Zoro Swagbag – Settings

It is an odd choice of title, and that is what makes it work. Settings is the part of every phone, app and gadget that most people avoid until something goes wrong. Then suddenly it is the only thing that matters. Using that word for a song makes you ask what exactly is being adjusted, a mood, a relationship, a lifestyle or a whole attitude.

In everyday Nigerian speech, the word travels easily. When someone says a person is “on a different setting”, it means they carry themselves differently from the crowd, calm, selective and not easily moved by noise. Put that beside Zoro Swagbag’s name and you can see the link to swagger and personal style. It is the kind of title that suggests someone who has chosen how he wants to be seen and is not asking for permission.

There is also a second reading. Settings can mean the places a person finds himself in, the rooms, the company, the circumstances. A song with this name could be about moving from one environment to another and noticing how you behave differently in each. Most of us do that without thinking, speaking one way at home, another at work and another with friends at the weekend.

The title also gives the record room to fit different situations. It could sit on a drive across town, in the middle of a cheerful evening, or whenever someone needs to remember that they decide how their own day runs. People who like to keep their own rules will recognise themselves quickly.

Listen, download and share your thoughts in the comments.