Simi – Joromi

Since relaunching her career as a soloist on X3M records, Simi has projected the image of an ingénue. Sometimes she plays this in reverse, as in ‘Jamb Question’, where she wonders why a man thinks she’s a fool. Other times, as on 'Open and Close', she embraces the apparent lack of sophistication. With few exceptions, she always sings about love in a mixture of English, Yoruba and pidgin, and delivers her songs in a juvenile voice.

The street nature of her language, and the openness of her character is designed to welcome all. The tone of her voice, however, can sometimes be grating. Yet it is often perfect for the cheery numbers in her growing oeuvre. Once in a while, the playfulness of her sound is employed, not in the service of naiveté, but in projection of audacity. This is the case with Joromi.

Here, Simi is a girl who has spotted a man she likes, and in the spirit of the age—women empowerment, taking what’s yours, shooting your shot—she goes after him, instead of waiting for him to notice her. She gives Joromi her number, and tells him she wants to be his lover. “Ki lo de, ki lo de, why you no dey call me,” she sings, asking why he hasn’t called as demanded.

For all the 'realness' the song depicts, women know to say “Yes, I love you baby,” like Simi sings in Joromi, without hearing those words in return, is to walk from vulnerability into agony. The situation usually ends in tears, not in an upbeat pop song delivered with excitment. But in a way, Simi’s peculiar voice comes in handy: It manages to appear poignant notwithstanding the cheerful smiles of the character in the song’s video. Her voice captures the emotions of the song without being brooding or melancholy—as if the singer is choosing bravado in presence of the lover, but in a voice whose owner is certain to return home sober, hand over a phone, waiting for Joromi's call.

By sticking to what she does best, Simi has carved a place for herself among a growing crop of Nigerian female pop vocalists. She’s done this without being outrightly pop in her music, or heavily soulful in voice.

'Joromi’ is simple, delightful, a sum of Simi’s tendencies. Its lyrics are direct, the call-and-response chorus upbeat, and the entire song catchy. Simi hasn’t done anything extreme with her gifts, but she has the attention of her audience, a great thing for an artist on the cusp of releasing an album that will define her talent.

Simi's sophomore album, Simisola, is set for release on 8 September.