The adoption rate for Zanku is growing exponentially. This dance only just found its way into the Nigerian mainstream less than 90 days ago, but many dance enthusiasts have already caught the bug. Before this dance hit the mainstream, there was Shaku Shaku, which too many people are yet to master. Shaku shaku eased into Zanku, the single, “Able God” by Chinko Ekun being one of the catalysts enabling that transition.
However, the origins of zanku, now famously attributed to the rapper known as Zlatan Ibile, is tied to a multi-level, street culture — which the blanket Nigerian popular culture has always borrowed from.
First, the Nigerian street culture has many branches and these branches are tied to vices. The different arms of street culture include crime, violence, pickpocketing, sharpness, fraud; and formations; dance, music and cliques etc. Before street became cool in the mainstream sense, it was not a thing anyone wanted to associate themselves with. But why did street become mainstream cool? First, the increasing blur in the line between the true street and the highbrow life in Lagos (Nigeria’s pop culture well). The second is the adoption of social media by the fraud arm of the street to exhibit their opulence.
As early as the 2000s, the streets, as most people now call it, was a fertile ground for music materials. From lyrics, instrumentals to dance, the juices continued to flow and Nigerian musicians unabashedly dipped their straws in it and suckled the inspiration. By the late 2000s, artists began digging deeper into the already over-mined street culture, of which the third-level that is fraud, violence, sharpness (ja) are part of. It is where the vast, often enthusiastic Nigerian mainstream audience got galala, alanta, Yahoozee and more recently, Shaku shaku and zanku from which all enjoyed and is still enjoying mass appeal.
In addition, Zanku adds to the growing proof that genuine Nigerian hit songs are of two main categories: one heavily backed by a viral dance and another being one glorifying materialism and offering hope. Only a few hits stand outside this category. This also provides an inkling into the depth of influence the third-level street culture of fraud has on Nigerian mainstream pop culture.
The proponent of the dance, Zlatan first appeared on Chinko Ekun’s “Able God”, a song on which he willed Nigerians, mostly youngsters to get a laptop and start stealing on the internet. After this, he would release his own single, “Zanku (Legwork)”, a move that eventually put shaku shaku to rest.
On a single look, Zanku comes off as a well-done modification of shaku Shaku. But it is not so. Doing the zanku, you arch your upper body forwards and stomp on the ground rapidly, this creates a delightful rhythm. The difference between stomping and doing the zanku is the anger you show when you stomp.
You must not be angry while doing the zanku, but to get the move, pretend you are angry. An important element of the dance is the intermittent chest thrusts: this part is known as “Gbe Body E”. Premium Times culture writer, Oladeinde Olawoyin wrote about it in a Facebook post:
“Few things amuse me like the gradual incursion of street slangs into our everyday people’s socio-linguistic lives. You know what could be more intriguing than understudying how (somewhat) ‘debasing’ elements of street culture creep into people’s social existence, irrespective of class and geography? Think about the illogicality of what they mean, those words, especially if taken literally; of how they evolved and how they become a part of us slowly. Think Shaku Shaku. Think Konto. And with its traffic, chaos and cheap liquor, the city remains the supreme headquarters, the fertile ground for breeding these culture materials.”
Agege, yet again, is where this new dance came from. The Lagos suburb is renowned for its sprawling ghettos, a rendezvous for rogues, fraudsters and petty thieves. The circumstances surrounding how Zanku came about could not be unconnected to a celebratory dance by internet thieves, who are euphemised as Yahoo boys. But before this dance got its name, there was the Japanese anime called, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai and a video game by the name of Budokai series.
In the video game, Budokai, characters such as Goku and Krillin have the ability to perform an attack called “Zanku Fist”. The fist is a kind of attack where a player sends the opponent up in the air. The user then launches a series of hits while the opponent is still suspended in the air. Gravity happens. Then the player finishes the opponent off with a heavy kick, inflicting even greater damage.
— Headhunter Zanku (@Spectator_Zanku) February 2, 2016
Meanwhile, gaming has a place in Nigerian street culture. Many times, most of the popular street slangs were derived from video games, especially anime. Such games as Mortal Kombat, Mario, Winning Eleven and Crash Bandicoot have contributed to street vocabularies and the possibility of Budokai, having contributed to the etymology of zanku cannot be undermined. But one might be forced to ask, is Budokai popular in Nigeria like that? Maybe, at least not in the league of Mortal Kombat and Crash.
A Ti Gb’ope
The influence of internet thieves on Nigerian pop culture is rather insane. Nigerians know this, but the reality has not quite reached dizzying levels yet. Youth culture in the country is intertwined with internet fraudsters culture. The craze for Benzes, for ostentatious clothings, dreadlocks for hair, iPhone and cannabis. “Street ti takeover, ati rig election,” Reminisce announced in his 2015 hit, “Local Rappers”.
But in this takeover, who is winning? The internet thieves of course! They are mocking the height of mass unseeing that is happening over their activities. And these dances are it.
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In one of these Lagos clubs, a group of internet thieves are gathered on a table. The mood is right. One of them just received a wire alert, “a ti gb’ope” roughly translated to “We’ve received grace, thanks”. So, they dance to Slimcase who is reeling out the names of popular internet thieves, on whose levels these low level thieves aspire to be. They poured drinks on their wristwatches and on their phones. Then they dance, inebriated by premium alcohol. One makes a stupid face and stomps in a teasing way, the other finds it amusing, so he says “hol’ up hol’ up! Do that thing again!” The others joined in and failed at it. But they like it, every time they go, “Oya, dance for us.” and so begins “Ijo Ope”.
Zanku is what internet teef teef boys call “ijo ope”, thanksgiving dance: A dance calculated as an acknowledgement of success — after months of lie-tellings and voodoo rituals.
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The Rise Of Zanku
Instagram is the enabler of fame for these things. What happened in the back street of Agege or its neighbouring ghettos, inside a club or in front of a bar can easily go global and cheeeeeee!!
Since the release of “Able God” and “Zanku (Legwork)” several videos of the dance have been uploaded on Instagram. Most of these videos are posted by individuals with followers running into tens of thousands. A striking feature of the video is the instrumentals: it is either that of “Zanku” or “Able God”.
Asides just posting these dance videos, there is another thing which has contributed to the dance virility. It is the incentivised approach the artist, Zlatan has taken to promoting the video.
Instagram users are expected to perform their best legwork and enter for a Zanku contest. As at Wednesday, 12th of December, the hashtags; #zanku, #zankudance and #zankulegwork have a combined 20,000 posts to under them.
Pulse Nigeria’s music writer, Ehis Ohunyon also wrote that the dance has now taken over at some concerts. Admittedly, the writer was only at Small Doctor’s concert which held last week at the Agege stadium (home turf of the Zanku and Shaku Shaku).
“it was fascinating seeing a group of people tapping their feet on the floor so delicately,” Ehis Ohunyon wrote in the post.
“Effortlessly adding a swagger to it and displaying animated and comical looks on their faces. Indeed, ‘Shaku shaku no dey do dem again, Zanku na the new dance wey dey reign’.”
Several how-to and instructional videos for the new dance are now appearing on YouTube. If it continues at this pace, zanku, like shaku shaku, may attain global acclaim in no time.
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In conclusion, watching an adept leg do the Zanku is a delight. It is even more exciting when Zlatan himself does it. One problem with this is that his musical abilities will be viewed from the lens of the Zanku. Instead of music fans to say, for example, Zlatan, perform that badass song for us, biko. They may say, Zlatan, do the Zanku. He may not have any choice but to keep dancing every show he goes: of course, because that is what people want.
For the dance enthusiasts in the country, it is different. The excitement is being able to burst the move every time a song plays. It sets them apart. But Nigerian dances are increasingly becoming so hard to learn. These dances require so much energy to do. If one had arthritis, Zanku is a no go area: one needs good feet to dance this dance. And in this age of inclusivity, the country’s dance originators are continuously tilting towards exclusivity. Because how does a lame man enjoy this dance when you people have made it so difficult to do, even for people with legs?