Mr Eazi feat. Angélique Kidjoe Òròkórò (2024)
The Kingdom of Benin was founded in the 900s in the forests of west Africa. The nation included present day Nigeria, whence Mr Eazi, the artist behind today’s song “Òròkórò”, hails.
The capital of the Kingdom of Benin was called Edo, its walls were an architectural marvel constructed prior to the mechanical age, and the city even had street lamps which burned all night using palm oil. When the Portuguese found Benin, they acknowledged it as one of the most beautiful and best planned cities they had ever seen (and mind you, imperial Portugal got around…). The ruler of the kingdom was the Oba; the most famous Oba was Ewuare the Great, a warrior king who expanded the kingdom’s empire from the Niger river delta in the east to present day Lagos in the west.
Angélique Kidjoe, the legendary singer-songwriter, is featured on “Òròkórò”. She is from the Republic of Benin, an African country named after the bordering Bight of Benin, also known as the Bay of Benin, and notably not a part of the aforementioned Kingdom of Benin. It’s all delightfully confusing and fun to know.
This collaboration might just be a happy coincidence, or it might be destiny; either way it’s always a treat when music is made across borders and also generations. This song infuses a pan-African vibe into afrobeats. The artists perform in Yoruba (an indigenous language of west Africa) and the spiritual perspective of the lyrics is refreshing while the beats still get the hips moving, so divine.
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