THE NIGERIAN MUSIC FORMULA and Rise of the Wobey Sound

In the past years, the Nigerian music scene has housed different kinds of musical genres or styles, or
maybe I should call it formula because the kind of musical contents released in recent times in the
Nigerian music industry cannot be linked to one specific genre of music.

The previous years the afro pop, rap and hip-hop were the major genres that dominated the
Nigerian music industry before late 2016 when things changed. A whole new music style was
brought onto the Nigerian music scene. There was no official name for it , but among musicians ,
record producers and music lovers it was known as the ‘’pon pon music’’ . pon pon is a is a soft,
smooth, synthetic musical vibe characterized by Ghanaian highlife influences and a little bit of
Nigerian pop sounds.

The pon pon sound was popularized in nigeria by a Ghanaian based Nigerian artiste named Mr Eazi ,
the pon pon sound was first noticed when Mr Eazi dropped a song featuring Ghanaian female Artiste
Efya and the song was titled ‘’skin tight’’. It seemed like the song changed the face Nigerian music
during that period as several artistes tapped in to the current and started making pon pon songs.

The first Nigerian based experience of the pon pon vibe was Tekno who utilized it to make a very
mind blowing record ‘’Pana’’ which rocked the Nigerian playlists and topped charts home and
abroad, the next person who experimented with the pon pon sound Runtown who also used it to
produce his hit record ‘’mad over you’’ which was one of the best songs released that year . Notable
among the artistes that promoted the pon pon sound was Davido who used the formula to make the
biggest African song of 2017 ‘’IF’’ artistes like 2baba , Mayorkun and Wizkid were not left out, the
also used the pon pon sound to make some of the biggest hits we listened to in 2017. In late 2017 a
transition once again occurred.

‘’Osha pra pra’’ this is the most popular phrase on the Nigerian music scene right now. This is a
phrase is mostly used in lines of songs that is produced in the newly adopted Wobe sound. A new
music style that is characterized by the use of heavy drums sounds and little bit of western house
music influences in the music production . Most times the rhythm of those kinda songs usually have
a very fast tempo and the main idea behind the wobey sound is to make you move your body .This
is made easy because the wobey sound is accompanied by a dance step which emanated from the
street which is known as ‘’shaku shaku’’. Shaku Shaku is a dance which originated from Agege, in
Lagos, and has now gone viral throughout the country. The supremacy of ‘Shaku shaku’ has been
contributory in spreading the wobe sound. This is because, the sound and the dance go in collusion.

I cant say categorically who invented the wobey sound but what we all know is that it was
popularized by the ever consistent rapper Olamide and street ambassador Small doctor also not
forgetting the and up and coming artiste Slimcase whose unique mode of delivery gave a voice to
the wobey sound. Contrary to popular opinion that the wobey sound is new in Nigeria, According to
a leading talent manager, Oderinde Abisola also known as HON Beecy, “the sound predates the new
wave. Beecy revealed that the music has been a signature sound for the Lagos mainland for over 5
years.’’
An evidence that this style has come to stay is the fact that influential artistes are now working with
the sound , the likes of D banj, Tiwa Savage and Reminisce who all have songs impacted by the
wobey sound seems to make it convincing that the musical style is here for good. This development
is a great attempt at diversifying the genres of music we have in the Nigerian music industry. ‘

However my problem with this new development is the lazy nature of some Nigerian artistes . Most artistes base their craft on the existence of musical formulas for example if a new sound comes out and ‘’artiste A’’ is already making hits with it , ‘’artiste B’’ and some other artistes would just jump into doing the same thing regardless if it works for them or not (they believe since it worked for the other person, it should work for them too) that’s why a lot of artistes failed while trying to vibe to the pon pon sound.

This problem is a huge problem that is hindering the creative ability of these record producing artistes ,they find it hard to experiment and create new sounds but they will rather wait for a new musical formula to manifest and tap from it. Music is not meant to be a one way thing, it is meant to be dynamic that’s why when you start listening to the same musical style from almost all the artistes eventually you will get bored of it, this is me talking from a listeners perspective.

 In conclusion, the wobey sound is an innovation that should be embraced wholeheartedly .(cos that shaku shaku dance is something I am really loving) But artistic creativity should not be limited to the existence of musical formulas we are in the second month of the year and the only songs that are dominating the Musical airways are these Shaku shaku songs. This is a new year and am looking forward to seeing new things in the Nigerian music Industry. Osha pra pra*