Album Review – Fela Drops The Baton As Falz Picks It Up In Moral Instruction

2019 has begun with our pastors prophesying “it is your year” yet again and using our monies to go on expensive vacations, buy private jets and construct unaffordable instituitions ( to those “woke people” that are quick to say “education is expensive everywhere in the world”, my reply – no one would complain about the cost if it were funded by a private individual, sir this instituition was built by the blood, sweat and tears of your members yet these people cant afford it, this is why the people are angry ).

I still dont grasp why we believe this same story every 1st of December, it is more like our mind know it is a lie but we just need something to hold on to. The truth is – the best way to live life is not to live in constraint of time and other people’s opinions, just do it as the thought comes, they call it impulsive, i call it progressive but this is a music review so let me get back to it.

Folarin “Falz” Falana is a name that will go down in Nigeria’s history as the one of the modern day artists that started the upcoming revolution against everything that is evil in this country, a cause the legendary Fela Kuti lost his life fighting for. I am excited about what he has done and hope he continues. He addressed every socio-cultural, religious, educational, political problems of this country in the 9 tracked album titled – Moral instruction.

The fourth studio album from the talented rapper arrived in the early hours of Tuesday, January 15, 2019.

Unlike the discussions at salons/babershops, beer parlors and newspaper stands that squeezes life out of people who aren’t present, Falz held everybody accountable for where Nigeria is today even himself, I got my share.

From Domestic Violence to Sexual Immorality to Terrorist attacks to Religious violence to Political violence to Pastoral fraud to Complacency to Borrow-pose to Sheer ignorance to almost every other thing, it wont be overly enthusiastic to call him the vintage Oshiomole or the modern day Fela. Broad cultural/social/political commentary like this is what makes this piece of work a must listen.

M.I has been doing this since 2007 but it has always been a challenge to get the general public to accept his communication style.

Falz got it right effortlessly. he wasn’t the stereotyped “English man.” Falz’s most mesmerising effort is telescoping between these macro observations and closeups on we, the people and religious & political institutions, something he did with incredible girth.

One minute, he’s pondering cultural values –

“Because she no be virgin, you no meet am well.” The next he’s parroting political deliberate deceitful language:

“We buy your story, but you no give us change”. Simply referring to Falz’s Moral Instruction album as “relevant” comes too close to diminishing his deep expertise.

He is a voice for the ones struggling to get by and a reminder for those who need to listen.

If you have the concern that “Yes, Falz aired these things. Okay. Impact?”

The first two axioms of The Choice Theory states:

1. The only person whose behavior we can control is ours.

2. All we can give another person is information.

He gave information. Artistes don’t carry wands, only magicians do.

“The feeling of an apocalypse happening, but nothing is awkward”. One line from Kendrick Lamar that perhaps sums up the Nigeria of today.

We know that Nigeria is warming to apocalyptic levels, and yet in the west, we are not so bothered because we can still generally go about our jobs/businesses unimpeded.

Falz stressed how the lower-class Nigerians feel under siege while many of us ignore their plight. Men love women. We enjoy their company. At one point in time, we may have a little girl who grows up and tells us about her engagements with a male figure — things that most of us men, dread to hear. Falz made an instropective album not vindicating even himself from aforementioned flaws. This to me is an awareness album, self conscious project, Moral instruction is not an album to dance to but an album to listen to.

He sampled Fela in ways no one would ever defeat ( for now ) and kudos to him also for his perfectly placed skits, a real icing on the cake.

Another thing Falz did correctly is being able to deliberately lean back on the beat or push ahead of it ; like how bars falls within a specific beat. This type of subtlety falls into that rarefied category of unteachables.

What really separates great artistes from merely good artistes is the ability to stand out from the populace. ability to speak your mind, ability to always pass a message, a conscious one at that.

Like speed for athletes, you either got it or you don’t. Falz got it. Thank you, Falz.