The track, released on Friday, marks Terry G’s second major appearance since ending a long hiatus in May with ‘Kolomala
Street-pop veteran Terry G has made a bold return to the Afrobeats scene, teaming up with fast-rising star Victony on the high-energy single ‘Tanko’.
The track, released on Friday, marks Terry G’s second major appearance since ending a long hiatus in May with ‘Kolomala’, and signals a fresh push to reclaim his place in Nigeria’s evolving music landscape.
The single was released on Friday by a collaborative team of The Element, Bantu, and Blaisebeatz.
The track fuses Anthony’s pleasure-seeking Afrobeats’ sound with Gabriel’s chaotic flair to bridge the two different eras of Nigerian music.
Also, the music video mirrors pleasure energy; a sunny beach scene filled with barefoot kids playing football, chasing chickens, and running wild.
Hustle, pleasure
The title “Tanko” comes from Nigerian street football slang, symbolising high energy and balance moments.
Throughout the track, Anthony used proven nonchalance in pursuit of pleasure with women, though he kept staying focused on goals amid life’s temptations.
The opening hook, “Too many nights I’m hustling/ too many girls I am shuffling”, captured Anthony’s duality perfectly, showing his struggle between ambition and distraction.
In “I’m too ready to get the paper oh (Paper oh)”, he declared an unshakable determination to succeed and explore pleasures. He continued,
“Somebody say stubborn/I activate oh yeah/If you go shake bumbum/No delay what you talking about/Eh, fuck what they talking about”
Then, “Double leather no be tanko /Na there we start to craze / Na there we start to ginger” used football imagery to describe reaching peak energy, the moment you go all out and unleash your full potential.
Terry G intrudes
Gabriel’s verse flips the tone into pure celebration and sexual pleasure. “Pop on the waist up, oya craze for me / Shake all your booty, oya laba laba laba / Whine pon the beat, oya craze for the matter.”
The repetition of playful phrases like “koloma koloma” and “walango” heightens the track’s street-party vibe, pulling listeners into Gabriel’s world of vibrant chaos.
For Anthony, fresh off his ‘Stubborn’ album and a tour stop with Davido’s 5ive Tour, ‘Tanko’ is another step in expanding his reach and sound, while it’s a chance to re-enter Nigeria’s changing music scenes again after a break from his hitmaking music career years back.
Together, they deliver a track that’s as much about grit and fun as it is about freedom and fun, or hustle and indiscipline; a balance is indeed needed in everything.
Rating: 6/10
