Rick Ross was invited to Naija for the Summer Jam fest which took place at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos because apparently nigerians not only do summer, they have winter and fall sef. While in Naija, he made an alternate video to his song "Hold Me Back". Keep in mind that there is a US version of the song already and BET banned it. That's just the saddest thing ever, it's a black video about black people and it's getting banned on a black network...Jim Crow much?
Back to the Naija version, Rick Ross gave Nigerians a history lesson. That has not been done, and I stand by this statement, since Fela and since Sound Sultan's GenGen. I have not seen or heard a Naija artist, music video, public service announcement or film that references, much less talk about, Biafra. He gave a history lesson on Biafra, our very own civil war which is not taught in schools mind you, and we see General Gowon.
Sidenote: He is so polished and sounds supremely official. You just cannot compare that air of authority to any Naija politician of today, and he did not need big grammar.
The video goes on to show how people live in Nigeria. You see the taxi drivers, the market seller, the okada riders, the police with the AK-47 (I cannot defend that), the police officer directing traffic, the child hawkers, the film seller, the gala seller, the touts/area boys, the crowded city, religion (which is front and center in Naija), beggars and the piles of refuse.
"These niggas wanna hold me back/These hoes wanna hold me back" refers to the nigerian people and who or what they protest (when they get their courage back) such as the government, poverty, lack of jobs, lack of security, corrupt politicians, corrupt cops, sex-for-grades teachers, etc.
The woman at 1:13 stirring the boiling pot of water with her bare hands, chai!
There is a play or demonstration or skit of what I believe are militants. They are celebrating their culture with dancing while defending what is theirs--the black gold aka oil.
While on the yacht, you see a sad, perhaps hungry kid. The contrast between wealth and poverty, and especially their close proximity in Naija is apalling.
There is a scene where someone on a boat or yacht gives some kids money and they wade in water to get it. Guess what? This is what happens not just in Naija but everywhere around the world. Give me money and see whether I no go take am.
Now this video is told as a narrative. Rick Ross is going to a concert in Lagos (the one he was invited to, meaning people paid and donned Gucci and Brazilian weave for it) and on his way there he captures this scenes of Naija. Ross walked through the slums on his own feet and he makes his way out of the slums (probably after shuffering and shmiling in go-slow) and arrives at the concert, the one majority of Nigerians cannot afford. Which begs a crucial question: nigerians how can you ignore, neglect and abandon your fellow nigerians who are in poverty and pay an exorbitant amount to import a foreign artist for a 'Summer Jam'? Shey na rice una tink say una dey import?
In all the images of the slums, the people's faces are not monotonous. Their faces are of hope, excitement, disinterest, anger and indifference. They are living their lives, they're human.
The video ends with football, a source of pride for Nigerians especially with the late Rashidi Yekini's goal during the 1994 Summer Olympics in the US. There is another poignant scene with the Nigerian flag and a group of men surrounding the flag. This is still in the slums and there is one man in particular who is pointing at the flag as if to say, "this is our Naija".
Fabricate 'bout your fortune, all my fabric's imported
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