Falz's new offering has been caught in online gender wars. Here is what you should know about it.
Over the past six years, aided by social media and the Internet, Twitter NG, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat have helped document the underlying societal realities and even given them a name.
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Some of these names (or tags) are;
1. Yoruba Demon
A modern description for the average unrepentant, Nigerian, philanderous man. As such, harmless Yoruba men at Owanbe, dressed in native attires get called “Yoruba demon.”
As such, it became a slur by women who have been cheated on — fashion choices that exude class, brought echoes of what a traditional Yoruba man is known for; cheating. Interestingly, non-Yoruba men get called, “demons” these days.
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Even dead grandfathers are getting their bodies exhumed by memories of their scummy antics to get this Yoruba demon smoke. Nobody is free and pop culture seems to have a photographic memory and a vindictive heart to serve smoke across board.
2. Slay Queen
This was initially a simple term of endearment for good looking Nigerian women, who could afford to look good. Somehow, Nigerian men turned it into a slur and slay queens or slay mamas meant waywardness or parasites, who leech of rich men or, unemployed females without any real ambition than looking good. Interestingly, even women also use the term derogatorily these days.
3. Small girl, big god
On July 24, 2018, Pulse broke down how the movement initially started as a harmless decision by petite women, then became a slur by Nigerian men against women, after the slang started becoming viral, used by young women, doing amazing things. Nigerian men recreated the narrative as young women with the good life funded by rich, older men. Women then took it back and owned it.
The trends represent societal truths
The viral trends, like even the more recent, “Na dem dey rush us” off a comical video have managed to represent the inner city realities of millennials as an evolving generation and generation xers who lived before social media became a thing and internet became as accessible as terrible suya, tough on a Lagos street corner.
Sweet Boys (Association)
Women owned small girl, big god back, “Na dem dey rush us” became of more popular demand than gold circle condoms and men were still scum and trash — men needed to find a happy slang/hashtag to restart the fires of male relevance on social media.
Enter, the multi talented, multi functional creative, Folarin Falana, also known as, Falz to save the day with another widely relevant trend for us munch like a pack of sugary plantain chips by tired Lagosians in traffic. Sweet Boys Association is Falz's gift to men on social media.
Like anything related to Falz, it has since created a storm on social media that looks set to be another weapon in the near-perpetual gender war. Even when Falz does not intend it, his products create a storm — it seems.
Origin
This scribbler first heard Falz use the term “Sweet Boy" reference in one of his comedy skits, just after he blew up — circa 2017. Apparently, he had just gotten a haircut from the barber’s, then looked at himself in the mirror to admire himself by using the term “sweet boy,” in no dissimilar way to how women initially used 'slay queen/mama'.
In the video, Falz said, “I mean look at the sweet boy, with the juicy bear bear (beard)… Mo wa ri wipe, omo yen hans gan (I see that, the boy (describing himself) is handsome” as a way to appreciate his good looks.
At the time, the video was harmless and 'sweet boy' was meaningless.
2018
On September 14, 2018 Falz released his new single, 'Sweet Boys' — produced by Focus Ramon, complete with a music video. The song is witty and sharp. Before that release, Falz had commenced a roll out for that single in typically creative Falz way and it birthed the now viral, Sweet Boys Association.
The trailer depicts the rapper, behind a podium emblazoned with the acronym, “SBA” — looking alive and bouncy, unlike some people — like a country’s executive, looking to deliver a speech. We were to discover that the acronym means Sweet Boys Association and that was Falz’s inauguration speech for the association — such grandeur.
Who's a Sweet Boy?
Our brains were rewarded with the official take-off of the Sweet Boys Association with Falz setting out its core principles, values, inspiration and then launched its official website where people can register and get screened before potential acceptance as a “sweet boy” and then you get this image;
A sweet boy simply a good looking man, with a clean cut attitude, but without the makings of a bad guy.
In the video, Falz said, claimed the movement was geared as togetherness for men and the released a set of rules for the association. Talk about a good roll-out complete with Falz naming himself president and naming his new single, the anthem for the association.
Gender wars
As more men became members and the joke started creating hashtags, women tried to give the ‘Yoruba demon’ smoke to our dear Sweet Boys. Ladies and gentlemen, it is not pretty as we have started seeing threads, I kid you not.
Their anger comes from how men supposedly ruined ‘Slay queen’, ‘small girl, big god’, and ‘feminist’ for them and turned those words into symbols of waywardness, unnecessary anger and leeching tendencies of an unambitious woman. Truth is, they are right. Women are however determined this time and this is destined to get ugly.
Points of women ruining, ‘Yoruba demon’ did not avail men as the phrase has never been of positive connotation. Women basically created the phrase to derogate cheating men, who have repeatedly broken their hearts and made them emotionally unavailable while these men end up getting married and grown terrible potbellies and love handles.
Men should calm down and also take this smoke, so peace can rain. Social media is not a pretty place when gender wars is in full swing.
Nonetheless, every term of empowerment turns derogatory and we need to stop
It is as simple as that. You won’t die if you let people have things, I promise you. The switching of these words started out as jokes, but the meanings have since turned forever.
We — us, men especially — need to let these movements create joy. Like anything, there will be bad eggs. While every movement will be judged on its excesses, we need to not taint every movement by solely judging its little dark spots either. That will be cheap.
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