On Caro

Femmes fatales abound in timeless songs: from Angelina to Maxine to Salome to Caroline, especially Caroline.

Caroline, short form Caro, is a name that has been with us for ages; perhaps this name is even at risk of extinction, but, thankfully, this name resurfaced quite nicely in one of Wizkid’s recent songs.

Wizkid hardly needs introduction. Young prolific star notorious for many reasons, chief of which is his uncanny ability to make hits.

As the song begins, someone mumbles Iya Agba, whatever that means. Wizkid goes ahead to introduce this timeless character with a complimentary assertion, Caro your body necessary.

The attractive stature of Caro has never been in dispute. Dipo Sodipo characterizes her as a fair damsel in his own lamentable treatise where Caro absconds with a white man who also cons her. Wizkid’s Caro is, of course, by far more exploratory. Her sexual appetite is the stuff of legend however. She favours early morning sex. She is a tireless tigress. She gives majestic orgasms.

It is fascinating that Caro narrative has changed. A libertarian expression of Caro which had hitherto been left unsaid or subtly implied has been put to the fore. Caro has become the short form for Cougar; perhaps this is why Wizkid and his cohort kept adjoining their adulation with the disconcerting word, Iya Agba.

Beyond being a wondrous song, a smash hit and referencing old material with brazen honesty, I hope Caro will be a reason for us to start naming our female neonates Caroline again!