A time comes when people can’t take it anymore and it is apparent in the way Nigerian artistes have been speaking out in the last three years. In Falz’s new EP “Break Time”, the lawyer cum entertainer creeps up on us without warning, speaking out about the insecurity spreading through the country.
The 5-track EP is filled with expressions of one issue facing Nigeria after another. One of which is Na Je – which happens to be my favourite off the EP. In this track, Falz takes us to the epicenter of it all, the north, where insecurity is becoming normalised.
The twin vocalists, Meyi and Oiza, brilliantly express deep thoughts in Hausa about going and seeing, then coming back with a box, which is a heavy message.
This is a vague yet heart rending delivery, as this is happening a lot in the north, where people go to find out that their family members are either killed or taken away and a message is sent back home.
Firstklaz delivers a calm Hausa blend explaining how dire the situation is in Jos, Plateau State. Mothers bury their children and students go hungry. Exasperated he asks God for help. This delivery shows how helpless the people are, with the only resort; a plea to God for help.
But that is not all there is, Falz does not sugarcoat the concerning situation in the country where new trends, social media posts and new challenges take over instead of talking about the issues affecting the nation. Talents have left the country.
In the track, he calls on everyone to speak out, as everything is burning down, and warning that this is not the time to dance.
Falz isn’t interested in merely entertaining listeners in this EP, dropping it as raw as he does.
This is evident in Church Mind, a phrase we use in Nigeria to tell someone to use their conscience to judge a situation.
Kurdi Klymax stays in his “complainant” mode which makes this jam very natural. He shares how people in Lekki are enjoying but others are suffering, showing the disparity ravaging the country as some flex in affluence while others wallow in poverty.
Priest brings his wordplay to play with amazing dexterity.
Police brutality also features with a commentary on how the brutality is affecting everyone until “who is alive is dead” yet religious leaders say we should pray and not complain, while politicians rob the country blind.
Kurdi really drives the message home that we are all suffering and accepting it as normal.
This is not the first time Falz is toeing this line, but come to think of it, this EP is a protest album and Falz does not pull his punches.
Ole is track 4 in the EP and Falz shares how bandits kill security officials while politicians dialogue with them even as the bandits are dressed in the uniforms of their victims and yet a blind eye is turned to everything; no arrest, no prosecution, just silence.
He shares his feelings for the soldiers in the field and people kidnapped and killed, warning that tribal sentiment won’t help the politicians in the long run.
Falz explains lyrically how the present government has failed in education, medical care and how politicking is fraudulent and yet they say protesting is not the solution.
At the end, Falz relents, showing that he is an entertainer and since the young population like trends and challenges, he gives them a last jam they can dance to and create a trend with. Track 5 is just what it is, a dance tune laced with a message.
Telepepe is a slang word that means to disappear when there is a problem. He expresses how that would no longer be possible when a “telepepe” has seen so much “pepper”.
In essence trouble will get to everyone that feels they can escape.
This Falz EP is a tune for our dire times. A reminder, a question, a lamentation and then a warning all rolled into one.
***Ekemini Joseph is a broadcast journalist who finds interest in travel, music and culture and tries to blend the three interests into his daily life.