They call me Shallipopi
Clear road, nor go dey
(B... Busy!)
Nọgbaisi mwen n'ogie mwen o, Nọgbaisi!
Ogiemwen n’ekan ogiemwen ni ivie, Nọgbaisi!
Ovonramwen no rioba vbe Edo, Nọgbaisi
Nọgbaisi mwen n'ogie Ovọnramwẹn
Nọgbaisi mwen n'ogie, Nọgbaisi!
[Verse 1: Shallipopi]
Shout out to all those squad with evian (sharp)
O re esagien, u ren mwen ah? (sharp)
Shallipoppi, say
Small body big engine, say (see an)
Small boy with big money, say (clear road)
Small boy with big money, sayyy (sharp)
Mr. Shalli Shalli, say (confirm)
Small body big engine, say (sharp)
Small boy with big money, see an
Small boy with big money
Clear commot for road, commot for road
Comot for road na mеn dey come
Commot for road, commot for road (see an)
Comot for road na men dеy come
Commot for road, commot for road
Comot for road na men dey come, see an
Commot for road
[Hook: Monday Edo Igbinidun & (Shallipopi)]
Nọgbaisi mwen n'ogie mwen o, Nọgbaisi!
Ogiemwen n’ekan ogiemwen ni ivie, Nọgbaisi!
(Clear road, e ya mue obo yor)
Ovọnramwẹn no rioba vbe Edo, Nọgbaisi!
Nọgbaisi mwen n'ogie Ovọnramwẹn
Nọgbaisi mwen n'ogie, Nọgbaisi!
Nọgbaisi mwen n'ogie mwen o, Nọgbaisi!
(Confirm)
Ogiemwen n’ekan ogiemwen ni ivie, Nọgbaisi!
Ovọnramwẹn no rioba vbe Edo, Nọgbaisi!
(Clear road)
Nọgbaisi mwen n'ogie Ovọnramwẹn
Nọgbaisi mwen n'ogie, Nọgbaisi!
[Verse 2: Shallipopi]
Say, Oba Ovọnramwẹn, na men
[…?] na men (na men)
Chief Oliha na men
Ogiamien na men
Uzama na men (na men say)
Clear road for my men
When you talk of men wey guard
Na dem (wait, wait, what?)
And me, I be one of dem
They call me Mr. Shalli Shalli
Say, small body big engine, say
Small boy with big money, see (clear road)
Small boy with big money sayyyyy
Mr. Shalli Shalli, say say
Small body big engine, say (sharp)
Small boy with big money, see an (confirm)
Small boy with big money say
[Outro]
Commot for road, commot for road
Comot for road na men dey come. say
Commot for road, commot for road
The chorus samples ‘Ogbaisi’ by Monday Edo Igbinidun.
It is in adoration of Oba Ovọnramwẹn Nọgbaisi, who ruled the Benin Kingdom between 1888–1897.
“Nọgbaisi mwen n'ogie mwen o, Nọgbaisi!” translates to “Nogbaisi my King, Nogbaisi”
Oba Ovọnramwẹn Nọgbaisi was a brave king who fought to maintain the independence of the Benin Kingdom in the face of increasing British pressure and resisted for years until the British expedition in 1897 which resulted in the annexation of his kingdom by the colony of Nigeria.
“E hia le mwan le mwan” simply translates as:
“take caution, do not go that way.”
This sentence means “Ovọnramwen that became Oba in Edo”.
Ovọnramwen means The Rising Sun
Nọgbaisi means That covers all
Translates to “Make way for the King of Pluto”, and in reference to ‘Plutomania’.
Plutomania is the name of a fictional realm invented by Shallipopi, it is presently only known to be accessible via flight.
Note: the dictionary definition of “Plutomania” is, a passion or craving for wealth; an obsession with money.
“Evian” has no specific meaning to the uninitiated. However, in the context of this song: it is spiritual and partly refers to the Chief Evian and the Ogiamen household or caucus, which originates from the Edo tribe in Edo State, Nigeria.
There also exists an ‘Evian Palace’ where Shallipopi has served as an acolyte, by his own admission.
Oliha is the head of the Kingmakers of Benin
“Ma ghi gual'iwinna. O re esagien, u ren mwen ah?” simply translates to:
“We are no longer looking for work. It is in the blood, do you hear me?”
Euphemism for “caution”
A direct translation from Nigerian pidgin English to English (UK) is “be careful”
Meaning “my king, precious as the ekan and the ivie”
The ‘Ivie Ebo’ and ‘Ekan’ are corals synonymous with prestige and importance in the Edo culture. These two types of corals known to originate from a group of the coral family ‘Phylum Coelenterata’ otherwise known as ‘Cnidaria.’
These unique red corals appear to grow in a bush-like formation inside the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Japan, also known as East Sea. This type of red coral is so precious. It is thought to have amulet powers for warding off dangers. Also, the red coral is beautiful and powerful in most religions. They are known to protect against any magical spells.
See image below of Omo n'Oba n'Edo Uku Apkolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II of Benin, in ceremonial regalia made of coral beads.
Uzama are the Kingmakers of Benin
A shoutout to Damilola Akinwunmi, founder of DVPPER, a Nigerian distribution company and record label founded in 2017.
A Edo euphemism for “get out of my way, do not involve yourself.” and directly translates as “make way, don’t put your hand.”
It is usually uttered as a warning to stop someone from starting or continuing an action for fear of unpleasant consequences.
Oba n'ogie simply means “Oba my Lord/King”