By Kesandu Egburonu
When the amapiano sound emanated from South Africa and resonated all around Africa years ago, it was surely a welcome sound and something totally different from what we were used to. We had afrobeat, hip hop and other genres, but this new wave hit the African music scene by storm and had many artists immediately adjusting with the trend. Like cocaine, there is a huge market for this new music addiction and where there is huge demand, suppliers will definitely be aplenty.
Nigerian singers have since toppled themselves over in a heated debate over who brought the amapiano sound to the country. Fans of each celebrity will swear it is their fave that migrated this genre, with each pointing to different songs at different times to back up their argument. Be it Niniola, Burnaboy or any other artiste that tries to lay claim to the coveted Amapiano title, one thing is certain, this sound is well accepted and recognized.
In recent times, though, a new music genre trend is being dubbed, ‘yahoopiano.’ For those who may not know, ‘Yahoo’ stands for internet fraud while the ‘piano’ bit is in reference to ‘amapiano,’ hence the new term coined ‘yahoopiano.’ This is so, mainly because of the message and lyrics of this amapiano derivative, which preaches a lifestyle of money, women and ultimately, internet fraud known as ‘yahoo’ on the streets. This new infamous music is fast saturating the music industry, with young impressionable minds humming lines like “loader,” “hacker” and “client”–all terminologies involved in internet fraud.
Gone are the days when internet fraud was a generally unacceptable criminal activity. These days, the young ones are actively involved in ‘yahoo.’ To be called a ‘yahoo boy’ means to be rich and cool. As Singer, Small Doctor, put it in his song: “If you no get money, hide your face.” And since many are not okay hiding their faces for lack of cash, they adopt the ‘get rich at all cost’ approach and get involved in anything and everything, including yahoo. Let’s just say the bad economy and limited financial opportunities has boosted the yahoo trade in Nigeria.
Naturally, after engaging in a life of internet fraud and, most likely, making money off it, you have to burn all that cash somewhere and show off your new status, thus, the bars, clubs and hotels are the best places to flaunt and have a fun with your newly acquired wealth. Now, what’s the one thing that blends perfectly well with all that flexin and flaunting? Music, of course. All that dancing, money spending and flexing would be so empty without music and since you obviously can’t play gospel music in these spots, ‘yahoopiano’ will do just fine.
Seeing as there’s an upsurge in the amount of yahoo boys, aspiring yahoo boys, as well as yahoo apologists in Nigeria; what better way to package internet fraud than lace it into the current music trend, ‘amapiano’? It’s a win-win, with values and morals the only losers here. The sweet melody, beats and vibes makes for a blissful ‘yahoo,’ ‘ama’ and ‘piano’ trio-wedding never seen before.
You hear artists like Olamide, Seyi Vibes and a host of others compose songs after songs in honour of internet fraud. No one is trying to hide it anymore. Even Nigerian music legend, 9ice, sang ‘Living Things’ a while back, a song idolising yahoo as though not engaging in it or not having money somehow makes you a nonliving thing. It’s amazing, really. Even after Naira Marley was arrested, the song, “see me see trouble, am I a Yahoo boy?” resonated all around Africa just to show an almost unanimous embrace for internet fraud and music that preaches it.
Try hard as we might, internet fraud is here to stay. As long as Nigeria remains Nigeria, in its current predicament, more and more people will turn to yahoo in order to get ahead in life. And as long as the musicians continue seeing opportunities to make more money from a growing audience basking in the euphoria of amapiano, its derivative, yahoopiano, will continue trending on the charts, radios and any other platform conceivable.
Truth is, yahoopiano is the inthing and the sad part is that, those who will look up to as role models are the Chief pioneers of this value-destroying new kind of music genre. Hmm. Never during my childhood did I envisage times such as this—when I will even dance to the beats of yahoopiano!
