NorthPriest: Contagious EP Review
The Contagious EP is an infectious masterpiece of poetry, full of passionate tales, skilful rhymes, and nostalgic storytelling about Northpriest’s view of Nigerian society. Northpriest Judha has blessed different stages with his poetic skills and always given the crowd something to ponder about. The Contagious EP contains the same passion. The Jos poet takes the listeners on a journey that will have you grabbing tight to your earplugs, nodding your head to every word in agreement. Poetry is not strange to the city of Jos. Chocolate City CEO Audu Maikori and his business partner Paul Okeugo, used GAP to discover Rap sensation M.I Abaga. The city has had a decent and dedicated poetry fan base since then. Though it might not be mainstream, poets still get to perform at different gatherings in the city.
The Contagious EP Review
The opening track black on black crime paints vivid pictures of black hypocrisy. Tribal wars, religious extremism, and violence from local gangs. These are some of our shortcomings in this part of the continent. Across the Atlantic, Martin Luther’s troops are still battling racism but killing themselves through gang wars. Northpriest’s pain seems to come from a place of regret and it feels like the fight of the civil rights movement and the nationalists were all in vain since we cannot bring to fruition what they envisioned. He comes to the conclusion of the Negro hating the black man because we can’t coexist as one.
Tobacco fields looks into the effects of the slave trade, colonialism, and capitalism on African society. Yes, the missionaries brought the gospel but they also brought bed bugs. Bob Marley died mysteriously, Christianity is heavily divided by denominations making Jesus look like a joke. The lines, we travelled overseas against our will, were picking cotton on our knees, our backs are marks of lashes….gives you an idea of the journey into slavery and the oppression of the black man which is still in existence today. There is division in the capitalist society according to Northpriest. This has given room for some people to go through life without any form of distress while others depend on a stroke of luck. There are more haters than lovers and more takers than givers. The oppression is contagious and has affected the black race in one way or another.
A grass-to-grace story inspires people. This album is dedicated to all the teachers that said I will never amount to nothing…. were the introductory lines on Biggie Smalls juicy. The victory lap for the underdogs in society is Nobert. The reasons were because of their environment, family circumstances, or envy from people around them. Northpriest speaks from the perspective of a young guy growing up in an environment filled with so many vices. Words like the neighbourhood we are coming from defined us as nonsense, we are the backbenchers in the classroom who removed the 7 out of 17 to make our parents think we came 1st gives you an idea of what he is talking about.
The important thing though is he defied the odds society placed on him and came out a stronger and better man. He enlists the help of Jewish Creed, who delivers a soulful melody on this one.
We took some wine and told the truth…. People seem to tell the truth when they drink too much alcohol. Inviritus Veritas contains lines like stay close to he who is not drinking responsibly and you are gonna hear what was said in the dark/ give a listening ear to the junkie and he will tell you the jew is black… because people seem to go overboard and say more than they should when they sip intoxicating substances…. I guess people need to drink responsibly or avoid alcohol completely.
People’s opinions matter to them. Be my guest is an invitation to have a mature conversation on the major issues of life, especially religion and faith. Northpriest is aware of his beliefs but he doesn’t want to be selfish and impose them on people without presenting evidence. Words like see my 9 so I can see your 6 show his desire for a civil discussion based on facts. He believes this will help clarify most of the ignorance in society. He recruits the help of fellow poet Temple to assist him here.
The satirical character Northpriest plays on The vision helps explain the typical campaign scenario in Nigeria. Promises in Nigerian politics hardly transcend reality. The electorate keeps on suffering and repeating the same cycle every four years. This track didn’t appear on the tracklist but it was present on the project. It serves as a wake-up call to a lot of us to be mindful of who we put in power.
Final Thoughts
The Contagious EP is a radical, informative, and educative commentary on some of the struggles of the black race. The passion is felt as the narrator paints vivid and relatable pictures. This makes you ponder and take an assessment of the world we find ourselves in today. Fortunately, this doesn’t just come from a place of pain. Tracks like Nobert provides hope that things can turn out nice too.
Northpriest and his team need to bring this project to life at an open mic session. In the meantime, you can stream the Contagious EP below.
