OK, I think at this point it’s safe to say the dreaded sentence: “Nigerian Music is loosing it’s essence due to increased chart affinities”.🙄
“Your job is to get your audience to care about your obsessions.”
Martin Scorsese
2020 came and went (as it should, finally!!!) but it really opened our eyes to the ever changing landscape of music around the world, a time when even the biggest artists struggled to make the charts (billboard for instance).
Leaving the top of the charts to young, unexpected (and sometimes untalented😫) artists smart enough to know how to manipulate the charts (most notably billboard).
Normally the higher up the charts an artists music was, the bigger one could say of the fanbase; but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore nowadays.
Chart success now is left for the artist(s) with the smartest promotion strategies and dare I say most basic sounding music engineered to go viral on social media without any sort of lyrical worth.
Has Nigerian Music lost its quality trying to gain mainstream appeal?
In plain and simple terms: YES!
Gone are the days when the biggest Nigerian artists would release a song just to be appreciated by fans and media, just vibing without caring if the international world knew about it.
There used to be a time when Wizkid’s “Ojuelegba” or Davido’s “Aye” would come on and without a care in the world we felt those songs with our entire souls and no one cared if it made the American charts.
With the new wave of blending Afrobeats with much broader and internationally accepted sounds that are more commercially viable, Afrobeats has accidentally lost its essence and much loved groove.
At this point everyone makes music that is more generic just to appeal to a wider audience and invariably get on the billboard charts, kind of like a validation of sorts.
Just about every other day, there’s a scuffle for which artists song is going to top the iTunes or Apple music charts and whichever artists gets to do so feels validated and then the struggle for superiority begins.
Chart obsession has done more to fan the flames of ego among these artists and their respective fanbases do not make it easier either.
Does a high chart placement equate good quality of music?
NO! and I’ll tell you why:
Social Media today can make virtually ANYTHING go viral and songs aren’t spared. As long as there’s a comedic quality, instantly catchy lyric or unique beat that’s easy to parody, then the internet will do its job.
Some artists even capitalize on huge promotional tactics and fan challenges to bring buzz to their songs = higher charts placement. Most times (more often than not), these songs are forgettable, generic and sometimes just awfully bad!.
The Nigerian Music Industry has moved past the phase where it feels the need to appeal to the international community and instead should just be authentic and genuine. Ironically our biggest exports musically have come from artists who were fully indigenous and weren’t trying to please a certain audience!
Thank you so much for reading!!!
Do you think Nigerian Music quality has increased due to mainstream appeal or you have a varying opinion?
Leave your comments below!
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