When Sheebah was vicious
Wadawa dropped about nine years ago, which was back when Sheebah was being handled by Jeff Kiwa, a fellow with many faults but whose ability as a manager is beyond question.
Singer Sheebah performing on stage. (File photo)
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Thursday Throwback – Music Review: Wadawa – Sheebah & Chosen Blood
Sheebah teamed up with Chosen Blood and Nessim Productions to drop this street anthem that seemed custom-made for our dusty city. Wadawa resonated heavily with our population, especially with the petty vibes that the song seems to be associated with.
It worked so well, I came across references to the song before coming across the song itself. That is when you know a song has become a cultural phenomenon. The decision to go with Nessim Productions on this was inspired.
Nessim has the ability to make a song sound more than the sum of its parts. Wadawa dropped about nine years ago, which was back when Sheebah was being handled by Jeff Kiwa, a fellow with many faults but whose ability as a manager is beyond question.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA-IrpdFgSw
Wadawa, structurally, is about as basic a collaboration as you can get, but it works because of the delicious afro–pop groove Nessim gives it, and because the song is designed to let the lyrics do the heavy lifting. And good Lord, those are petty, provocative lyrics. Everyone has an ex (even those folks that claim they do not!), and things are almost never amicable between them – there is just that little edge of spite.
Few people can sound as delightfully spiteful as Sheebah, and she delivers the lyrics of Wadawa like a wasp on a mission. In the weeks after the song dropped, social media was swarmed with single mothers posting the phrase ‘Wadawa ex’ – it was like an epidemic.
Chosen Blood was something of an unknown quantity at the time, but he held his own. On Wadawa, his delivery is smooth, lyrical, perfect counterfoil to Sheebah’s vicious delivery. I often wonder why he didn’t build on this cameo – it was impressive. He was comfortably the more melodic of the two.
Sheebah doesn’t make a habit of repeating collaborations, but the effectiveness of this one suggests the musical chemistry was solid and would justify a repeat effort. I enjoyed going back in time and having another listen to this.