A couple of months ago, I was listening to Smooth 98.1 FM. During ‘The Grape Vine’ segment of the station’s Smooth Breakfast show, the presenters were talking about Brymo’s new video for “Billion Naira Dream”, a video for a song of the same title off his 2016’s Klitoris album. The presenters were talking about the song’s lyrical content and how it blends with the messages in the video.
Someone by the name PRO sent a message to the station via its WhatsApp medium. He said Brymo’s “‘Billion Naira Dream’ will remains a dream if Brymo didn’t sing in the language people understand.” The presenters were as surprise as I was. I flinched and turned on my bed as though I have been stabbed with a thousand bottles splinters. I was confused. I asked myself, what kind of language does Brymo speaks?
As I was rolling the question over and over in my heart, maybe I would get some answer from my mill of thought, one of the presenters came to my rescue: “But Brymo only speaks English, Yoruba and Pidgin English in his songs, what kind of language are you talking about?” She asked, asking PRO. PRO replied, saying ‘Brymo needs to make songs that everyone would feel, songs that are not too serious; songs that are club bangers, or cocktails, or party jollof.
This wasn’t the first time I’m hearing people saying Brymo is no longer singing what they want. And PRO is not the only one saying ‘Brymo Doesn’t Speaks the Language People Understand’. I have loads of friends who are saying they no longer feel the ‘new’ Brymo. Their complaints: Brymo is too serious, political, poetic and brooding. And they have no time for seriousness, political talk, poetic gibberish and brooding. Just sing on a loud, cacophonic beat and say something silly for us to dance to, they all seem to be saying.
I won’t say PRO and those other folks’ opinions are pedestrian, because music is subjective and taste differs. That’s why the late Stephen Osita Osadebe sang ‘Osondi Owendi’, which is translated as ‘one man’s meat is another man’s poison. There are enough songs for everybody, songs that sooth their lifestyles.
What those folks complaining about Brymo’s style of music should understand is that, Brymo probably didn’t tailor his carefully written lyrics and soothing songs to satisfy them. And I’m not sure Brymo is willing to bend or sings jollof music or please jollof music fans. Because most of the themes and messages of his songs are not meant for them to understand, appreciate, empathize and relate to. Brymo’s themes don’t need to resonate with the majority before the world knows he is a genius.
Having disengaged from Choc City completely, Brymo has evolved to become the archetypal indie artist. And indie is not about seeking majority support and love. Indie is not about making culture and lifestyle popular. Indie is about being independent, being free from societal shackles and moving out of societal boxes of confine talents and greatness. Brymo is not a bandwagon – he is a trailblazer.
Brymo’s albums are, therefore, not ‘stadium albums’. He didn’t create music to rock arenas. He creates music that is deep and full of meanings and those songs can’t make club goers shout in ecstasy. His way of titling album is enough proof to shows he is not seeking public agreement. Before he met Chocolate City and fame, he titled his debut album, Brymstone, a play on his stage name that makes it sound like a gemstone. His sophomore album, The Son Of a Kapenta, acknowledges his father’s vocation and as well makes Biblical allusion to Jesus Christ of Nazareth: The Son of A Carpenter.
His third studio album, Merchant, Dealers and Slaves, sounds like a book or movie with a transatlantic slavery storyline. Brymo then goes Latin and name his fourth studio effort Tabula Rasa. For his fifth studio offering, he goes Greek and titles it Klitoris. And for his soon-to-be release album, he goes deeply Yoruba and names it Oso (Wizard). With all these album titles, it is clear Brymo is not willing to please the mainstream audience neither is he willing to bow to their pressure.
Let’s look at Brymo songs with another eye and hear them with another ear. Brymo blends the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti unique style of politics and poetry over soul, swing, jazz, folklore and funk. And we all know that Fela and his music don’t care about anyone. He speaks the truth regardless of class and position. Even when people dance to Fela’s Afrobeat tune, the songs still reflect Fela’s heartfelt messages.
To end this piece, I dedicate Brymo’s ‘Se bo ti mo’, a song off his Merchant, Dealers and Slaves to PRO and other guys that believe Brymo is not speaking the language people understand.
Here is a sample lyric (I translate to English from Yoruba) with a proverb that says:
If you put an egg on your left palm /
And another on your right palm /
And you walk backward from here to Iseyin (in Oyo) /
Those who will praise you will /
Those who will criticize will
Simply put: no matter what you do in life people will talk. Just do it and don’t listen to what people are saying.
As we await the arrival of Oso (Wizard), his sixth studio offering, I believe Brymo will deliver gems and the album is going to be classic, or at least a near-classic, just like its predecessors.