"One Kain" by Simi

Simi’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric since her emergence on the Nigerian music scene in 2014. Signed to the fast-rising music label X3M, Simi continues her power renditions with the hit song ‘One Kain’. This song earns plaudits for telling a tale of an attraction not reciprocated, leading to the antagonist (Simi) going to great lengths to win the affections of her subject, a dashing man who seems to never notice her intentions.

For starters, Simi does justice to the song with her soulful voice and on-point rendition, giving listeners a good interpretation of her feelings for her target guy. The setting for the music video ‘dey on point’ as they say in street Lingo in Nigeria, with the lyrics going in tandem with the video.

The lyrics have to be singled out for praise. The wordings take the listener through the turmoil of love unreciprocated, with this excerpt from Verse 2 eliciting deep emotions:  “I like to go party with you Saturday night / soak garri with you / I like it when you call me Just to check up on me / Something is changing now / I might be mistaken now / I’m holding back / Defences are breaking down / My heart misbehaving now/ Ah ore lode je si mi / Catching feelings wey you no dey throw to me / You suppose to be close to me / But not that close to me”.

The production team should be highly praised for Simi’s costume and make-up, as she looked every bit the friend and lover who was craving attention, hungry for attention, buoyed by anger but received no love in return.

In the end, One Kain is very relatable, especially as it addresses issues concerning women who love without abandon and who might go against standard societal expectations in ensuring their affections are returned. And I believe the over half a million viewers of the single on YouTube agree just as much!