Tayo Agunbiade
2 July 2009
analysis
Lagos — The sad news of the death of pop icon Michael Jackson (MJ) looks set to dominate the headlines for the next couple of months. A global brand, he certainly 'Rocked our World' with his "Off the Wall" hits. God's Word in the Bible urges us to "stir up our talents" and this is one individual who certainly did this to the letter. MJ urged us not to see the world in "Black and White" and pleaded we should "Heal the World". He inspired us to see the "ABC" of life and reminded us of how difficult it could be to "say goodbye". Nevertheless we were told not to forget the times we "fell in love"
His creativity and willingness to push all the show business frontiers clearly endeared him to many across the world. No matter what we think of his private life, we can not deny that his music will not remain evergreen. Already we are being told that shelves in the big music stores are being emptied of their MJ contents. It is very likely that pirates would make a killing too. I must confess that since last Thursday that the sad news broke I have been watching out for copies of his CDs from those who hawk CDs on our highways in Lagos. From his days as a member of the Jackson Five to the last album, MJ's work has remained "Invincible".
Can we say the same about our current set of musicians? Will their current output outlive them? What is the content of their productions? Do the creative directors do a thorough job with lyrics and philosophies behind the songs blaring on our radios, videos and at parties?
The other day while at a prominent fast food restaurant in Ikeja, a mother complained that she did not want her five year-old to be subjected songs that focused on sex. She was referring to the music being played in the restaurant which was from the stables of the fresh crop of Nigerian artistes. She wondered why the restaurant would play such music to the hearing of young children and felt that it was in conflict with their children's play area and overall child friendly atmosphere. I watched as a member of staff apologised but the music kept playing.
The truth is that most of the music released these days focuses on sex, money etc. There are an avalanche of videos featuring voluptuous women wriggling about on screen and the male artiste singing on about sexual acts. In one of the popular songs, there are scenes in a swimming pool, raw display of foreign currency, scantily-clad women baring it all etc. If you listen carefully, you will hear the artiste make some lurid comparisons relating to men. A lot of the music from our youths simply lacks any serious thought and creativity. One wonders if it can survive the years ahead.
Does our music have to be filled with explicit scenes and vile words to sell? What has happened to deep thinking, social compassion, and music activism?
The reason why Fela is still with us today in spirit is because his music touched on our everyday lives. It spoke to our social challenges and was able to stir up our consciousness about our socio-political lives. Nigeria is richer for the contributions of Fela. Indeed we can not discuss our music and culture without making reference to his music. In the 80's as a young journalist I attended a press conference at his Ikeja home and he appeared from his bedroom in his underpants. I was horrified and to the amusement of my colleagues recoiled far away from our host. Regardless of his eccentricities and unusual private life, one can not deny that his music would outlive us all. Apart from Fela we have Onyeka, Sunny Ade, and Christy-Essien Igbokwe etc. They have all used their creativity to add value to the nation's richness.
Sadly these days it is difficult to find music that truly speaks to the heart. This is added to the fact that our musicians are also missing on many of the pressing global social issues scene. For instance the significance of farm subsidies issues and how it affects African producers was highlighted with the Beninoise singer Angelique Kidjo going to Hong Kong to lobby the participants at a World Trade Organisation to think carefully about the impact their decisions would have on the African cotton producers. The Darfur crisis has also attracted many artistes to speak their minds and raise consciousness about the atrocities going on. None of our youthful artistes have raised their voices on this matter. They simply do not use their voices as agents of change.
In Europe, we have Bono and Bob Geldof championing the anti-poverty campaign. None of our musicians have ever spoken out or taken up the gauntlet on these issues. Ironically we have foreign musicians speaking up for Africa. As the most populous nation on the continent our name is missing on the list of activist-artistes. This is no surprise as the current batch of singers appears only to be interested in matters relating to sex. In a recent damning report, Nigeria is said to have the highest number of teenage pregnancies in Africa. Has a sex-dominated music industry had any role to play in this situation? There is a very strong lobby against sex education in our secondary schools but the realities on the ground have shown that this does not prevent our youths from exploring their bodies. The prevailing music industry arguably sells sex will nilly.
It is time our pop idols and those contemplating a career in music dig deeper on the inside to come out with more philosophical, respectable and socially pleasing music and less of the raunchy stuff. Their lyrics should demonstrate deep thought and compassion. That is why Michael Jackson's music is clearly going to remain ever-green
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