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Kizz Daniel is regarded as one of the best writers in Nigeria, thanks to his discography of hit songs and lyricism that’s not common in Afrobeats.
Among contemporaries, Kizz Daniel has set himself out as a certified hitmaker — from his earlier work at G-World Wide to his latest singles Rich Till I Die and Cough remix, which just got a Latino touch from Becky G. Kizz Daniel has been at this for long, it’s unsurprising how often he scores hits. His smash hit Buga was the most googled song in Nigeria in the first half of 2022.
There’s no denying that Kizz Daniel has hit songs that have ruled airwaves, dominated clubs, streets, playlists and even turned our parents into happening babes.
After paying close attention to Kizz who has hacked the process of making hit songs, we present to you some gems that’ll help you deliver top singles like the man.
Writing a hit track that’ll bang like a Kizz Daniel song starts with telling stories everyone can relate to. That’s the first step.
You need to figure out how to provoke visual imagery with your lyrics. But beyond that, can your song be so good that 50 year-olds make it their ringtones and go “lo lo lo” anytime the beat drops?
Take for example, his 2016 hit single Jombo, which appeared on his New Era album. Jombo tells the story of an inter-tribal relationship — a typical Nigerian love story that hardly works out due to parents’ disapproval fueled by tribalism. It even gets messier when pregnancy is involved, as depicted and seen in the music video.
Buga and Rich Till I Die are other classic examples of relatable songs. Buga admonishes listeners to chop life and flex on haters. They worked so hard for their money, after all.
Rich Till I Die on the other hand is a reassuring song that reminds people to believe that no matter the problem — expensive fuel prices or high cost of living — poverty won’t come near them.
Another point you should note is that Kizz loves repetition in his songs. If he’s not trying to imprint the song title into your subconscious, he’s pushing unforgettable one-liners.
Did you hear how many times he repeated “jah-o” in Jaho, calling on Jah (God) to lift him up. Also on Buga, “let me see you go lo, lo, lo, lo” was repeated over sixteen times.
Repetition lays emphasis, because tbh, if you don’t say things over and over, no one might take you seriously.
Is it getting clearer?
Lastly, to spice up the hit song you’re cooking, be funny. If you aren’t sure what this means, pay close attention to Kizz Daniel’s Jombo. In the song, he hilariously describes his lover’s difficult parents as black belt holders and karate fighters — a sharp comparison to their disciplinarian attitude. It might help to dig the internet to unearth his comedy videos during his stint as a skitmaker around 2017.
If you try out all these tips and they don’t work, wait for his new album, Maverick, to come out 28th July, 2023. Maybe there will be something new there for you.
Since bursting into the Nigerian music scene in 2015, Kizz Daniel has dropped hit songs consistently to the point that he named his 2 nd studio album “No Bad Songz”, and he was right! Kizz Daniel dropped the album in 2018 and has maintained his reputation as a star artist with no bad songs.
Kizz Daniel has been nominated for and won several popularly acclaimed awards, including the Headies for Album of the year and Hip Hop World Revelation of the Year in 2016. His New Era album released in 2018 had some of the best songs of the year, including Mama, Woju, and Laye.
Kizz Daniel was also nominated for Song of the Year and Viewer’s Choice awards at the Headies in 2018 for hit songs off his No Bad Songz album. Top songs off the album include Poko, Madu with the cute video, No Do, and One Ticket featuring Davido. In 2020, Kizz Daniel gave us some of the best songs that saw us through the COVID-19 lockdown. Songs like Jaho, Ada, which are some of the best love songs of the year, Boys are Bad, Pak n Go, and the controversial Fvck You. The song created one of the biggest challenges of the year, with other artists and comedians remixing the song.
Also referred to as ‘Vado ‘D Great’ by his fans, Kizz Daniel’s 2021 album, Barnabas continued the star artist’s trend of no bad song. The album introduced some of the best-hit songs like Pour Me Water which trended on TikTok on other social media platforms with mind-blowing social media challenges, Eh God, Oshe featuring The Cavemen, and Lie.
Most recently, Kizz Daniel’s 2022 singles Buga and Cough have broken the internet with social media challenges across the world and have spent weeks on music charts. This December, Kizz Daniel will be performing all these hit songs and more in his first headlined concert since 2019 and it will bang! Not to spill all the tea, but Kizz Daniel will be performing alongside other great artists.
LiveWire Concerts and Flyboy Inc are bringing the Afroclassic tour to Lagos on Saturday, the 17th of December at Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels and Suites Lagos. Tickets are fast selling out and can be purchased on nairabox.com and The Place Restaurant. The Kizz Daniel Live in Lagos concert is sponsored by Bet9ja, Nigerian Breweries, and First Bank.
an Afroclassic experience brought to you by LiveWire Concerts and Flyboy inc!
The biggest concert of 2022, Kizz Daniel Live in Lagos is coming soon, and tickets are fast selling out! You do not want to miss out on Kizz Daniel’s live performance of some of the biggest songs that came out of 2022 – Buga and Odo (Cough), or his other chart-topping hit songs like Yeba, One Ticket, Laye, and many more.
This is Kizz Daniel’s first headlined concert since 2019, and it will bang! Not to spill all the tea, but Kizz Daniel will be bringing on stage other great artists who will also perform their great tunes. What else are you waiting for to get your tickets? Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased on nairabox.com and The Place Restaurant.
You can take advantage of the Black Friday deal. The early bird discounted tickets which are supposed to be over now have been extended to Black Friday. This means that tickets are still selling at discounted prices until midnight of Friday, 25th of November. After this, prices return to their original prices.
LiveWire Concerts and Flyboy inc. are bringing the Afroclassic tour to Lagos this December and do not want you to miss out on this experience. So, if you want to start your festive celebration on a very bright note, this is the best time to get your ticket to the Afroclassic experience with Kizz Daniel.
Fresh off his American and UK tour and his World Cup performance, Kizz Daniel will be live in Lagos on Saturday, the 17th of December at Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels and Suites Lagos. Remember that Kizz Daniel has no bad songs.
The Kizz Daniel Live in Lagos Concert is brought to you by LiveWire Concerts and Flyboy inc., and sponsored by Bet9ja, Nigerian Breweries, and First Bank. The LiveWire team is made up of seasoned show producers and top entertainment directors who have harnessed their expertise to create a special experience for Nigeria’s entertainment scene with the Kizz Daniel concert in Lagos.
Remember, the early bird discounted tickets have been extended till Black Friday and can be purchased on nairabox.com and The Place Restaurant. Get your tickets now!
LiveWire Concerts and the hit crooner who captivated the world in 2022 with spectacular songs has released news bound to excite fans in Nigeria. Kizz Daniel, the soulful voice behind hit songs like Buga and Odo (Cough), and LiveWire have announced plans to bring the party to Lagos this December.
On Saturday, the 17th of December at Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels and Suites Lagos, the afro classic sensation will be gifting Nigerians an opportunity to be a part of #TheKizzExperience organised by LiveWire Concerts. The Kizz Daniel Live in Lagos concert— his first in Nigeria since 2019, promises to be a night of great vibes and outstanding performance. Not only from the legend himself but with the support of talented artists.
In 2022, Kizz Daniel toured the United Kingdom and sold out shows in famous cities
including London and Manchester. The star artist also toured the U.S. and performed in Canada on his Afroclassic tour. Kizz Daniel Live in Lagos is produced and organized by leading show producers, LiveWire Concerts, a subsidiary of Bluenote Entertainment. The LiveWire and Bluenote teams are made up of seasoned show producers and top entertainment directors and are responsible for some of the most popular concerts in Nigeria, like the King Coal concert with Wande Coal in 2019.
Since coming into the limelight in 2015, the widely acclaimed singer has released chart-topping songs and record-breaking albums. Also referred to as ‘Vado ‘D Great’ by his fans, Kizz Daniel has been nominated for and won several popularly acclaimed awards, including the Headies for Album of the year and Hip Hop World Revelation of the Year in 2016.
He was also nominated for Song of the Year and Viewer’s Choice awards at the Headies in 2018. Most recently, his singles Buga and Cough have broken the internet with social media challenges across the world. To crown the year in Nigeria, the seasoned artist is set to bring the Afroclassic experience to fans and the audience as they celebrate the festive season.
Tickets are now on sale with an early bird discount and can be purchased on nairabox.com. The Kizz Daniel Live in Lagos concert, brought to you by LiveWire Concerts, and Flyboy Inc., sets the tone for the festivities in Lagos, Nigeria, and holds on Saturday, 17th of December at the Eko Convention Centre.
While I can confidently say Kizz Daniel has no bad song, I also think it’s time I (and the rest of you) admit that some of his lyrics are problematic AF. There, I said it.
Despite being one of the few artists everyone, their mums and aunties can bond over, thanks to his infectious hit, Buga, Kizz Daniel is building a reputation for sprinkling weird lyrics that range from cringe-worthy to downright disturbing. His latest single, Cough (Odo), is the latest addition to the Kizz Daniel “inappropriate lyrics” library.
Like Barnabas, Nesesari, Lie and Poko, Cough (Odo) has all the makings of a Kizz Daniel hit. The song finds him singing about what he knows best — love. But most importantly, the lyrics are simple and repetitive enough to stick to your brain after one listen. The problem is, after all the “odoyewus” and plans to carry his love away, Kizz decides to sing some lyrics that just don’t sit right with me:
It’s easy to notice a narrative in which Kizz is not willing to give this lover he’s singing about the option of refusing his advances simply because he’s done some shit for her — coming through when she was heartbroken and buying her friends dinner.
And just when I thought I was crazy and overthinking the song, I saw this tweet:
Kizz LOVESSSSSSS rapey lyrics. Especially when it does absolutely NOTHING to advance the song musically.
— Dayo the Champagne Socialist 🥂 (@TrophyHusbandD) October 28, 2022
The wild part is this isn’t the first time Kizz Daniel’s lyrics have raised questions about consent and sexual harassment.
In 2017, Kizz Daniel’s Yeba was everywhere, and I was obsessed. From wedding receptions to the club, Yeba was THAT song. But, after the initial gragra of the song dwindled, people finally started paying attention to the lyrics and noticed the now infamous “Uncle, stop touching me” and “Sorry, madam” lines that painted the scenario of a man touching a woman inappropriately.
D song teaches our ladies to speak out against wat they haven't consented 2 nd 4 d men to realise dat if a lady says No, No means No. Apologise nd don't go further, hence d reply by d guy…"sorry madam" D fact dat a lady agrees 2 dance wit u doesn't translate 2 sexual consent https://t.co/LbfJuowJbI
The line, which has now been removed, was added like a skit, but there’s nothing funny about it. It makes light of sexual harassment, which often leads to rape, a big problem in a country that reported over 11,000 rape cases in 2020 alone. Kizz Daniel’s tweet defending the song also reads like a last-minute re-interpretation of its narrative to save face. But the truth is, we don’t need men to sexually harass women and then apologise. We need men to not harass, period.
As if the drama from Yeba taught him nothing, in 2019, Kizz Daniel came back with not one, but two songs with problematic lyrics. There was Fvck You, which had a challenge that added kerosene to the Tiwa Savage/Seyi Shay beef, followed by another club hit, Pak N Go.
On Fvck You, Kizz Daniel is heartbroken after his lover cheats on him. So what does he do with the little dignity he has left? He slut-shames her like there’s no tomorrow, calling random names and singing, “Ashawo come be your hobby”. While I understand many people may not find this song weird, the idea of resorting to slut-shaming when it comes to women will always make me uncomfortable. Why is that the first thing Nigerians think of when we want to call out a woman?
Fvck You might be divisive on the problematic scale, sure. But no one can tell me the “When will you marry ye, until your bobby touch your belle o wey man no wan collect?” line from Pak N Go doesn’t raise a few eyebrows. Mine are way up right now.
There’s the obvious conversation surrounding body shaming. For years, women whose bodies don’t fit a particular box have been made to feel less than, and the line “until your bobby touch your belle o wey man no wan collect” supports society’s view that women’s bodies are only acceptable when it appeals to the male gaze. There’s nothing wrong with having the type of boobs he sings about and no, it doesn’t always come with age. With his lyrics, Kizz Daniel pokes fun at these women and tries to make them believe they’re unattractive simply because he thinks men won’t want them.
In an ageist and profoundly patriarchal society that rates women based on their marital status or ability to attract a man, the lyrics from Pak N Go are harmful and careless. Kizz Daniel prides himself in making songs about love that target a large female fanbase, so it’s a bit jarring that his lyrics pressure said fanbase to settle and conform to society’s expectations of getting married because their biological clocks are ticking.
Is Kizz Daniel doing all of this on purpose? Maybe, maybe not. He’s the only one who knows for sure. Either way, these lyrics leave a sour taste on the tongue. And even if it’s just banter, it speaks to how, as Nigerians, we tend to dismiss and trivialise body or slut shaming and sexual harassment. These are not “ha ha” conversations. They require a certain level of nuance, and Kizz Daniel has failed time and time again to bring that to the conversation.
Nigerian comic Bovi's disgusting and homophobic joke using his children and graphic sexual language. pic.twitter.com/yEdnmHdpU8
There’s a lot to say about the consequences or lack thereof for celebrities who step out of line through their art or personal lives. We’ve seen comedians like Basketmouth and Bovi make jokes about rape and homophobia, respectively, without any consequences. Singer D’Banj was accused of raping a young woman in 2020, but he’s still bagging awards and serving as a judge on one of the biggest reality shows in the country.
Then we have the one and only African Giant who was allegedly involved in a shooting and intimidation case early this year. Before that, Burna was reportedly involved in a sexual assault case, casually revealed in a back-and-forth with Ghanaian rapper Shatta Wale early this year [2022]. But still, nothing has been done to properly investigate or punish him for any of these things — at least publicly. It’s almost as if making good music absolves him of any wrongdoing. After all, he’s our very own Odogwu.
I’m not trying to be self-righteous here. I still listened to Burna Boy’s 2022 album, Love Damini (and even reviewed it). I also listened to Kizz Daniel’s Cough (Odo) after complaining privately to my friends about Yeba. But that doesn’t mean we can’t do better. I’m not asking everyone to pick up torches and cancel anyone since cancel culture doesn’t seem to work in Nigeria. But we need to find a way to hold our celebrities accountable or at least admit when they fuck up.
While we have bigger fish to fry in Nigeria heading into an important election year, nothing stops us from calling out art that does more harm than good socially. Sis, we can walk and chew gum at the same time. Getting rid of a song or lyric may not solve all our problems of sexual assault and harassment or turn Nigeria into the Garden of Eden, but, damn, it’s a good place to start.
Whether you want to believe it or not, Nigerian music is one of the hottest commodities on the planet right now. And while I love the artists behind these songs, I can’t deny that stanning Nigerian artists can be exhausting sometimes, especially when it comes to their live shows.
With one of our faves recently getting arrested for missing his own show, I’ve done some critical thinking and come up with some ways top Nigerian artists can do better for their fans.
Show up for their shows on time
This has become the norm for Nigerian artists at this point — even recently blown acts who blew yesterday show up late to their concerts. Some apologise, while others just go on like they didn’t leave people waiting for almost six hours.
I don’t know about other Nigerians, but the evil Nigerian artists have done is enough. We need justice.
Sing, don’t shout at us
Imagine giving myself to capitalism and then using my hard-earned Naira to watch an artist shout at me all night. Is it ment? Even if you don’t have the vocal range, sing to where your voice can reach so we can give you C for effort. If I wanted someone to yell at me, I’d go home and break my mum’s favourite ceramic plate.
Give us an actual performance, sis
Nigerian artists need to understand that live shows are more than just trying their hands at Rupaul’s lip sync battle. It’s a SHOW. I’ve heard your voice a million times on Spotify, but now I’m here to be wowed. Remember when Wizkid used tio whine his waist vigorously on stage? Bring that shit back. Entertain me.
Rehearse before the show to avoid stories that touch
There’s no reason why an artist should get up on a stage they haven’t seen or rehearsed on before. Absolutely no reason. This is why half of the show is spent fixing technical difficulties. Yes, sis, if you’d rehearsed prior to the show, you’d know that the mic’s wire is too short.
Bring a live band
Variety is the spice of life. You won’t die if you shock us with a live band once in a while. It’s not every time, “DJ, play track 15.” Elevate your music by trying to bring something new to it. Give us range!!
These days, Nigerian concerts are 20% actual artists singing and the 80% hype man shouting the artist’s names and telling us they’re the baddest. Sir, I know the name of the artist I came to see, you don’t have to keep reminding me.
Do meet and greet
Even though I know that this is a reach for Nigerian artists, I’m still on a mission for some one-on-one time with Asake, Adekunle Gold and Tems. Laugh all you want, but that cute meet and greet will happen soon IJMN.
Be reasonable with your ticket prices
Times are hard, and the naira is doing Buga challenge minus the part where it’s supposed to come back up. The money we used to buy three tickets last year has now turned into money for one. And the performances aren’t slapping like they should for all that money. Artists that tour in the overseas all the time, please, consider us back home and subsidise these prices. Thanks.
You have to be living under a rock not to have heard Kizz Daniel’s Buga by now. While the song has taken over charts, playlists, and clubs like every other Kizz Daniel song, Buga has also become a fave of Nigerian mummies and aunties worldwide. At this point, it’s not even our song anymore. They’ve hijacked it from us and refused to let it go.
Nigerian mummies and aunties have taken this song outside😭 see how they’re out of breathe but they still won’t stop 😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/Us02jWP0QM
We caught up with some of these aunties to talk about why Buga has them in a chokehold, and this is what they had to say for themselves.
“The dance is simple. The lyrics are simple. What else do I want?”
— Folashade, 58
Every time I open my Instagram, you guys (millennials downwards) are always trying to kill yourselves in the name of dance and “legwork”. When it’s not like you’re Michael Jackson?
If I like a song, I’ll look for the dance on the internet and immediately get discouraged because it’s too hardBut with Kizz Daniel’s Buga, the dance is very easy to learn, and we’ve been doing it since my days. Go low and come back up, finish.
I’m too old to be somersaulting because of music.
“This is the perfect owambe song, simple.”
— Ibidun, 48
I’ll be very angry if I go for an owambe and they don’t play Buga. What are you celebrating if we’re not doing that “lo lo lo” dance? Ko possible. I heard the song at a wedding last month, and now I play it daily in the kitchen, in the car, everywhere. Buga makes me want to dance and every time I hear “Collect your money”, I start shouting, “That’s my boy.”
I keep going to all these events so I can dance to the song with a crowd since I’m too old to go clubbing. Who knows, I might jam him at one of these weddings — I’ll run mad!
“After working hard all my life, I’m ready to buga”
— Khadija, 50
Young people don’t understand how deep Kizz Daniel’s Buga is. Yes, we’re all dancing and my children are putting me on the internet, but that song means more to me than just the dance. I retired a while ago after more than 25 years as a civil servant. I worked hard all those years, and now, I’m travelling, attending all the owambes I can find and living a baby girl life or whatever they call it.
“You don work, you don try. You suppose to dey jaiye jaiye”, these lyrics from Buga describe how I’m taking on this new chapter of my life. Your generation may not get it because you’re all still working up and down. You can’t even Buga properly because of deadlines. Pele my dear.
“It feels good to connect to my grandson without it feeling forced.”
— Becky, 63
One of the sad things about growing older is finding it difficult to connect with younger people and the things they like. I don’t understand social media and I don’t want to. And with music, my teenage grandson is constantly playing all these gragra songs that sound like people are fighting, and I don’t like them. But I liked Kizz Daniel’s Buga from the first time I heard it in his car. It’s such a sweet song that makes me feel good and relaxed.
My grandson is always sending me videos of people dancing to it and those videos make my day.
I’ve liked Kizz Daniel since day one. I know all the songs from Woju, even though I don’t like that Poko and that F*ck You song. But with Buga, Every time I’m in a bad mood, it just makes my shoulders move instinctively. Then I start to dance.
Kizz Daniel is consistent with his sound, and everything feels intentional because I can tell he just wants listeners to have a good time. In this country where everything is going higgy hagga, Kizz Daniel’s music is good escapism. For me and my gals, Buga is our song. We need him to do a Christian version sha so I can dance to it in church during Harvest.
“Lyrics that I understand and aren’t sinful? Thank God!”
— Joy, 51
It’s hard to listen to music these days and not feel weird because of all the lewd lyrics. Everything shouldn’t be about sex and violence. Where is the joy? That’s why I like Buga. It’s a fun, happy-go-lucky song about having a good time and celebrating. The lyrics are not too fast, which makes it easy to learn. We need more songs like this.
Oluwatobiloba Daniel Anidugbe, popularly known as Kizz Daniel, is one Nigerian musician we can bank on to produce hit songs with every release. When Kizz Daniel titled his second album “No Bad Songz”, he was correct and confident. Here are ten songs that prove Kizz Daniel has no bad music.
Mama
Mama was released in 2016 and still slaps today. It’s a beautiful romantic song with an unmistakable message. This song is a party rocker, a proposal jam, and a wedding banger. We stan a versatile bop.
Madu
Before we get into Madu, can we talk about how hot the video is? Madu itself is a hot song and should be on your sex playlist. It’s a song about the countless things a man wants to do to your body (with your consent, of course)
One Ticket
Two of my faves on one song? Yasss gurl. Let’s be very honest, the babes hurt Kizz and Davido in One Ticket, but we support women’s wrongs as much as we support women’s rights. Geddit girl.
Ello Baby
Kizz Daniel’s ability to make a love song into a party song is one of our favourite things about him. He’s toasting you with the music while making you dance and smile from ear to ear. Shakespeare is shaking.
Eh God (Barnabas)
LOL. Eh God is the song you listen to every morning before starting your day. It’s like a prayer, but not really.
Men LIE! Don’t believe any man who says he’s not lying to you. Lie is the song you hear blasting through your man’s speakers right after he lies to you.
Poko
Ok, at this point, we should give Kizz an award for singing the songs women want to hear. Whew, he makes music for baddies and probably doesn’t realise it.
Sofa
Kizz was giving us some rasta influence in Sofa. I want to chill on the sofa, doing cute stuff with someone.
Currently
Currently could have been titled “Currency” to avoid confusion, but that’s not the point. Kizz Daniel nailed the features on Currently.
Buga
Buga is a jam that can also serve as alarm clock music. I mean, “Gbe’ra, gbe’ra
gbe’ra, go get that mullah (wake up). Mo ni ko kala. Kala gb’owo yẹn o” sounds like something you should hear first thing in the morning.
Kizz Daniel has had us in a chokehold since dropping “Woju” in 2015. With new music and some interesting collaborations hitting the streets, we decided to ask Nigerians what they thought about his new EP, “Barnabas” for Love It/Hate It.
Sarah – His music has evolved, love it!
Kizz Daniel’s sound is evolving and I like it. Just like Adekunle Gold, you can see that he’s adopting this new fusion of Afrobeats that’s very chill and mellow. He’s making the kind of music you’d hear from Buju or Fireboy. Music that you can just vibe to, you don’t really have to dance and shit. Pour Me Water could’ve easily been a Buju song.
Kayito – I hate that unnecessary The Cavemen feature.
It’s not the worst song, but if you’re going to do a song with The Cavemen, you have to make it epic! As a fan of The Cavemen, I can’t stand that Oshe song. Also, The Cavemen too should learn to say “no” abeg. Is it every feature you will carry your guitars and drums to? Maybe I went in with too high expectations.
Wale – Why is Kizz Daniel out here singing about racism?
I like the EP. For the first time in a long time, I was like, “Okay, now I get why this guy is still relevant.” I appreciate the writing because honestly, Nigerians rarely care about the writing process, but I also felt like he was doing the most to appeal to oyinbos. But with all that is happening in Nigeria, why is this man out in the streets singing about racism? Skin is just weird to me.
Ifeyinwa – I need something new, some edge.
I’m tired of male artists singing about how they’re the best thing to happen to women since sliced bread. Kizz is a Yoruba man. Wickedness is in his DNA. Why does he always sing these love songs about all he’s going to do for a girl? I need something new. He tried to do it with F**k You, and he definitely needs to do it again.
Josh – This is the best record of the year!
Last year, Odogwu, Big W, Tiwa and Davido all dropped albums, and this year has just been meh. Until Kizz Daniel changed that.
I like the EP a lot! Kizz knows how to make hits even though most of the songs sound the same.
There’s so much new music being released that it’s hard for even the most loyal fans to wade through the trash to find the gems. That’s why we’ve created #BumpThis – a Friday series that features new songs, by and featuring Nigerians, that you absolutely need to hear.
Adekunle Gold — “Jore” ft. Kizz Daniel
For the past year, Adekunle Gold has been on a mission to show off his range, and with every new release — be it a solo effort or an unexpected feature — he unveils an exciting new layer to his artistry.
His first single of the year, the Kizz Daniel-assisted “Jore” is no different. The track finds both stars singing about their relationships, promising to give their women anything they desire.
On the delightful love song, Adekunle Gold proves he can hold his own against one of the strongest afropop stars working today, and that makes us doubly excited for his upcoming LP.
If the story of your life can be told in a series of popular hashtags, odds are the #MannequinChallenge was the first time you saw a song ride social media’s wings to Hitsville.
Building on the strength of a couple of hit singles, Kizz Daniel launched his #FvckYouChallenge sometime in March to promote his single “Fvck You” and stay at the top of your feed. In the days since he announced it via IG, the singer has reposted well over 30 entries.
In just less than two months, Kizz Daniel’s #FvckYouChallenge has become many things – an opportunity for underdogs and emerging talents to strut their stuff, a chance for familiar faces to re-assert their presence and proof of the music industry’s endless mediocrity and misogyny. Kizz Daniel has also managed to drag us back into the dark ages.
The premise of the #FvckYouChallenge is pretty clear. Kizz discovers a love interest’s sexual encounters with his colleagues and proceeds to drag her for her promiscuity (“Olosho come be your hobby”). This is a very familiar story.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvUXKLbgGGG/
Kizz Daniel’s video launching the #FvckYouChallenge
If art is about storytelling and expression, then every work should be inherently different. But that is not what happens in this case. Instead, most of Kizz Daniel’s peers only try to tell the story better than the man; even if that means going wildly overboard.
No one deserves handcuffs for this more than Chinko Ekun who takes it up a notch and describes a nymphomaniac. Chinko describes her escapades like a torture session, before suggesting that this person has had their genitals tampered with like a transsexual.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvdq2OkARDS/
2/10 for lack of effort.
Ice Prince’s entry has a great opening montage that promises something more refined. What you get instead is everything we’ve come to expect from Zamani by now.
Ice Prince shows up in full music video persona and rhymes something with ‘bomboclaat‘ in the first four bars. It doesn’t change much from there.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvmph8kAAlx/
3.5 for being a clone of his own damn self.
By now, you’re probably wondering if this #FvckYouChallenge is all about degrading sexually libertine women. The answer is yes. Some of the entries are so crass and self-indulgent that you wonder if Saint Janet, the queen of fuji parody. did some ghostwriting.
Take DMW’s resident rapper for instance.
Nothing about Dremo’s verse works. He manages to get verbally abusive at this imaginary babe before using the magic word – ‘prostitute’. The nadir of this very earnest disaster is a failed joke – Dremo thinks the babe’s face should be the new DMW logo seeing as she’s spent nights with all the members of the team.
We’ll assume Dremo somehow can’t remember the current face on the DMW logo is a little girl.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvkSYCpAO3y/
Skiibii’s second coming has blessed us with two hits in quick succession (“Sensima”, “Onyeoma”) but even that good fortune could not breathe life into his take on Kizz Daniel’s challenge – which is practically a more intense version of the original.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bve8zK6A5kk/
That’s not the entire story though. Kizz Daniel’s intentions may have been to turn this hashtag into an inanimate vehicle for his newest single, and as anyone with an Apple Music account can confirm, it’s working. The biggest beneficiaries, however, are the next rated acts using it to get noticed.
Challenges like this have unearthed waves of talent since Don Jazzy’s Enigma freestyle forced everyone with a pen and a notepad to drop a quick 16, myself inclusive. If there’s one artist whose entry makes you want to hear his music, it’s a hard draw between Cheque and Jujuboy.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvn1Cr-Ait5/
“Now they know you meant it when you said “Fxck My Niggaz,” might be the standout line from Cheque’s freestyle, but within 60 seconds, the PentHauze signee is the only one who suggests he could have made a better song than Kizz Daniel did.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvtNiFYg1Un/
Jujuboy impresses nearly as much. He may not be one of the more popular next-rated acts but Jujuboy is as likely as any of his contemporaries to break the mainstream. His biggest strengths, melody and composition, are more than evident here.
Life after G Worldwide has been nice to Kizz Daniel, yet the strength of his run since doesn’t quite explain how big #FvckYouChallenge has gotten. It’s easy to forget that Poe’s lukewarm Triple Homicide challenge is only weeks old, and the last song to ride interactions to the top of the charts was Wizkid’s “Fever”.
Where Starboy’s last single relies on his star power, Kizz Daniel’s challenge works because it’s relatable. And that connection comes from raw, bare-bellied misogyny.
All the men doing this Kizz Daniel challenge are staying on-brand to Kizz Daniel’s original topic of sex-shaming. The few women that have done it, none of them have spoken on the topic of a man they liked, but shaming him for being promiscuous. Why?
— Jess “Finesse” Chibueze (@jessjessfinesse) March 30, 2019
See, misogyny in Nigerian music doesn’t cry out from the hilltops like say, trap. It’s nicely tucked away in the middle pages, like the very common feeling that women come under the dominion of any successful musician.
Thanks to the #FvckYouChallenge, we can safely throw away whatever illusions we had of how progressive Nigerian hip-hop and music, as a whole, have become.
More than two-thirds of the best entries for the #FvckYouChallenge are done by men – an obvious outcome. When women try it, they make a worthy attempt to subvert the trope, except they end up staying on topic and doing some shaming of their own too.
Simi’s entry is a case for the unheard party. She assumes the role of this shamed slay queen. According to her, the only reason she’s getting all this hate because she just didn’t give it up. So she proceeds to shame the men too.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvoZaBMADds/
I’d rather not do this but it’s worth pointing out that Victoria Kimani single-handedly destroys any case for women as the voices of reason. Instead, she gives us more proof of the same high-handedness and sense of superiority that fuelled Dremo’s angry rant.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvye3MUogen/
In a verse that’s more memorable for autotune that the human who used it, Vicky from Kenya accuses Ycee of stealing her verses, Tiwa Savage of sleeping around and blocking her blessings and everyone else for taking her love for granted. It’s hard to watch – ironic, given that this is the #FvckYouChallenge in its purest form.
The few musicians who chose to look at the bigger picture are the ones who expose the real problem with Kizz Daniel’s challenge.
Social media has changed music like nothing else in recent history. Virality has turned obscure singers into global superstars and unearthed the most unusual talents in the most unlikely places. It brought us closer to our faves and made them a part of our lives and vice versa.
But in doing so, it has exposed us to their less glorious moments, the brain farts that get fast-tracked into reality. Now we have front row seats to the regressive aspects of the culture that would ordinarily go on behind the scenes.
Your favourite rapper thinks women owe him sex. Your WCW is an irresponsible crybaby. Fraudsters and Nigerian musicians are part of the same value chain. Your favourite singers are joining fraternities.
The irony of Kizz Daniel’s FvckYouChallenge is that it is exposed for what it is by an artist who is notorious for being self-indulgent and entitled.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvorgGtgODP/
Most fans of Nigerian hip-hop know Vector’s lavish taste for alliterative non-bars by now. His repeated use of “all of una” however, refers to the fact that this sex thing everyone has been talking about is actually a very interesting cycle, because if all of una know all the groupies’ wey don run level with all of una, who all of una day talk about? The answer is – All of una.
Kizz Daniel’s challenge has fulfilled its purpose, but in doing so, it exposed the soft underbelly of the industry by forcing uninspired artists to spontaneously make music on a subject that is too close to their comfort zone.
One minute, you’re happy that Nigerian rappers are finally fixing up. Then you realise the majority of them didn’t get the memo – it’s 2019 and slut-shaming the same women you’ve been sleeping with is not a good look.
