March 8 was the International Day for Women and just last week, some parts of the world were celebrating Mother’s Day. In fact, it’s safe to say the whole of March was Women’s Month. But have we really been celebrating our women here in Nigeria? Especially our musicians, has the objectification stopped? I’m sorry if I sound like a broken record but it’s just that as soon as you relax, someone sings something so offensive that you cannot but point it out. It would seem things have got worse. What could be the reason (s)? I bet one reason would have to be the falling standards of education – they’ve fallen so low; it’s any wonder there are any standards left.
Now to the above headline, I imagine many people blinking a few times asking themselves if they read it right. I felt just as awkward writing it. But these are not my words. The words belong to Kizz Daniel (Oluwatobiloba Anidugbe). If you’re the party type, you’ve probably danced and sang heartily to his song, Madu. If not, take a listen, “Look at me baby, call me Zaddy. Are you okay, are you okay? Come to my bedroom, cassava dey for you. Are you okay, are you okay? I want to use my money to scatter your brain for you. Permit me. I love you long time babe. I want to use my **** to shift your womb. Oh, permit me. (Girl make you be my money oh).”
As far as songs go, this is a very catchy one. And if you’re drawn more to beats than lyrics (like me), you’d be dancing before realising what exactly it is you’re dancing to. What sells it even better is its great video. Beverly Osu acts the perfect vixen. All that notwithstanding, the part of the song where Kizz Daniel is planning to shift one woman’s womb is nauseatingly insulting. It’s bad enough that women have become like toys in songs and musical videos, but this seems to be taking crudeness to a whole new level. Whatever happened to singing love songs to the woman you love or are trying to woo? Women are made out to be money-grabbers; yet, in every hit song, male musicians are telling women they “want to use my money to scatter your brain for you”. I’ve written on this page about one of Wizkid’s songs that falls in this category.
Then, I was listening to Woman by Tekno. The song begins well enough and I was actually enjoying the sentiments in the lyrics. “Them say woman place na for kitchen. Say she suppose to fry all the chicken. No suppose to talk for the meeting. Concern herself with the cleaning.” However, the chorus throws me off: “My mother is a woman. You cannot talk like this. Rihanna is a woman. I say come whine it for Daddy o. Come whine it for Daddy o. Control it mummy o. I want to teach you the dance oh eh.”
Can someone explain to me how “My mother is a woman” is followed by “Come whine it for daddy?” The song, minus the unfortunate chorus, is actually very pro-women but he couldn’t help himself, could he? Still, Tekno’s song cannot be compared in any way to Kizz Daniel’s invitation to surgically shift women’s wombs with his ***. I mention Tekno’s song only to show how casual objectifying women is. There are far worse songs. I haven’t even mentioned the one by Kcee, Psycho, featuring Wizkid that says, “Your ikebe dey shoot catapult o.” In the same song, there’s also, “Your ikebe dey break kolanut.”
When Fela Anikulapo-Kuti sang Lady in 1972, the song didn’t debase women in any way. Lady is a flirty cheeky song that points out things many of us can relate with and even laugh about. That’s what creativity is supposed to do. However nowadays, it seems all you need are the magical words, whine, cassava, cucumber or whatever the reigning vegetable/fruit is. Some of these things may seem trivial but that’s how we got to this point where Kizz Daniel…please don’t make me repeat those words.
The other big issue is the lack of categorisation of our music. Not every song should be played for general listening. As it is, we are only concerned with the current flavour of the month. I’m pretty sure that when DJs are playing Kizz Daniel’s Madu at parties, girls would be singing along at the top of their voices.
Meanwhile, how do we treat the musicians that are singing positively good music; musicians like J’odie, among others? The other day, Waje was ready to call it quits, tired of using her money to push her music.
Mind you, I’m not advocating that everyone sings the same type of ‘good’ music. The point is not about singing only ‘pure’ songs. You’d be surprised at some of the music I catch myself singing. But singing about shifting someone’s womb takes the cake for irresponsibility.
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