On First listen to "If You Ask Me" you might be surprised to find yourself thrust into a Motown-The-Supremes era (so to say). This 60s-esque single from Omawumi, the first runner up of Idols West Africa opens with a solid base drum line, claps and tambourine alongside Omawumi's voice singing the hook. This entices you to want to know the "the matter for ground".
If you ask me/na who i go ask?
The matter wey we see so/e tey wey e start
No be me go talk am/e heavy for mouth
If you ask me the matter for ground /na who i go ask
The instrumentation then comes into bloom – trombones, trumpet, orchestra and all. Mr Cobhams Asuquo(in my opinion a musical genius) who btw produced the track pulled out all the stops on dis joint and added a little james Bond theme music to the instrumental arrangement just before Miss Megbele breaks into the verse
Lyrically, the theme of the song focuses on incest, underage sex and the Nigerian norm of "no be my mouth dem go hear am". In the first verse Omawumi give us "the reason for the reason for the reason" why she dey soliloquise. She gives us a little intro and tells us to wait till the second verse for the full gist. Moving on to the second verse where she basically talks about a wife travelling and leaving her daughter with her husband. After which she saw the man they play "strong thing" with the girl - bottom line the girl is pregnant. At this point we understand Omawumi's dilemma a la chorus "If you ask me/na who i go ask". At the bridge we advised to
Speak out take some action/abeg u no delay
No make matters worse pass as e day
Vocally Omawumi slayed, she knew how to ascend with the vibe and life giving it the props reminiscent of the 60s Pop/R&B/Soul/Jazz genre; bring it to a vocal climax and letting us down gently. Rest assured the song contains the background ooh – aahs and repitions that one expects to find on this kind of composition.
So if you ask me I think Omawumi did a good job with this single. It is the of perfect international standard with a beautiful blend of our home grown Pidgin English. Keep it up this way Omawumi and you will become a female R&B legend know by the rest of Africa and beyond.
4/5
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