Shocking. It’s just only five million views on YouTube since the spell-binding video of the hit song by Kcee titled “Ojapiano” was uploaded. Kcee, one of Nigeria’s finest Afropop artists had made a return to the scene with a near cinematic visual: a tribe of young men dancing to the irresistible sound of a traditional flutist playing ‘oja’.
Everyone is masked in this video thus adding to the mystic nature of the characters. The song has earned a viral status on several social media platforms and arguably, the flute is the most prominent instrument on the song. You may even be slightly disappointed when you listen to the song and discover that the verses are brief and perhaps not as powerful as the singular flute performance.
A quick peek into history showed that the Oja is believed to be as old as the Igbo people. From ceremonial to sacred gatherings, oja had been a cultural staple among the Ibo. It is that familiar piercing sound that you’d hear when tragedy strikes in a Nollywood movie set in Igbo land. Oja has always been a ritual, connecting the Ibo man to his spirituality or a culture deeply rooted in the spiritual belief system.
Some would argue that Oja originated from the city of Uga, Anambra State (precisely in my state). Indeed, Oja was also used in an old Igbo movie called “Things Fall Apart” in the iconic scene where a missionary brought Christianity to the eastern region of Nigeria. There are no historical records of when Oja was first used. Blame the lack of physical records on the course of history that would forever define the existence and continuous experience of the Ibo in Nigeria.
Many believe that Oja is more than just a musical instrument, serving as an instrument of invocation and intoxication. For an Igbo person, Oja is a voice that speaks. Not a human voice, but Spirits speak through Ogbu-oja (that is the flutist). Thus, it is a communication tool, which is better called an invocation. Oja has the power to intoxicate the person being eulogised.
The use of masks and masquerades in the Ojapiano video is indeed a significant cultural pointer to the various uses of oja. But the Ojapiano video in itself is not a fully curated traditional storytelling. It only reclaims and affirms Oja as a symbol of cultural unity. Far from being a typical tradogasmic piece, it is a reflection of the euro-centric nature of modern African music. The dancers were sporting sweatpants while in another scene, they wore shirts and tie with Ankara wrapper.
In evaluating the cultural relevance of the song, let’s just say the timing was perfect. The conduct of the last Presidential elections in Nigeria left much to be desired by the Igbos who resided in cities like Lagos and Port Harcourt which had strong APC hold. The elections brought in its wake arguments about cultural identity. The nation was at the brink of disunity and the Ibos who were disenfranchised by the acts of voter intimidation were united in deep pain.
A shot from Ojapiano video
Ojapiano– in a not-so-subtle way- rekindled the voice of the Igbos which echoed across Africa and the far corners of the world. Connected by the power of the internet, fresh feet shuffled to the sound of the Oja in shops, at homes and on the streets. The song became an anthem of hope and ethnic pride but it didn’t pull as much weight as Ckay’s global hit, Love Nwantiti or Rema’s Calm Down. Kcee didn’t quite outdo his own record the 2013 hit, Limpopo which has less than five million views on YouTube. His winning streak with Ojapiano is measured in its neat blend of oja and the amapiano beats.
Still, he is able to create an effortless social media revolution that is uncommon among his peers- the ‘old cats’ in the Nigerian music scene. Kcee, known for his preference for rare locations, has somewhat raised the bar for music videos in Nigeria with the crisp production of this phenomenal soundgasm.
