Lets throwback to 2015. Telemo was one of the biggest afrobeats song from Ghana in 2015. The song was played on every radio and every party/event. This song is still relevant today because of its interesting message, it talks about how the struggles of young men in Ghana with respect to women. We would love to explain it to you on Lala Shishi.

According to Gasmilla “Telemo” has two meanings; the amusing side and the meaningful side. The amusing side being “Oyawo kakla yoo, aafↄlↄ bo tamo shito loo, telemo”, meaning you have gone in for a “knife lady” and she’s cutting you up like grilled tilapia, carry it’’ and the meaningful side is “esani ole, Nyↄↄŋmↄ gbeↄ ni ayeↄ meaning you should know, Its God who kills, for us to eat. Even this large sea, is able to overflow its boundaries. In the end my fans should remember that you can do all things through  God, hard work and determination.

“sane f33 sane ni baaba naabu ak3 wye) djee kakla ak3 fo)” This translates ; when an issue comes we dont use a knife to solve it instead we talk it out. Gasmilla is implying instead of war and fighting we should resort to peaceful dialogue to settle issues. 

“oya wo kakla yoo, aafolo bo tam) shit) loo telemo af) shit) eha bo, agben33 asha bo tam) ada nngoo, telemo onn33 blowman, oofu chichi oonaa eko oma, telemo ” This translates ; you’ve gone for an iron woman now she is “grinding” you like shrimp , You’ve gone for an iron woman now she is grinding you like fish from Ada ( Fishing Town In Accra) .

” onye egbo, ost3 egbo aana bo tam) abotia koo y3 k)l)ko, y3 koliko abuu bo 3ha nyafua ko sani ole nyungb) gbe) ni aye), nyungb) gbe) ni aye) yinsh)) gadjaa n33 po 3faa ni 3yi), 3faa ni 3yi) ooo ” Your father is dead , your mother is dead.. You are seen as a goat , you have no respect in this community yet you dont humble yourself.

Lala Shishi – explain the song, in Ga.

Every week, we will shed some light on the meaning of current hits in and out of Ghana: many bangers have an underlying message or social commentary, carried out using sophisticated and ever evolving wordplay – an aspect that is vastly lost in translation. The music videos don’t always unlock the true meaning or intricacies of hit songs, and lyrics alone are not always enough to understand the numerous double entendre and wordplays, so… here we go!