Two months ago, they were trading subliminals on Twitter’s streets. When the image of them hanging out at Felabration hit the internet a month ago, few expected it and when Tekno let it out that work between he and Wizkid could be expected, we were certain of what we were getting. An afropop number that should compete for the year’s biggest record which ideally should be the case any two top five acts collaborate.
It was almost already written in the stars, except, when you’re Tekno or Wizkid, you try to do exactly what the people least expect to keep things interesting. Mama is exactly the record you did not expect as it shies away from afropop’s shallowness and instead touches on the hustle, God’s blessings and prayers of a mother on the path to glory.
While it is definitely not a record for the clubs and therefore unlikely to do any real damage on the charts, Tekno and Wiz are preaching the value of hardwork as they argue that alongside prayers have been responsible for their respective come-ups.
The song and its message are important however, it’s impossible to ignore Wizkid’s poor songwriting which again rears its ugly head. It’s also important to question the idea that with hardwork all one’s problems can be solved which a rhetoric profusely promoted on the record.