Nigerian Artists are trendsetters who influence Fashion styles, Dance Routines, Slangs e.t.c
It’s not uncommon to see fans behave their faves would do much less, pick up a slang from them or their songs. Most trends were as a result of Nigerian Artists popularizing it.
Though most times, they aren’t the inventors of these trends, their platforms make it easy for these trends to go viral. This has been an endless cycle going on in the Music Industry.
For example, Nicki Minaj”s fans make use of the word, ‘Chile’, a slang she popularized, or Nigerian Artist, D’banj who popularized the word, “Kokollete”.
Sometimes the slang becomes like a signature for an artist though some are short-lived when the artist popularizes another slang.
Slangs are common street languages tha people use to communicate freely with friends and family. The dictionary describes them as Informal ‘words’ or ‘phrases’.
We compiled a list of Slangs that went viral in 2020 thanks to Nigerian Artists.
Opor
‘Opor’ means ‘its plenty’ in English. This is a normal slang that originated from the streets of Lagos, Nigeria’s center of entertainment. This slang was made popular by the Street-Hop Artists, Naira Marley, Lil Kesh, and Zlatan who commonly use the word in their songs.
In 2019, Lil Kesh released a song titled ‘O Por’ featuring Naira Marley which was a hit even in 2020. 2Baba followed suit with a song of the same name featuring Wizkid. Rexxie featured Zlatan on his song of the same name.
Gege/This gbedu no be Agege
This slang was popularized by DMW artist, Mayorkun who is most people’s favorite when it comes to wordplays and catchy lyrics.
Just like most artists do on their songs, “Gege” is the tagline that tells you that you are about to listen to a song owned or featuring Mayorkun.
The other catchy tag “This Gbedu no be Agege” follows suit. However, fans turned it into “This bread no be Agege”, a reference to the popular Lagos ‘Agege Bread’ which most Lagosians prefer eating. This is a running gag on the internet.
Kpk (Ko Por Ke)
‘Ko Por Ke’ is almost similar to ‘Opor’ but is a rhetorical question that can be interpreted to mean, “Is it not Plenty?”.
This slang became popular in the last quarter of 2020 thanks to Rexxie and Mohbad‘s collaboration of the same name.
The success of the song has made the slang quite popular on the street even overshadowing ‘Opor’.
E choke!
Just like ‘Kpk’, E Choke also became popular in the last quarter of 2020. This slang was introduced by Davido when he dropped a picture of himself on social media.
Davido is one artist known for making slang popular, his famous tagline “Shepke” is often heard at the beginning of his songs.
‘E Choke’ is a term used for bragging or showing one’s achievements. In literal sense, it would be like showing off in the face of your enemy.
Sho get
When Davido dropped his “A Better Time” album, many fell in love with a particular song, “The Best” which features Mayorkun. In the chorus, Mayorkun sings;
‘Nwannem I come from the ghetto
Sho get? You get o
Sho get o? O get o then forget, yeah’
This chorus led to the rise of the slang, “Sho Get” which is an informal way of saying “Do You understand?”.
Fem
Fem isn’t a new slang. It’s popularly used by Nigerian Parents or adults when trying to get a child to shut up. It’s yoruba slang for ‘Shut Up”.
Davido came back from a three-month social media break with a song titled “Fem” which was the first single from his “A Better Time” album.
The song made the slang become popular, even during the #EndSars protest.
E Be Tins
Just like ‘Fem’, E Be Tins was a common street slang though not popular until Dremo decided to make a song with the same name which led to its popularity.
“E Be Tins” is used to express astonishment when one hears a crazy story.
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Soro Soke
If you are an active user of Twitter, you would be familiar with the phrase, “Soro Soke” or ‘Soro Soke Werey”. This slang which is often used by Yoruba Actors became a favorite slang for football bants on Twitter.
When the #EndSars protests began, it became popular as protesters would shout it at Government Officials which translates into “Speak Louder”. Nigerian artists who decided to make music about the issue then also used the slang.
Small Doctor released a protest anthem of the same name while Zlatan made a freestyle from the slang.
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Lamba
In 2019, Destiny Boy, the young talented street fuji-pop artiste dropped the song “Lamba”. This slang is used for people who make fake promises, stories, and hype just to get recognition.
In 2020, the song is used mostly on the Internet as a meme as a response to people chasing clout.
Mayorkun also made use of this slang in his verse of Jamopyper‘s “If No Be You”
Tule
“Tule” is the newest slang on this list also introduced by Davido. The singer uses the slang alongside “E Choke”. Its meaning isn’t clear but it’s how the singer response to trolls.
It has started gaining ground among his fans and other celebrities.