When they ask you who the new street king is, if your answer isn’t Naira Marley, then you’re playing off. This is not gimmicks. The incidents from the past four weeks are enough proof.
Naira Marley has seen the four walls of the cell. He’s seen a movement formed for him. The movement is swelling more than ever.
The good thing is, this singer knows how to latch on incidents. He has done so with the release of “Why?” a day after his bail conditions were announced.
His latest offer is “Opotoyi (Marlians)”. The new song adds to Naira Marley’s back to back hits: “Am I a Yahoo Boy?” and “Why” which are still getting insane attention.
“Opotoyi” will not displace the earlier released songs. It’ll only complement them. While you’re busting mad moves to one, “Marlians” can swing in and drop the pace of your dance by a notch and the vibe would still be good.
Naira Marley didn’t do anything new on “Opotoyi”.
Instead, two likely things happened:
First, it’s either everything the singer dropped is sounding so good because it’s so good or music enthusiasts are just swayed by the singer’s recent travails.
This latter proclamation could not be far fetched. Why, precedence has shown over the years that two things can elevate an artist’s stock in the minds of the audience: a.) Death of the artist b.) An unfortunate occurrence befalling such artist.
The rounds of free press and coverage at those times would give the artist remarkable mileage. Naira Marley enjoyed this after he was picked up by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency.
Remember, humans are more emotions than logic.
Secondly, “Opotoyi” sounded so good because its sound is a rehashed version of what has been proven to be successful over the years. The familiar drum patterns and subtle rattles used on the DJ Leo Mix-produced jam have appeared on street songs that became mainstream hits as far back as 2015.
A recent reference to this Slimcase’s “Oshozondi”. The similarity between that song and “Opotoyi” is uncanny, especially delivery wise.
“Opotoyi” didn’t only have its banging beats as a strong point; the lamba also provide a massive pillar for it to rest on. That is to say, if one part of it doesn’t work for you, the other part should hook you.
Familiarity Breeds Success? At Least For Marley, yes
“Opotoyi” provides a perfect example. You don’t need to look farther for a hit. When you give people the familiar, chances of success are higher than when you’re bringing something new.
Naira Marley’s new song “Opotoyi” isn’t new. From the story, to the lambs; they’re what people already know. Don’t be surprised when you hear from his representatives of the singer that this song wasn’t recorded recently.
“Opotoyi” will find a home inside clubhouses and parties where moralities be damned. But just like its predecessors, the mainstream audiences will embrace it — even though they’d do with face cap covering their faces.
Nigerian hit songs are simply cultivated sounds. <AI take over and show correlation/>.
Listen to it below: