Bars Only: FTW By Terry Tha Rapman feat. M.I Abaga

“What do you do when your genre’s rejected/ Well, Terry the legend should be protected at all cost.”

If I were Terry Tha Rapman, I probably would make a song like FTW in 2020. For the longest time, it’s appeared as though the hiphop legend has not received his due accolades. Although hiphop was the genre that launched this new era of Nigeria’s musical greatness, it hasn’t enjoyed the same respect that other genres eg Afrobeats has enjoyed. Let’s not even get into the financials…

His post COVID19 lockdown single FTW features M.I. Abaga. It becomes clearer when a great like M pays homage to Terry with the line above. That should paint a picture of where in the scheme of things Terry should sit. It’s been 30 years since Terry first put together a rap scheme. Yup, he started rapping 1991. By the end of the decade, he had become professional and was easily one of the first rappers to mix their undeniable lyrical superiority with relatable Nigerianisms such as pidgin English and subject matters that the regular man on the street understands. Who brought you “Boys Are Not Smiling” and “You Think Say Na Beans?” Terry tha Rapman is a Naija icon, one that completely removed the line between hardcore lyrical flexing and commercial success.

However, the success of the Afrobeats movement has meant that not enough attention has been paid to Nigerian hiphop. Legends like Terry seem to have been forgotten as fans hurried to learn the next dance step or trend. While that hasn’t discouraged him from staying dedicated to his craft: he has no less than ten albums, mixtapes and EP’s to his name- and every year, he gets around to dropping one single.

FTW is a soulful introspective song that illustrates where his mind his at. No cap, he hasn’t received his just due from not only fans but also the industry that seems to forget its legends. Working with M.I. on it further deepens the importance of the message: a legend giving props to another legend, whilst they flip the middle finger to the world for all its foibles. It’s short and concise and dark and brooding. Boys are STILL not smiling.

Listen to FTW on Boomplay

FTW ft. M.I Abaga

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