Designed to be a parody of the original, ‘This is America” song and video released by Atlanta rapper, Childish Gambino, Folarin Falana a.k.a Falz, may have just delivered the state-of-the-republic address of every ‘hardworking’ youth in the country with the release of his new single, ‘This is Nigeria’. The video which has already garnered over a million views in less than 48 hours is telling of the times we are in.
The Nigerian rapper, actor and songwriter in his delivery of his own version of the track ensured that the video was modified for the Nigerian audience in a way that was unmatched. With Nigerian dance moves and settings that mirrored the on-going situations in the country, he may have just set a precedent for music to not only be delivered as a form of entertainment but, as a medium of expressing social ills that plague the society. It was very well articulated and artistically executed, although many argue that we might have Gambino to thank for the latter.
We couldn’t help but notice that in the satirical video, Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s likeness was also used from clothing style to mannerisms, to the video’s overall essence. Merely observing unabashed way in which the star spoke brazenly of the country’s ills, one can’t help but think of Nigeria’s Fela. Anikulapo-Kuti was most prominent for using his platform to speak out against corruption within the country. He was also recognised worldwide for his work as an activist. Similar to Fela’s life’s mission, this video served to achieve the same objective. That wasn’t the only parallel that could be drawn from the two musicians however, as we couldn’t ignore Falz’s outfit in the video, which was also reminiscent of the kalakuta king’s signature style: Shirtless with Ankara cigarette pants.
The music video not only tackles pressing issues such as the unrest in the North with the insurgence of Boko Haram and the Fulani Herdsmen; Falana takes on other socio-economic issues such as the rising epidemic of Internet Fraud among some of the country’s youth popularly known as ‘Yahoo-Yahoo’ after the popular email host; drug (codeine) addiction, fixation on materialism, corruption within the government, religious hypocrisy, lack of constant electricity and pastors exploiting the vulnerability of their congregation for their own pockets- a resounding theme throughout the track as, he ends off with a speech in which pastors are being called out for opening schools a large majority of their members can’t afford to attend.
With hard hitting lyrics such as:
Police station dey close by 6, security reason oh…. Pastor put his hand on the breast of a woman, he’s pulling the demons out.
He boldly ends off the video with the bold line ‘Everybody be criminal’.
That we were stunned at the release of the video might be a subject of concern. Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised by the rapper’s own form activism as not only is he born to activist parents, Femi Falana and his mother, Funmi Falana, is also a renowned women’s rights activist. Folarin is also a lawyer who was admitted to the Nigerian bar in 2012.
Furthermore, celebrities using their platform for the greater good should not be a foreign concept; it’s an occurence that we ought to have grown accustomed to. That it isn’t, means that there is work to be done in this regard.
Instead of productive conversations about the societal ills raised in the video, it is of great concern that many commenters online are only discussing parallels between Falz and Gambino’s rendition with many Nigerians deeming Falz to be a copy cat. This only reinforces the themes treated in the video and is a reminder that we need to focus less on aesthetics and more on pressing issues such as those discussed in ‘This is Nigeria’.
For me, seeing a visual representation of a mash up of some of our problems as a society was very aggravating and distinctly worrisome. That we are on a decline both socially and economically is cause for panic and should arouse public attention and action. That it isn’t, is even more unsettling.
American hip-hop superstar and multimillionaire, Sean Combs, alias P Diddy was so taken with Falz’ cover of the Gambino track that he reposted it twice on his Instagram writing:
Sending love to Nigeria. So many great, beautiful artists changing the game!!!! 🇳🇬🇳🇬 ✊🏿 @falzthebahdguy
Despite mixed reactions, it is particularly exciting to see a new wave of what we can only hope is an increase in consciousness amongst the Nigerian youth and a public outcry for change.
Could this be a trend that sticks amongst entertainers in the industry? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Until then, we ‘ll take what we’re being given, hopefully, this doesn’t take on a figurative meaning.
This is Nigeria’ was produced by Wande Thomas and the video was directed by Prodigeezy.
Cinematographer: Tayo Aina
More of this, please!
