly an hour.

As with the typical live Fuji set, it was unclear where one song ended and the other began, but from time to time, a line from the music led to a jubilant outcry from the audience. Malaika departed just before 4:30 am, looking like he could continue for another hour.

Though Thursday night had a fair amount of artists who seemed to not have earned their spot, a post from Adekunle Gold, who performed before midnight with his band, captured what Felabration offers up-and-coming acts. 'Two years ago, I performed at Felabration as a “DJ track one” Artist,' he tweeted Friday morning, referring to the Nigerian slang for lip-syncing. 'Tonight I did it with my guys.The 79th Element [his band] is fire. That was a show!'