Following an eventful year of pressure in all forms, Nigerian born singer-songwriter Douglas Jack Agu, internationally known as Runtown, dropped his newest fire in the form of ‘If E Happen for Lagos’ on Christmas Eve, 2020. His third single for the year, in collaboration with fellow singer and producer Mystro, speaks to the ongoing turmoil in Lagos, Nigeria, between the local security forces and those in support of the movement calling for the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
Many Nigerian and international artists have voiced their support for this movement joining in the call for an end to police and army brutality, further aggravated by incidents during the month of October 2020 such as that of the Lekki massacre at the main toll gate in Lagos.
With creative reference to the #EndSARS campaign and the unjust attacks on Nigerian citizens, Runtown’s lyrics express his frustration and grievance with the situation with lines such as: “Government na yawa oh, dem no dey do nothing” and “Governor talk say ‘na federal’/The same reason why the rich is getting richer na the reason why poor man still dey japa.”
The political conflict and social saga is given perfect description through the use of Nigerian Pidgin lyrics, where Runtown encapsulates the various injustices faced by citizens and the unlawful practices of the people’s aggressors: “Eyes on my money gats keep am on the low…Shey ’cause you see me in a Bentley/You want to friend me, just to end me/Shey na my fault say God dey bless me.”
The ‘SoundGod’ delivers once more, in typical Runtown style, never faltering to stand up and defend both his people and country, all the while accompanied by a pure afrobeats sound and deeply reverberating lyrics.
‘If E Happen for Lagos’, produced by Mystro and Runtown, is now available on all streaming platforms. An accompanying visualizer, with animated visuals by Poka Studios, is also now available on Youtube.
