No one can accuse Obongjayar of phoning it in. From his recent ’80s-inspired EP with Afrobeats producer Sarz to guest spots on projects by Little Simz and Pa Salieu, the Nigerian singer has had a memorable year. In each song, he stretches his voice to its limits; he can go from a gravelly roar to a high falsetto depending on context, and on “Message in a Hammer” his full range is on display. The song is a protest against state corruption, and in particular, the carnage wrought by SARS, a Nigerian special police force that has come under scrutiny for the violence it has inflicted on young Nigerians. Obongjayar has spoken out against their brutality before, and he calls them out by name here. Over thumping drums, he delivers a lacerating diatribe, angrily reciting the titles of his country’s politicians—“President (thief), governor (thief), senator (thief)”—and declaring all of them murderers.

“Message in a Hammer” begins with Obongjayar speaking half-literally, half-metaphorically of the circumstances that colonialism creates: “Born in trouble water/Every stroke is war/They drowned the ones before us/But we’ll make it to shore.” His guttural disdain suggests he’s accepted the pain of history, yet is unwilling to be burdened by it. As the song continues, he moves toward the present, where anyone who attempts to resist oppression is quickly dispatched. As synths hover and buzz in the background, Obongjayar shifts to a higher register, mournfully singing, “You can beat me, shoot me, kill me, throw me in jail/You can strip me, use me, abuse me ’til nothing remain.” Unwilling to back down, he ends this litany of offenses with a word of resistance: “We won’t take it kindly.”