“4999” Tiwa Savage song in honour of Fela Kuti “49 sitting, 99 standing”

“4999” Tiwa Savage song takes it back to the ’70s in honour of the pioneer of Afrobeat late Fela Kuti. Tiwa Savage sends it home with a mesmerizing African hairstyle on her music video “4999” which was released on the 5th of September 2019. 

4999! It’s the new 49-99. The 49-99 that Fela Kuti presented in his 1978 song “49 sitting, 99 standing” has now become 4999 under Tiwa Savage. 4999 is the new 49-99, the widespread poverty that continues to consume the land. 4999 is 49-99 on repeat. 4999 is what many Nigerians see when we look at the state of the country today. 4999 is what we feel when we see rampant corruption and nepotism.

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It is clear that Tiwa’s song was far from her usual regular song to entertain the audience but “4999” strikes through her soul as she was inspired by the late Fela Kuti 70’s song “Shuffering and Shmiling”. The video shows Tiwa sitting down while the other young ladies behind her are all standing.

In an interview, Tiwa stated “’49-99′ is a term coined from the hard life many Nigerians go through,” While illustrating  “A transit bus serves as a case study. It ought to have only 49 seated passengers, however, due to poor economic conditions, we often have nearly twice that number of passengers standing (99).”

It’s hard to believe but 40 years later, after late Fela Kuti’s song, Tiwa Savage finds herself reciting those same lines, highlighting the widespread poverty that continues to consume the land. A struggle that has lasted so long and almost become normal life, present in Nigeria and other African countries. It is striking to learn that 40 years down the line, the hustle is real, and the suffering is real as the poverty level rises.