“I want this song to serve as an anthem for my bougie hippies, my alternative sisters, those that just want to live their lives as freely, beautifully, and unrestrained as possible.”
The Afro-Irish songstress Tolü Makay premiers the official video for a standout single ‘Wild Thang’ out of her anticipated debut album ‘Being.’ Born in Nigeria, now living in Dublin, Tolü talks about how a Clarissa Pinkola Estes book ‘Woman Who Run With The Wolves’ inspired the basis of ‘Wild Thang.’
“It talks about the importance of having strong women around you, the different types of women while using intercultural myths to help women reconnect with their instinctual natures that have been suppressed because of how society expects women to behave and present themselves. So this song serves that message as a fun alternative laidback jazz-pop feel. Wild doesn’t have to mean unkempt or scattered. Wild is nature, wild is natural, wild is free, wild is pure”, Tolü elaborates.
After finishing up ‘Wild Thang,’ the singer realises she doesn’t really fit in. “It’s only till the song was complete that I understood this new consciousness within me. I’ve always struggled to fit in because I stand out and find myself in spaces where I’m always and often the only black person/ black woman”.
Tolü continues: “I felt like I never fit in anywhere. I’m learning to embrace everything that is deemed as flaws or unkempt: my Afro, my hair scarf, my different dress sense. I gathered myself with women who inspire me, and I love. Women who have held me and walked with me through new phases of my life (those are the women in the music video). My sister is a content creator, my best friend is a renowned poet, and my close friend is an actor”.
In the spirit of celebrating and empowering women, Tolü made sure the behind the scenes team also had a voice in showcasing her art. Both the film director and choreographer are women. She also depicts how ‘Wild Thang’ helped her in understanding who she wants to be: “This video shows my personality. Lyrics like “don’t you know that you can be who you want to be, you don’t need to live a life they say you should live” – it’s like I’m talking to myself along with others. A reminder that you have a choice in how you want your life to turn out to be”.
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Words: Karolina Kramplova