BASSETERRE, St. Kitts- ‘SHE Deserves Better’ is the title of a recently-released song by popular local artiste Footsy, in which he lashes out against domestic violence and emotional abuse of women in our society.
SKNVibes recently had an interview with the 24-year-old whose birth name is Akeem Manners.
He disclosed that the lyrics of the self-penned song were inspired by “true story” details told by a young female acquaintance who is currently involved in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship.
In the song, Footsy says, “I could really feel her pain because her tears just start to fall. Every day she ah pray to the Father asking for the cure…”
“It’s a true story. She said her boyfriend beats her up. So I said, ‘What! You mean your boyfriend does beat you up?’ She told me yeah and it’s like he doesn’t want her to go anywhere. So I asked her permission to build a song on it and she tell me yeah it’s cool. So she just gave me the details and I just pen it down,” he told this media house.
SKNVibes understands that the song, which was released on Freedom FM, has been out for two to three weeks and has also received airplay on other radio stations, including ZIZ and KYSS FM.
Footsy pointed out that the song has gotten over 1 000 internet downloads in one week following its release.
‘She Deserves Better’ is one of a number songs featured on the Itchy Riddim, which was produced by Skyper Grenada and recorded at Nasa Studio in New Road, St. Kitts.
Footsy sang the chorus of the song during the interview:
“She say she got a man at a home but he aint treating her right. They argue from sun up to sun down; she fed up of living that life. Tonight she feels like going out and enjoy life. Now she a do wanna she want to do, say what she wanna to say, go way she wanna to go and live her life.”
According to Footsy, “how they living, everyday is an argument; everyday is the same story over and over. He aint want her to go anywhere. She can’t do things as she like. It’s like she ain’t got a say. It’s like she moved out from her parents and she gone to live with him, so it’s basically like she doesn’t have a choice”.
He noted that the second verse says: “It’s like, yo Footsy, it’s like this guy wants total control of me; all inna public eyes he stays abusing me. Nobody knows what I go through in life and the little that I show I sure you see, ‘cause if he found out I talk to you that’s another black eye for me.”
In further sharing his friend’s story, Footsy highlighted that because she does not have any freedom, she could not do or say anything about the situation.
“It’s like he just has the whole of her life corrupted. And because she is not living with her family anymore, it’s like they have given up on her because she moved out. So that’s like a big risk she took to move out and live with him. And he glad she getting that type of treatment too.”
Asked if he has ever offered any advice to his friend, Footsy responded in the affirmative.
“Yeah man, nuff advice! I told her that she could take it to the law and she told me that she doesn’t really want to do that because if she does, automatically she won’t have a place to live.”
Footsy bashed men who ill-treat women.
“To those kind of men, I don’t promote that there. Each individual in this world was born and raised by a mother. I don’t want any man to do any woman like that. Those things are not right, because every man was raised up by a mother and the Bible says to honour your mother and father, and he is not doing that. He is just abusing the girl and those things ain’t right. So I put fire on that.”
He is of the view that it is mostly women who have been downloading the song “because many females could relate to it, because that is like an everyday thing and that happens a lot with men just beating on their women and things like that”.
Commenting on the reviews he has been getting about the song, Footsy said, “The comments on
Facebook and so was good. And when I posted the photo for it, that get more likes than the song got. Everybody likes the song.”
Footsy sends a ‘big up’ to his female friend who took the promotional photo with him and noted that “it was kinda hard finding a girl, but I remembered I had a close friend all the time”.
Footy informed that he intends to release a personal music video even though there would be a medley for the rhythm.
“There will be an Itchy Riddim medley but I feel that I’m going to do a personal video because my song ain’t in comparison to the rest of songs, because the other songs are like ‘girl’ tunes and life tunes and so, but this is more like educational for the people ears and the young females out there.”
SKNVibes understands that the video shooting for the medley is scheduled to take place this weekend.
Other national artistes on the Itchy Riddim include Rico Silk, Maxx and MB while Black Fire from Grenada and an uprising artiste from Jamaica called Blacks are expected to also do a song on it.
For information about Footsy and his music, interested persons can visit: https://www.facebook.com/footsy.manners?fref=ts.
