The Ade Bantu-led Brotherhood Alliance Navigating Towards Unity (BANTU) has released its second single of 2020 titled ‘Animal Carnival.’
Known for its social commentary, BANTU condemns the condescending, inhumane attitude of the ruling class and how they have methodically subdued the masses, turning a nation of 200 million people into a circus show where anything and everything goes.
A statement released by the band said: “Our second single release for 2020 is a satirical song that tries to make sense of the insane realities of Nigeria where corruption and kleptocracy has reached staggering heights with missing funds being attributed to devious acts of the supernatural.
“Bizarre stories of creatures such as a snakes allegedly ingesting millions of Naira, roguish gang of monkeys carting away public money stashed by a senator in his farm house or a gorilla miraculously swallowing the entire earnings of a zoo have become the norm.”
Produced by Soledad Productions, Broken Silence and Believe Music, the song is a 13-piece Lagos-based collective that explores Afrobeat, Afrofunk and Yoruba music roots.
To drive its point home, an animated music video – with witty images of thieving animals and a recurring cast of bats morphing into rats and birds – accompanies the chorus line in Yoruba: “Kò sẹ ékú kò sẹ ẹyẹ / Àdán ò sẹ ékú kò s’ẹyẹ (it’s not a rat, it’s not a bird, the bat is not a rat neither is it a bird).
The idea behind the clip was to highlight the underlying magical realism in which crimes against a citizenry are increasingly obscured and swept under the rug.
‘Animal carnival’ is BANTU’s second single after ‘Disrupt the Programme’, both of which will feature in its forthcoming album, ‘Everybody Get Agenda’, which is scheduled for release in September.
