7 Nigerian Songs That Are Actually Really Scary

You'll never hear these songs the same way.

The beauty of music and storytelling through song is that a lot of times, artistes can write songs about topics that are otherwise heavy and melancholic, but put over a nice beat and good melody, it can become something palatable to the average consumer.

For the songs on today’s list, that is exactly what happened. Here are 7 Nigerian songs that are either actually really scary or deal with very scary topics.

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1. Niniola - Innocent (Fagbo)

Nigerian singer Niniola is the queen of hiding raunchy lyrics and heavy messages inside upbeat Afrohouse songs. A perfect example of this happens in her song, Innocent (Fagbo) housed on her new album, Colors and Sounds.

At first listen, Innocent is just a nice simple street-dance song for a casual listen. But upon further listening, it becomes very apparent that this song is a lot deeper and scarier than what first meets the eye.

Innocent (Fagbo) tells the story of an innocent church girl who gets caught up in a wrong crowd of people who like to smoke, have sex, and live a wildlife. Eventually, they drug this innocent girl by mashing drugs into her Indomie noodles, and before she knows it, her eyes start to close. By the time she comes to, she along with the bad gang of friends are getting arrested and she’s now found herself in serious trouble trying to explain to the police officers that she’s “not one of them, she’s innocent.”

It is a real cautionary tale about moving with the wrong crowd and the scary things that could happen if you do – all masked inside a very upbeat dance song.

2. Sauti Sol & Burna Boy – Afrikan Star

While on surface level, Afrikan Star by Sauti Sol and Burna Boy sounds like a regular love song, it is anything but. The song actually talks about an obsessive stalker who fantasizes about a girl he likes and ultimately wishes to “have her found” and “graduate from a stalker to a lover”.

Ya – not as lovely as you thought right? If you want a more in-depth lyric-by-lyric explanation of this, find that story here:

3. Omawumi - Stay Alive (Jeje Laiye)

Around 2011 – 2012, there was an increase in the number of suicide cases being reported in Nigeria. It was a hard time for Nigerians and people were scared that they’re loved ones or people close to them would decide to end their lives due to the hardship.

In response to the climate at the time, Nigerian singer Omawumi released Stay Alive (Jeje Laiye) – a song that deals with the scary reality of suicide.

A cautionary tale and uplifting song for people to stay alive and take it easy despite the struggle. Suicide is unfortunately still one of the leading causes of death today and the message of this song still rings true even today. It’s a very heavy song but one that is very necessary and very well done by Omawumi.

4. Banky W - Gidi Love

Banky W’s Gidi Love is a song that talks about the horrors of dating as a single man in Lagos, Nigeria. While this song is specifically about dating in Lagos, the message is universal.

Throughout the song, we hear Banky talk about his interactions with different girls – some end up dating him for the wrong reason, some are married, some have aristos – the song talks about the very scary reality of dating today. It is so hard and despite how hard it is, there is so much pressure to find the right one and settle down immediately. It’s hard.

5. P-Square – Oga Police

The fact that P-Square’s Oga Police, a song that talks about police harassment was released FIFTEEN years ago, and today we’re still dealing with not only police harassment but also police brutality all over the world is very scare.

Oga Police is a song that talks about the scary reality of police harassment in Nigeria and it is so sad to see that all these years later the message behind it is still so real and not much has changed. It’s terrifying.

6. Niniola – Boda Sodiq

On the list again is Niniola who in yet another song that instantly sounds infectious and brings people to the dancefloor is talking about a very heavy issue.

Boda Sodiq is actually a song about rape and the sad realities of what a drunken night can lead to. In the song the singer keeps asking “What happened in the boys’ quarters” after telling the Boda Sodiq repeatedly the night prior that she was drunk and would have liked to be taken home.

Niniola is the queen of hiding very strong messages behind infectious music and maybe one of these days, I’ll compile a list of some of her other hidden gems and stories. This song for one is really scary and all too real when you know what it’s actually about.

7. Tiwa Savage – US (Interlude)

What’s scarier than a love, not just love, a marriage gone sour?

It’s one of the things people dread the most – falling in love with the wrong person, and this is exactly what happened to Tiwa Savage and what she wrote the song “Us (Interlude)” about.

In it, she confesses that sometimes, not only is love not enough, but children too are not enough to save a marriage. It’s a very honest song that addresses the very real possibility and reality of falling in love with the wrong one and the scary realities of divorce.

That’s All.

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