The first time I watched the video for Adekunle Gold’s smash hit single Orente, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was strange about it. Then it hit me, I recognised the locations used in the video.
I had visited them once. I was amazed that the director used places like Erin Ijesha Waterfall and Osogbo art gallery to bring the Orente video to life. It made me want to visit them all over again.
With this said, I still wonder why the bulk of our record labels still insist on shooting their videos in places like South Africa and other countries.
Yes, S.A has several pristine locations which may or may not aid the video director to interpete the song, or the artiste just wants to ‘feel among’ the musicians that have shot their videos in S.A.
Sometimes, the artiste or record label may want wider acceptance for the video. But there are songs which, in my opinion, are simply too Nigerian to have their videos shot abroad.
Examples include Dorobucci by the Mavins. Till today I can’t fathom why Don Jazzy and the Mavin crew chose to shoot this video in South Africa. In fact when it was released, Nigerian social media went up in arms!
A more recent example is Runtown’s Bend Down Pause. I don’t know where the video was shot, but it would have made for better viewing if it was shot in Nigeria.
To understand what I mean, compare Timaya’s Sanko video with that of Runtown’s.
Like I said earlier, I have nothing against South Africa or acts that choose to shoot their videos there.
I just feel video directors can shoot quality videos with the landmarks and attractions we have here. And of course, it will be cheaper too.
Kudos to Mex who directed the video for Orente. As for Mr Gold and his career, the sky remains the limit for him.
This article was written by ‘Bisola Alawode. Bisola is a journalist and PR Consultant. He can be reached via [email protected]
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