Fast-rising Nigerian singer Ayo Maff dropped his new single “Tension” on November 19, 2025, accompanied by a one-minute promotional video that is impossible to scroll past. In it, he performs in the midst of Northern Nigeria’s iconic Hyena Men—yes, the ones who parade with real, muzzled hyenas.
Social media reactions were a cocktail of anxiety, disbelief, and morbid fascination, and it is not hard to see why. A hyena boasts the strongest bite force of any mammal. If that muzzle slips, the “tension” stops being metaphorical very quickly.
Whether bold or borderline reckless, Ayo Maff definitely achieved one thing: people are talking.