By Anthony Ada Abraham,
As Nigerians home and abroad continue to look for a better future for the nation, budding Nigeria singer, Akachukwu Emmanuel Uche popularly known as Mmzy has teamed up with Afrobeats star, Seun Kuti on his latest single “Animal” released on January 15, to tackle the government on bad leadership and bad governance in the country.
Leveraging on Seun Kuti’s impeccable profile as an activist, Mmzy poured out his heart on the state of the nation in the song, decrying the many ills that have characterised the polity in recent times.
Signed to Kerae Records, the artiste revealed that he recorded the single right after the #EndSars protest and the Lekki Tollgate killings, saying it was impossible not to be disturbed by the state of the nation at the time.
He said, “I actually recorded the song after the #EndSars protests. The tollgate killings and the way our government handled the situation spurred the inspiration for the song. But what really got me going was when I heard a beat by my producer, Cracker Marley. I was in the hotel room with him. When he played the instrumental I knew we could work out something special with it. When I heard the beat the first thing that came to my mind was Fela’s song “Beasts of No Nation”. The personification of “Animal” in the song” sparked a fire in me. It aptly described the situation in the country at that time. We immediately started recording. The situation in the country is so bad that it is only someone that is not in Nigeria that would not feel it. Everything happening in Nigeria inspired the song; bad leadership, bad governance and corruption in government. One day you read in the paper that Animals swallowed money. A monkey was said to have gone into a heavily guarded office and took away millions of naira.. Another day you heard of a snake swallowing another millions.”
Explaining why Seun Kuti was an obvious choice to feature on the song, he explained, “I think he is the best person to interpret the message of the song. Again, he has a long history of activism. He is unapologetic about his stand on social justice and good governance. He is a voice of the oppressed and a thorn in the flesh of the government because of their history of bad leadership. Another reason I featured him is his mastery of the saxophone. I wanted a feel of sax on the song and Seun Kuti was the perfect answer. I think for the song to get the Afrobeat sound right I needed someone like him. Another reason I featured him is his family’s long history of standing up to the government. The fight against oppression, maladministration and corruption in the land is in his DNA as the son of the legendary Fela Anikulapo Kuti who created Afrobeats. It was great working with him. He brought a whole new dimension to the single.”
Mmzy is not exactly a rookie in the game. His first official song “Amoureux” was dropped in 2012. The video was shot in Cotonou, Benin the same year. In 2015 he dropped “Something to Show” and it was everywhere in Benin Republic and his university. In 2017 he released “Tonight”. In 2019 he dropped a song under his label titled “Amoureux”.
In 2020, he dropped “Social Distance, a collaborative effort, featuring Citiboi, Aboki-ibile and Sevn. “Social Distance” has been enjoying rave reviews and impressive streaming numbers since its release. After “Social Distance” he dropped another single “Wildin” in 2020. His latest is “Animal” featuring Seun Kuti.
