A music critic’s angst
Listening to Omah Lay’s lyrics is such a snag. But don’t get me wrong, I’ve been a huge fan of this Port Harcourt-raised boy who has clawed his way to fame through hard work, persistence and a progressively impressive stage presence. I was late to the party though; I only learnt about Omah Lay in December 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic year when he was arrested in Uganda.
It was widely reported then that Omah Lay, alongside another Nigerian singer Tems, was arrested for violating COVID-19 guidelines during a concert at Speke Resort in Kampala. The event reportedly had over 1,000 attendees, exceeding the 200-person limit set by Ugandan authorities. The two artists were charged with “negligently doing acts likely to spread an infectious disease,” according to the Ugandan Penal Code Act.
After spending two days in prison, they were granted bail. That was when my curiosity for Omah Lay grew. First, I watched loads of interviews he had granted- mostly on foreign media. He definitely appeals more to a younger generation of music fans- the GenZs and of course, GenZs-at-heart like me.
His 2022 Boy Alone album featured-among others- Soso, a mid-tempo Afrobeats song with a groovy kind of rhythm. Sobre and reflective, Omah Lay’s songs in general have an unnerving potential to transport his listeners from the church to the club. His music pedigree is solid: father was a drummer with the highlife legend, Celestine Ukwu. Perhaps, Omah Lay heard those sounds in his mother’s womb and eventually got influenced by the success story of Burna Boy, another Port Harcourt with a well-hurdled race to international fame by the time he was a teenager.
Deeply spiritual and entertaining, Omah Lay doesn’t try too hard to earn followership as many worry about his mental health just going by the lyrics of some of his songs and his intermittent posts on social media. The Soso video is particularly intriguing, with the interesting allusion to his ancestral roots, underwater spirit and live painting with video vixens.
Other Omah Lay songs grew on me as the years pass by. “Understand” and “Moving” are quite soothing when driving through Lagos traffic. And with Davido, he delivers the hit folkloric dance track “With You.” But like his many fans, I really struggle to hear most of what Omah Lay sings.
That brings to mind why a singer’s enunciation is part of what a music academy teaches. One can remember how Joke Silva and Darcey Art Alade educated a generation of young singers on various music talent shows on how to pronounce words and sounds while singing.
Indeed, good enunciation is essential for effective communication of the song’s lyrics and emotions. Aside from the diction, the way a singer forms words and sounds with their lips, tongue and vocal cords also matter. Otherwise, their fans would have a completely different lyrics of their hit song in their heads at music concerts. Imagine walking into Siraheem’s concert while singing “Very stingy” instead of ‘Bad b&&ch Syndrome.’ This deliberately poor articulation may have taken roots with trap music culture. The likes of Migos, Travis Scott and Future made listening to music a tedious exercise and it’s no surprise they are classified as “mumble rappers” when compared with the likes of Rakim, LL Cool J, Eminem and Nas.
Back to Omah Lay, he isn’t the only one that is mumbling his way into international stardom. Earlier on, many complained about Burna Boy in his earlier works and simply made peace with dancing to his beats. Victony, who sounds very identical to Omah Lay has also made a success of his mumbled lyricism in hits like “Soweto.”
While clarity may not be a challenge for these new artists to have their breakthroughs in global music, it will remain a huge barrier in widening the demography of listeners. A friend argued that one of the reasons why mumbled lyrics is not a big deal anymore is that the current generation of music listeners use earpods and other sound amplifiers that project voices and words. Also, some content creators have made their digital wealth from providing lyrics to some of these songs. Invariably, mumbling songs is generating a whole new industry comprising ear-splitting sound amplifiers, lyrics curation and more.
In the meantime, let Omah Lay take some classes on enunciation so that his devoted fans wouldn’t make a career out of crafting substitute lyrics.
–Written by Yinka Olatunbosun, a senior culture journalist and 2018 African Recipient of NRW Kulture Sekretariat Music and Research Grant.
