Musicians should do this one thing for us this year – or go and die!

Twenty years ago I would not have to
beg musicians to do what I am about to
beg them to do for us this year. It was
what they did by default. But times have
changed.
American rapper Lil Wayne marched out
the goof troop in a recent interview
where he disconnected completely from
the Black Lives Matter movement
currently sweeping black consciousness
in the US. The BLM movement started as
a socio-political pressure group protesting
the callous and incessant shooting of
unarmed black folks mostly by white
policemen. ‘What is it?’ asked Lil Wayne,
before adding : ‘I don’t feel connected to
a damn thing that ain’t got nothing to do
with me.’

Which makes sense, since the artiste can
be empowered by society through the
adoption of his music and society, or
segments of it, cannot dare to ask the
artiste to be responsible for a social
movement. As far as Lil Wayne and
peanut brain artistes like him are
concerned the only thing that matter is
what they are taking from the platform,
nothing else.
We copy Americans in everything we do
– good, bad or ugly – so it is not
surprising that most of our indigenous
artistes are of the same opinion as Lil
Wayne. All they care about is the money,
the one they make that is. It is the same
mentality of pentecostal pastors: the
only sheep that matter is the one that
pays that 10% tithe.
But music is not just a money making
machine for participants. Music is the
soul without which any community turns
to a heartless monster. Music is the tree
of life, artistes the tree with the fruit of
good and evil.
There was a Nigerian musician named
Fela. Before he died and even long after
his death he used his music – and his
music was used – as a platform for
socio-political welfare activism. Nobody
cared about Fela’s politics. But his music
was storm, a strong blizzard that only
screamed the good that should be
happening and the bad that is happening.
His music was political, which was what
made his art a political force. Without
the music Fela’s politics was a dead
duck and he knew it. This is why Fela is
today a legend.


And then there are artistes today like
Terry G, Don Jazzy and P Square. And
2Baba. And M.I. And Flavor. There is as
a matter of fact an entire industry of
musicians who have abandoned the
masses to the wickedness of politicians.
Every election period most of the
industry line up on political divides to
collect money for prancing around on
political stages like clowns.
By a stretch of the imagination there is
an extent to which one may argue that
an artiste who collected money to sing
for a political campaign, or to praise
politicians, is a clown. Music should do
more. At every point music should be on
the side of the masses, not on the side
of the very same people that ravage the
masses.

It is time something really changed in
this gaddem country, for good.
Musicians should let music do something
for us this year. Enough is enough.
Every Nigerian musician should do a
reality song. We are tired of the naked –
or half naked – girls in music videos and
the throwing cash around on social
media. We know you are the richest of
the rich already. Yes we know God has
blessed you. You can sleep with five girls
at the same time if you want. We know
you have a house where we can only
dream of. We know the money you used
to buy your chain and your wrist watch
can build all the houses in one of our
miserable villages. Osinachi. Thank you.
Just give us one bloody reality song this
year we beg you.
Let the song be about our stupid
vagabonds in power. Let it be about how
the government always f…ks the people
over. Let it be about the suffering of the
masses, the rot killing the conscience of
our communities. Let the song be about
how our schools churn out hundreds of
thousands of youth corpers every year
and not a couple of them could find life
sustaining jobs. Let the video be about
how local women sweat blood to feed
their hungry children these days. Let the
song be about how government officials
steal money allocated to people
displaced by war and fanatic madness.
Let it be anything but your normal stupid
‘love’ and cash songs.

Are we, the masses, really asking you for
too much? It’s just one freaking song and
one freaking video from each of you,
gaddemit.
We do not have the voice that you people
have. You are celebrities, super stars,
artistes. Speak for us, we beg you once
again, before we die in our misery and
hopelessness, before we quench, as Fela
put it. You have the voice. You have the
platform. You have the power. Speak for
us this year, like Fela did. We will make
you a legend in return. Imagine that.
Don’t be like the fool Lil Wayne, foolish in
the way he disconnected himself
conveniently from society’s problems,
just because he has now made himself a
millionnaire through music and no longer,
in his confused mind, faces any problems
because of his money. Be rather like
Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne’s co rapper.
Step out into the harsh light for
something the people believe in. Let the
depth of your art reflect the rot that
politicians have turned our lives to.
There is a reason I believe that
something will change if Nigerian
musicians do this this year. Politicians
fear the masses. They only love us in
our deaf and dumb form, in our zombie
phase. A lot. The idea that the masses
are uniting with the most powerful voices
in the struggle would get them on their
feet. How else do we tell this
government clearly that we cannot afford
the burden of their CHANGE if we cannot
get our own musicians to lend their
voices to our cry?

We are on our knees, begging our
musicians to look and help us. It will not
kill any musician to be part of this
movement. Do it already. Or go and die.
Waka. Take five. And another five, from
the left, lol. Yes, you!
odega shawa
IG: @shawa_kalakutabooks
twitter: @shawa2008

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