Why Brymo is naked on Heya

A version of the confusion between both halves played out this morning, upon the release of the video for ‘Heya’, the first single off Brymo's new album Oso. On social media, many said he was mad. Many others, either because they are Brymo devotees or because they were afraid of being called shallow, said it was an expression of something profound.

My suspicion is that none of these interpretations matter. The only thing that matters is the buzz. And in that case, mission accomplished. I'm even writing a piece on it.

For years, Brymo has worked outside of the mainstream pop space, and by hard work and cunning he has managed to bring his work to the attention of those who just might connect. His hard work has led to six studio albums and a compilation work since his 2012 sophomore Son of a Kapenta. In between he's worked on soundtracks for film and stage; he has also released a few album-less singles. That is production output comparable to his prolific rap colleague Olamide.

As evidence of Brymo's cunning, look no further than the title of his last album. It is worth remembering that it was titled Klitoris, an obvious stylisation of the female private part. At the time of the album’s release, not a few people were aghast. I recall a friend on Facebook asking how one could vocalise a request for the album from a lady.

As with the response to the new music video ‘Heya’, some bought the nonsense that the title ‘Klitoris’ was an expression of sensitivity, a metaphor for extra-feeling perhaps. Others didn’t. Once the album was heard proper no one thought of that title any more. In a project comprising many good songs, the title track was ignored. Perhaps aware of the limits to his own stunt, Brymo didn't bother releasing a music video for that song. The gimmicky title had used up its usefulness and could be discarded.

The gimmickry has been repeated again. The focus is human anatomy still, but instead of woman and words, Brymo has switched to man and video. In keeping with the times, he is using newer technology and avoiding the objectification of women.

Unfortunately, unlike Klitoris, a quite admirable album, ‘Heya’, for which Brymo goes naked, isn’t quite as good a song. The sobriety of the piano chords seems to my mind aiming for an artful seriousness that Brymo’s lyrics do not match. And Brymo is aware part of the noise and many-splendoured interpretations attending his nakedness is based on the idea of his mystique. His mystery partly shields him from ridicule when you consider some of the song's sentiments:

You no go hear the people say na our ignorance dey make life hard.
Some dey walk and some dey talk and time just dey pass us by.

These are by no means the worst lines ever written by a Nigerian musician, but for a songwriter of Brymo’s powers, the lyrics to ‘Heya’ are not worth his strip-tease.

Indeed, the word 'stripping' clearly contains Brymo’s conceit. The video shows semi-scorched earth, and Brymo’s singing is backed only by a piano. In other words, we are shown an artist stripping his music and its video's landscape down to the basics. To be at one with his music, Brymo strips off his clothing. But it's needless because not only are the lyrics undeserving of such 'depth' but also because the video’s creative direction doesn’t push far enough. For one, Brymo could be full-on naked and his privates hidden by a clever camera. And the video’s colour defeats the idea of Brymo’s elemental artistry.

This last is unforgivably intrusive because if the music video was released in black and white, ‘Heya’ would achieve a higher level of stripped-down verisimilitude as he clearly hoped for. This would hardly take away from the fact of the video’s gimmickry but at least it would be a lot easier to say both Brymo and his music video director thought hard about their decision.

To see how a Brymo music video emphasises its lyrics, re-watch ‘Down’, where a lone Brymo seats on what appears an upturned mortar and relates a story of a corrupt small town. The noirish setting and close-up shots of the artist’s face tell the viewer that 'Down' is a mystery tale intimately told. Another example is the video for ‘One Pound’: a song about Lagos sees Brymo do away with a musician's ego, as he cedes an artist's dominance of his own music video to the city.

Those were better songs and thoughtful videos. ‘Heya’ is an inferior Brymo song and a gimmicky video. But it has achieved its main function: it has given Brymo buzz upon the release of his new album Oso. It recalls a line from 50 Cent rap verse about an old De Angelo video: "That nigga went butt-ass for his record to sell."

As with the title Klitoris before it, Brymo's butt-nakedness has drummed up attention for an artist without the machinery and budget for massive publicity. It is clever marketing and not much else. Gimmickry might turn into self-parody quickly, but Brymo should be fine. His mystique covers a multitude of misjudgments.

Buy Brymo's new album Oso on iTunes here.