Like the yorubas will say "ti ibi ti ire lada ile aiye"(good & evil has always existed since the world was created).there are 2 sides to everything in life(good & bad).in every strata of life that is the status quo.so there is really nothing bad about the Nigerian music industry cos we have both good & bad artistes.(that's conformity,we can't do shit about that).so when a bad journalist(reuben abati) starts running his mouth & misinforming the public there is bound to be repercussions.
NAMES
Dr reuben,if you want to go back to the stone age,feel free.just don't take us back with you.back then it was cool to use real names as stage names e.g whitney houston,lionel ritchie,micheal jackson,elton john,celine dion e.t.c.for your information that is no longer in vogue.that mentality has been replaced the same way the typewriter,post office and the bicycle have been replaced by the computer,email & cars respectively.if naija artistes don't imitate western artistes,who do you want them to imitate?(people like you who will see black and call it white).who wouldn't want to be like jay z,nas,beyonce,rihanna e.t.c.these are people who came from nothing and have made us believe that it can be done.
In your article,i noticed you giving props to old school artistes like KSA,KWAM 1,ebenezer obey,salawa abeni,sir shina peters,orlando owoh,kollington e.t.c as if all they ever made was good music.when you listen carefully to their songs you will notice a lot of raw & lewd lyrics in there.but from your article it looks like you are trying to say it is acceptable because of their names(are you alright at all?).ikechukwu goes by his real name,but where did that get him(he got dropped from storm records & now he is don jazzy's weed carrier).if M.I or timaya went by their real names,how many people will buy their albums?these artistes are marketing a product(themselves).i believe at your age you should know how important branding and naming is in marketing,so i won't go into all that.
MORALS
Speaking of morals,artistes in your generation were really bad examples and were more morally decadent than the artistes in this generation,whom you have no respect for.
Fela smoked weed on stage and married 27 wives in one day.
-what sort of example is that?fine,some younger artistes also smoke weed but never on stage and none of them has done anything as outrageous as marrying 27 wives in one day.
Orlando owoh went to jail,came back and made a song about it.
-i respect his gangster but the last time i checked,no new generation artiste has been to jail.
KSA's legacy is being kept alive by tuface idibia.
-i won't go into that,look it up.
Salawa abeni was a jump off.
-Sasha,kel,bouqui & the others might wear body revealing outfits but they are no jump offs.
Majek fashek was a drug addict.
-nobody is in rehab yet.
i noticed that you stylishly omitted obesere from your write up.whether you like it or not,he represents your generation and his malefic deeds have yet to be surpassed.
CLOSING REMARKS
Ignorance is no excuse,just because you don't understand what these young artiste are saying or doing doesn't make it bad.you are nothing but a hater(get a life).what business of yours is it,if the music is not listenable in 5 years time?if the music of yesteryears was so good,why don't we have re-releases,boxed set collections or 20 years anniversary collections?you are nothing but an hypocrite!.if dbanj or tuface was your son,you will be smiling to the bank on weekdays and having thansgivings on sundays.i think i know what your problem is,it hurts you to see these artistes making money you will never see in your lifetime,driving cars you only drive in your dreams and going places your first class never took you & will never take you.now you sit over there talking about music you don't understand when the government's seven point agenda has not be met,when we still have irregular power supply and when millions of Nigerian youths are unemployed(you are unbelievable).
Seriously reuben,i think you have a death wish.you even took shots at the ijaw people.these guys don't play fair.if you keep on mocking them and making fun of their names,you might end up getting kidnapped for a ransom your family won't be able to pay.
from the bottom of my heart,this is what i have to say:
FUCK REUBEN ABATI & WHATEVER HE STANDS FOR.
you are simply awesome.i mean your blog.
ReplyDeletewitty and straight to the point.
i am on your side.
hypocritical Reuben, that land matter in Abuja is still awaiting your response.If na another person now, you for don write full book.
To believe he even had the effrontery to rerun the article, saying it was due to popular demand.what arrogance!!
i think reuben abati made a lot of sense in his article. for me , i also think we are losing a lot of our nigerianness in the kind of lyrics and messages which our artists portray. i just wish we could be a bit more creative in what we do and copy less.
ReplyDeletei'm not against contemporary naija music o.., its just that they should be a bit more proffesional in their careers ..like stagecraft for example. frankly speaking most of them are really shitty. they need to do a lot of homework and self improvement lessons.