"Sexy Mama" is a song recorded by Nigerian singer

Iyanya Iyanya Onoyom Mbuk (born 31 October 1986), better known as Iyanya, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Calabar, he rose to fame after winning the first season of ''Project Fame West Africa''. In 2009, Iyanya released his de ...

featuring

Wizkid Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (born 16 July 1990), better known as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Born in the Ojuelegba suburb of Surulere, Lagos, Wizkid is a voice in the emerging Afrobeats movement. His music is a blend of Afrobea ...

for the former's second studio album, ''

Desire Desires are states of mind that are expressed by terms like "wanting", "wishing", "longing" or "craving". A great variety of features is commonly associated with desires. They are seen as propositional attitudes towards conceivable states of affa ...

'' (2013). It was issued to digital retailers as the album's fifth single on 6 February 2013, coinciding with the release of the parent album, through his label Made Men Music Group. Written by both of the two musicians, "Sexy Mama" was solely produced by D'Tunes. It is a

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

and

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

-inspired track that contains lyrics pertaining to a man's interest in a girl he met at a club. The single received generally positive feedback from music critics, who favoured the track as one of Iyanya's best songs. "Sexy Mama" peaked at number one on Nigeria's "Official Naija Top Ten Chart", compiled by MTV Base. An accompanying music video was released on 26 April 2013 and features both of the artists performing the song and choreography amidst a white backdrop. The use of special effects prompted a nomination for "Best Use of Visual Effects" at the 2013 Nigeria Music Video Awards (NMVA). Iyanya has also performed the track on several occasions, including at various nightclubs.

Background and composition

The release of "Sexy Mama" coincided with that of Iyanya's second studio album, ''

'' (2013). It was digitally released on 6 February 2013 through Made Men Music Group to the iTunes Store, while a version of "Sexy Mama" featuring non-explicit lyrics was released exactly one month later on 6 March. A

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

and

-inspired track, "Sexy Mama" was written by both Iyanya and Wizkid, while its production was handled by D'Tunes. Its lyrics revolve around a male protagonist developing interest in a woman he met at a dance club. Wizkid joyfully sings: "Girl your dance makes me crazy / I'm feeling your sexy waist / And this is still the baseline".

Reception

"Sexy Mama" received a positive response from music critics. Joey Akan from ''Pulse'' called it one of Iyanya's best songs to date, while ''Okay Africa''s Jacob Roberts-Mensah described it as one of "Nigeria's most infectious dance ballads". Similarly, Qazim Quedy from 360 Nobs declared it an "amazing track" and a "wonderful listen". On Nigeria's "Official Naija Top Ten Chart" for commercially released singles, "Sexy Mama" debuted at number eight on the list, for the week spanning 24–31 May 2013. It was Wizkid's second entry on the listing, following his 2012 single "

Azonto Azonto is a dance and music genre from Ghana. Ghana News Agency cites their study which found out the dance is connected to the traditional Ga dance Kpanlogo, associated with the coastal towns in the country such as Chorkor, James Town, ...

". After spending nearly two months on the chart compiled by MTV Base, it reached the top position on 26 July of the same year.

Promotion

An accompanying music video for "Sexy Mama" was released on 26 April 2013 through Iyanya's official

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 ...

account and later appeared on his verified

Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

account on 16 October 2013. The visual commences with the two artists standing in front of a white backdrop while several female dancers appear sporadically through the use of digital and animated effects. Because of this, the video itself was nominated at the 2013 Nigeria Music Video Awards (NMVA) for the "Best Use of Visual Effects" category, but lost to

Sound Sultan Sound Sultan (born Olanrewaju Abdul-Ganiu Fasasi; November 27, 1976 – July 11, 2021) was a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, comedian, and recording artist. He was regarded as one of the pacesetters of modern hip hop music, hip hop ...

's video for "Natural Something". At a 2014 special event promoting

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's new line of

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s, the singer performed "Sexy Mama" and "Away" on a blue lit dance floor. During the Music Festival Lagos 2015, held in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, Nigeria, Iyanya performed "Sexy Mama" as well as "Gift" and " Flavor".

Accolades

Track listing

Charts

References

External links

* {{Wizkid 2013 singles 2013 songs Dancehall songs Iyanya songs Song recordings produced by D'Tunes Wizkid songs Songs written by Wizkid