“Gbagba is Corruption” was released in 2016, and was made possible, along with its accompanying music video, by a grant from the Open Society Initiative of West Africa. The video begins with Takun J handing out copies of Gbagba to a crowd of Liberian children. Takun J immediately breaks out into the song’s chorus, which urges the children to “say no to corruption, and you’ll be alright.” The rest of the song’s content is Takun J rapping over video clips of a young boy and girl engaging in corruption. He raps quickly, over an ubeat rhythm, a common characteristic of hipco music.
“Jaadeh is Integrity” includes a female accompaniment for the chorus, an artist named Ella Mankon Pailey. She sings that “The only way we [Liberians] can live is through jaadeh,” and “corruption and gbagba we can’t accept. Although the beat is slower than that of “Gbagba is Corruption,” Takun J maintains his speedy rhyme delivery. The video, also made possible by a grant from the Open Society Initiative of West Africa, pictures Takun J on a beach, alternating with Ella Mankon Pailey twirling around in colorful Liberian clothing.
Hipco music is commonly used as a political tool, disseminated to Liberians in the Colloqua language, a mixture of local languages and English. Hipco has been used as a means of national reconciliation following Liberia’s civil wars. Takun J is the self-proclaimed and Vice News endorsed “King of Hipco.”