Hammerboi – Itohan

Itohan is an Edo name, and anyone who has lived around Benin City or has Edo friends will recognise it quickly. Names like this carry weight in that part of the country. They are not picked casually, and they often come with meaning, family history and a certain pride. So when a record is named after one, it feels personal before a single line is sung.

That is what I find interesting about a title that is just a name. There is no slogan to hide behind and no clever phrase to decode. It could be a love song, a tribute to a sister or mother, or a story about someone who left a mark on the artist’s life. I will not pretend to know which, but the simplicity leaves room for all of it, and listeners will place their own Itohan in the song, a girlfriend, an old crush or someone they still think about.

Naming a record after a woman has a long tradition in Nigerian music, from highlife to Afrobeats, and it usually signals sincerity. An artist who calls a song by a person’s name is saying that she matters enough to be the whole subject. That takes some confidence, because the title cannot be dismissed as filler or a catchy hook.

It is the kind of record that suits an evening when you are thinking about someone in particular, with the phone close by and a message you have not decided whether to send.

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