Monday, March 28, 2011

Skally joins an ever-growing list of artists who have made it to fame and riches by singing what I think I would rightly call rubbish.  And I don’t blame them.  The blame lies on the entire Nigerian populace. 

Most Nigerians do not know why they listen to music.  Most Nigerians don’t even know what music is.  As far as they can dance to it, it’s good music.  As far as they can groove and dance alanta to it, it becomes a f**king classic.  This is the mentality of most Nigerians and it seriously has to change.  Because if it doesn’t, people with virtually no talent at all end up becoming superstars. 

I remember when I first listened to Mode 9’s E Pluribus Unum.  This guy dropped bars so hard, I had to get a dictionary to understand what he was saying at times.  The flow was mad, the lyrics were sick.  All in all, a classic album.  Yet, only a minority of Nigerians know such an album existed.  Then another guy comes along, and sings “Meji l’oyon, okan l’oko” and gets airplay round the country.  A song that I can’t play in front of my parents.  Shit. 

The only way this fiasco can be corrected is if the populace changes their orientation and demand good music.  The more we patronize crap, the more crap is produced. Music is not just what makes you dance.  Music should be able to calm you when you're angry, elevate your spirits when you're down, make you reflect on your self and your environment. 

And to the artists, please y’all can do better.  We’re not saying “don’t go commercial”, we’re saying “Make sense”.  M.I.’s Action Film and Naeto C’s Ten Over Ten are commercial tracks that still make a hell lot of sense.  Because we Nigerians have a dancing addiction doesn’t mean you should exploit our frailty.  Although the occasional madness required (Terry G’s Sangalow wouldn’t be as special as it is if not for the madness), do not do it every time.  There are so many things to sing about. 

This is an official plea to everybody in the music industry, because I know we can do so much better.  I shouldn’t have to listen to Nas or Ghostface Killah when I want to hear quality punchlines. 

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Heyy!  What's good?  Haven't had time to update my blog... Final year can be real crazy!  Seminars, projects, assignments... It's all gon' be over soon though. 

Some days back, a friend asked me why the only type of songs that Nigerian artists are interested in singing nowadays are party songs.  For a long time now, I've had a problem with most artists in our music industry.  But so as not to be labelled with the tag "hater", I decided to shut my beautiful trap.  But I witnessed something on Friday night, during Jahbless's Overground tour, which brought everything to perspective. 

I was chilling in the VIP section listening to music, for some reason I just didn't feel like dancing.  Whenever the DJ changed the song, the dance floor erupted according to how much they liked the songs.  Dr. Sid's Over The Moon and Kas's If You Wine For Me caused particularly loud screams.  Then DJ Wizzy switched to a track, and the screams from the crowd were so loud, I went downstairs so as to hear the track that earned such rapturous ovation. 

When I got to the dance floor, I saw people dancing with energies that I had previously imagined impossible.  Girls became care-free all of a sudden, giving it all out without limits.  I saw dudes that were 'forming' before, now dancing, showing off moves even P-Square would want to learn.  The funny part about it all was that I had never heard this song before.  For someone who usually prided himself in being one of the most current people on entertainment matters in Ill-town, I felt really bad.  A friend told me he had the track on his phone, so I collected it and sat down to listen to the song. 

The name of the artist was Skally (I think he's was a member of the now defunct House of Ginjah), and the track was untitled.  THAT SONG IS GOING TO GO DOWN AS ONE OF THE WORST SONGS I HAVE HEARD IN MY LIFE.  The lyrics were horrible, there as no recognizable flow, and the only thing remotely acceptable about the song was the beat, which was another Terry G masterpiece.  But somehow, such a song still finds it way to the charts.  Who's to blame? 

Now, some people might say I'm hating on the artist. Trust me, I have no sentiments towards Skally.  Infact, I admire his business sense.  He studied the market, gave the ever-dancing Nigerians exactly what they wanted, and got on the fastest ride to Success City.  The music-conscious Nigerians who have heard this song will totally share my views.  But sadly we're in the minority. 

To avoid this post being too long, I'm gonna cut it into parts... I'll post the remaining later in the day :)