The hidden meaning behind her hit songs

Niniola has been saying a lot in her songs, from sexual innuendos to an overtone of carrying out the act, perfectly masked in her chosen language of expression and sometimes there is a need to strip the song bare to understand the out of view messages.

Music is a powerful medium, having the ability not just to entertain but to also inspire on a different level, it also can affect moods, engulfing ones mind, with its lyrics resonating deeper in your hearts, even in your subconsciousness.

One artist who has risen to becoming a darling of the Nigerian music industry over the past few years is singer, Niniola.

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In 2013, Niniola Apata participated in the reality music show, Project Fame and even though she did not emerge winner, she had found a structure upon which to build her art.

The following year, she released her debut single 'Ibadi', which was well received and with her debut album, This is me, released late last year, the Afro-house singer has won quite a number of fans to her team, including a nomination forBest R&B/Pop album at the Headies 2018.

Niniola's This is Me album is a 13 track body of work delivered in a mix of English and Yoruba language, thriving on short verses and melodious hooks, assisted by Sarz's outrageous beats.

The album had hit singles like Maradona, Sicker, Magun and more, but perhaps distracted not just by the beauty of her voice, many including the music industry's gate-keepers, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) get lost in the moment and never really take time to understand the real message of her songs, that are usually armed with expressive sensuality and sexuality.

So what exactly has she been saying on some of these songs?

1. Soke

For the early part of the song, Niniola describes a happy, feel-good setting with a really charming hook teaching you how-to-dance.

The song is all innocent and hearty till it gets to the 1 minute, 52 second mark where you have to pay attention, just so you are sure you are still listening to the same track, as she literally takes time out from being the dancing genius to the sex genius.

Lyrics:'Oya gbesoke, gbesile, oya runmole, gbesoke, oya gbesegbe, gbesile'.

Translation:'Lift it up, put it down, take it deeper, bring it up, put it to the side, take it down again'.

2. Maradona

On Maradona, it gets bolder.

A song where she compares her cheating boyfriend to the legendary Argentine footballer, Diego Armando Maradona, who is well renowned for his dribbling skills.

The verses may actually have you thinking she was reprimanding an unfaithful partner, but the trick is in the hook.

Buried in sexual innuendos as she describes activities of oral sex that takes place after hours, which despite the fairly vivid scenarios in the video may still be a lost-in-translation moment if one is not exactly paying attention.

Lyrics: 'Oo ni ki n la'tan, o ni maa la tan/Oo ni kin d'oju mi, o lo maa la pa'.

Translation:'He asks me to open up my legs, he said he will lick it all up/ He asks me to open up my legs, he said he will keep licking it'.

3. Magun

Magun is a Yoruba word that literally translates to 'Do not climb'.

For some a myth, for others reality, but Magun piants a picture where a man places a spell on his perceived cheating partner leading to a situation scientifically termed, 'penis captivus'.

Now back to the song, again judging by the cover (or title in her case), the listener is swayed to think of a culturally conscious song only to be hit with an implicit way of her letting out her desires despite the presence of a spell.

Lyrics:'Owo meta, Ika Meta, fowo simi laya'

Translation:'Three hands, three fingers placed across my chest'

Additional lyrics:'Ere gele (Delicate play) on a surface level, only foreplay is allowed for you and I'.

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Niniola knows that sex sells, and this she is clearly selling without inhibitions, and even though she is not the first to latch on our human cravings in promoting her songs, she is perhaps the best at openly concealing it.

For all the good that the English language does, it is limiting in camouflaging and accurate description when it involves art, so for Niniola, the Yoruba language is the handy tool for hiding clues and euphemisms in her lyrics, keeping the true meaning far from the untrained ear.

Niniola is a very talented and soulful singer, this she has shown in singles like Akara Oyinbo and Saro, but the universal truth of the music industry is that sex sells and she has found her pathway to packaging it right.