We are in an epoch in the Nigerian music industry where making music is not a didactic enterprise. Nowadays, when your lyrics are filled with obvious moral lines, you might not get the buzz the biggest songs are getting. That, however, doesn’t justify the fact that the kind of songs our artists roll out should spur people to cause more harm to the already damaged moral space in Nigeria.
What intelligent musicians however do is to say the obvious and leave the wise to get the message from it.
That is what Lil Kesh and Olamide did in the trending ‘Logo Benz’ track.
Lil Kesh latest song featuring Olamide ‘Logo Benz’ has however generated lots of controversies with some Nigerians claiming that the song promotes ‘Ritual’ or ‘Blood Money’ or whatever quick but very devilish way you could take to make money. That’s the popular assertion but I beg to disagree.
The song, although strictly street, is a clandestine attempt to tell the ‘wise’ ladies particularly, the extent to which young Nigerians go to make money and ultimately buy a car like Benz.
Olamide’s chorus although seems direct but the message is as clear as the lines, if young Nigerians do not make enough money from whatever they do, they aren’t that patient to believe that the tide will change with time but will rather take the shortcut.
It is no news to most Nigerians how desperate this present generation of young Nigerians are to make money and would do the unimaginable to get the cash. We have heard of rumours of those who bark like dogs, those who eat human faeces and the wide use of female panties by some young Nigerians. So, what’s the fuss about it being projected in a song? Mind you, projecting an idea is different from promoting it.
It is no news that lots of people have been rendered useless and mere walking dead persons as a result of their covetousness and that’s the message that should be gotten from the song. Strangely enough, just a few songs that people listen to are didactic. It’s just about the enticing beats, the consistent rhythm, the end rhymes, sometimes the punch-lines, the melody and the niche the artists must have carved for themselves through time. But it has not always being about the content of the song.
So, for now, let’s enjoy the song from the Nigerian perspective and if you need to get a moral message from the song, find solace in the fact that you now know that most young people in this part of the world wouldn’t hesitate to use your underwear to make a fortune. So to every ‘Le Boo out there, chill with your Nedu rather than rush to Chinedu who will use your underwear to get Benz, CLK, GLK and make Nigeria an El Dorado for you. Logo Benz is enough for the wise!
To me, that’s the message. Over to you!