The Pick: Basketmouth's pairing of the old and new works like a charm
Our song of the week!
Being a celebrity is hard. I know that because I spend most of my time as a C-list journalist ducking the paparazzi. When a person is in the public eye, everything they do carries the risk of making the news. Gossip blogs like Linda Ikeji, Instablog, Gistlovers, et al. are constantly interested in what celebrities eat, wear, the places they go to, and the people they are in relationships with. It’s a tough life, really. Most times, the trouble with celebrity is that even the most mundane things are blown out of proportion, and things that would be skipped over if they were done by a regular person becomes a source of unnecessary debate.
This trouble is the subject of discourse on Basketmouth’s latest single featuring Tubaba and Blaqbonez. After the release of his debut album, Yabasi, in 2020, Basketmouth’s talents as an A&R - his knack for pairing the right artists on a song have come to the fore. During his BlackBox interview with Ebuka, he hinted at a follow-up album and kickstarted the road to that with the release of “Body” featuring Buju, and now “Trouble”.
The song begins with Tubaba reliving a night out with Basketmouth, the pair discussing life and business while trying to keep a low profile. But bald guys always stand out - I think it has to do with lights and reflection - and when that bald guy is a popular handsome celebrity, believe you me, they will STAND OUT no matter how hard they try. A pretty woman notices him and gives him the eyes, he returns the favour and in a flash, her numerous suitors appear from nowhere to hassle him. He’s shocked, and rightfully so, considering he didn’t do anything except being a victim of his own fame and swag.
“As I look around, I no see my involvement
So how is this my concernment?
And How this one take concern me?
You come here come go dey accuse me
Say I come here come thief person baby
Look at the gbomo gbomo”
Enter Blaqbonez. The rapper’s views on love are well-documented and everyone knows he’s more interested in flings with no strings attached. Being a celebrity with a lot of willing lovers, he finds the accusations of stealing another person’s woman irritating.
“How this one take concern me?
I gat too many shawties to be chasing your chick
I gat somebody′s daughter in the back of my whip
I gat somebody’s mummy that won′t leave
Somebody’s mummy that won’t leave
Is that your mama?”
The verse continues with him reiterating that he doesn’t force anyone to sleep with him, because he doesn’t like drama. He pleads with the object of his protest that he doesn’t want to end up on Instablog, a sentiment felt and echoed by the majority of stars in the industry, most recently and notably by Rema on his song “Woman.”
Tubaba rounds up by explaining that he’s not at fault for the affections he receives from women. Whether he’s guilty of indulging these affections can be asked another day. For now, he’s not the villain - it’s not a crime to be fresh:
“The boy too fresh, no be me cause am
And na she get her eyes so she fit use am
Her eye like what she see so she flow with am
No dulling at the moment”
Produced by close collaborator Duktor Sett “Trouble” is another triumph for Basketmouth as his experiment of pairing the old and new works like a charm.
Stream “Trouble” below:
