In this article, I translated and also explained the lyrics of the song DND by Nigerian singer and songwriter, Rema.
The song was recorded in Nigerian Pidgin and also in the Yoruba Language. Read on.
[Intro]
Uno, dos, tres
(One, two, three)
Banger (banger, banger)
(P, P)
Another banger
The song starts with a countdown in Spanish. Uno, dos, tres means one, two, three in Spanish.
P is the producer tag for Nigerian producer, P Priime who produced this song. Another banger is Rema’s signature intro for most of his songs.
Mo tún ti dé, láti dagború, o ṣé
(I have come again, to scatter the place)
Me wey be wèrè
(Me that I am mad)
Óyá, gawú oh, gawú
Shey you no dey see say I just drop gbẹ′du, ayy?
(Are you not seeing that I just dropped new song?)
Rema starts by saying he is back again to cause chaos. He then proceeded to say Me wey be were, that’s he saying he’s a crazy person and can show everyone crazy.
Then he proceeded to say Óyá, gawú oh, gawú, Shey you no dey see say I just drop gbẹ′du, ayy? meaning now dance, are you not seeing that I just dropped a new song? Gawu means to dance, it’s a slang that was coined from the popular song 1er Gaou by Magic System, a heartbreak song that we danced a lot to back in the day. So Rema is saying now begin to dance, can’t you see that I’ve just released a new song?
Them talk say no be me be H-I-M, okay na
(They said I am not H-I-M)
You go come tell me na who oh, na who
(Who will tell me who then is H-I-M)
Make humility no go turn me màlúù (màlúù, màlúù)
(Let humility don’t turn me to a cow/fool)
Them talk say no be me be H-I-M meaning that said I’m not that guy, I’m not the main character, I’m not the guy that I think I am. And Rema was like if you say I’m not that guy, then come and tell me who then is ‘THAT GUY’, who then is the main character.
Make humility no go turn me màlúù. Here Rema is tired of being humble and is saying that enough with the humility so that people won’t mistake his humility for foolishness. màlúù means cow in Yoruba but in this context, it means fool or a coward.
Because if I talk one, they go wan swallow me, ayy
(Because if I say one, they will want to swallow me)
Shey I wan good? shey I wan bad?
(Do I want to be good, do I want to be bad)
Shey I wan real? shey I wan fake? (me I no do again)
(Do I want to be real, do I want to be fake (I’m not doing again)
Oya, see wins, now they wan shallow wins, say
(Ok, see wins, now they want to downplay my wins)
They wan dey bully me, ọmọ, I don too calm
(They want to be bullying me, yo I’ve been too calm)
Talk my shit right up in your face, me I no dey shakе
(Talk my shit right up in your face, Me I’m not shaking)
In this part of the song, Rema is talking about how people try to come at him for anything he says. Before, the criticism of these people made him over-contemplate things and he always wondered if he wanted to put on the good persona or the bad persona or if he wanted to be real or fake. Then he said Me I no do again meaning he no longer cares and will no longer consider Critics.
Oya, see wins, now they wan shallow wins, here Rema is like, ok now look at my wins, my wins are crystal clear, like the Critics are seeing his wins but they are trying to downplay it like it’s not a big deal whereas it’s actually a big deal.
They wan dey bully me, ọmọ, I don too calm. Meaning This people want to bully him because he’s been too calm but that won’t be the case anymore. He will say whatever he likes to the faces of everyone without caring if he comes off as proud.
I don do too much Ps and Qs, right now, I go put you on DND
(I have done too much Ps and Qs, right now I will put you on DND)
Keep your eye sharpen bеcause e get as you go move around me wey you fit end up for DND
(Keep your eye sharpen because there is how you will move/behave around me and you will end up on DND)
I dey waka without security because I shuck one ṣakabùlà inside my GLE
(I move without security security because I put one ṣakabùlà inside my GLE)
Ayy, ó ṣe o, ó wà n’bí
(Ayy, thank you, come here)
Even ẹ′gbọ’n dey collect DND
(Even the elderly ones are receiving DND)
Here Rema is saying that he has been polite too much. Ps and Qs meaning ‘Please’ and ‘Thank You’, so he is saying that he has been polite for too long, he has been responding with please and thank you even when he doesn’t want to speak but now he is switching things up and no longer doing the please and thank you, rather he will put you on DND meaning ‘Do Not Disturb’, that is he will make you unable to reach him.
Keep your eye sharpen bеcause e get as you go move around me wey you fit end up for DND meaning, you should be very careful and cautious because if you move funny, he will place you on DND (Do Not Disturb)
I dey waka without security because I shuck one ṣakabùlà inside my GLE. He is saying here that he doesn’t move around with security now because he has a gun in his car, his GLE.
Even ẹ′gbọ’n dey collect DND meaning that the DND isn’t just for his mates and those beneath him, no, nobody is above it, even the elderly ones that everybody respects. If they move funny, they will end up on DND.
Bàbá wọn
(Their father)
E sure for me
(It is sure for me)
My confidence no rely on any number one
(My confidence doesn’t rely on any number one)
Too many solo hits una go dey call me Solomon (Solomon)
(Too many solo hits, you all will be calling me Solomon)
Girls dey chew gum
(Girls are chewing gum)
Because they sabi say I be idán
(Because they know that I’m the boss)
Ọmọ, make I no too talk, make I sofri sit down
(Yo let me not talk too much, let me gently sit down)
Rema started here by cursing out. Baba won is like a curse or an insult to like a group. Then he proceeded to say that he’s success is for sure and is guaranteed and that his confidence doesn’t rely on him having a number one track on the chart. His confidence is unwavering and independent of external events.
Too many solo hits una go dey call me Solomon. Rema plays with words a bit here, saying that he has and will have even more solo hit songs that people will start calling him Solomon. Solo hit song means a song without any featured artist that eventually became big/a hit.
Girls dey chew gum because they sabi say I be idán meaning girls are flocking around him because they know that he is the boss.
Because if I talk one, they go wan swallow me, ayy
(Because if I say one, they will want to swallow me)
Shey I wan good? shey I wan bad?
(Do I want to be good, do I want to be bad)
Shey I wan real? shey I wan fake? (me I no do again)
(Do I want to be real, do I want to be fake (I’m not doing again)
Oya, see wins, now they wan shallow wins, say
(Ok, see wins, now they want to downplay my wins)
They wan dey bully me, ọmọ, I don too calm
(They want to be bullying me, yo I’ve been too calm)
Talk my shit right up in your face, me I no dey shakе
(Talk my shit right up in your face, Me I’m not shaking)
I don do too much Ps and Qs, right now, I go put you on DND
(I have done too much Ps and Qs, right now I will put you on DND)
Keep your eye sharpen bеcause e get as you go move around me wey you fit end up for DND
(Keep your eye sharpen because, there is how you will move/behave around me and you will end up on DND)
I dey waka without security because I shuck one ṣakabùlà inside my GLE
(I move without security because I put one ṣakabùlà inside my GLE)
Ayy, ó ṣe o, ó wà n’bí
(Ayy, thank you, come here)
Even ẹ′gbọ’n dey collect DND
(Even the elderly ones are receiving DND)
(P, P)
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