MUSIC or BEAUTY?

“I make music to be a musician, not be on the cover of playboy” – Adele

I read this on twitter once - ‘I saw Tiwa Savage today, she isn’t even fine…’ seriously? I am confused. I thought we are after their works of art? If you want beautiful celebrities you can lust after or get obsessed with please go watch American’s next top model or any fashion television network.

This generation is so messed up with shallow people, it breaks my heart. Thank God for singers like Adele and Seal even our very own Nigerian Asa who have made success out of their music careers despite their seemingly not so attractive looks and sexually enticing pop images.

I find it odd when someone judges a musician by his or her looks or when someone makes a statement like ‘I don’t like him/her so I won’t listen to his/her song’. That’s how people miss out on great works and awesome records.

I am after music not your personal life or looks. If your song makes sense and I can relate to it or the beats get me groovy, I am definitely buying. I don’t care about your belief or your looks because that’s not what music is about.

I admire Kelly Clarkson a lot for not conforming to Hollywood’s stereotypes. I used to admire Jennifer Hudson, especially when she won her first Oscar. American idol told her she was too fat and didn’t have star quality, but she rose above that and even the so called weight that didn’t seem to be star quality was what was needed for her role ‘Effie Whyte’ in the movie dream girls which was her first movie and also which she won an academy award for best actress in a supporting role. But ever since her recent weight loss, I can’t really say much not with her short and revealing dresses.

But do I blame these artists? This is their source of lively hood so they have to make money by selling their records. The only way to do that is meeting the needs of those that’ll but their works.

Society claps for and appreciates sex appeal far above true talents. What do you expect from a musician who needs to pay her bills? It’s the society that makes these musicians pay more attention to their looks and appear in videos in outfits which leave nothing to the imagination. As far as people are buying their cds they keep doing same thing over and over again. In short society applauds mediocrity as far as it satisfies their perversion. If a musician wants to grow and take a new direction or have a different sound, the fear of losing audience keeps them back, they just think of the fame and money, too scared to venture out onto higher grounds, because our society has refused to appreciate true art or encourage growth.

I hold nothing against the kardashinas, in fact I give them props! People keep hating on them, branding them names like talentless individuals doing stupid things on tv and yet get paid millions. Truth is, if no one watches a show dedicated to these so called ‘stupid’ people living their lives, they would not be paid, and the show would have been cancelled in the very first episode. The joke’s on the viewers. They are the stupid people who have no lives that they have to sit in front of the tv and watch other people live their lives. How pathetic!

If I realize there is a market gap, and I all I need to do is sit on a chair and people would actually watch me and I get paid million, I’d definitely fill that need.

Our society is full of idiotic shallow individuals, which is why every artiste in Nigeria now sings mostly party songs with terribly written shallow lyrics that have no meaning or positive impact and the beats in every song on the radio sounds alike because those are the kind of songs most Nigerians like. I was reading Iyanya’s interview in the paper yesterday, he said after project fame he was doing R&b but he wasn’t making it because no one listens to such in Nigeria, so he decided to change his sound, and to his surprise kukere became a hit.

The market (society) is a driving force that determines what these artists produce. No smart individual will waste his or her time and resources producing a master piece that he knows no one would buy. So until society grows and starts appreciating true art, our musicians would continue churning out crap for us and continue focusing on sex appeal, releasing videos with nude girls, offensive lyrics and cheap written songs. The funny part is how hypocritical society can be. People would complain about the nude girls in videos and poorly dressed female stars yet they are the ones who encourage such by voting such videos for awards or giving them numerous air play that they become chart toppers while also secretly enjoying the nudity but openly criticize it.

I sincerely hope the next generation gets it right and appreciates true art and not long for shallow short lived sources of entertainment because this generation has really lost it…

Well, what do I know? I am but just a kid…..