Falz in “Knee Down” dramatizes the tension that exists in relationships when something is amiss. Some music enthusiasts take sides. You, too, can join the conversation.
Falz Trains Searchlight on Troubled Relationships and Sparks Rhetoric of Gender Politics
BY Chinalurumogu Eze
August 10, 2022
5:34 am
Nigerian rapper, Falz recently released the official music video for his song, “Knee Down” and, just like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” the music video tells a story as a short film. “Knee down” features Chike and Nollywood star, Osas Ighodaro.
“This project is special. We captured so much emotion on one song. It inspired a cinematic expression. We entered into the realm of film and created a sensational story that pieces all the emotions together,” Falz says in an Instagram post.
The 12-minute short film displays the great talents of Folarin Falana (Falz), Osas Ighodaro and Chike Ezekpeazu Osebuka as directed by Clarence Peters.
The trio dramatized, through the song, love, hate, and betrayal. “There is the theme of toxicity in relationships and how it can drive both parties to make colossal mistakes,” says Bob Ngene of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
The quintessential Osas Ighodaro played Ese. Folarin Falana played Femi and Chike played Chima. According to the short film, Ese is married to Femi. Their marriage has a lot of quirks. Infidelity is a thing in their marriage and each party seems to use emotional blackmail to defend his or her action. Their relationship was “manipulative” as Happiness Chukwuemeka prefers to call it. Chukwuemeka, a movie enthusiast, further explains that both parties were manipulative to each other because both did things that hurt and played the “pity game.” Ngene thinks otherwise and gave the manipulation crown to Femi because “he was pretty quick to pull out the ‘I’m your only family’ card to cripple Ese’s attack”.
Falz in his new song evidently engages in a social and cultural criticism of the Nigerian society as he did in “This Is Nigeria,” which is similar in concept to Childish Gambino’s “This Is America”. As a critique, its message is obvious, but it has left many people pondering on one question: “Who, between the couple, was in the wrong and who should be blamed for the fiasco in the relationship?”
Now, join the conversation. Watch the music video and participate in the poll below. Who is manipulative in this dramatized relationship?
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