Is Afropolitan Vibes The New Motherlan’?

Are you one of those who have the 3^rd Friday of every month marked down in your calendar for Afropolitan Vibes at Freedom Park in Lagos? Admit it… I won’t judge, I totally get the pull of such an event  – fresh air, open space, great music, no pressure to dress up or be social, nothing.

In a Lagos where social gatherings are restricted to beer parlours, malls, clubs, and the beach, anyone would appreciate the novelty of Afropolitan Vibes, only that it is not novel.

Before Afropolitan Vibes, there was Motherlan’ (there’s Africa Shrine too, but that’s not why we’re here), and the difference is that Mothelan’ was a place, in Opebi, Ikeja, not an event. A place with the ‘Afropolitan viby’ feeling that never went away …Well, until it did.

See here are some quick facts about Motherlan’…

1. Motherlan’ has been around since 1997
2. It is owned by our very own masked musician, Lagbaja, really don’t want to imagine the number of people who frequented Motherlan’ just to catch him without his mask…

1. Lagbaja performed with his band every last Friday of the month…much like Ade Bantu at Afropolitan Vibes, and Femi Kuti at the Shrine.

      2. Lagbaja went off radar in (almost) in 2011, and with him Motherlan’ . Plenty journalists will literally give an arm to know why he let it all go to waste… I would too but it’s never that serious.

I have my theories…

1. It stopped being profitable after the whole of Lagos bit the ‘’all things fun happen on the Island’’ bug
2. He found new hobbies e.g travelling etc, or maybe he decided to get a ‘real’ job, take your pick
3. He got tired of entertaining ‘frenimies’ … you have to admit that you would get tired of throwing fun gigs, if you knew deep down that  more than half your audience have come to see you naked, or face naked in Lagbaja’s case.

However, the question now would be, is Afropilitan Vibes a fitting replacement? Before you say no or yes maybe, let’s highlight some seeming similarities.

1. Live band
2. Masked musician vs formerly dreadlocked musician – shhh…It’s a matter of signature identity.

1. Open air/open space
2. Great music
3. And yes, they’re both free to enter, which explains the large audience (and no, the N500 charged for entry into Freedom Park, is not an actual fee), although Lagbaja’s shows cost more, as high as N2,000 sometimes, one can’t put a price on art PERIOD.