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According to reports, which have been confirmed to be false, our Nigerian Government thinks Olamide’s new song ‘Wo’ is bad for young people.
Many believe that the song promotes a lifestyle that shouldn’t be broadcasted, and so someone made the call from the Federal Ministry of Health, reports sprang up that the song was banned by the Nigeria Broadcasting Commision.
But is it really that bad? Does ‘Wo!’ have the power to influence the youths of this generation to go sideways? After watching the video, and running through the lyrics. Would you say the message you took home as a young person is to indulge in criminal, morally inept and bad behaviour?
The NBC has a job to do, so does the musicians. It’s a love-hate relationship that sometimes leads to things like banning music from being broadcasted. This means, they serve as censors and regulators, keeping the musicians within acceptable borders and checking them when they perceive that a song goes too far from what should be morally acceptable by the community.
"I have reliably gathered that some of those songs are actually offensive, regarding the lyrics," says Idachaba Armstrong, who is the Director of broadcast monitoring, who spoke to Cable. "Some of these songs are for clubs. These stations that should practice self-regulation are lazy and unprofessional in their conduct.”
But let’s look through the song and checkout the lyrics and the video for some insights into why this song, which is well on its way to becoming a street hit, has been such an issue.
Olamide’s ‘Wo!!’ is a relatively new song, but it has already spread through the internet like wildfire. The record was produced by Young John, and it contains elements from the street. Delivered in Yoruba, with an intensity which drives listeners to dance, it is one of the huge records disturbing the peace already.
The street is still in fashion, and any mainstream act who can deliver on that is almost sure of a hit. Young John appeared to have plateaued with the coming of the ‘Pon pon’ sound, but ‘Wo!!’ is still proof that he possesses a chemistry with Olamide, which can still do damage.
Thanks to the guys at MusixMatch, you can find a full translation of the lyrics here. It’s a record which depicts Olamide hanging with a lady, and dictating the direction of the encounter. From giving her dance styles, to demanding physical affection, it reads off like a little private encounter, turned into music.
Let’s look at Olamide’s ‘Wo!!” video and independently analyse it for claims about it encouraging secondhand smoking. The 4-minute visual shot by Unlimited LA takes Olamide back to his old neighbourhood of Bariga, where he grew up. The rapper engages the youth via dancing, brings the community together with music, and curates different dance styles from the streets. Before the video, three dance crews had won N1 million each for making dance videos of the song, and a group had their visual incorporated into the final cut of the video.
It’s almost four minutes of dancing and celebratory brilliance. A hood hero had returned, inspiring the poor people of the community and showing them how hard work and good fortune can befall one of their own. Before his stratospheric rise to superstardom, Olamide roamed those streets, with nothing but hope and a talent. He got rewarded and has always given back to the community. One of his projects has been Lil Kesh, who he picked from the hood and made a star.
But to be fair, there’s smoking in the visual, and if the NBC really wants to censor the record they can do so without robbing people and the artist of a chance to properly consume and spread this art, they simply would have told media houses to blur or edit out the offending parts. There is no information provided that says they banned the record, but if they have a problem with it, that's the first recourse.
And yes, music does have an influence on young minds.
Music has the potential to be a major influence in a child's life. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average child listens to more than 2 1/2 hours of music daily. Music does not necessarily pose problems for young people who live a balanced and healthy lifestyle, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The site does warn, however, that, "If a teenager is persistently preoccupied with music that has seriously destructive themes, and there are changes in behaviour such as isolation, depression, alcohol or other drug abuse, evaluation by a qualified mental health professional should be considered."
This is the sole reason why regulatory bodies like NBC act in the interest of the music. There are usually a couple of ways these things can be dealt with and a more viable solution like editing the affected parts and using that edited version for broadcast purposes.
The record does contain enough for it to be flagged. And NBC has the right to carry out their constitutional duty. We might speak from a place of emotion and denounce the commission when they act, but they have a job to do, and they can do it to protect us all.
“We will impose the necessary sanctions on the stations," explains Armstrong. "If the stations contravene any of the broadcast code, they will be fined. Once NBC picks it up, we call the stations to order and impose the necessary fine. First, we caution you, then impose a fine afterward, which can be between 50-100k. But if they are recalcitrant, it can rise to 500k.”
The song isn't banned, but if for any reason it does get banned, it doesn’t mean the song can’t still live its life away from radio. The internet, DJs, and Alaba will ensure that it gets it due outside the powers of the NBC.