Afrobeats and lyrics

Greetings!

For someone who loves and talks about music often, I think most of us Africans are getting it wrong with regards to the lyrics of the songs in the Afrobeats genre of music. From what I've observed over the years of vibing to Afrobeat music, most of the lyrics rarely carry any meaningful message that adds value to one’s life. A majority of them are usually centered on the beauty of women, curves, love and relationships. It’s just a handful that ventures outside these themes, and even then, those tracks rarely make waves compared to the sexy and explicit ones. I am not including native songs or gospel music here; I am focusing on the mainstream songs we have in Africa, particularly Nigeria, which leads the African continent in this genre.

Meaningful Lyrics:

The time when songs carried meaningful lyrics—even when centered on love—was in the past, during the days of artists like 2Face, M.I., and others. These artists invested time and effort to craft meaningful and relatable words in their songs. Even today, when you listen to their tracks, you can’t help but wonder how they came up with such brilliant ideas and rhymes.

I would have mentioned my favorite artist, D’banj, but no—his lyrics were rarely meaningful, except for a few tracks where he didn’t focus on women, sex, or curves. For example, "Top of the World", which he dedicated to the Nigerian Super Eagles. P-Square could have been included as well, but most of their tracks revolved around love and affection. While that’s not inherently wrong, it’s not entirely ideal, especially for younger listeners. However, they did release a few thought-provoking tracks, like "Why E Be Say".

I could go on and on mentioning names, but the truth remains: the Afrobeat genre has never been particularly deep or meaningful. Instead, it is glorified by what people want to hear, which reflects how the world has evolved.

The Overshadowing Effect of Beats:

For me, I’m no exception. I am a core fan of this type of music, perhaps because I grew up attached to it. Whatever form it takes, I find myself liking it. However, I fancy more of the old songs than what we have today, which are mainly just beats. This brings me to the overshadowing effect of beats on today’s music.

Nowadays, all that matters is the beat, and the lyrics often take a backseat. It doesn’t matter what words are used. In fact, a songwriter can receive applause, top charts, and earn nominations if they manage to weave “anyhow” words into a beat in a catchy manner. I’m tempted to mention names here, but I’ll refrain to avoid attacks from fans of these artists. That said, we can’t entirely blame them; it’s simply what’s trending, and we can’t help it.

Wrapping up, did you know that Erigga has more meaningful and crafted lyrics in his songs compared to most of the artists topping the charts and making noise? Yes, take your time and listen to Erigga’s music. You’ll notice how heavily weighted his lyrics are with substance. The only challenge is that he is usually raw with his expressions, which makes certain groups—especially government supporters—dislike him. This is why his songs rarely get nominated for anything.

It’s not even like he always focuses on criticizing the government. It’s just that his delivery is unapologetically real. I wouldn’t call myself a fan of his, but I have to admit that this is the absolute truth.

Thanks for reading!

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