When young music artiste, King Bawa, a graduate of Civil Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, decided to travel to Lagos to pursue his dream of making music, he was surprised to find his path riddled with stereotypes.
He wanted to be known by his stage name Kheengzaka YFK, to sing to a receptive crowd and receive their applause at the end. But instead he found that it was easier for people in Lagos to call him something else because he is from the north.
“I relocated to Lagos early last year and seeing that I was from the north anywhere I go I am always looked down upon as an ‘aboki’ who doesn’t know much about civilization. And I discovered I was even more enlightened than most of them,” Kheengz said.
But being a creative person, the Niger State-born artiste decided to make a list of the stereotypes of northerners and make it into music. The song is called ‘I am North.’ He did not anticipate the reaction the song would get.
“After making the song, I listened to it and played it for a couple of friends and they liked it. It was not until I made the video that I knew we had something on our hands,” Kheengz explained.
Having worked on an album – the ‘Pedestal,’ King decided to release that song to promote his debut album.
“It performed amazingly well,” he said.
The song has already garnered almost 10, 000 views online and is being celebrated as an anthem to counter stereotype. Its popularity is growing as it is enjoying great word of mouth referrals.
“I am north who they say I am,” he says in the opening line of the song. “I am north what you see on TV. It’s obvious that they are lying. I am north what your granddaddy told you about me. I am more.”
It is a song with a poetic flow, with rhythm. King calls it RAP [Rhythm and Poetry].
“It gives me enough room to express myself poetically and also tell stories while in the process I infuse simple or multi-syllabic rhymes, making it a beautiful way to keep my listeners glued to what I am saying, which in turn enables me to pass my message to my audience. Plus I love to rhyme,” he said with a smile.
There is no mistake that he has a message in his song, and he puts it across with forceful elegance. As for his poetic influence, King says that is drawn from his reading habit.
“I read books and watch a lot of movies. Also, I listen to lots of music from all genres. That way I get inspiration from all angles,” he said.
All these influences has shaped his passionate riposte to the stereotypes of the north.
In the song, he sings, “I am north just your gateman. I am north just your aboki bureau de change man. I am north poor. I am the richest black man in the world next to Bill Gates, man,” in the video, a photo of Dangote, Africa’s richest is flashed in the viewer’s face.
And in case anyone is mistaking the message, in the final line of the song, King makes it clear. “I am so sick and tired of the stereotypes,” he says. “I am North.”
This song is rich and proud, like the north, and with it, Khengz is clearly setting himself to be the breakout artiste of 2018.
