There are songs you listen to and there are songs that hold you by the chest and refuse to let go. Duduke, by Nigerian Artist, Simisola, is that song. 

When Simi released it in 2020, the world was shut indoors, everything felt uncertain and people were silently fighting their own battles, praying they do not fall prey of the global pandemic. Then this soft melody dropped. It was a lullaby, a prayer, a heartbeat and somehow, it became a blanket that wrapped us with warmth, familiarity and peace that felt like medicine for our souls. 

The song was not loud. The bea was not forced. It was not crafted to chase charts. It was just honest and soul-stirring. And that calmness in Duduke brought the realisation that songs do not always  need loud drums.

Now, this month of November, more thn five years after its debut, Duduke went GOLD in New Zealand.

New Zealand. A country thousands of miles away from Lagos traffic, Yoruba aunties or the emotions that birthed the song yet the people felt it. Enough to stream it, replay it, love it and stamp a golden seal on it. 

For Simi, this is her first-ever foreign certification. For Nigeria, it is another reminder that our stories, no matter how local, soft or personal always find their way out into the world.

Duduke was not just about pregnancy or motherhood. It was about longing,waiting, hope and every human being, no matter the continent, may know what it feels like to hope for something with their whole chest.

It’s crazy when you think about how far music travels. A sound birthed in a Lagos studio now has a certificate hanging proudly in a country where most people probably  cannot pronounce Duduke properly but still sing it with emotion.

Simi may not have set out to chase global numbers but sometimes the purest songs are the ones that travel the farthest and this month, the world gave her her crown. 

Duduke, a gentle love song from a pregnant woman to her unborn child, is now a global anthem. A golden one.