“Ok! I’m reloaded!!!”
One of my favourite phrases ever. It’s the
first thing you hear on femme fatale; Saeon’s new single before the beats come
on and she’s heard sultrily purring her name.
I’ve not really been paying close attention
to the female artists in the game (minus Tiwa sha, “Hello Tiwa!”), and Saeon
has put me back in check. I feel terrible to say the least and I promise that I
will do my best to abide by gender equality on this here forum. By that I don’t
mean I’ll be hitting on men as well, not gonna happen. Tiwa has my heart and I
doubt she’s sharing...well Keri Hilson has my spare heart as well (-_-).
.....I digress. Africa or more
specifically, Nigeria has had a rapidly growing and successfully thriving music
industry, but one thing it has constantly struggled to exhibit is an ability to
both consistently entertain as well as give a genuine sense of diversity. In my opinion, very few genres have benefited
from both.
As expected African Pop, or Afro-Pop as we
call it is one genre that has thrived in these parts, providing a foundation
for artists from other genres to leap onto uninhibited. The worry is how many
true Afro Pop stars are out there?
Artists who DEFINE the genre rather than
borrow its platform to promote their art.
No doubt there are a few but I would rather
leave the name calling for some other time.
Saeon has become a known quantity overnight,
and ‘Jara’ proves she isn’t thinking about being a one hit wonder or a mere
attention grabber. Its proof that she’s just getting warmed up. Personally I
can’t wait to hear more of her work.
Jara is hard to ignore. You’re captivated
by the wonderfully put together pop beats while Saeon anchors you to the dance
floor with her amazing voice...”give me your love..jara (x2)...” kicks in and
before you know it, depending on where you are, your head is bobbing from side
to side, either its of your own free will or not, it’s going to happen.
The biggest mistake you should do with this
track is attempt to dissect it, because like most Pop tracks, it’s not meant to
be deep or conscious, it’s simply supposed to help you have fun, probably like
a dance teacher leading you to the centre of the ball room and showing you your
first moves. Jara takes you through the whole 9 yards.
At this point I’ll take the hard gamble to
say, Saeon is beginning to define the Genre that is Afro-Pop. She’s making it
hers, something many female artists have struggled to do over the past couple
of decades.
I suggest we watch out for her. Maybe one
of you will be kind enough to point out that “..and Griffin said so oh.” when
it does happen.
Griffin.
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