Vic’Adex reimagines poetry through music at Abuja live performance

In a bold departure from the conventional format of poetry readings and book signings, Abuja-based poet and cultural curator Adetimilehin “Vic’Adex” Inioluwa Victor on Friday night staged a genre-bending literary experience that merged poetry, music, and performance art, culminating in the sale of a poetry collection for a record-breaking ₦1 million.

The event, held at Dunadura Restaurant in Abuja, marked the official launch of Vic’Adex’s twin poetry collections, Poetry Has All My Pain and Love Through the Eyes of a Village Boy. Rather than relying on static readings, the poet introduced what he described as “Sonic Architecture”, a live performance concept that deconstructs familiar music and rebuilds it through spoken word poetry.

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The intimate yet charged atmosphere drew members of Abuja’s creative, literary, and cultural community, many of whom described the evening as a redefinition of what a poetry launch could look like in contemporary Nigeria.

At the heart of the evening was Vic’Adex’s collaboration with soulful vocalist Anjola Ayodele, whose live renditions of well-known songs served as the emotional scaffolding for the poet’s work. Together, they re-imagined global and Nigerian pop anthems, layering poetry over melody to create a shared emotional experience.

One of the most striking moments came during a reinterpretation of James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful.” As Ayodele delivered the song’s familiar chorus, Vic’Adex entered with verses from his poem “Surrender at First Sight,” drawing the audience into a moment of vulnerability and longing.

“My lungs pleaded to surrender their oxygen at your feet,” he recited. “It was the terrifying paralysis of a moment.”

The performance blurred the line between song and spoken word, prompting extended applause and quiet reflection from the audience.

The energy later shifted with a nostalgic turn to Styl-Plus’s “Olufunmi.” While the song’s rhythm carried the crowd, Vic’Adex juxtaposed it with lines from “Bleaching a Memory of Pain,” a poem that explores emotional erasure and the cost of remembrance.

“I wish I could bleach my mind of you,” he read. “Invite forgetfulness for the scourge of a surgery.”

Beyond romance and vulnerability, the evening also leaned into social commentary and collective memory. A somber transformation occurred during a rendition of Asa’s “Fire on the Mountain,” which the duo reframed as a memorial to Nigeria’s unresolved national tragedies.

Through his poem “Three Rivers Flow,” Vic’Adex referenced incidents such as Chibok and Baga, confronting the audience with the persistence of loss and the fleeting nature of public outrage.

“We spoke of Chibok, of Baga,” he recited. “Of hashtags that serve as tombstones for our tragedies.”

The night reached its peak when a copy of the twin poetry collection was auctioned, eventually selling for ₦1 million, a moment widely regarded as a milestone for poetry as a commercial and cultural product in Abuja.

Speaking at the event, Vic’Adex reflected on the motivation behind the concept. “I realised that to make poetry travel in 2025, it cannot just be read; it must be felt,” he said. “The fastest way to the heart is through a melody you already know.”

Adetimilehin Inioluwa Victor, popularly known as Vic’Adex, is a Nigerian poet, essayist, cultural curator, and communications strategist whose work sits at the intersection of memory, identity, faith, and modern African life. His twin collections explore themes of vulnerability, ambition, love, spirituality, and the contradictions of growing up African in a rapidly evolving world.

He is also the founder of 60SecondsPoetry, a platform dedicated to making poetry accessible, communal, and lived beyond the page.