There’s so much music out there that it’s hard for even the most loyal fans to stay up with their favourite artists or what’s new and hot right now. That’s why we’ve created #BumpThis – a daily series that features the one song you need to listen to, every day. Don’t say we never did anything for you.
If you want the streets on a Nigerian record in 2019, Zlatan Ibile is your guy. His latest collaboration is perhaps the most left-field yet this year. He joins Tiwa Savage, Nigerian pop’s first lady, to create “Shotan”, a potpourri of sultry dance music and dynamic street energy.
Tiwa Savage’s collaboration with producer, Spellz has produced some of her biggest hits to date. On “Shotan”, the latter’s taste for
Sitting at the top of our playlists in his best year yet is clearly not enough for Zlatan. He raps about his ambitions to hit 9 figure earnings. Tiwa is all about the bag too; she name-drops Nigeria’s richest woman, Folorunsho Alakija. The focus on achievement and wealth is not out of place. “Shotan” loosely means “Is it done?” and the song is a subtle call-out of anyone who’s doubted their abilities in the past.
Zlatan and Tiwa alternate verses in a manner that puts them – a 10-year vet and the hottest rapper out now – on the same pedestal. It elevates “Shotan” from a definite song of the summer to a snapshot of the durability of Afropop’s best songs and talents.
The warning at the beginning to “play this at high volumes, preferably in a residential area” is good advice. Shotan is the kind of song that’s hard to find fault with, now or in 5 years. Summer 2019 is looking like
Listen to Zlatan and Tiwa Savage’s “Shotan” here.
