“I worked for the betterment of my family and for the betterment of everyone, my immediate environment. And then hopefully that betterment of my immediate environment – it just flows on like a virus.
That was what Burna Boy says as he provides context to the meaning of the lines, “Been dey answer them yes sir/ Now na me dem dey answer yes sir” in his Anybody single.
He explains: “At some point in my life, I used to answer someone like, yes sir. And then at some point, it switched up and then they answer me like that.” But that was never what he works for, says he during a sat down with Genius.
Anybody is one of the most widely recognised songs off of Burna Boy’s African Giant album. The track is a global hit that even John Elton has admitted is one of his current favourites. The song has garnered nearly eight million views on YouTube since its 13 June 2019 publishing on the music sharing website.
It’s no brainer then that Genius wanted the star to explain the inspiration behind the song and the meanings of the lyrics.
On the inspiration for his music, says: “My music is basically influenced by my environment and any environment that I find myself in. Culture, Life. And Death.
And speaking of Anybody, a song delivered in the Afrofusion style. Burna Boy explains that the song has the Afrobeat as its base and “a fusion of every other thing on top of it.”
That was when he then goes to break down the meanings of the Anybody lyrics, verse by verse, refrain by the chorus. Be prepared to hear things like his ancestors and his search to discover “who I am, my purpose and my power.”
And that’s when Burna Boy explains that he did not work to be answered yes sir, but rather for the betterment of his immediate environment and the society at large.
Burna Boy also explains the meaning of the chorus, “Anybody, wey no want to soji/ Anybody, wey no dey carry body/ Nack am something, ah ah / Nack am something /To ba ta fele, fele Nack am something” as follows:
“Anybody that’s not waking up…doing the best they can, it’s like if (they) don’t get smacked in the head by someone, (they) get smacked in the head by life.”
Check out the rest of the meanings of the song Anybody below:
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