PROM QUEEN!

“Lil Mama’s got swag like mine

She even wear her hair down her back like mine

I make her feel right when it’s wrong like lying…”

You don’t need a soothsayer telling you who has got those lines; even if you hate rap, you can’t help but love that good old Lollypop song slamming on radio stations back in the day. Before I proceed on the mercurial Dwayne Carter Junior; rest in Peace Static Major.

Lil Wayne’s success in the past few years has seen him eclipse a lot of other prominent artistes and has earned the 28 year old New Orleans rapper ambiguous names such as ‘King of Hip hop’. He has even gone ahead to self assert this claim by singing in a mix-tape freestyle, “…I’m the best rapper alive”

And even though that might sound preposterous, I dare to ask who has attained more success in this genre of late to step forward? For crying out loud, he joined Cash Money Records at just nine, his Carter III sold one million copies in its first week, plus he’s got a Grammy Award for best rap album.  Lollypop, Mr Carter, Bedrock, Make it Rain, and a host of other hit singles and collaborations attest to Wizzy’s ingenuity.

Unlike many rappers with his pedigree, he has managed to stay away from the lucrative ‘beef’ part of hip hop indulged in by guys such as Fat Joe, Fifty, The Game, Ricky Ross and even Jay Z. The father of four prefers to concentrate his energies on his creativity and to making new music; reinventing himself time and time again.

If there is anything that draws us to Wizzy, it is his randomness, changeability and unpredictability. It is almost impossible to tell what he’s going to do next; and it this air of mystery shrouding the dreadlocked super star continues to water the appetite of his fans world over.

Last year; Wizzy thought it was time to explore new grounds. He thus released his debut rock album, “Rebirth”. The album has a single ‘Prom Queen’ as the most chart successful song of the album. The same single inspires the intentions of this column; and thus one cannot be faulted who assumes this section to be Wizzy’s brainchild.

So what’s Prom?

Prom (promenade) is simply a formal black-tie dance or gathering of high school students held typically towards the end of the senior year. Like you’d see, it has not stagnated in its European roots but now thrives world over; with Egypt pioneering its African advent, followed by S.A where it is called ‘Matric Dance’.Boys usually dress in black or white formal wear mostly with bow ties and a vest. Girls wear gowns and corsages given them by their prom dates and it isn’t uncommon for prom attendees to rent limousines to transport friends from their homes to prom venues; usually a banquet hall.

In Naija, we found inventive nifty high school students who successfully replicated the original American format, except that limousines are expensive and some dads will shoot you if you came to pick their daughters by 9p.m and thus they improvised. The thing many young ones here do not realize is the fact that prom can take place during the day! Yes, that is exactly what those young ones reminded us, but they don’t show you that in the Hollywood movies. But seriously, many American prom sessions do not take place at night. So y’all could have a proper prom without annoying the regular Naija dad.

Even though we couldn’t attend the special event, we caught up with Mr Blings, president of the prom court, the prom King; Ugochukwu and her Majesty, the Prom queen herself.

By Obinna Odenigbo