(Lagos drill bass meets afrobeats melody. Dark and warm. 8 bars.)

Owambe on a Saturday — aso-ebi tight —

n*ggas wey can't afford the fabric still fight

to be correct — Lagos protocol na serious,

show face looking right or stay home — mysterious

how the city wey stress you Monday to Friday

become the city wey hold you Saturday —

I enter the place, Sinatra cool,

float through the crowd, nobody fool

about who just walked in — presence na the first

currency of every owambe — the worst

thing you can do na arrive without conviction —

I arrive like God send me with instruction

to be here — the jollof na the constitution,

no beef survive the rice — the resolution

of every Lagos war dey at the bottom of that pot.

Aso-ebi press. Jollof hot. DJ ready.

Lagos dey outside. Peace dey inside.

Enter like you belong. That's the only law.

(Drill bass drops. Afrobeats melody on top. Dark and bouncy.)

Owambe, owambe — everybody show face —

owambe, aso-ebi on, don't waste space —

owambe, the jollof rice settle every beef —

owambe, Lagos come together in relief —

owambe, joy and grief and celebration one plate —

owambe. This na the Lagos state.

I watch the dance floor and I understand —

too much pressure in this city, every hand

dey carry something heavy — b*tches and n*ggas

wey argue all week, the triggers

of Lagos life everywhere —

but Saturday owambe, nobody care

about the wahala — the aso-ebi level

the playing field — Beyoncé rebel

when she want — here everybody rebel

into joy for one night, the revel

of people wey earn the weekend —

I see my city and I understand

why Lagos people na the most resilient —

they dance too hard to ever be finished.

My mama take me owambe when I was small —

pikin in the corner watching all

the adults move — that sh*t teach more

than any school — how to read a room, the score

of who dey who before anybody speak —

greet the elders first, don't eat till they seek

the blessing — owambe na the original curriculum

of Lagos life — the minimum

standard of community wey survive

everything — I watch and I derive

everything I know about people from that corner —

Mushin owambe na my diploma, the owner

of my social intelligence. That sh*t real.

Owambe, owambe — everybody show face —

owambe, aso-ebi on, don't waste space —

owambe, the jollof rice settle every beef —

owambe, Lagos come together in relief —

owambe, joy and grief and celebration one plate —

owambe. This na the Lagos state.

(Drill drops. Afrobeats melody alone. Voice warm.)

The landlord and the tenant dey eat the same jollof.

The oga and the driver dey wear the same fabric.

Once a week Lagos forget the hierarchy.

The owambe na the miracle wey nobody document. Every Saturday.

(Drill and afrobeats return together. Full.)

Owambe, owambe — everybody show face —

owambe, aso-ebi on, don't waste space —

owambe, the jollof rice settle every beef —

owambe, Lagos come together in relief —

owambe, joy and grief and celebration one plate —

owambe. This na the Lagos state.