TY Bello’s Take On: Tinie Tempah – Disturbing Lagos

Oga Tinie! Disturbing Lagos, Keh? You sure ? my hand no dey o. We no dey do that kine ruff play for here o.

I’ve photographed so many international celebrities in this town. From Beyonce to Arnold Schwarzenegger. I was looking through my archives the other day and said to myself, ‘Never again!’

Never in some fancy hotel room that could have been anywhere else on the planet .

There’s nowhere like Lagos and if they ever cross my path again, I’ll drag them out to where they can touch and feel My Lagos.

And fall in love with it.

So of course when I was asked to meet up with @tiniegram at his hotel I was like ..Lai-Lai!! Abeg bring the man to Yaba and let’s shoot this something! I love lagos, I won’t lie. The streets are a literal Photographer’s paradise. Every where you turn there’s a story waiting to be told, textures waiting to be shot and characters waiting to be explored.

It’s hard for me to make a bad picture when my spirit is really open on the streets. I can just stand there and magic walks into my frame. The beautiful bread seller in the red dress in one of my edits for instance…you know her, abi?. That one that every one on the street wants to marry.

She’s fine and she knows it. Its all over how she walks and I know you’ve seen her before. Or how like over here, you can’t park your car on the roadside without someone checking themselves out in your side mirror. Lagosians don’t play with their fashion! Someone accused me of dragging @tiniegram on the streets. That I should have taken him to somewhere ‘prettier’.

My response: So you haven’t heard? The street is where it’s happening o. You haven’t seen pretty till you’ve seen the sun set in the quiet corners of Surulere. You’re missing out on a unique love vibe if you haven’t taken her for a walk in railway compound. And if you only exist where freshly baked, steamy Agege bread is completely out of reach. You may have to consider reorganizing it all.

I mean, what’s the point?