Showing posts with label davido. Show all posts
Showing posts with label davido. Show all posts

Nov 16, 2024

How Asake is Crippling the Nigerian Music Industry

Asake. Image Credt: https://radrafrica.com

You may have noticed that the Nigerian music industry has been slowing down for some time –we are having enough of the old artists, yet there are no new arrivals from behind the horizon. Somehow, the industry has been all about Asake in the last year. It isn’t that no one has been active at all, just that the attention has drifted to Asake such that the other artists have been forgotten. Davido, in an attempt to save his career, chose to collaborate with Asake. His reason for wanting the collaboration was because “Asake has scattered every place,” to use his exact words. Davido said he was waiting for Olamide’s consent –Asake won’t collaborate with you without Olamide’s approval.

Asake wasn’t the cynosure until the release of his single, Lonely at the Top. That single launched him to the top, making him the most sought-after Nigerian artist globally. But then he released his Lungu Boy album. Before its release, Asake talked about how the album would be in Yoruba and that he is more comfortable singing in Yoruba. I cowered when I heard him say this –I believe his success, following the release of Lonely at the Top, had to do with the language switch –he chose to perform that song in English against his tradition of singing in Yoruba.

When Lungu Boy finally got released, there was a rush for it and it trended, especially on YouTube and TikTok, albeit for an unusually short period. When an album is a hit, it continues to trend for months, but Lungu Boy trended for a couple of weeks only. Thus, all the plays were for the sake of reviews, people playing to rate it. Now, the abrupt silence is their opinion about the album –it is as if no new album has been released.

Most of what I have heard from Lungu Boy is Amapianowish. Plus, he added other elements that made the music so complex, leaving other artists wondering how he did it. He moved so swiftly that other artists couldn’t keep up. Following his success with Lonely at the Top, he became the avant-garde. With this, every music executive became fearful of putting money on any artist to avoid a financial loss.  

With the exception, of Ayra Star, who played around with Comma, Asake chose to single-handedly carry the Nigerian music industry on his shoulders in the last year. Now that he has tripped, the whole industry comes to a standstill.

When an African-American man was asked why the Nigerians are the most successful artists from Africa, he echoed my opinion: the Nigerians sing in English. The question is: what is responsible for the failure of the new album, Lungu Boy? For me, just the word “lungu” turned me off. I don’t know if it is a Yoruba word or a word from another tongue or Asake’s jargon. In Hausa though, the word, “lungu” means an alley or a hidden corner, a place where bad things happen without people noticing. You can, for instance, trap a woman and rape her successfully in a lungu. Furthermore, the whole album turned out to be in Yoruba, as Asake had promised. It is vital to note that while Asake sang in Yoruba, he failed to find that universal appeal until the release of Lonely at the Top, which is in English.

The decision to sing in Yoruba messed up Lungu Boy. People argue that music is a universal language. Yes, but not absolutely. English in our contemporary world is considered a superior language –everyone, including narcissists, wants to speak it. If the music is in a tongue that others consider inferior, it explains why its reception has been frosty. The success of any artist globally comes only if he is supported by the Western world, the storeroom of the English language. It isn’t by design but what Asake has done is to get the Nigerian music industry befuddled. 

Jul 5, 2024

How to Become a Music Maestro

A Handbook for Intending Music Artists

Preface

Before now, the long and uncertain road to the "stage" had prevented many talented men and women from following their music dreams. A lot of money was needed to make a music album. Only the influential in the industry had money they were willing to sink into the sponsorship of music projects. You had to be discovered by these influential individuals within the industry, who would then give you a record deal.

Information Technology came and created a bypass to music dreams, making it possible for aspiring artists to evade the recording companies. Information Technology brought software that integrates a complete music "band" into a computer that one can carry in a knapsack. What's more? If you don't have a computer, there is a chance the boy next door, or a classmate, has it and knows how to operate it.

As a result, making music has become so cheap and affordable for anyone who has the talent.

With a bypass available, interests in music careers soared remarkably. Nevertheless, not all ambitious folks take the time to study the rules and techniques that are fundamental for a successful music career. In the end, dreams are broken with frustration setting in.

Late Jamaican songwriter and singer, Bob Marley, once said, "Some people know it, but they can't do it". He was referring to people who have musical talents, but who have, for one reason or the other, chosen to stay off the stage. Until an individual with musical talent gets confronted with making a critical decision on whether to engage his talent or not, he or she may not know that there could be a mountain of reasons capable of preventing one from venturing into the profession. Some of these factors include family influences, disability due to health reasons, cultural perceptions of music stars in the individual's locality, the music setting that may or may not warrant success, pride that stems from wealthy family backgrounds or towering educational qualifications, stage fright, a dislike for the odyssey that music profession involves, etc.

It is difficult for one who has lived out a successful music career to think about writing a book that teaches people how to make music. Such an effort would appear trifling to him. The second reason is that he would have taught members of his band, nevertheless! This is because, during rehearsals, a music artist teaches his band members what to play to achieve what he has conceived would be a chart-topping hit. His band includes instrumentalists and support vocalists. Often, these persons go on to become established solo artists as a result of the experience gained from working with a talented person.

Jesus once gave a parable about a rich man who gave his servants business capitals before travelling. The wise among them invested what the master had given them and generated more wealth, while the unwise dug the ground and buried what the master had given him. When the master returned, he scolded the unwise servant for his lack of productivity. I strongly feel that talent comes from God, and is meant to be used. If one were to be a saint but refused to use his God-given ability while on earth, it would be the sole reason why God would not be pleased with him. I decided to write this music guide because I felt uncomfortable, living with an idea and not using it.

The content of this book is merely a simple approach to music-making as it has been from time immemorial when early humans could make music by just the revelation that came naturally. The music principles, as presented here, are the same as those of gifted musicians who never had advanced education. People with this level of musical understanding have, nonetheless, produced some of the greatest songs ever made in the history of mankind. This is the reason why, I believe, the book will help many who have talent, but who have, for some reason, failed to realize the significance of certain facts that should make their music acceptable and successful.

Some musicians are remarkably successful, while others have modest success. If one can critically compare the works of these categories of artists, he would be able to discover the differences between them. These differences are responsible for the differences in successes, as I discovered. My study cuts across several music genres (and subgenres) in pop and revealed that the principles of making music remain the same, with the differences being the cultural influences from which the genres find their roots.

In general, the revelation that followed my study showed that successful musicians are masters of the different bits that make superior music: the ability to spontaneously identify a personal experience that can be translated into a good song, the ability to write a good song, the ability to discover a suitable melody, the mastery and creative use of instruments … 

When music-making follows these steps, the maker finds that he enjoys making good music for the sake of it. He feels fulfilled by just the fact that it provides him or her to opportunity to use his potential fully.

Some people never find the opportunity to use their potential fully. Based on my experience, this is part of the reason why some people don't find joy in life. They may not know that they are victims of this and that it is responsible for their inability to find full joy in life. The moment somebody finds satisfaction from the mere fact that he has discovered the opportunity to use his gift fully, he is undoubtedly on his way to greatness and money and fame will, no doubt, follow.

The principles discussed in this book are those that many already know, but, at the same time, many don't know them, despite having the potential. This book is aimed, primarily, at the latter group. Those who know them can still find the book interesting, as it will provide a different perspective on the subject. Some individuals love collecting books in areas of interest or in areas in which they are experts. This, I believe, is a material that can enrich their collections of music books.


Buy the ebook edition here:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004H4XQAQ 

Buy the paperback edition here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTDRCLL4

Yiro Abari Pede

 

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