Power Weplayvibes
Tuesday, 22 November 2016
The artistes with the flashiest of lifestyles,
which are generously documented on social
media is regarded as the more successful
ones, as compared to the one who sells more
records, performs more shows, makes more
power moves, and broadens their income
bases.
The concept of success in Nigerian music is a very
ambiguous subject, often finding meanings that
are in keeping with the societal definition of
success.
Nigeria is a hugely consumerist and materialistic
nation which depends heavily on the possession
of material wealth and money. Generally
speaking, a man is referred to as successful if he
has money, and wears it proudly. The CEO who
runs a very profitable business, lives in a
bungalow, and drives a moderate car will never
be called successful. But his employee who talks a
big game, and drives an expensive car will most
likely have the ‘successful’ tag slapped upon him.
In Nigerian music, success is pretty much judged
with the same yardstick. The artistes with the
flashiest of lifestyles, which are generously
documented on social media is regarded as the
more successful ones, as compared to the one
who sells more records, performs more shows,
makes more power moves, and broadens their
income bases. In other words, you don’t wear it,
you don’t flaunt it.
In my relatively brief period in the Nigerian music
industry as a media man, I have conducted
interviews for a record number of musicians.
Away from the basic gathering of interesting facts
for the public, each interview session comes with
a bright new opportunity to dig deep into the
minds of the artistes who come my way.
I have come across a lot, ranging from the
geniuses to the shallow. These classes of people
are easy to identify, with many masking ignorance
and dimness as a strength. But one question
never fails to unveil the true nature of the person:
“When you are through with music, how will you
judge your success?”
A huge amount of pop singers and rappers who
are thoroughbreds from the streets and that have
been conditioned by the prevailing mindset of the
country, would always never fail to judge it by the
amount of cash that their music rakes in for them.
To hell with all the lofty talk about ‘touching
people’ and inspiring a generation of performers.
These one just want the money.
But a select group of acts drawn from the
alternative scene, and some of the most cerebral
of producers wa lyrical about the music being
more about the fulfillment, than the numbers
from the bank.
Pop music in itself is often shallow and
materialistic, hence the propagators of such a
culture will have very little by way of depth, to
offer. That’s why if you aren’t on Instagram,
turning up on Fridays, and making video
productions of your time with seemingly-mindless
model-types, you are not successful by pop
standards.
That’s why an artiste with a niche sound, who
makes money via digital sales, international deals
and performances, will be regarded as being not
successful than a Ycee who only has three hit
songs to his name. Brymo has consistently made
money via a number of sources, and runs his
business independently. But the society will
bestow the success tag on Ycee off his flashier
genre of music. Not considering the facts that
Ycee is signed to Tinny Entertainment, and
probably still operates at a loss.
This is the flawed reasoning that has birthed
mediocrity in Nigerian music. The average
Nigerian pop hopeful has no other ambition or
purpose in life than ‘to blow’. “Baba just give me
the chance to blow”, they say, before being
trapped in a slave contract that renders them
puppets.
Success is relative, and never truly be defined. But
in the pursuit of that success, huge emphasis
should be placed on more than the money. The
money is fleeting, fame is unsteady, and the
adoration of pop fans never endures. The best
decision to make is to create art that will instill a
sense of happiness and pride, art that satisfies the
mind, and makes your creative spirit glow.
Irrespective of the money, anytime you can
achieve that, you have become successful. Art is
success, be art.
We appreciate you for reading naijawapbase, but we think it will be better you like our facebook fanpage and also follow us on twitter below.
GET OUR HOT UPDATES DIRECTLY TO YOUR MOBILE PHONE BY TEXTING "FOLLOW Naijawapbase" to 40404
Title :
GIST: What’s ‘Success’ in the
Nigerian music
industry? | @360Rhymes_com
Description : The artistes with the flashiest of lifestyles, which are generously documented on social media is regarded as the more successful on...
Rating :
5
The show which is in its eleventh year recognizes outstanding achievement in the Nigerian music industry on annual basis. Kiss Danie...