Small Dick Energy: Adjective meaning: lack of self-confidence. Having self-doubt, lacking big bro/boss energy. Example: That guy is such a groupie and likes to follow everything he sees. He really has small dick energy. (Not to be confused with having a small dick)
At 178 years old, Liberia is one of the oldest independent republics in Africa. In many African cultures, age usually comes with expectations of wisdom and experience. In the case of Liberia, though, age comes with confusion, indecision, and disarray. It wasn’t always like that, so they say. Allegedly, there once was a time of certainty, direction, and order. We hear of those times from parents, grandparents, aunties, and uncles. Those times, when narrated, sound very intriguing. However, they happened so long ago that what can be seen now is like a small dick that wishes it was still as big as that one girl said long, long, long ago.
Recently, there have been some social media conversation ignited by popular Liberian Podcast, In the Fries, of Liberia’s influence on the globalized Afrobeats sound through Palm Wine Music. Grandfathers have narrated tales of the traveling Liberian fishermen who would merge the Caribbean Calypso sound with traditional West African instruments to make what was termed, “Palm Wine Music”. These traveling fishermen would play their songs while coasting over the oceans, and other traveling fishermen would hear it, as it was not only captivating – it was different.
From Palm Wine Music, to Highlife, to Afrobeats
At the same time, Grandmothers would tell tales of pre-war Liberia, when it was known as the America of West Africa. Creatives, dignitaries, and hustlers from around the region would travel over the waters with those same singing fishermen to experience for themselves what the America of Africa felt like. People from the region needed to see it for themselves – see what independence and a thriving artistic culture looked like, especially when influenced by the Great United Stats of America. Yes. That was Liberia.
Fathers told tales under the dim of the moonlight, what those sounds of the Liberian fishermen morphed into when the people of Sierra Leone got a hold of it. Tales of how the beats adopted a more afro-centric rhythm. Again, it was different. Uncles then spoke of the sounds when it took the tunes of the Ghanaian Twi language and then adopted a new name – Highlife. After all, these sounds came from a place of life flying high. Highlife gave those sounds from the traveling fishermen a new experience – this time, listeners didn’t need to understand the words that followed the sounds – they only needed to move and to feel.
Fast forward, mothers and aunties spoke of the man from Nigeria, who reminded the world that an African woman “no be woman” – She is a lady, after all. That man is Fela Kuti, the man credited with morphing the sounds of Palm Wine music and Highlife with traditional Nigerian beats as well as other sounds from the region, which would be termed, Afrobeat. “Afrobeat” – a name that encapsulates what it is – beats from the West African region; beats that started with the traveling fishermen over the oceans of Liberia, carrying the country’s married history of African, Caribbean, and American rhythms. These rhythms are part of the sounds that has influenced and grown into the entrancing beats we hear today. So why is Liberia quiet about that?
When You Cook Yourself in Tomato Cup, They Will Dish You with Matches Stick
Big Dick Energy: Adjective Meaning: High level of confidence and belief in self-worth. Does not have to speak – Lets the presence speak for itself. (Not to be confused with having a big dick)
Liberia’s 15-year civil war had a multitude of casualties. Some of those casualties are wasted human life, destroyed infrastructure, lost history, and small dick energy. During its heyday, Liberia obviously had some big dick energy. People from everywhere wanted to know and understand the peculiar little African country that it was. These peculiarities, instead being further capitalized on, were the country’s undoing. While the region was celebrating and drawing influence from its refined arts and culture, Liberia’s internal battles went unaddressed. So, the world saw the country as this big dick energy filled piece of land, meanwhile the country was and still is plagued by small dick energy. What’s even more interesting, is that, in a historical context, Liberia is the guy that HAS a big dick, but because he has small dick energy, he doesn’t really get a chance to utilize his God-given gift.
So, the question here is not IF Liberia influenced Afrobeats, because it did,, among others. The question is, WHY Liberians have been so afraid to confidently step into its big dick energy and reclaim the influences the country has had on the West African region. To be 178 years old and not believe that you have contributed to the political, artistic, and social affairs in the region is simply lack of confidence -i.e.. Small dick energy. And so, the era is upon us, where the country should no longer wish to wallow in self-pity, but to take its rightful place in the movements that will influence the ongoing African cultural renaissance. It’s time for Liberia and Liberians to let go of the energy that is keeping our dick so small that it is microscopic, to rather step into the big dick energy that grants us the confidence to speak up and show up when and where necessary. Not that size matters much, but would you rather be microscopic, or massive? Your choice. 😉
