I feel like @BNXN has been singing about the SAME girl across his last few drops and nobody is talking about it 😭😂
Because tell me why I’ve been listening to these songs back to back and suddenly the storyline is starting to feel connected:
“Rum & Soda” → “Emotional High” → “Frank Sinatra” → “Back Outside” → “16”
You actually have to PAY ATTENTION to the lyrics because there’s a very interesting relationship arc hiding in there.
Let’s start with “Rum & Soda.”
This guy is clearly jealous. He’s watching the girl with another guy, basically thinking, “it should have been me, not the other.” He’s even bothered by the fact that she’s showing the new guy things that used to belong to their relationship.
That song sounds like someone who hasn’t emotionally let go yet.
Then comes “Emotional High”
Now he’s talking about being completely emotionally exposed to this person. He’s hoping that he’s still important to her, while simultaneously acknowledging that “nothing lasts forever” and that things won’t remain the same….which sounds very much like the relationship is already becoming unstable.
Then “Frank Sinatra”
This is where the relationship starts sounding exhausting.
He’s questioning whether all the effort he has put into this relationship is even worth it. He’s frustrated by the mixed signals, the arguments, the double standards and the fact that he feels like he’s giving more than he’s receiving.
So at this point, the emotional progression is basically:
jealousy → attachment → uncertainty → frustration.
And THEN we get “Back Outside”
This one is where I started paying attention
He’s asking where she’s going for summer, whether she’s in Marbella, when she’s coming back to Lagos, who is going to sort her pickup and who is waiting for her in Lagos.
And that whole “Back Outside” theme starts feeling different when you put it beside the other songs.
He says he was laying low because he was working, while she was “out chasing a rainbow.”
It almost sounds like two people who are no longer moving in the same direction.
And then…
“16.”
“You don fly go Paris / You don leave me for Lagos / And do you expect me to move on…”
So in “Back Outside” Anjola is travelling and he’s asking when she’s coming back to Lagos.
Now in “16,” the woman has actually flown out and left him in Lagos.
And immediately after talking about her leaving, he switches into:
“sexy girls dey my city, Eko…”
Which makes the whole “Still In Charge” thing sound even more interesting.
It feels like he’s trying to convince himself that he has moved on and that Lagos is full of women, while simultaneously addressing the fact that the particular woman he actually wants is somewhere in Paris. 😭
And that’s why I’m starting to wonder if these songs are telling one long story.
Not necessarily that every song is literally about the same woman, we obviously don’t know that but the recurring themes are too interesting to ignore:
Rum & Soda:
“I want you, but you’re with somebody else.”
Emotional High:
“I’m deeply attached to you, but I know this may not last.”
Frank Sinatra:
“I’m putting in all this effort and questioning whether this relationship even makes sense.”
Back Outside:
“Where is Anjola going? When is she coming back to Lagos? Who is waiting for her?”
16:
“You flew to Paris and left me in Lagos. Do you really expect me to move on?”
THAT is a storyline.
And now I’m wondering if BNXN is slowly building another album around this whole chapter of his life.
So imagine if these recent records are another chapter of that same kind of emotional songwriting…
Maybe we’re listening to the “Sincerely, Benson: Part 2” storyline without even realizing it. 😂
BNXN, who is Anjola??? 😂😭
being in a healthy relationship really makes you understand why people get private when they find their person. not hiding them, just protecting something that doesn’t need everybody’s validation. ❤️