Life and Business lessons I learnt from Steven Gerard and Stephen Keshi.

Life and business lessons I learnt from Steven Gerard and Stephen Keshi. 

I am not a fan of Liverpool, but I am a fan of Steven Gerard.

The Champions League final of 2004/05 (Liverpool versus AC Milan) is for me, one of the greatest match ever. Gerard started as a "4", then moved to play "8", and then played "2," all in one match. 

In life and in business, you sometimes have to be a utility player.

You need to be able to plug any hole (square, round or triangle),

at anytime whether you have prior knowledge or not.

Its not about being an expert in every field,

its about being ready to do whatever it takes to get results. 

Stephen Keshi, the present coach of Nigerian Super Eagles, is someone I really respect and admire, (kai, the guy take style stubborn, lol).

During the last Nations Cup in January 2013, he won the tournament without the services of some of Nigeria's experienced and/or best strikers (Osaze, Obafemi etc). 

In life and business, you don't "always" need "star players" to get things done right. You need committed players, people who believe in you and in your dream and are willing to do what to takes to make it happen.

Now don't get me wrong on this, I am not saying "Star Players" are not good or are unnecessary, but they need to believe in the dream and be willing to put in their shift which equates to commitment. Without commitment, a plan and a common objective, a gathering of "Stars" is like a candle in the wind,

....now you see it, now you don't.

by 

Olumide Holloway

How to Get Started with Spoken Word Poetry.

Some Background Information

People spoke poetry long before they began to write it. Audiences have judged the poet’s performance for just as long. Spoken word poetry competitions have taken many forms in many places across the world for thousands of years. Today spoken word poetry is most commonly experienced in competitions call Poetry Slams. The first Poetry Slamwas held in 1986 in Chicago. Since then these competitions have spread throughout the world. Although spoken word poetry is performed and enjoyed in noncompetitive venues, the Slams have had a large effect on the way spoken word poetry is written and performed.

Slam poems must be performed in 3 minutes or less and the performer must read a poem he or she has written. Today, most spoken word poetry conforms to these standards. The other Slam rule is that no props or costumes may be used. This rule is not always followed outside of Slams. While some poets feel costumes and props distract from the poetry others feel they enhance the poetry and use them in performances that are strictly for entertainment purposes. Likewise, outside of Poetry Slams background music and sound effects are sometimes employed.

Do Your Research

If you haven’t experienced much spoken word poetry, you should begin with some research. Watch YouTube videos of spoken word performances, read published spoken word poems, and most importantly find spoken word performances in your area and attend them. The National Poetry Slam website (www.PoetrySlam.com) has a search feature for finding poetry slams but Google works just as well for finding poetry events in your area. Many universities host spoken word performances and spoken word poets often perform in local bars and coffee houses on open mic nights. Watch the poets. Meet the poets. Talk to the poets. The best way to learn about spoken word is to experience it.

Practice! Practice! Practice!

Think of spoken word poetry as a two part project: the writing and the performance. These parts are equally important and although you might be more drawn to one than the other neither should be ignored. There is no limit on the number of poems you can write or the number of times you can perform them, so get started early and practice regularly. Information can only take you so far, skill must be built through practice. The following sections consist of tips for beginning spoken word poets to keep in mind as they start practicing.

I AM THIRSTY by Ali Baba (Word Up Volume 6 Celebrity Poet)

I AM THIRSTY

I am thirsty
For this, that, here, there, now, always
Insatiable, unsatisfied, unfulfilled, undone
I want, I crave, I need, I try, I wish
For this for that and for everything good
I am thirsty
Call me thirsty... Not Tastee

I am thirsty
For books, mags, journals, news, novels, printed matters
Knowledge, education, improvement, enhancement
I read, I cram,I scan, I edit, I grow
For now, for then and for tomorrow too
Call me thirsty... Not Tastee

I am thirsty
For love, affection, hugs, smiles, thoughts, memories,
Caring, sharing, wanting, touching, smooching, loooooving
I can, I should, I might, I will, I must
For me, for you and for them too
Call me thirsty... Not Tastee

I am thirsty
For leadership, justice, security, prosperity, accountability, peace
Executive, legislative, judiciary, individuals, organizations
I campaign, I vote, I wait, I wait, I waitoooooooooooo
For why, for what and for where!
Call me thirsty... Not Tastee

I am thirsty
For Toolz, Serena, Oprah, Aruma Oteh,
Body, brains, beauty, beliefs, behavior,
I think, I wish, I salivate, I dream, I swallow
For this, for that and for nothing
Call me thirsty... No no... Call me Mary

by
ALI BABA (King of Comedy in Nigeria)

I'm over 30, and I've never been to a Night Club!!!

I'm over 30, and I've never been to a Night Club.

Seriously?!!!. Some might exclaim. So? Some might ask in sarcasm. But really, I'm not asking you dear readers to react. Rather, I'm hoping that in writing, I might be able to see some reason myself, why I have refused to grow up with my generation.

Writing.

Writing has always helped me think. When issues clog my mind, and I'm trying to meander a way out, I write. When I need answers to bothering questions. I write. When I face a crossroad and need to take a decision. I write. When I'm bored, I write. I write. Sometimes, when I'm hungry, I write. Why do I write so much?

Well, I think the question I would be asking is, why don’t the whole world write as much? I believe the world would be a better place if we were all writers. There is something about writers. I think, it is almost impossible to be a writer, and be a cheat at the same time. If the whole world wrote as much, we all would be too preoccupied with expressing our thoughts into words, to have the time for so much of the mischief and misdeeds in the world today.

Imagine a robber having to write about his robbery operation. Imagine his whole gang having to write, just before they DECIDE to carry out the robbery operation. In writing, they would come to their senses, as all the hard drugs they use to psyche themselves up would have worn off, by the time they finish writing, and then they would have no strength and will to rob. Imagine this cycle goes on before every robbery operation. Your guess is as good as mine.

Imagine a moment, that a corrupt politician, just before he became corrupt, (assuming that sometime in his lifetime, he wasn't corrupt), had to write before falsifying those financial documents for his monetary gain. Imagine he had to write about a subject, like…like, like the sky for instance. Maybe a poem about the sky. As soon as he starts writing this poem, his thought would drift to the Big God that created the skies, and surely, he wouldn't have the guts to steal.

We all need to be writers. This is a proposition I'm taking to the national assembly to make into a law. I do hope though, that they would pass this proposition of mine into law.

As you may have noticed, I've drifted. That happens a lot. It doesn't bother me much, as long as im still writing and I've not completely lost my opening line of thought. So, as I was thinking, I'm over 30, and I've never been to a club. Why could this be?

…..to be continued.

By Daniel Ikekhuah aka Lion Kisser

#WarOfWords2 The Difference by High On Word

The Difference by High On Word

Do you know the difference between me and you

It is not that I have money and you don’t

It is not that I have properties and you don’t

The difference between me and you

Is that I’m always happy and you’re not

I’m ever thankful but you don’t

I don’t complain but you do

You want to do everything to be rich

I do what I love and do it well

I always know I’m wealthy

I respect myself, do you?

The contrast between us is that

I want to help people but you always want people to help you

The similarity that does not exist between us is the fact that

I took time to get better, sharpening my strength

You went into the farm with blunt instrument

I don’t blame people for my troubles

Do you take responsibility for yours

Giving ache your ankle

But it is health to my bones

And air for my lungs

You think that money makes rich

But it is riches that brings money

Work hard, but always create time to think

Pray hard and believe what you prayed.

Value yourself

Don’t exchange your value for food

You are bigger than your stomach

Don’t exchange it for money

You are richer than your pockets

Your possession does not describe nor define you

You describe and define them

They are, because you are

Pay less time to your stomach’s hunger

Else, you will be bound to self

Don’t you know that you are a slave to that which

You pay attention to and

A servant to that which you look up to

You are more precious than gold

You are a god

More precious than silver

You are forever

Hello my friend

The distinction between a rich man and a poor one is

Awareness and Value

That is what I heard the rich man in my             

thoughts

Say to the poor man in my imaginations

Check out the video via this link

#WarOfWords2 The Difference by High On Word

http://youtu.be/Vo3krj5Id5g

Word UP Volume 6: The Preview...!!!!!

#WarOfWords2 Whispers by Moses Ukam aka Youngflashy

Whispers by Moses Ukam aka Youngflashy

Hidden urge of secret identity discharged
Dripping like grandmothers licking roof. 
Resistance stabbed to bleed with two fingers poked into his nose to stop its breath,
Dis-countenance let rooms to gossip tenants,
Enthusiasm strangled by excuses,
Motivation slowly slaughtered by greed.
Pain caught in the act,
oh what have I done? It asked!
But later it said,
I was only doing my job to remind you,
you're still alive.

Incessantly enslaved by our orgasm 
Colonised by our itch-ness and tickles,
You never can tell when this virus has taken Over you like overdosed drugs
Can be lethal, you know? 
Trust me am the world strongest device in
Word created to oppose all words before or Next to me,
never to be a subject nor nether to my brother YES,my name is NO! 
See I live right in you but you don't use Me,
from the list you don't pay attention you're a debtor so you owe me. 
Yes! You're guilty am seeing you,
stop looking Around,
stop searching for a no me, I don't Exist, 
more like abstract am your
mindset on hind sight.

You can't find me in the corridors of
Power,not on newspaper or even in Grandmother soup pot.
See,you refused me in your hair Style, assent, smell, smiles, skin colour,
you're disgusting lie in disguise of truth. 
With just a tap from behind 
your thought went one step backward feeling the Irresistible smooth,soft and sweet 
Touches of my brother
YES I will instead of YES I do!. 
With such healthy procrastination 
Your truth loss weight to
Common sin instead of common sense.
Am not begging you but break up your Relationship with stagnant 
get divorce and Marry me cause am the right instinct for you
My name is CHANGE!,

I live in the street of your decisions,
I can't wait for you cause time is jealous.
My girlfriend nigeria cry all night begging to Return to my arms,
Locked up in the cage of
Freedom it's dangerous
Dating un-repentance just to
Keep your bed warm,madness! 
You know how much you need to
Get away with this repeating steps but yourself unforgiving wouldn't let you,
Gushing through the eyes of your thought, 
when will you loss grip on comfort for once? 
Watching pleasure laid in the coffin to be buried,
Remorseful goose bumps sparks
With had I known common
On the lips of your mind,
Compendium of dreams thwarted just to Rebuffed a drop of buzz.
See I am you!
Discover me cause am right within,
The change you seek,
It's an outfit, wear it!.

Check out the video here

#WarOfWords2 Whispers by Moses Ukam aka Youngflashy

http://youtu.be/15EYX0uZ9Ac

#WarOfWords2 Winds Of Change by Yetunde George

Winds Of Change by Yetunde George

Hear us,
We are the frustration and the hunger,
The pinch in your shoe size,
The lies that you don't buy,
And the things that you can't try.
Like bloodhounds the fresh scent of blood burning flesh excites us...
The tribes of wailing distress invites us...
We are the raging fire of sea and ice...
We consume what we see for a price...
We are the vultures of men!

But My constipated mind won't let go,
Won't let loose,
These ideas of mine,
Coming slow...
Of history,
Of times,
Come and gone...

The time is near,
The hour is at hand...
And as I put my pen to paper
The ink of my tears bear me witness.
Of wars lost and won,
Of things seen and gone...
Of time and space...
Of name and grace...
To find a balance...
To find a face...

But I feel the earth shifting,
A new generation drifting,
Away from our tales of woe,
To times of old.

So the fat, rich and famous should get lost or get bossed out of the positions they held with impunity!
A new age has come and what we need is unity!
Why are you still sitting down there listening to this eulogy?!

Don't just sit there, stare and  act like you don't care,
Because I know your innermost fears!
Awaken the spirit of consciousness!
Rekindle the hope of "Nigerianness!"
For we are what we are because of who we are!
We are where we are because of how we do it!
We are the Wind of Change!

Check out the video via this link

#WarOfWords2 Winds Of Change by Yetunde George

http://youtu.be/8zXyJpndbm4

Spoken Word Poetry don "fly" like "Pidgin."

He was one of the crowd's favourite at War Of Words Season 1 Slam Poetry Competition. Though he did not win, (he was the 1st runner), his performance left a lasting impression cos his unique brand of Spoken Word Poetry.

"If Dis Lines na Xmas rice? English Fowl too cost Na it make me buy pidgin"..

At Word Up Volume 5, he flew in from Calabar and showed his skill was no fluke. It was pure "Pidgin Spoken Word Poetry" at its best, no dilution, no disruption, no corruption. He just dey flow like say he get diarrhea of the mouth :)

His name is D-Ray, "the Pidgin Spoken Word Poet." 

Check out his video and tell me what you think. But please note, he said, 

"Hearing Safety, I dey talk carelessly with pidgin so wear ur seat-belt"...

D Ray on stage at WORD UP Volume 5 (First Anniversary Edition) 

which held on August 17, 2013 in Lagos, Nigeria. 

WORD UP is the biggest Spoken Word Poetry event  in Nigeria. 

It features A-list Spoken Word Poets on the same stage.

#WarOfWords2 THE NIGERIAN EQUATION by Scriblerian

THE NIGERIAN EQUATION by Scriblerian

Listen,
Listen closely to this conversation,
Between a father and a son,
In Africa's most populous nation,

Father,
Father please resolve for me this equation,
For I donot understand how,
Oil, mineral resources, and fifteen million people,
Can equal: hunger, poverty and a dry nipple,
For when I added the bloggers and tweeters,
A million critics on facebook and newspapers,
I still got the same answer,
So I deducted the pastors and imams,
Reverends and bishops,
For their piety ends in bustops,
But still no change,
Hunger, poverty and a dying people,
So I looked down in frustration at the steps,
I've followed to this answer,
And they echo the erratic steps of an insane dancer,
So I have brought you this equation,
For there has to be a change to the status quo,
An ebb to this mad flow,
Well son,
The final solution, is quite the revelation,
I shall tell it with no disclaimer,
So in order for me to be safer,
I suggest you put away the pen and paper,
See,
You have to subtract the bloggers and the tweeters,
For while their words the internet litters,
Back in Aluu when the four were killed,
All they were, were screamers,
You have to deduct the poets and the writers,
Who pen and speak change,
Then go back home to wives and sisters,
Till olulu arranges the next stage,
For,
How long shall we craft rhymes of woes?
When shall we start selecting our hoes?
Stare blindly in the mirrors,
And not see the correction to our errors,
How long,
Shall we claim the tags of victims,
And not get on with the necessary business of healing?
For,
Our biggest problem is not leadership,
For a second,
Our biggest problem is followership,
Leadership is second,
Let's stop this meaningless prayers,
And pry off corrupt layers,
Start looking inward not upward,
Forward not backward,
We are the disease,
We are the cure,
Stand up from that chair of criticism, son,
Stare closely in the mirror without cynicism,
What you see,
Is the change you seek,
Now pick up that pen and paper son,
Make all necessary subtractions,
Take hard work, integrity and honesty as additions,
Add to it, diligence, creativity and dedication,
Now divide your final answer,
By holy, pure, true religion,
What do you see?
Father,
I see change, yes I see change,
So we have to stop speaking change and start being change.

Check out the video via the link below

THE NIGERIAN EQUATION

http://youtu.be/zkbJUELUjEQ

WORD UP Volume 6...coming soon!!!!!!

PARTNER WITH US FOR WORD UP VOLUME 6 ON NOVEMBER 23, 2013 IN LAGOS, NIGERIA

We request that you partner with us through sponsorship to showcase your products and services and portray your brand as one with a passion for the development of the art of Spoken Word Poetry and the youths in Nigeria. 

Our event, Word Up Volume 6 is scheduled for November 23, 2013 at Terra Kulture, V/Island, Lagos, with the theme, "Stop the violence." The event theme is centered around the United Nation’s “International day for the elimination of violence against women.” 

i2X Media Company Limited is the organizer of WORD UP (the biggest Spoken Word Poetry Event in Nigeria). We are passionate about Spoken Word Poetry as a genre of entertainment, a tool to increase literacy level, and  a means of communication among people across the globe. Our dream is to promote poets so we can create a means of employment where they can earn a decent living from their amazing performances.

WHAT IS IN IT FOR YOU.

We understand that the current economic situation requires granular analysis of your marketing spend. This is why working with our partners, we have designed special sponsorship plans to drive your marketing efforts. Sponsorship of WORD UP provides you the under listed which can be further explained at our initial meeting.

·         Brand exposure on stage 

.         Branding Opportunity across all touch points

·         Advert placements in our DVDs and Audio CDs sold across the country

·         Media exposure

·         Product/ Services Experience and Sampling

·         Speaking Opportunity

·         Database Acquisition and so much more.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE

Don’t take our words for it, please visit http://wordup411.blogspot.com/, and http://www.i2xmedia.com/ where pictures, videos and information about our events and the organization can be accessed. 

While you are at it please feel free to check out our YOUTUBE channel, http://www.youtube.com/user/olulu4eva?feature=mhee and http://www.youtube.com/user/WordUpNigeria for video clips of some of our events.

For inquiries,  please contact us via 

+2348025070892

+2348038315055

wordup4one1@gmail.com

olulu4ever@gmail.com

i2xmedia@gmail.com

@wordup411

@olulu4ever

#WarOfWords2 Word on a Mission by ThinkingPen

Some people don't limit themselves to just serving for serving sake.
They also "service words" so deep, 
you appreciate the depth the words make you leap.
Someone once said, "words are the tools that separates us from fools."
Hmm, need I say more? 

Word on a Mission 

by 

ThinkingPen

This poem is titled "WORD ON A MISSION"
So if you have a neighbour tap him and say
"Please no distraction"

Musical volumes always have control
And I tell you, a Russian made bomb
Was designed to blow

The body without the spirit 
Would just be a walking corpse
And there is a reason why
Sentences have full-stop

There is a reason
Pencils do have erasers
Now what I mean it
Learn to hate the sin
But love the sinner

If you don't know!
If you scratch the way it itches you
Your skin will be torn
And it's every problem that is solve
With a Gun 

The Mathematics of War
Gibson says has always been subtraction
Now my sermon is
"Never be a catalyst to a fatal reaction"

I realized that pointing accusing fingers
Never really does a thing
Because the reality is 
4 points back at you 
Accusing you of the same thing.

So now the question is WHO?
Who do we blame?
Who really ever goes to a grocery store
And buys shame.

But the truth is
Darkness is the core of the human heart
And getting light in there
Is like making a rat king 
In the kingdom of cats
It's suicidal

My mentor says
All the religion in the world agrees
That something is wrong with us
And like bedridden patients,
I say we all need a nurse

Because violence will be confined 
To the dictionary as a noun 
If we don't commit the crimes
And next time Hate calls
Tell love to go pick up the line

One never knows it all
And if you really wanna see change
Go look in the mirror on the wall

For the man you see in it
Carries it, like a pregnant mother
And the world is waiting for you 
To Deliver.

Check out the video via the link below

#WarOfWords2 Word on a Mission by Thinkingpen

http://youtu.be/DPUjmkUOXgg