Naira Marley won’t stop being talked about this year. But there’s a need to present a rather robust writing on the artist’s transformation into a serial hit maker.
The singer’s influence, even if it looked spontaneous, is a credible one. He took a dent and turned it into a fine coating.
Naira Marley’s decision to name his fans “Marlians” gave him the edge. By naming them, he acknowledged that they’re more than just fans; they’re real.
The result of this is the unashamed stans, who stood by him during his detention. These set of people now wait for every one of his songs to come out, just so they can listen and enjoy.
The Marlians are waxing even stronger. And because they’re being fed regularly, why won’t they grow fat?
Naira Marley is cultivating a habit of first introducing new music as organic social media rough-cuts before actual release. This approach is making fans assess music before it actually comes out. By doing this, the Afrobashment singer is able to control audience perception better than anyone else in the music industry.
Naira Marley has done this with his last two songs.
He has done so again with his new song, “Soapy”.
In “Soapy”, when you look past Marley’s controversial insinuation that everyone is a thief, except that they haven’t been caught yet, you’ll identify the singer’s purpose — to make his mama proud.
In this new song, it’s a word and opposite something. Naira Marley recognises the nonlinear state of life. But the singer does so in a flippant way. And Rexxie’s thrilling arrangement makes sure that it’s the song’s free spirit that gets noticed.
“O fe she’ka funmi, emi o logun mo ni Kurani, mo de n shey adura, Allah n gbadura mi. Atilo atide, eni oriyo o dile, eni balo lo bade, igba tin pada de shey lo demilade.” — Naira Marley sings on “Soapy” that they took him away and brought him back to crown him king, which isn’t inaccurate.
Perhaps, the most interesting allusion on the song is Marley’s acknowledgement of his time in detention. In EFCC custody, what prisoners do is to dance “Soapy”, the same way it is in Warri and Kirikiri prisons.
Listen to Naira Marley “Soapy”