Author: Nengi Diri
When was the first time you ever saw a meme? Think about it. Pause reading this and sit to think about it like ‘Pawpaw’ in this meme below: I don’t know about you, but when I think back, I can’t exactly remember the first time. I can remember the era, though – the era it started to become a widespread social media sensation. It was sometime around 2010, and I was in secondary school; my sister had just sent me a new Blackberry Bold 5 from America and I was officially a part of the pinging cool kids; it didn’t matter…
Everyone has their rituals, many of which begin in our teenage years and remain with us as we transition into full-fledged adulthood. One ritual I had as a teenager was born from something I used to see in Hollywood films that I stubbornly adopted. It involved fighting anyone and everyone for the window seat in the taxi on my way home from secondary school. This was essential, as it allowed me to plug my earpiece into my phone and listen to my favourite radio station, 95.9 Cool FM, all the way home while leaning my head against the window and…
“There is absolutely no reason why Asake should be having Idris Elba do the narration for this documentary with these cringy ass pronunciations of our Lingo. What does “Lungu Boy” stand for if indeginious narrators can’t do the Job. Trash it. “ – A Nigerian man on X So, above is an actual tweet from a Nigerian X user whom I’ve decided to leave very anonymous. The genesis? This week, a video dropped with powerful visuals that showcased Asake’s roots, journey, and his rise to fame. This short ‘Lungu Boy’ documentary was narrated by the sensational actor and once upon-a-time…
Join me on a journey into “A Lost Art Form,” a series where we take a trip down memory lane, delve into a world of nostalgia, and re-open conversations about pop culture elements we miss and long to see more of…or not. —————————————————————- It’s the year 2005, and I’m sitting shoulder to shoulder with my immediate older sister, on the floor in our father’s living room, clutching my mother’s legs. Around the room, I spot my other siblings, my mum, my aunty and about 3 of my neighbours – All focused on my father’s new almost-flat-screen Samsung LED Television. We…
music groups Join me on a journey into “A Lost Art Form,” a series where we take a trip down memory lane, delve into a world of nostalgia, and re-open conversations about pop culture elements we miss and long to see more of…or not. ———————————————————————————————- A few nights ago, some guys in my neighborhood hosted a street party that involved blocking off a few streets and playing music so loud that a bomb could have gone off next door, and we wouldn’t have heard it. As an introvert through and through, you must know that this is my worst nightmare…
Join me on a journey into “A Lost Art Form,” a series where we take a trip down memory lane, delve into a world of nostalgia, and re-open conversations about pop culture elements we miss and long to see more of. “You are the treasure that I seek…You were close to me, and I did not know… You make me cry…when you said you were going, I cried. And when you left alone, I wish…I wish, I could hold you close, once again to my heart…” If you’ve ever watched Kate Henshaw and Emeka Ike in Tchidi Chikere’s 2006 romance…
Over the weekend, the Ramsey Nouah-directed crime drama, Tòkunbò premiered on Netflix, and like every self-respecting film lover, I grabbed my snacks, sunk into my couch and watched it, while ignoring the mountain of work I had. It was an enjoyable and heartfelt watch when I wasn’t busy wondering where Gideon Okeke and Ivie Okujaye had been. However, one more question kept hovering in my mind – What’s with Nollywood and crime these days? Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry and the third biggest movie industry in the world, churns out large volumes of film every year and recently, the entire Nollywood…
The first time I heard the term “multi-hyphenate” was about three years ago, and it immediately intrigued me. At the time, I was juggling roles—training to be a physiologist, writing screenplays, dabbling in directing and social media content creation, and learning UX research and design. A multi-hyphenate is essentially someone with a dazzling array of careers and interests—so many that you’d need a lot of hyphens to list them all. It’s a term often used in entertainment, describing people like Kunle Afolayan, who is a Director-Writer-Actor-Producer, or Rihanna, a Songwriter-Singer-Actress-Model-CEO. But the multi-hyphenate lifestyle isn’t limited to entertainment. Think of…
You see the way I coined the title? The way it drew you in? Very demure, very cutesy, very mindful. I don’t do too much. I’m not crazy with it. I’m very mindful. If you live on the internet, like most of us do, let’s face it, you must have heard these three phrases a billion times already. I mean, we only recently got off the ‘delulu’ train and ‘bratt summer’ craze, and here we are with a few new trendy phrases. In the last few days, these phrases have been thrown around social media so much, one would say…
Dear Creative, When people ask you what you do, do well to tell them you’re doing your best. Because you are. Truly. I get it. Life can feel like a whirlwind sometimes—juggling briefs, deadlines, the hustle for that bag, and the constant search for fresh ideas and inspiration. And let’s not forget the distractions of social media and the roller coaster of events in our beloved Nigeria. It can all be a bit overwhelming. The recent Paris Olympics, where Nigeria sadly didn’t bring home any medals, left many of us feeling downcast. While we cheered for Nigerian athletes representing…