Believe in the lyrics

BELIEVE IN THE LYRICS

“Damn it!” I exclaimed, confused and fed up.

“I'm done with this!” I smashed my pen on the textbook and stood up to go get a cup of water. It was the fourth Waec I would be preparing for. for God's sake..yet father wouldn’t give up on wanting me to study medicine. I have tried convincing him that science isn’t my thing, but he wouldn’t just listen.

“Look, all you just need is 3Cs and 2Bs in your science subjects and a 220 in jamb. I have a friend in the University, he is a senior staff, he would work the rest out for us” he would explain

“But father, I don’t want to be a doctor, I barely cope in science” I would complain

“what do you want? Sing, write and rap nonsense everywhere? That’s not a life. Get a good life son. I want the best for you, don’t you just get it? If not for yourself, think about your mother. If you become a doctor, we'll have enough money and be able to take her abroad for treatment”.

He always sounded so deluded, thinking only the medical profession could fetch us enough money to take care of mother.

Mother was diagnosed with narcolepsy few years ago, a rare disease it was. She’s been dormant ever since;, Sleeps all day and barely talks. I really wanted her to be okay, Hale and hearty too, but studying medicine wasn’t the only solution to that.

I worked as cleaner in a company at Ikorodu, I and father also ran a laundry business ever since he'd lost his job. It wasn’t really easy for us, I had two younger siblings: they are boys, I am the only girl.

Dele was my neighbor, my best friend. Infact, he was like my only friend. We graduated from high school the same year. He's in his year two at the University, and whenever he came home for holidays, we'd gist and talk nonstop. He heard me singing one day and came over to me, ever since then we've been friends. He would record videos of me singing then post it on social media. I used a handkerchief as a mask incase there was someone who saw me and reported me to Father. Father didn’t like the idea of me being friends with Dele, he thought we were up to no good.

“Hey Maureen, you've got to see this!” I heard someone whisper from my window. Instantly, I knew it was Dele, his voice was so.. particular.

“Hey bro, what’s up?” I said, peeping from my window.

“look, there’s a show at Ikorodu tonight, some kind of talent hunt. I know one of the organizers, so I told him I have someone who can sing and rap. I have registered on your behalf. I was supposed to pay 1k for registration, but because he knows me, he collected 500 hundred from me” he explained.

“Father wouldn’t let me out and even if I decide to go without his consent, he is going to roast me alive. Why the hell did you think I was going to come?”.

“because I believe you will win.” He said. I did want to go, but was afraid of father getting angry. Dele believing in me encouraged me. I checked the time, it was 7pm.

“When Will we be back?”

“you would be the second to audition, by 7:30, we should be back”.

I put on a jean trouser, a top and my sandals. I looked awkward but not bad, that was what I could put on except I was going to put on my Sunday dress which of course I wouldn’t.

“I’ll have to use my mask, hope it doesn’t matter”

“Don’t worry, you’re covered”

Father wasn’t home and he wouldn’t be back until 8pm, I dodged my siblings. If I told them, they would tell on me. I prayed I didn’t come back late, whatever money I got from this, it would add up to the money I and father were safekeeping for mother’s health.

When Dele and I got to the show, I must say, I felt really timid. I had never done this before and didn’t know what the outcome would be. What if I didn’t win? What if father came home before me? Then it’d all just be for nothing. In the end, I decided, agaibst my better judgement, that some things were worth giving a try. 

Dele directed me to sit at the contestants' seats. The fellas I met there looked like people who've come to win. It was obvious I was the weird one, unbraided hair, awkward outfit and I was tying a handkerchief to my face to cover it.

“MA!” I heard the MC call.

“That’s you, c'mon you can do it” Dele shouted to me from where he sat amidst the audience.

As I walked to the stage, my face covered to my nose, it was as if my heart was going to pop out the next minute. I collected the Microphone from the MC and was shaking allover.

“why did I come?” I asked myself. Staring at the ground, I couldn’t look up. I didn’t even come prepared, what song was I going to sing? It was a nonsense decision to come just because Dele believed I could win.

Then I started to hear a beat, it was familiar. It was the one Dele made to the first song he ever heard from me. How on Earth he made the best I didn’t know, some kind of courage begun to well up in me.

Slowly I began to sing, then the fear in me grew wings and flew away , my voice became clear and then I rapped on..

“My father say rap is the devil’s music

Buh I told my Ol’ man am gonna make gospel lyric

Do you know how it feels to not have a mama

No one to go to when you get angry at your papa

Am a young girl growing on the street of Lagos

All odds against me as I try to make maself famous…..”

I sang the very best way I could and rapped my heart out. I had a standing ovation from the audience after my audition

“Though you weren’t really good at the beginning” one of the Judges begun

“I must say, this is the most beautiful audition I have seen all my life as a judge” he continued.

“Whatever made me you cover your face, I don’t know but I must commend your voice, rap lines: they were awesome” another judge said. I couldn’t help but blush.

I checked my time, Heaven! It was two minutes past 7:30. I didn’t know if I should run from the stage or wait. I decided I didn’t want to get roasted by father, so I dashed off the stage, Dele followed me, he understood why I ran off the stage.

“You’re sure going to win ” Dele said as he hurried along

“Why did you say that”, I asked

”Well, because I believe that” he replied and I smiled.

Luckily, I made it home before father and goodness, I was relieved.

The next day, I was heading to work when Dele came up to me.

“Maureen, you’re damn trending. Last night's audition is trending”

“Trending as in? What does trending mean?” I asked

“So you mean you don’t know what trending means, ain’t you on any social media platform?” he asked.

“”with this?” I asked raising my mobile phone for him to see. He chuckled and then explained to me that my video was everywhere, it was the talk of the Town. “Everyone wants to know the girl behind the mask”, he said.

“Really?”.

“I'm really late for work, see you in the evening” I said joyously, running off to work.

Later in the evening, Dele told me I won the audition and I had a whooping sum of 500 000 naira all to myself. I didn’t believe it at first, until he showed me his account details, he had registered with his number and his Account number. I didn’t have the latter and my own number doesn’t go through most times.

He told me about a well-known musician who messaged him on Twitter, he said he wanted to sign me into his record label.

Father later got to know about everything, he was angry at first, but he calmed down. I sang my debut song and it was a hit, I made enough money to sponsor my mother’s treatment. I published my first book that I have been writing for a long time and it was a bestseller. Finally I got to study what I wanted at the University; English.

“I once remembered you weren’t on Facebook”, Dele joked. He was now officially my manager and best friend. Sometimes all we just need is someone to believe in us and we take that first step to success we were afraid to take.

Am a story teller

Aj David monijesu