One Hit: Cobhams Asuquo's funny prayer for pop success

Like many songs in the Cobhams oeuvre, ‘One Hit’ is thin, consisting of vocals and piano chords. It is also subtly funny and deep. And though the song’s prayer request is tongue-in-cheek, Cobhams’ voice, combined with plaintive riffs, gives the song an air of seriousness.

The singer wants God to lead a billionaire like Femi Otedola to invest in him and gives us an account of his talent: “Oti pe lati SS3 [Since senior secondary school] / I have been blessed with the melody / Lord, that was many years ago”.

While the song’s request for investment is not unattainable, as men of means do support artists singing their praise, the singer has another motivation. He is being ridiculed by people who once envied him: “All the people wey dey envy me / Right now fo ‘ro mi serin,” he sings, “Oh Lord, Oh Lord, where you dey eh?” (All the people who envied me / Right now laugh at me / Oh Lord, Oh Lord, where are you?). He wants it to stop.

‘One Hit’ is brilliant in bringing prayer to mainstream music. As Cobhams wrote in a note released along with the song: "This song is for you who needs just that One shot, One chance, One…something – whatever it is…, that will make a difference in your life; One Hit is my heartfelt prayer that this year, you find your ONE HIT".

It shows Cobhams is aware of the zeitgeist, as 'One Hit' follows the trend of name-checking pop acts and/or using catchy lines from popular songs—a style traceable to MI Abaga's 'Safe', used by Tekno on 'Where', embraced by Davido's 'FIA', and, most recently, reissued by Reekado Banks on 'Like'.

To many people, Cobhams is a producer and gospel artist whose songs call people to praise God. To them, this comedic side is a twist, but it is nothing new to the initiated. He has been playful and funny on older songs.

His humour and invention gave birth to Bez’s breakthrough single, ‘That Stupid Song’. And two years ago, on 'Boosit', the collaboration with humorous rapper Falz, Cobhams adopted a funny and yet typical Ibadan accent on the song’s intro. The humour in ‘One Hit’ might not be as obvious as on those songs, but Cobhams seems to be saying gloomy prayers are not the only type. Who knows, God just might answer the funny prayer of a man desperate for fame.

Artist: Cobhams Asuquo
Song: One Hit
Label, Year: CAMP, 2018