"Murder Dem" is a song by Nigerian rapper and record producer Jesse Jagz. It was released on December 2, 2012, by Chocolate City. Jesse Jagz's second studio album, '' Jagz Nation, Vol. 1: Thy Nation Come'' (2013) was initially supposed to feature the song. However, "Murder Dem" was ultimately removed from the album's final track list due to the rapper's departure from Chocolate City.

Sample and performance

"Murder Dem" samples the church hymn " Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" and was originally sung by Jesse Jagz on the reality TV show '' Nigerian Idol''.

Music video

The music video for "Murder Dem" was directed by MEX Films. It was uploaded to

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

on February 27, 2013, with a total length of 3 minutes and 47 seconds. In the video, Jesse Jagz plays the general of Jagz Nation, a fictional character who is on Nigeria's

most wanted list A most wanted list is a list of criminals and alleged criminals who are believed to be fugitive, at large and are identified as a law enforcement agency's highest priority for capture. The list can alert the public to be watchful, and generates ...

. Throughout the video, several newspaper headlines hinted at the general's possible assassination and capture. The video features footage of

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997) was a Nigerians, Nigerian musician and political activist. He is regarded as the principal innovator of Afrobeat, a Nigerian music genre t ...

, and the

Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is the largest component of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The President of Nigeria is the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Army, and its professional head is the Chie ...

. Moreover, the room that served as its main setting featured wall posters and a television set.

Critical reception

"Murder Dem" received positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

. A writer for the website Nigerian Sounds commended the song for "showcasing Jesse Jagz's

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

production style" and praised the rapper's rhyming style.

Accolades

The music video for "Murder Dem" was nominated for Most Gifted Ragga/Dancehall Video at the 10th Annual

Channel O Music Video Awards Channel O Africa Music Video Awards, once known as Spirit of Africa Music Video Awards, are Pan-African music awards organised by South Africa -based Channel O television channel. The awards were first held in 2003 under the name Reel Music Video A ...

, which took place at the Walter Sisulu Square in

Kliptown Kliptown is a suburb of the formerly black township of Soweto in Gauteng, South Africa, located about 17 km south-west of Johannesburg. Kliptown is the oldest residential district of Soweto, and was first laid out in 1891 on land which form ...

Soweto Soweto () is a Township (South Africa), township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western T ...

, on November 30, 2013.

References

{{authority control 2012 songs 2012 singles Jesse Jagz songs Reggae songs Song recordings produced by Jesse Jagz