“African Woman”: The Afrobeats Masterpiece Showcasing Michael Arowoselu’s Writing Prowess

By Emmanuel Daraloye

While the phrase “art for art’s sake” thrives more in visual arts, in music too, it’s evident. The evolution of Afrobeats into other sub-genres has seen a shift in the purposes of written songs within the confines of Afrobeats. Even taking a cursory look at what the audience loves today and the trendy pop culture, one would see that it’s just “vibes and Inshallah,” a catchphrase arguably popularized by Reminisce. However, music is to be enjoyed, apart from other conventional essences.

“African Woman,” performed by Jaywillz and Slimice is a vibrant and rhythm-heavy celebration of African beauty and feminine dazzling aura. The lyrics revolve around Susana, possibly a symbolic representation of the African woman, and also the songwriter’s overwhelming reaction to her charm and energy. The persona, speaking in the first person, is clearly infatuated, shy, yet overwhelmed, and expresses amazement with exclamations like “Mogbe oh” and “Jesu,” while pleading playfully that she doesn’t “killy man” with her moves.

Language and style are germane in every art like music. This song, a dance-causing Afropop, is infused with a variant of the English language, pidgin, Nigerian slangs, and this envelops more emotions, also with the infusion of the Yoruba language. You feel the romantic weight, hearing, “Omoge ijo wa,” “I don dey catchy cold…” Nothing serious, just a chorus-hook-verse and repetitive-style song.

The lyrics thrive on a bouncy, mid-tempo beat encompassing a soft synthesizer, percussions, a heart-thumping bass drum, rhythmic tom-tom plays, and the keyboard. Hence, Michael Arowoselu structured the song to fit the beat. He writes the song in such a way to enable the audience to master the song, dance to it, and feel the vibes, especially in parties, clubs, and shows. This too is creativity, as the song serves the purpose it’s being written for. However, this might have been a cut-off for anyone who loves depth, wordy songs, and storytelling.

Enveloping emotions and clamping hard on the minds of lovey-dovey listeners is what Michael Arowoselu did on the song. Apart from the vibes and fun, he made it flirtatious, making lovers rub toes on the dance floor and also feel. The rhyme and confession in the chorus, “Hey Susana, Africana, Me I no go lie o, Mogbe oo,” makes this point more evident.

Michael Arowoselu’s arrangement of the song shows his in-depth knowledge of human psychology, and this makes the song melodious. He started with a sticky hook, “Hey Susana.” This weirdly stays longer in your mind, while you even mumble it mindlessly at times. Then a verse, the chorus, another verse, a catchphrase, “Killy man, killy man,” then a refrain. With a sonorous backup, the songwriter also spices this party jam.

Michael Arowoselu did not just write. He encloses lovey-dovey emotions, vibes, and dance flows all in one art: “African Woman.” Expressing this article using the Nigerian pidgin English and the Yoruba language as spices makes him literally a musical chef, feeding jams to the people. This writing genius should, however, note when storytelling, wordy lyrics, pensive words, and more should be employed when switching genres or other musical contents. His lyrics and structure of the song too have made the song a haven of melodies. Michael Arowoselu has put to play his pen game, and he has won on “African Woman.”