Lurid Lyrics, Big Money

More and more Nigerian musicians turn to lurid lyrics to make a fast buck, while young impressionable ones lap up the dirty slangs. KASHIMANA BEBA writes on the trend

Duke Orsino, a character in William Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night, once said: “If music be the food of love, play on, give me excess of it….” How true… Some say music is life; many believe that life itself would be meaningless without music, yet others hold strong to the opinion that music is the food of love and that only music showers love. Who really knows? But we all seem to agree that music is food for the soul, and that: “Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.”

But the new trend in Nigerian music seems to disprove the above. If one takes a little time to listen to the lyrics of the songs that young people currently dance to, one would be shocked.

Femi Anikulapo-Kuti’s Bang, Bang, Bang; Marvin Gaye’s Sexual Healing and Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s Na Poi are all mild compared to what these young men sing these days. Yet no one is talking, and society is either resigned to fate, chasing after the ever elusive Naira or maybe they are not listening hard enough.

The type of music being played all over the place these days is capable of poisoning any soul. Many believe that the music being played at parties, night clubs, on the streets and in some Nigerian homes these days does not just pollute the mind but does no good to the society at large.

P.M.NEWS checks revealed that over 65 per cent of young people aged between 15-30 years enjoy music like Dadubule, whatever that means. But those who understand say it means for a lady to lie down, spread her legs and get ready; quite offensive, many have agreed.

Another one, Bankololo, literally has no real meaning but the lyrics go thus: I love your ass, the way you move your ass makes me want to touch your boobs.

Chocolate has no relationship with the chocolate one eats. The one making waves right now is Akpako, which according to those who should know, has no meaningful message to pass across.

A visit to music shops in Ogba, Agege, Mushin, Ikeja, Surulere and Lagos Island revealed that music with lurid contents is in high demand.

Mrs. Mercy Ola, a CD vendor in Agege, told our reporter that this kind of music is in hot demand. “We sell over 30 CDs per day because people request for it more than the others. As you can see, I have just been supplied some copies of it this morning and people are already picking them up,” she said.

Ola added that she does not really pay attention to the lyrics but plays it to attract customers since it is the in-thing among young people.

Bayo Olubode, a student of State Senior High School, Oyewole, Agege, Pen Cinema, Lagos State, who our correspondent met at the music shop, wanted to purchase the latest in hip hop music. Asked his opinion of hip hop music with lurid lyrics, he agreed that the music is both good and bad.

“The music is good because it is entertainment, it enables us relax but it is also corrupting little children. The music we play or listen to these days are too raw and many of my mates use these raw lyrics as slangs, which is not good. But I don’t think the music should be banned, they should only tell these artistes, especially Skailey, to be careful with the words they use,” he opined.

“The music of today is a reflection of what is on the mind of the singers and what they want the youths to be. It is quite unfortunate; as if the situation in the country is not bad enough for the youth,” lamented Mr. Muyiwa Oladele, a student of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos.

He further explained that anybody who is ignorant of what sex is all about will learn a lot by simply listening to the kind of music currently making waves in Nigeria.

“The old school kind of music that our parents enjoyed are much better than the rubbish we are forced to listen to these days,” he added.

Another CD vendor in Ogba, Ikeja, Mr. Henry Eze, said the business of music used to be very interesting with the kind of songs in demand, but the latest trend in music is disgusting.

“The music I listened to when we were kids played a large part in shaping my life. The message of the music then taught a lot of moral values, but today what we have is just noise,” he stated.

“I make a lot of money from selling the CDs of these songs, but it is not just about the money, we have think about the young impressionable children. The music is killing their morals.

“This is going to affect the future of this great nation, I don’t play it in my shop, if you hear it here, then I am just testing it for my customer. I have small boys around me, and if they ask me the meaning of the song, I won’t be able to explain,” he added.

A student who claims to be decent at home, agreed that he enjoys the so-called bad music in the company of friends at school or when they go out for parties. Some have them downloaded on their phones and enjoy listening to them using the ear-piece or headphones.

A parent, Mrs. Ruth Uzor, said she didn’t know how this abominable type of music found its way into the Nigerian music market, considering that there is a censors board and other professional organisations that are supposed to regulate the content of music being released into the market in Nigeria.

“It is a great challenge for us as parents because its our responsibility to instil discipline in our children but it is becoming more difficult by the day. Imagine you are with friends in the sitting room and your son comes in singing a song with some offensive lyrics about people having sex; it’s very embarrassing,” she said.

Uzor added that the music circulating in the country can be referred to as ‘audio pornography’. “We need to protect our children against it,” she added.

Pastor Bisi Okorie of Christian Mission International, Nasarawa State, believes that Nigeria’s local music today, especially the popular hip hop genre, is senseless, not creative and without value.

“In the past, Nigerian musicians composed very beautiful and creative songs to inspire the younger generation. Their music also made the older people proud, because there used to be a lot of sense and lessons to learn from such songs, but the case is different now.

“Musicians, or maybe we should call them singers, because very few of them can play any musical instrument, just insult each other, make a lot of noise about some person in the society, or sing songs that only corrupt younger people. Music, to me, has lost its value as far as Nigeria is concerned,” the cleric said.

Despite the fact that this corrupting kind of music has taken over the music scene in the country, children of the upper class who attend first class schools like Corona, British International and the like, do not really have access to them. Maybe this is because they don’t mix with the kind of people who enjoy such lurid lyrics.

Mr. Ayodele Osipitan, a Senior Manager in a multinational company, stated that his children do not listen to such poisonous music due to their environment.

“They attend quality schools and travel out of the country for summer, so I know the kind of music my children listen to. I love jazz and my wife enjoys rhythm and blues, so it’s difficult for them to listen to this rubbish they call music,” he said. But what about those not as privileged as the Osipitan?

Not a few Nigerians have raised eyebrows about the corrupting influence of this music on the society, but some of the artistes still believe that there is nothing wrong with their kind of music.

Speaking with our reporter, a member of The Artquake group, Mr. Adegbite Adeniran, argued that the issue of lurid lyrics has always been present in the Nigerian music industry. He claimed that King Sunny Ade in his heydays sang such songs. Other examples, he said, include R. Kelly and Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, “so its like a tradition, and there is nothing we can do about it. The society is corrupt already.”

Adeniran said since many people enjoy music with contents relating to sex, it is only natural for some people to hate it. “These guys have done other kinds of songs before but those ones were never accepted. Now everybody wants to listen to them because of these same lyrics some of you condemn.

“It is true that the music can corrupt children, but that is why you have parental guidance,” he added.

Tunde Akanbi, a journalist and music lover, however, disagreed. According to him: “I can remember very well the evergreen tunes we listened to as kids. Christy Essien Igbokwe’s Seun Rere, Sonny Okosuns’ Fire In Soweto, Onyeka Onwenu’s One Love and even Prince Nico Mbaga’s Sweet Mother. Tell me which one of these did not get wide acceptance?” he asked.

He continued: “The contemporary ones too by Alex O, Alex Zitto, Felix Lebarty, Ras Kimono, Majek Fashek, Terra Kota and a host of others were widely embraced by Nigerian families and played in their homes. Would you play music that talks about the anatomy of a woman in your home?

“Would you play music that debases womanhood? It’s just a matter of stopping further drift. A love song need not have lurid lyrics. We need re-oientation. We need to re-order our priorities. I agree that the music is a further reflection of how badly corrupted our moral values have become, but it is time to start thinking differently.

“Asa, Nneka and Ara are all music ambassadors for Nigeria, and they are all accepted at home, though they don’t sing lurid lyrics, so I don’t see any reason why others cannot compose songs with decent lyrics that make sense and teaches morals,” Akanbi added.

Another artiste, Clever J, also known as Koni Koni master, agreed that today’s music is capable of leading the children astray. “I know that we all are talented, and we look for the best way to reach our audience. At the same time, I feel we should preach the right message since many people see us as role models and change agents,” he said.

Analysts and other sociologists believe that most parents have lost grip on their children due to the harsh economic situation in the country, which is why today, sons and daughters of well-respected people in the society pick up their pen and write songs that are not only capable of bringing shame to the family but also capable of destroying the moral values of a generation.

The question on the lips of many concerned parents, teachers, guardians and students, is whether Nigeria can still produce artistes and musicians like Sunny Ade, the late Sunny Okosuns, Onyeka Onwenu, Funmi Adams, Bongos Ikwe, the late Christy Essien-Igbokwe, Mike Okri and Stella Monye, to mention but few.

Like the late Sunny Okosuns sang: Which way Nigeria? Which way to go? I love my fatherland. I want to know. Which way Nigeria is heading to.