Despite the mixed reactions to Falz calling out the Yahoo-Yahoo culture earlier this year, the rapper remains unyielding on his stance on the subject. On his latest album 27, “Confirm”, featuring Sir Dauda, is a misnomer for all things he didn’t get to say when he first spoke out on the matter against the backdrop of 9ice‘s rave of the moment hit “Living Things”.

Though 9ice has recalled the narrative that trailed the success of the single, claiming “Living Things” was not intended as a song to glorify the Yahoo-Yahoo culture, public opinion on either side of the spectrum hasn’t changed. While his first statements on the subject had been directed at his colleagues who he thinks make music that encourages a dissident social ill, his new single talks directly at the men behind the laptop screens.

On “Confirm”, Falz raps “No be only una wey be victim of the system”, countering the accusations that his initial assessment of the Yahoo-Yahoo culture was shallow and entitled. Sir Dauda who is on the hook, accentuates his message with a chorus that echoes the nobility of honest work, as he puts it rather aptly, “more hustle for the righteous”. But Falz‘s pseudo-preaches about hard work is not all there is to “Confirm”. Elsewhere on the track, Falz speaks of contentment and appreciating whatever place you find yourself in life.

Admittedly, Falz does make a lot of strong points on “Confirm”, but his moral high ground also seems to come from a need to vindicate his values by merely vilifying the culture, without any logical consideration for cause and effect. Experiences form some of our strongest beliefs, and thus context is created for even our most presumably informed decisions. Wouldn’t you then agree that, it is easy for a rapper like Falz who grew up in an upper percentile economic class, and has a law degree from the UK in the bag, to make a song like this? Especially when compared to the man on the streets who barely has a sponsor to get by daily survival, talk less off getting a premium education.

This is not to say, Falz should have made a song excusing Yahoo-Yahoo, as a crime of circumstance, rather he should have approached a song from within the culture. By exposing some of the harsh realities that often precludes crime, Falz would be shining light on issues that matter, like wide-scale poverty, illiteracy and unemployment. Most importantly, a government that has failed its people. Instead, what could have been an important song for these times (and his career even) is wasted on his personal approach to a societal issue that is way bigger than him or his pointless vexation at the misguided angry commenters on his social media pages. Falz‘ heart is probably in the right place with this Anti-Yahoo Yahoo campaign, but it doesn’t seem like he has thought it through well enough.

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