Falz and the Diaspora of Nigeria

Folarin Falana, formerly known as Falz(or Falz the Bahd Guy), is a Nigerian rapper, songwriter, and actor. He was born on October 7,1991. He wasn’t formerly known until his song “Marry Me” in 2014, where he then went on to own an independent record label called Bahd Guys Records and have four studio albums. Falz describes his style of music as “Wahzup music”. It is the fusion of comic lyrics with contemporary hip-hop in a faux Yoruba accent.The Yoruba people are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabits parts of Nigeria, Benin and Togo that constitute Yorubaland. In one of his latest videos in August 19, 2021, “Mercy”, he gives an insight into his Nigerian diaspora. If you didn’t know, Diaspora is ​the place that a person or group of people live or are from.

Below you will find the official music video for “Mercy” by Falz The Bahd Guy.

Many artists sometimes run away from their ethnicity and don’t like to share with their friends what makes them who they are. Unlike other artists, Falz uses this song to normalize the love of a Nigerian woman. In the song he talks about them having great body features and how they should feel comfortable in their skin. The video, as you can see, takes place in Nigeria during a festival where these black queens are dancing.

Falz helps to give that love to darker skinned women, like the one in the video. This is what helps give confidence to those who may not even be Nigerian but a part of the West African ethnic group he originated from. Some of the lyrics that supported this in his songs are, although provocative, are visually put together to tell the full story. This gives a lot of artists a more open platform to help put out music for their diaspora.

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