‘This is Nigeria’, a song by rapper, actor and comedian, Falz, had been generating mixed reactions since its release on Friday.
It is a spinoff of a Childish Gambino’s ‘This is America’, which addresses racism, gun violence and police brutality.
Falz’s version deals with corruption, religious extremism, communal clashes, drug abuse and thieving pastors in Nigeria.
The video of the song, directed by Iyobosa ‘Geezy’ Rohoboth, caught the attention of American rap mogul, Diddy, over the weekend.
Falz is, however, not the first Nigerian musician to lament the sorry state of affair in the country.
Below are five of such artistes.
- Eedris Abdulkareem
Member of defunct Remedies, Eedris Abdulkareem, released the controversial ‘Jaga Jaga’ in 2004 to the displeasure of the then President Olusegun Obasanjo. The song targeted corruption and general suffering in Nigeria. It was banned on Nigerian airwaves.
- African China
‘Mr. President’ was a conscious song that rocked the four cardinal points of Nigeria, to say the least, and made African China a household name. The song addressed the corruption from the presidency to individuals in the nation.
- Femi Kuti
A chip of the old block, Femi Kuti released ‘Sorry, Sorry’ on his critically acclaimed 1998 album, Shoki Shoki. The lyrics are a complaint against Africa’s leaders and military rulers.
- The Mandators
Crisis, the 1987 debut album by The Mandators, swept the country like wildfire especially because of the track ‘Inflation’. It painted a grim image of “inflation blowing across the nation…hitting the people so hard.”
- Fela Kuti
From ‘Shuffering and Shmiling’ to ‘Original Sufferhead’ and ‘Sorrow, Tears and Blood’ to ‘Everything Scatter’, almost all of Fela’s songs are a protest against the system. 20 years after his death, the Afrobeat legend is still celebrated as the most politically conscious musician that ever came out of Nigeria.
