By Henry Akubuiro
A decade ago, spoken word poetry wasn’t as popular as it is in Nigeria today, as conventional bards dominated the headlines from the ivory tower and adjacent lawns.
Everything has changed. The reception for spoken word has increased and the verses of spoken word artists have taken the place of nightingales.
Spoken word, as against its paternal uncle, is expressly crafted with the aim of being performed, combining elements of literature, theatre and music.
In recent years, Faith Moyosore Agboola, a performance poet, writer and cultural producer, has swelled the ranks of spoken word in Nigeria,
performing poetry on various stages and media platforms.
Her new spoken word album, Blue Hour Notes, is a testimony to how grounded she is in the lush field.
Blue Hour Notes is a six-track, seductive, spoken word album rendered in a bluesy tone that stirs emotions with the healing power of music in the background. In searching the soul, the poet offers the listener a bowl of jelly as the well couched verses run through a bagpipe of emotives.
Blue Hour Notes teems with “Crazy”, “Move On”, “Little Girl”, “Japa”, “Jagun Jagun”, and “Homeless” – poems that distill the poet’s ruminations about unrequited love, hurt, despair, identity crisis, ennui, amid gender consciousness. For a mindblowing experience, rhythm meets blues in the “Crazy” track, especially towards the end.
The poet, in this album, reminds us that spoken word doesn’t need to peal to impact by discarding trenchanchy, even when the subject of a particular poem calls for whinging.
Undoubtedly, Blue Hour Notes depicts the elocution of a honey locust. The six poems come off as a tranquilizer for anybody with an eye for good spoken word poetry to enjoy. It’s available on Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Audiomack, Boomplay, itunes, among others.
Lest we forget, Faith Moyosore Agbola has performed at the Netherlands Embassy Nigeria, TEDxAlausa, GT Bank’s You Read, Kokopelli Night of Storytelling, Faaji Friday, Ubuntu Festival, Lagos International Poetry Festival, City FM and WFM 91.7, etcetera.
She has also shared her ideas as a creative entrepreneur on global stages such as the Dubai Expo 2020, Africa NXT Festival and the Abuja Literary Festival.
She has been commissioned to create recorded poetry campaigns for brands such as Norfolk Black History Month, a UK cultural organization and Do Take Action, an African NGO.
She is the founder of The African Writers and the convener of African Writers Meet. In recognition of her work in literature, she was awarded the fully-funded Chevening Scholarship in 2020 and, in July, 2023, she was nominated as the “rising talent of the year spoken word” in the APVA awards.