Omah Lay is the only Artiste Conveniently Cruising AFRO-PORN and AFRO-DEPRESSION 

BY EMMANUEL CHIDERA AMOKE

Within Afrobeats, two thriving derivatives, Afro-porn and Afro-depression distinguish themselves by their audacious and provocative nature. While Afro-porn blends explicit and evocative language with vivid imagery of sensuality, Afro-depression is characteristic of strong cathartic lyrics that let listeners feel and process their emotions (pain). Evidently, in the Nigerian music scene, Omah Lay is the most dominant artist exploring the depths of these captivating Afrobeats subgenres.

Stanley Omah Didia, popularly known by his stage name Omah Lay, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter, who announced himself in the industry with his self-produced single, “Bad influence,” released in early 2020. 

A few months later, he released his first debut album Get Layd in the midst of the viral wave of “Bad Influence,” which initially was a freestyle. Get Layd consisted of 5 rock-hard tracks with no features, including “Bad Influence” as the fourth track. 

One thing peculiar with all the music Omah Lay does is how he creates images in verses that you can’t help resonating with.  

And you know what? I have come to the realization that the best works of Art have always been ones created from the in-depth of one’s soul and experiences. 

This is arguably the depth from where Omah Lay creates his music, as he himself affirms it in an interview with The Africa Report on one of his later songs, “Understand” claiming “It’s one of my stories as usual because my songs are always my stories.” 

Omah Lay adequately honed his Afro-depression sound in the making of most of the songs in his Boy Alone, and its Deluxe Albums. According to him, the most part of these two albums were dedicated to the pains and loneliness that came with stardom. Revealing in an interview with Steph TV, he said; 

I was at the verge of… I was suicidal, mahn. Trust me, I was really f*cked up. But I think I have to be there to actually help the people who are there right now to get out of that place. I mean, it will take a real person like me to go there and then make music out of it…

It is suitable to say that ‘all man is an artist.’ The difference is, how well you capture your moments, so people can engage them second hand, and still feel it the same way you felt it. This is what Omah Lay does. And he does it so well. 

Omay Lay would go on in the same interview with Steph TV to say;

Everybody is out there saying Afrobeats is not so deep, and it just vibes. This is because everyone is out there making hype, the real music is dead. That’s why people like me will always try. I’m one of the realest you can find, and I’m putting it on Afro beats. 

And here is undeniably where I see his initial motivation. Perhaps, if I read him well, Art is not meant to be just for the sake of it, neither is it meant to be just for fun. 

Songs like “So-So”, “I’m a Mess”, and “Reason”, now serve as antidotes, anthems and a more suitable route for people who want to escape their reality. Or as the case may be, people who want to naturally immerse themselves in their phase of sadness listening to sounds that resonate with their individual experiences, while letting them feel their feelings more deeply. 

On Afro-porn, no one paints pornography in music as much as Omah does. Yes, other musicians might be all about the use of sexual and illicit words like booties, low waist and many others you could think of, but listening to Omah Lay’s porn music would most definitely put you on another level of sexual experience, one you can easily imagine and fantasize about. 

Listening to “Ye Ye Ye” for instance, might seem like experiencing a sex copulation between a boy and his object of gratification, or maybe, his subject of gratification, first hand. Or, playing a role in it yourself. The title itself connotes the moaning sound of the female gender during coitus. The same goes for “Lo Lo”, “Damn”, “You”, “Infinity”, “My bebe”, “Confession”, and “Understand”.

I wouldn’t mind saying that Omah Lay is more than what he thinks he is. 

So far, he’s not only a pioneer of these two musical genres; Afro-depression, and Afro-porn, but still comfortably sits as king over these self-established genres. He has recently announced his upcoming album, and we’re all anticipating what he has cooked prepared for us.