Lets look at some of the lyrical contents of our Nigerian musicians, How do they try to communicate to the listeners and what are the impact these lyrics make to the generality of music lovers.

Let me set the boat rolling with 9ice and his Gogo Aso, what does this word mean to u.

@topic
I played d song,i tried looking at d lyrics,it was so impossible

Could u pls tell us how we can 'look' at d lyrics of a song.plsssss

Rhymstein:

@topic
I played d song,i tried looking at d lyrics,it was so impossible

Could u pls tell us how we can 'look' at d lyrics of a song.plsssss

you just show say you be olodo. Niyabingi expects you to look for the written text of the song, read and find what sense the song makes. Lyrics can be seen in written form. Check dictionary for the meaning of "lyrics". Go buy those booklets wen get niaja songs,

Good concept . . . I'll be back with a review of one of my favourites . . . Sample: Terry Tha Rapman ft Pherowshuz & Stereoman

most nigerian songs has poor lyrical content.
this days,they all say the same thing in different sytle of music.

there are only some few that puts out meaninful lyrics e.g MI,BANKY W,2FACE IDIBIA,FAZE e.t.c

as far as lyrical content goes, only a handful of 9ja musicians are repping.

wat most of them do nowadays, if they're no adoring themselves, they'll sing abt babes, or sing abt hw swaggally rich they've become overnight.-.-.-. CRAP!!

pure nonsense,beats good delivery cool but content zero,

let he who think he is better cast the first stone.
if u think it is easy go and write ur own lyrics and lets criticise u.sinzu

Trust me people Im different I rap to make sense, use metaphors and pull the strings. Im not good as you think but with a little exposure i shall hit the top.
im not write a freestyle because im not one of those people who check rap battles, copy and paste lol. wish every one the best. do what u love , hance,

That challenge I put up before was kinda hard . . . but to deliver on my promise, I'll do an easier one.
Before I start, I have to remind you guys that lyrics are heavily influenced by personal interpretations and this has not being verified by Asa herself.

Jailer - Asa

First, to start with, we have to see the personality behind the song. Asa, a French-Nigerian artiste is an advocate of the 'let's all work together to make Africa better' school of thought.
Jailer, one of her most popular songs is a first person metaphorical narrative of the African situation.
In her own opinion, our leaders have sold their fellow men to westernisation and capitalism.

Verse One

I'm in chains, you're in chains too
I wear uniforms n' you wear uniforms too
I'm a prisoner, you're a prisoner too
Mister Jailer

This takes us to a prison cell with a one-way discussion between the prisoner and the Jailer.
The imagery is that of the outdated system where the warder was chained to the prisoner to stop him from escaping.
She taunts him about being in her situation without knowing. False consciousness of his state is what she's pointing out.

The jailer seems to be a symbol of the African leaders that let western governments and  multinational corporations trick them into exploiting resources in the name of investing.

I have fears, you have fears too
I will die, but, you self go die too
Life is beautiful, don't you think so too,
Mr Jailer

Now she's taking the taunts to the next level.
The 'you sef go die too' line in pidgin implies that this prisoner is not learned. . . a pointer to the possibility that the prisoner is the poverty stricken Nigerian.
Do our leaders actually have fears?? Won't they first need to have a conscience??
They probably do, they probably think they could be cautioned by the same westerners they feed, like in the case of Mugabe and Ghadafi.

I'm talking to you Jailer
Stop calling me a prisoner
Let he who is without sin be the first to cast a stone
Mr Jailer . . . Mr Jailerman

For once, the prisoner admits that he might have done some wrong. . . 'let he who is without sin'
She implies that the common Nigerian might have contributed to the situation, but then she's emphasizing the fact that the jailer does not have to take part in punishing him.
Is this an indirect way of supporting the Niger Delta militants??
As they say, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. . . should our government help in punishing the Niger Delta militants for revenge against the westerners for what's happening in their land?? Asa thinks not.

Verse Two
You suppress all my strategies
You oppress every part of me
What you don't know, you're a victim too
Mr Jailer.

This line is what did it for me . . .it's probably the most significant rubber-stamp of the view that this was for the Niger Delta boys.
It shows that the prisoner had tried to escape . . . same way the Niger Delta has tied to break away from Nigeria.
The Jailer has been good at stopping any efforts at attacking the unknown head. . . but this jailer has obviously been oppressed himself.

In her view, our leaders suffer as much as the masses. . . this sympathetic view is quite questionable.

You don't care, about my point of view
If I die, another will work for you
So you treat me as a modern slave
Mr Jailer

Now like any smart poet, she shines a torch on the whole thing at the end of the story.
'If I die, another will work for you' is a sharp deviation from the sympathetic view we were made to accept a few lines ago.
Now the Jailer is seen as a selfish and cruel man.

This appears to be because all the efforts at compromise had failed.
Now it's a rebellious stance . . . and finally a stage of acceptance with 'so you treat me, as a modern slave'

Notice the phrase 'modern slave' tells us that she's relating it to sumn we go through today.
The Jailer is now abusing his power and making the prisoner get extra punishment.

You see
If you're walking in a market place, don't throw stones
Even if you do, you just might hit, one of your own

This is an old Yoruba adage I heard a lot as a child for literally throwing stones over the fence
The prisoner sort of gives advice to the Jailer, warning him of the dangers he puts his own people into.
Her message is, capitalism shouldn't be trusted.

Life is not about your policies all the time
So you better rearrange and be good to to your fellow man
Mr Jailer


Now she tells us exactly what she intend to pass across.
'Life is not about your policies' . . . she wants a complete change from the ideologies that lead our norms and values.
National solidarity before money, general good over individual wealth.

I hear my baby say - I wanna be President
I wan chop money from my government
But he don't know, but he won't know what he can know

This deserves a moment of reflection . . . as she tells of how our ideologies are influencing the future.
Restricting their mental capacity to this unnecessary thirst for material wealth.

All in all, this song is a metaphorical torch on the African situation.
With narrative abilities that will shame most songwriters, she gives us the story in a way everyone can relate to.
The fact that she refuses to be labelled as just another towncrier that sees things on the superficial level is what makes her unique.
Notice the simplicity of her diction and the concise length of her verses.

It's one thing to have a message, it's another thing to pass it across.
Asa's insight into the situation is sumn that even Fela would have applauded.

naija songs gat no Lyrics


Dbanj - Osi nawata furu ogaranya, abeg na lyrics be that, or MO gbono feli feli bi amala to jinaa, watever yall, IN the UeZ they dont rap about bullshet likz dat men, we r gangstaz,

Eldee[i]gy[/i]
nice concept, but this' gon be hard.
one wld need to write an opus to deliver on point on such task.
oNe

DBR:

Eldee[i]gy[/i]
nice concept, but this' gon be hard.
one wld need to write an opus to deliver on point on such task.
oNe

It doesn't need to be on point
It just annoys me that everyone dismisses nigerian music as superficial when we probably work more at it than other people.

Just do it for Naija music.

SOMEBODY WANTS TO DIE - M.I ft ICEPRINCE

This is not a full one . . . posted this in an argument a few months back.
This one is a hiphop song touted to be off the M.I2 mixtape. . .like most rappers, M.I tends to focus on competition in the game.
SWTD is a back-off song warning his competition not to attempt to diss him.
The highlight of this song is the use of poetic devices to drive the message across.

His use of pun and metaphors is quite unique as he does it with everyday words that most people can relate with.
An example is 'These niggas standing way too close they so homo'


Bragging??

They a little fly M.I is an orbit
Making more green than an orchard

M.I finito, never be an equal, never be a sequel, such a huge eagle
And I'll never crash, I'm no Sosoliso - Forget punchlines, sometimes just bragging off is the difference between an average diss and a good one.

Coming at me is the only way they gon ever approach a star - How cocky can a beef song get??

References??

Don't even bother, beneath us (Benitez) like Rafa
Rule over the game . . . Sepp Blatter

I'm a plane, I'm a rocket, I'm an eagle (Superman)

Wordplay??

I do eat beef but right now I'm fasting
You don't even want it anyway why u acting??
Niggas want drama I'ma holla when I'm castiing

I'm a plane, I'm a rocket, I'm an eagle
And it's plain how I rock the desert eagle
That's what I call my microphone it's so lethal.

Multisyllabic Rhymes?? Just start from 'This is real talk I had to restart'.

thank God im not the only person seeing how poorly some of our Nigerian artist use waste man lyrics i mean poor useless lyrics, in which country will people like terry g make a record or get a record deal. glad they are people like M.I and that

guys u all have a point, but we must understand that lyrics are the same as poems that tends to influence the listener's or reader's mindsets and actions. For instance, Bob Marley's "Get up and stand up" song invokes an uprising spirit or influence that makes the listener think about his fundamental human rights.

True talk, Now all i hear is [color=ff0000]swagga[/color] when i switch on  my radio. Dem boys are losing their mind, 9ja music is gettin empty. L0l

there are nigerian musicians with good lyrics, i would sugest Asa, Nneka, Paul Play, Dare Art Alade, Xctcetera, and others.

Asa is one deep broad mehn. That "No one Knows" track was pure genius

riversman:

naija songs gat no Lyrics


Dbanj - Osi nawata furu ogaranya, abeg na lyrics be that, or MO gbono feli feli bi amala to jinaa, watever yall, IN the UeZ they dont rap about bullshet likz dat men, we r gangstaz,

rotfl

Its easy to sit down and criticise . There will never be a time when anyone here would say they are satisfied with the Nigerian music industry. Our industry is still young and it has potentials.

Its one thing to say people like Terry G is wack but these guys are getting airplay meaning people actually like them. If you do not like em, you skip em. There will always be wackness just get with it. If American Hip Hop ( which most Nigerian musicians use as template), has gone past its time, what makes you think the Nigerian one would be any different?

talking about relevancy, we know that lots of musicians make money with all kinds of lyrical arangement but what we talk about here is how these lyrics affect the leasteners. Terry G got it with "Free madness" but how is the lyrical contents of "free madness" relevant to our societies.

@shotster
ive got everyright to say you are a dunce or one young village chap like wenge.

@shotster its foolishness to say our music industry is still young.what about the onyekas, essien igbokwes etc.

@ Baba, it is not considered well mannered to begin a sentence with abuse.

I said The nIgerian music industry is young. What I did not explain was,yes  the industry has been around for a long time but it is having its highest amount of exposure right now. Nigerian musicians can now go on tour anywhere in the world. Quite unlike their movie counterparts, they still have room for redemption.