Naira Marley is being touted as the ‘new Fela’ by his army of supporters known as the Marlians. He is without doubt, a controversial musical artiste who recently was released after being in incarceration for his support of cyber crimes which he endorsed on his social media handle.
Whilst in prison, he released “Why” and “Opotoyi” came after he was granted bail. The song, like most recent pop songs is ridden with lewd lyrics analyzing aspects of the female body.
Recently, social media again went into a frenzy as a result of a new single released by Naira Marley. The song which is titled “Soapy” has earned him a lot of criticisms and backlash from the public but his solid base stands with him.
The song, a dance instruction when performed is akin to masturbation, the near three minutes controversy produced by Rexxie, is laden with sexual undertones, rendered humorously with a mix of incoherent words.
The dance however, not the almost socio conscious if listened intently to, is the crux of this discourse. Naira Marley came into the limelight with the “Issa Goal” anthem that was adopted by Coca-Cola during the just concluded World Cup as the theme song for Team Nigeria.
With the zanku and legwork movement that is currently a vibe though going stale, nothing in the world prepared us for the “Soapy” dance.
The dance basically centers on the midriff area, the performer would have to make hurried ‘legworks’ accompanied by the hand describing the stroking of the genital, somewhat of an handjob with an excited demeanor.
This dance has come under heavy criticism, from parents to celebrities and influencers alike. It trended on Twitter with many tweets for and against the dance.
Most prominent amongst the outrage was from Guinness World Record holder, Kaffy, a dance veteran, who wholly condemned the dance and described it as immoral. The song already hitting three million views on YouTube with people jumping on the “Soapy challenge” trend.
Though the lyrics of the song bothers about his prison experience and the state of the Nigerian prison, like the Abami Eda, Fela spoke about during his prison sojourn, but this message is lost on the populace as the dance is portrayed as a necessary evil that should be curbed before it gains influence on the youths.
Whatever divide you are on in this “Soapy” song released by Naira Marley, one thing that can’t be denied is that he has a growing influence in the industry that grows even bigger with every song he releases. How he harnesses that and what he does with that influence remains to be seen and will be very crucial, not just to his career and his Marlians, but also to the industry as a whole.
By Treasure Uduak Ekpedeme
Interesting read… Bunch of illiterates.