In this Hip-Hop series we take an objective look back on the musical content of some of the most influential Hip-Hop tracks ever released in the 237 music industry through a detailed analysis of the lyrics. This will permit us to actually determine if these tracks deserved to be as influential as they ended up being. The system of analysis and evaluation of the lyrics and song’s overall grade will range from A-D with A and B noted as a PASS, C and D noted as a FAIL. We will divide the analysis in two sections THE HIGH and THE LOW. This is intended to be main the positives and negatives of the track
Today specifically we take a look at Stanley Enow’s “Hein Pere” song.
Released in 2013 “Hein Père” came at a point in which the Cameroonian Rap/Hip-Hop industry was in some sort of stagnation notably due to the rapidly declining state of rap veterans like Valsero, Krotal and then guys like Jovi, Dareal, Askia, Mic Monsta etc.. Who had a certain reputation underground but were yet to burst onto the major scene. “Hein Père” symbolized the rise to fame of young Cameroonian rapper Stanley Enow who was quickly labeled by many media outlets as “THE NEXT BIG THING” and endorsed by some of his peers notably Tony Nobody. It undeniable that this track spread all over social media like wild fire with it still garnering till date a total of 1,198,128 views on YouTube. Some may go as far as stating that this track’s success paved the way for Cameroonian music through the exposure it offered to the industry
But then…..
Euphoria aside and getting straight to the subject matter, what was “Hein Pere” all about? What message did it carry? And was it a good Hip-Hop track?.. For that we will analyze some of the lyrics in this song
THE HIGH
“I don waka no be small, see ma foot Up down around town see ma boots
Ma foot dem di worry need Dschang shoes
Like Banso man i di fight fo ma oun
Tara dem di gossip, hala hala
No time for dirty fight man, pala pala
Hustle hard nigga i di waka waka Go slow go slow, hein Jaga Jaga”
From the above extract of his lyrics we notice him trying to express a hard struggle from grass to grace which brings in a sense of meaning unfortunately poorly expressed with the use of filer rhymes to compensate for an obvious lack of lyricism like “Jaga jaga…pala pala and hala hala”. In the lines that follow he thanks Tony Nobody for his influence and dedicates his success to his hood guys with whom he struggled and encourages looking ahead no matter what and equally briefly shouts out Petit Pays
“Yes yes yes yes c’est pour mes freres pere! Oh boy we dey fo qwata on est high pere! Et comme mes gars du mboko on dit Hein pere (Hein Pere) Hein Pere (Hein Pere) Hein Pere (Hein Père)… »
“Thank u Tony Nobody this is me hein Hein pere! say what! Pour tous mes gars du mboko, mes tatats Soso go before no matter what Ask Petit Pays na God go pay Hein pere!..”.
In the hook he clearly dedicates the track to his brothers in the hood and those who supported him
Another great HIGH on this track was the beat, it was of good quality and catchy for people to actually relate to it.
THE LOW
The second part of this song is actually where things go salty and completely random from a lyrical and meaning point of view. A rappers lyrics confined in a single track is supposed to be the reflection of a message he has in his mind which he vehiculates and develops progressively through the verses. There may be digressions but the subject matter still has to remain intact. A clear depiction of randomness here can be seen when he begins his second verse with these lines
“Mami nyanga, rouge à levre kos kos Straight bensikin wanna see Mr Cosmos Don petite seour wanna get rich at all cost Ma’ala, Kamdem wanna be a boss-boss…”
In as much as the above lines had rhymes it’s actually very difficult to understand what he is trying to put out as message. All of a sudden we leave from talking about a hard struggle to talking about random lipstick and girl wanting to get rich at all cost. It doesn’t get any better in the next lines either as Stanley makes totally random references to both LAPIRO and JEAN MICHEL KAN KAN which have nothing to do with this track through this lines
“Hein Pere! Sexy Makero Ova don na mbout oh boy da wan na lapiro Jean Michel Kankan donne moi mon marigo Djobolos vient on va au beignet Haricot yeah!… »
This line clearly depicts a lack of lyrical aptitude which he tried to conceal with popular references to known figures in Cameroon’s history to woo the listeners.
The randomness continues with what might be the most incomprehensible part of the song where Stanley expresses his marriage desires to women he obviously admires but then the question where is the link with rest of the song?.. These lyrics can be considered as whack and pretty bad because they vehiculate no message and are not in accordance with the rest of the song rather they are simply fillers used to get the crowd on his side and camouflage the obvious lack of lyrical skill
“Yémalé! Sharp sharp,chakak koubi,zing zing,fap fap Don petite soeur I go take you for la’akam Work dat body,gi u small Kanwang Muah!! Charlotte Dipanda i go marry u Lady Ponce i go marry u Karyce Fotso i go marry u i go marry u, i go, i go marry u yeah…”
Conclusively, in as much as “Hein Père” made a massive impact in the 237 industry, we can’t say it was due to the rapper’s skill, neither due to the lyrical content or even the message the track vehiculated. The main reason for its success was the massive promotion made by media outlets and the instrumental which was of good quality. In this regard qualifying it as a hit without looking deep into the content, lyrics and message would be an error. In a purely Cameroonian context Hein Pere can be considered as a good track but can it battle internationally? Can the rapper Stanley Enow battle bar for bar with his content against the best Mc’s? Taking all this parameters into account we give the following grade.
Grade: C-
FAIL
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Rcc2dAkaOcY