Before the currently trending Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche (Gwo Gwo Gwo Ngwo) by Mike Ejeagha, we have had other old Nigerian songs return to the limelight years after their release.
Short video-sharing platforms like TikTok, Reels and Shorts have been instrumental in the growth of Afrobeats in the last few years. Songs like Calm Down by Rema, Love Nwantiti by CKay and Essence by WizKid were able to dominate local and international charts because of social media. User-generated content by influencers, content creators, and comedians on the internet has been the secret behind the success of most global songs like Bécane by French-Cameroonian soul singer and song, Yamê among others.
Just as social media has been instrumental in the success of these songs, it has always been responsible for the regurgitation of old Nigerian songs. Today, we have Mike Ejeagha benefiting from platforms like TikTok and Reels, which were launched in 2016 and 2020, respectively. These platforms both contributed to the sudden revival of Mike Ejeagha’s Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche (Gwo Gwo Gwo Ngwo) released in 1983.
Gentleman Mike Ejeagha, a 90-year-old musician, is currently trending on social media after comedian Brain Jotter used his record Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche in a viral video. Gentleman Mike Ejeagha’s viral song Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche was used by Brain Jotter in a video posted on his Instagram account on July 5, 2024, and has been viewed 29.1 million times with over 30,000 comments, while TikTok has 19.6 million views and over 23,000 comments. The viral video has sparked a social media trend, with over 7,000 reels and 29,000 TikTok posts featuring the song created in the last week.
What are some old Nigerian songs that social media has reviewed in recent times?
- Dekumzy – Who Get That Thing Remix ft Stormrex & Desperate Chicks – (2016)
- Melvitto & Wande Coal – Gentility (2019)
- Mike Ejeagha – Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche (Gwo Gwo Gwo Ngwo) – (1983)
- Sean Tizzle – Perfect Gentleman – (2014)
- Obesere – Egungun Be Careful (1998)
- Infinity – Olori Oko (2013)
- TJ – Elewe Ukwu (2009)
Why social media is constantly giving old songs a chance
It’s not surprising that old songs from the 1900s to the 2010s are getting a chance to shine in 2024. These songs shaped the childhood and adolescence of the majority of today’s youth. Nostalgia is undoubtedly one of the many reasons why modern songs featuring samples from older releases, such as Love Me Jeje by Tems and Sitting on Top of the World by Burna Boy, can shine. First, it creates a marketing narrative, and second, it taps into most young people’s residual knowledge and rekindles a sense of gratification, similar to how they felt when the sampled song had its moment. This type of nostalgia in music is a currency and one of the simplest ways for generations to interact.
Speaking with Adeayo Adebiyi, a music editor at Pulse Nigeria, he believes people often find old music, creating an emotional connection that will occasionally resurface.
“So the trend is a result of people going back to rediscover music that shaped our past in a bid to create from it,” he said.
“Lastly, it shows that music from our past will play a big role in shaping the future. If you notice, there’s a growing trend in sampling and interpolations. Tems, AG, Pheelz, Olamide, Chike, and co. are artists who have sampled old music this year,” he added.
According to Motolani Alake a Label & Marketing Manager at Virgin Music,
“The long and short of it: The mainstream Pop sound has expired. People need newness.”
“The Afro-pop sound expires every five years and people need new stuff. That Asake-Piano-fusion, with a tinge and fuji and rap sustained it. Rema’s album is polarized because people don’t recognise ‘new sound’ beyond what’s known.
“There’s a reason why sounds from Ejeagha and Desperate Chicks are making waves on Tiktok. People are yearning for new stuff and because nothing is new, and ‘newness’ is usually just repurposing the past or an evolution of the past, we’re seeing the past get repurposed,” he added.
Speaking with Sampson Malachy, the co-founder of Maxtreme Inc, the trend is not going to stop. In his words, “The trend will not stop. In fact I see majors going for old catalogs in years to come.”
Tochi Louis, a creative marketing consultant, believes it’s purely organic. In his words, “It’s not what you sit down and plan. Right now, we don’t know the next song that will be picked up. But it’s mostly because of the song. It resonated with the people years ago, was heavily consumed then, and thus will most likely be consumed now.”