[dropcap]H[/dropcap]arrysong has proven to be one of Nigeria’s current prolific songwriters. With songs written for many artistes ( and he refused to list some of such when recently interviewed by giving excuses that the acts might not lie the public to know he wrote the hits) he has made quite a career both as a songwriter and a solo artiste.
His tribute to Madela reportedly made him over 50 million naira in MTN ringtones alone and other big hits he has written for acts such as KCee ( Limpopo), Davido to name a few gets him a steady flow of income.
His new single, ‘Reggae Blues’, seems to be one of the year’s biggest hits in Nigeria presently. It is an infectious call-and-response song with the trending ‘3 and 4’ beats, laced with Highlife melodies which borrows a throwback style from South-Eastern musicians such as Sir Warrior and Chief Osita Osadebe.
With a simple but humour-laced musical video and guest singing by Olamide and Orezi, there is little surprise that the song is a hit. But there are contentious portions in the lyrics which borders on sexism, albeit humourously. Lines like ‘Enugu Girls like to do…’ and ‘Share the Gal and Share the Booze..’ bespeak something a bit condescending to women in these parts. Even the part in the song where someone playfully mentions or compares Toolz ( Oniru’s) behind, while it may be a lampoon, might be considered distasteful by others as well.
But what the heck! It’s all about good music, isn’t it? It’s a ‘feel-good’song and has resonated with the public, suggested misogyny or not. Maybe that’s all that matters. After all, almost the new age singers sing about women as objects of sexual desires more than beings of respect. Music has done much to liberalize sex in the past decade and except for the bright and intelligent ladies, many young ladies have been afflicted with low self-esteem problems just by the sexualization of their personae by the male musicians. And they seem to love it too.
Anyway, it does not in anyway detract from the fact that Harrysong’s newest offering is a pulsating hit.
Make I nor use my reggae spoil his blues.
Charles Novia is an award-winning filmmaker. He is founder of November Productions and November Records. Connect with him on Facebook.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
