How is the Nigerian music industry celebrating women ahead of International Women’s Day?

The other day we wrote to Nigerian musicians asking them if they didn’t consider the goal of their career to be timelessness. Earlier, Ayodeji Rotinwa had lamented the lack socially conscious content in the Nigerian music industry.

To be honest, we cannot really say that this void in the music industry is a completely Nigerian problem. It certainly is a theme that runs through global music and it’s the relatively small size of the Nigerian music industry compared to the number of social injustices that need addressing that makes our own problem all the more obvious.

However, since those articles were published, we’d like to say that our musicians have listened a little and there’s now a move towards a more socially conscious musical presence. We’d also like to think that our lamentation (allow us a little bit of gloating).

Ahead of the International Women’s Day celebrations, we have taken a look at the new music releases on the Nigerian music scene and while we are a bit saddened by the inanity of Wizkid‘s new jam, “Sweet love”, we are glad to report that we noticed a huge pro-women content in some of the most talked about songs.

Here are five of them:

Timi Dakolo’s Medicine

This is a song that glorifies the hard work that women put into the work of home building. For so long, the roles assigned to women by society to take care of the home and see to the raising of socially acceptable children has been thankless. So much that it was seen as just a duty that deserved no acknowledgement nor praise. Whereas, when there’s any shortcoming, the blames rush in quick.

Through this song and video, Timi Dakolo tells a funny but important story that shows that “taking care of the home” is not an easy job and he finally realises that his wife is a “medicine” he did not know he needed until she wasn’t there.

Waje

This song! This song! When you first listen to it, it generally just ministers to anyone who needs a pick me up. And it does it so well. But then she and Lira go on to drop this amazing visual and all you can do is be proud of the women that they are. There’s really no better way for any woman, struggling or not to celebrate women’s day than to turn up the stereo and jam all day to Mountain by Waje and Lira.

Ogecha’s Intentionally Woman

This song will only remind you of the kind of inspiration that you get from listening to “Fighter” and “The Voice Within” off Christiana Aguilera’s Stripped album. Ogecha, an AFRIMA nominee for Best African Inspired Music takes every Nigerian musician to school on this one – content and production wise. It not only glorifies the beauty in the strength of womanhood, it breaks down how to be intentionally woman!

Finally, Olamide’s Letter to Milli video

While this song as a motivational to his son, Maximiliano is already beautiful as is, Olamide took it one step further by emphasising love and respect to mothers through the video for the song. That’s an A move right there.

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