Feeling the Pressure

A recurring theme arises throughout the novel Purple Hibiscus, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, where a young girl in Nigeria named Kambili faces unachievable expectations and physical abuse from her father when she fails to reach them. Life is difficult for Kambili: she fails to connect with “normal” people for fear that they will not understand her, and she is reclusive and keeps to herself even when she wants to share.

A modern take on the life of African children, I instantly related this novel to the song Pressure by Thutmose. Growing up in Lagos, Thutmose understands the life of an African child and the struggles of moving countries and cultures. He left Nigeria when he was 9 because of an explosion of a military armory, and Pressure details the struggles of being mistreated in Africa and the panic that ensues as military involvement gets more widespread and corrupt.

The vivid imagery in Thutmose’s storytelling helps paint a picture of the dangerous situation in Nigeria at the time. “When I was 9, SWAT team came rushin' in, Daddy on the floor, they put a gun to him,” and “Police on the corners tryna put us in cells, Sirens all around, it's like we're stuck in a spell.” The situation in Nigeria was painful, and for millions of people, it “took some of [their] innocence and burned it down.”

Kambili, just like Thutmose, faced the situation in Nigeria growing up and dealt with its issues for years, as even if she wasn’t directly affected. Dealing with the loss of Ade Coker because of government targeting, Kambili understood the only way to survive was to follow what other people told her to do. This culture forced her to not only follow orders of the militant government but also her abusive father because of the conditioning of her environment.

The second verse of Pressure describes Thutmose’s relationship with his father. Struggling with the weight of expectations, he is defiant in his demeanor “Look here dad, I'm a man now, I know the world is scary, I can't back down.” He emphasizes the importance of his independence as an adult and the understanding that his choices are his responsibility. Similarly, Kambili faces the same tradeoff between following Papa’s expectations or following her own choices. She chooses the other path, to follow Papa’s demands in order to satisfy his expectations and gain her own fulfillment, but eventually understands that she is unfulfilled since she does not reach her own goals.

The connection between Pressure and Purple Hibiscus is consistently apparent, and Kambili and Thutmose face the same experiences growing up as they seek to find their own success.