Can the recent tunes be referred to as good music?
I
feel that I have had the ear for good
music for quite some time. As a young primary school student, play didn’t extend
beyond doors unless on days both parents were out or my mum was extremely
unwilling to be bothered about the little things three young kids make out as
big issues. One of those days when mum was unwilling brought me in contact with
music, I was very young, slightly taller than the TV in the divider but as I ran
pass the noise box to enjoy the rare play time, my ears caught Tony Braxton’s
music, there was something soothing there, and when my eyes decided to find out
who made the joyful noise, I was glad it did, because there on the screen was a
beautiful woman singing melody, I was in love, devoid of sex, pure love for
something, the kind of love that controls attention. Momentarily I wasn’t sure
if it was for Tony or for Music itself but I loved the woman for a while.
Then
I grew to be fond of Music, it was sweet to my mind as it extended beyond the
ears. There was something about Music of that time, they had content, even when
they weren’t peacefully in rendition, they had soul, there was a story being
told, about sex, love, blue moments, pain, joy of wealth etc. The music-videos
further enhanced this, they were matching imagery to the words: If it was sex:
bodies communicated, if it was sadness-the pains radiated same, need I say
more. That was the 90s and music then was imported content. Those sang by
Nigerian Old names were tagged Party Music or the Music for the Old.
Then
the millennium came and Indigenous Music emerged with promise especially from
artistes like Tuface Idibia. There was something in the flow that the first
generation of this class had, it was there: that extra something that demanded
interest. We followed, they industry grew, people came in and industry adulteration
snowballed into a music offering that now lacks CONTENT.
Once
it’s upbeat, it appealing. Check the recent music video, the obvious lack of
content is apparent in the discord of the words and the dramatization. That
bridge is not just there. Apparently, you can’t act out an empty script!
South
Africans on the other hand are emerging contemporary music house, offering a
bit more obviously, the popular songs from that export (apologies for using
such word for a nation) have promise: flow, soul, some connection to the video imagery
and sync of everything. That popular song (even the name eludes me) in their
native dialect is also captivating, when it plays, I listen and enjoy even when
the whole length is alien, but something says-Good Music!
Coming
back home,30 years from now, will we be able to say that-this time was a time good music was being
churned out by Nigerians, except from a
very limited few?
So
few it won’t exceed hand count.
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