Davido, the Nigerian singer, says ‘FEM’, the lead single off ‘A Better Time’, his 2020 album, almost landed him in trouble during the #EndSARS protest.
FEM’, which means shut up, became a sensation last year after it was used by demonstrators to shush individuals or groups whose commentaries are unsolicited during the period the protest lasted.
In an interview with L’officiel, a French fashion magazine, the 28-year-old award-winning singer said although the song was dropped two weeks before the protest began, it was very influential to the campaign.
He also said that the song gained infamous attention when a random person played the track at a rally to interrupt a government official that was addressing the protesters.
“It’s crazy because we didn’t record that record. #EndSARS hadn’t even started yet. We dropped that record two weeks before,” he said.
“The record’s already gone, it was huge already. Then there was a little rally where this government official was speaking to the people and then somebody played the song.
“They played the song, everybody’s singing. He’s trying to talk, but everybody is singing the song instead. Then somebody got the video and it just went crazy. From there, it became the anthem of the whole– I almost got in trouble. I was like, ‘Yo, I did record that song, but’ It was nice to see them use a song of mine to be instrumental in how they felt.”
The ‘OBO’ crooner had earlier said that the track became the #EndSARS protest song because it resonated with the feelings of demonstrators at the time.