I Wanna Be His Hunger

I’ve been waiting to start my Lyrics & Vera series. And here it is. Lyrics & Vera is just that: lyrics and me. They’re about songs, and what I like about them. The songs may be old school, newly released, Afro-pop, Blues, R & B, Gospel, Traditional, anything really. When I listen to a song, no matter how dance-able or soothing the beats may be, ultimately, it’s the lyrics that make me fall in love. That’s a duh statement, I know. But what makes this different is that you and I may not like the same songs, and even if we do, we may like them for totally different reasons.

Song: Kiss Your Hand by R2Bees featuring Wande Coal

The first thing I love about this song is its opening, “Rah-tah-tah!” Sometimes, I rewind this song over and over just to hear to hear the rah-tah-tah – which is probably not part of the lyrics.

Skip to the first stanza with one of the members of R2Bees – don’t know his exact name – singing. I love the lyrics of this track. Sixteen seconds into the song, he says, “Look, see, I no dey get no younger / So I dey wan friendship wey be longer / Weak me today, tomorrow I go be stronger / Girl, I dey wan chop / You be my hunger …”

Call me crazy, but I find those words so hot. Hot. Hot. Steaming hot. From wanting a friendship wey be longer to being weakened and then strengthened, to wanting to chop and this girl being his hunger, his appetite, his craving, his absolute desire. Okay, so maybe I embellished there, but that’s how the lyrics make me feel.

At one minute and nineteen seconds (1:19), I start loving Wande Coal. Thing is, I don’t understand everything he’s saying, but that’s all part of the enigma of this stanza.  Some of what he said is, “…Want to be like Stevie Wonder / You know I’m like thunder to thunder / This n*gga is the bumper to bumper / Kai, you see where I’m from / WUC I’m from Nigeria / Omo you know say na criteria / When we ensue like bacteria (???) / Chei, where I dey for Ghana / Where exactly ….??? / Where are we going / I’m rocking with R2Bees from Ghana ….. / Gat swagger, swagger / … swagger the maga / Chei, na who, na who, na who born the maga, na who born the maga…”

I give up. I listened to Wande Coal over and over. And over. And over. All that ginger, swagger, and maga words have gotten me feeling dazed, and this is only my first entry under Lyrics & Vera. Thankfully, however, he continues [in English, this time!] at two minutes and fifteen seconds (2:15), “If you then double dare me / I’ll kiss you double dare me / You fear me and you hear me / You love me when you hear me / I’ll kiss you double dare me / I’ll kiss you / So, baby, just allow me to kiss your hand …”

Oh, Wande, this song almost made me wish for you to kiss me. Almost.

The third stanza has the second member of R2Bees, and my favorite part of his lyrics comes in at two minutes and fifty-seven seconds (2:57), and it sings, “Then move, dance to the groove hard / Make you no dey lose guard / Wande go talk Orobo toh bad / Toh bad oh! / Orobo toh bad / Toh bad oh!…”

Whew. This was a lot more difficult than I anticipated. But now it’s your turn to listen, and when you’re done, tell me if you feel like being his hunger, too – whoever he might be for you. Click on the link below to listen to the audio.

[audio:http://www.verastic.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Kiss-Your-Hand.mp3|titles=Kiss Your Hand by R2Bees featuring Wande Coal]

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