Will Ibiyemi, Bez, CON.Tra.diction, Ese Peters, Eben And Others Ever Really Blow?

By Chris Ihidero

A couple of years ago, I sat in stunned silence as a young lady sang her heart out on one of the auditions for West Africa Idol. After suffering through many wannabe singers doing their utmost best to confirm my long-held belief that friends and families of a lot of people who go for singing competition auditions deserve to be lined up by a wall and pelted with soft tomatoes and hard-boiled rotten eggs. How could they be so callous and not forcefully refrain these characters from coming to the public and exhibiting this idiocy? They couldn’t bolt the doors; tie them to a NEPA pole or something?! The young lady’s rendition of Aretha Franklin’s ‘Natural Woman’ was soulful and she connected with the mood of the song splendidly. The texture of her voice so suited the song that, if you closed your eyes for a minute, you may actually have thought that you were listening to the original. I was so sure the judges would unanimously declare her more than fit for the next round of auditions. You can imagine my shock when they said they were sorry but she wasn’t going through: ‘YOU MUST BE KIDDING ME!‘ I screamed at the television. I immediately concluded that Nene had a bad case of PMS; Dede Mabiaku had smoked a super-jumbo size joint that morning and Dan Forster hadn’t taken whatever he used to take every morning that gave him the strength to scream ‘Ariyariyaaa’ endlessly on his show on Cool FM.  Years later, Ibiyemi would emerge on the Nigerian music scene as a soulful singer, after many of those chosen during that audition had found their rightful place in musical nonexistence.

When we talk about new Nigerian music nowadays, we tend to focus largely on the success of Hip Hop, Pop, Rap and R&B. Outside these genres however; many Nigerian artistes are doing great works that deserve our attention. Their stories do not often make major headlines; they do not headline major concerts and they don’t get signed as ambassadors of major brands, yet the difference and divergence they provide is perhaps more indicative of the true growth of new music in Nigeria. Guys like Age Beeka, Bez, Etcetera, Fadabasi, Ese Peters, Threadstone, Sista Soul, Ibiyemi, Nikki Laoye, GT the Guitarman, Jeremiah Gyang, Con.Tra.Diction, Christine, Eben etc defeat easy classifications but we may agree that their different sounds provide an alternative to popular brands of new Nigerian music listed above. To be clear; while the kinds of music these guys make appeal to me, I do not subscribe to the notion that there’s something called ‘real’ music, therefore, I do not think that these artistes are doing ‘better’ music compared with their Hip-Hop and Rap counterparts. I am fascinated by the difference they bring to the music scene in Nigeria and I’m equally afraid that we may not have a big enough audience for their kinds of music in Nigeria at the moment.

While thinking about this some days ago, it occurred to me that the way marketing and distribution of music works in this country at the moment, these guys are a hard sell. What Alaba Market distributor wants to pick up an album without owanbe-like dance tracks, weddings songs or club-bangers? What brand wants to hold a concert of soft rock or artistes or soul singers? While I know that there’s an audience for every type of music, I wonder if these audiences are of a commercially viable quantity. Since record labels are dead and we do not have concert venues that generate their own programmes, to whom does the ‘alternative’ artiste turn to for the much needed collaboration that will  get the music to its audience, even if it is a niche one, and bring forth success? Those who are quick to point fingers at some artistes and accuse them of selling out need to consider that fact that the options are cruelly limited due to an abject lack of structures that may guarantee even minimal success. Truth is; if you are doing new Nigerian music, the farther you move away from the mainstream, the closer you move to poverty and starvation.

It is of course easy to whip up Asa as the exception to the rule, and she truly is. I mean, who can explain this amazing young woman’s success? Yes, we all probably knew as early as 2004 that there was something special about her but how do we explain her commercial success, both at home and abroad? Who ever thought that her brand of music could go this far in Nigeria? Till date, no one has successfully explained to me why Asa is as successful as she is. Some have called it a freak occurrence, which is a safe assumption. Others have said hard work but I know too many hardworking yet ‘unsuccessful’ artistes. Yet, others have said talent; take a look at the list of artistes above and tell me who amongst them is untalented. Some others have even said luck, but I do not believe in luck. We probably will never know but I have loved her since that faithful evening in 2004 when I watched her perform with a travelling French band at the Arts Theatre of the University of Ibadan.

It certainly would be preposterous of anyone to think that commercial viability is the hallmark of every artiste’s musical journey. Material desires are not the raison d’être of a career in music for many artistes, contrary to what many of us may think. I just wish that these new Nigerian artistes would be in a position of power to make that choice and not have to make it because the situation in this country has forced them to do so.

*Ihidero is a Lagos-based writer and filmmaker