SOCIAL WORK by OLA ADENE (A Review)

Social Work by Ola Adene is an exciting album that explores almost all areas of existence as it concerns the Nigerian society. I believe this album is his own idea of a Social Responsibility. After casually listening to this album more than twice, all I can say is I'll be doing a lot of re-emphasis.

Lessons from My Childhood. Here, we are exposed to the typical childhood nature of an average Nigerian child growing up. The intricaces, the cover ups, the misinformations. And we all in
some sort of way have been a victim of one of these exposures. Some might have it better, others have it worse than the other, but what is of utmost importance is the idea that the child loses his innocence, and becomes an adult before he knows what adulthood means. Now childhood seems to be an escape from adulthood. Growing up is a scam. But we grew up anyway, it is an inevitable process. "But we can look down and learn everything good from the kids" -Ola 

Ignorance Ignorance is a disease was coined in an era where most people had no idea what ignorance really meant. Technically, today an ignorant mind should have no place in society. TRUE. But painfully, a more advanced form of ignorance exists. Political ignorance, security ignorance, governmental ignorance, and the likes. And we act like we do not see or hear these things. We are drowning in self denial. According to Ola, we know, but we act like we do not know. I do not need remind us about the problems we face. But the truth remains that these things can be reduced. You have a part to play.

Sorrow like Shadow. Its Personal, I didn't want to talk about this track, but for some certain reasons it keeps appealing to the humane side of me. So I'll say a quote from Ola which went "We do not choose how we live, at least we should choose how we die".
Rape is an offence that should never be condoned, we need this Album to go viral so that with some sort of luck the culprits behind Fiona's unwanted end could be brought to the axe. 
Some pains should be abolished forever.

Mutatis Mutandis. Another track I loved so much was the resounding Muso's, trust me I've heard it more than twice but each time it tells a different story of the exact same problem of society. It's time we act like hands and dictate the tunes that the drum beats, if not for ourselves, but for our kids and kids kids. Politics is an aspect of society that wolves into the very fabrics of our existence and we should not, never push aside. Ola is a brilliant artist that needs to speak on National grounds, he carries a lot of practical truths on his lips. We've been too scared and paid off to speak about certain issues that we carry about in our minds everyday. But i think he should talk someday about the 1% of our politicians that are actually doing something worthy of applause. There are always two sides to a coin.

To get the Album, visit https://selar.co/socialwork

Peek A Boo.. Female Mutilation, let's push Ola aside for a while (lol, figuratively). But on a low, we need to dive into the issue of female mutilation, it is wrong, Yes, it is wrong, for so long we've had to put females in a sorry situation when it comes to a lot of issues, choice is an integral part of society that needs not be toyed with. Many a times we forget that the choices we make for our children today goes way into their Future.
So let's ask oursleves a question. If we were our kids, would we make a choice for us that we would regret in say 20-30 years to come? 
Let's treat issues like we were in that position. Hence he said " the old men that pushed you into doing these things, did you know they wanted a piece of the juicy pot"?
Choice for kids and parents likewise.

I Need One Man. One mans food is another Mans poison. If you're an extreme feminist that does not want to be reminded that you were carved out from a man's rib, then dont dwell on that line, look beyond it. The message that should not be missed is that you're one man different from your neighbour and you should find your path and not follow society and get lost in the process. Take a stand if you're sleeping (O'n sun, wake up). And personally, somebody should send Ola to a private university, I think he doenst consider us a university.

Determination. I listened to Ola render this poem at a gathering of creatives, so I was interested in seeing the effect it had on these creative, and you could just tell that he was speaking to their souls, to their crafts, to their lives. "suck in the pain and keep grinding" must have been their favorite as the smiles sprouted from their faces. Determination needs no explanations. Keep it moving.

And my personal favorite, LOVE IS A VERB. I must confess, I got lost severally in the sound and I just vibed along. But like the sound says, Love is a verb, quit saying it casually and act. Love demands to be acted upon, do something for a loved one today, no matter how small or insignificant, it counts. To love is to love, but from now on add a verb. I'm still dancing right now to the sound, Ola is no longer the raw poet, he is now a singer

As we close this review and give Ola a standing applause, I admire his creativity so much and the way he merges his work with trendy slangs so everyone can relate. The way the twists resonates with your ears, you know you listened to a masterpiece. His renditions are never boring, you can tell that he renders his poems with smiles on his faces, and in some you could hear the passion from his voice, others you can feel pains in just a few words.
And he is consistent.

To get the Album, visit https://selar.co/socialwork

Just a few words for him. I'll love to listen to Ola speak on Africa, and the beauty of the Nigerian Traditions; he did something with it in AMOPE. I'll love to hear that in an album.
But overall, Social Work is a brilliant album. Kudos brother.

To get the Album, visit https://selar.co/socialwork


Tobi Bamidele (G.G)