 |
| Nigerian music industry gone to sleep after Detty December? |
In line with the model adopted by major labels and artists, the fourth quarter of the year is the harvest period for musicians, hence it was no surprise to witness the flurry of activities, releases and concerts that hit the music space almost on a daily basis in the last quarter of 2018.
The yuletide period presents one of the busiest in the life of the entertainment scene which translates to more shows and increased visibility especially if you are among the fortunate few classified as an A-list artist or you are able to score a hit record in the year under consideration.
And that is why the likes of Teni, Zlatan and Victor AD were some of the most featured names on concert bills during the period.
So in anticipation of Detty December, we had the likes of Peruzzi, Waje, Funbi all feel 'pressured' to release a body of work even if the timing may have suggested that they held back on their projects.
But as the calendar opened to reveal the year 2019 and we all wished our friends and families a 'Happy New Year', the likes of Burna Boy missed a number of shows he had been announced to perform with images of him having a good time in Ghana surfacing across social media.
Wizkid, who is one of the major content provider for blogs, either with his constant releases or rumoured relationships also announced that he was going on a break till March.
The biggest names were on holiday and it seemed they took the heartbeat along with them.
As a writer who seeks new content on a daily basis, it has become interesting watching bloggers turn every tweet into a story, creating opinion pieces out of every subjective smiley and viral video crafted into a subject of long drawn discussions.
Music releases since the start of the year compared to the last quarter of 2018 has practically been cut to half and this was amplified in a discussion with few colleagues who complained about ''slow news period,''
But has the music industry gone to sleep or are we just greedy and have created an unfair imagination based on how fast we now consume content?
Has the Industry gone to sleep since the start of the year?
At the tail end of the past year, Nigerian artists were BUSY, even upcoming artists ensured that my emails were filled every other day and proved a struggle when I had to compile my Friday playlist, providing the dilemma of choosing 10 songs out of over 100 emails received during the week.
Not so these days and if that is a justification of the argument brought forward, then maybe they do have a case.
But if the industry have adopted the Nigerian culture of 'spending carefully after the expenses of the festive season', then the 'black sheep' of the music scene, its rap community, however, failed to get the memo.
The likes of Show Dem Camp released the fourth installment of their ''Clone Wars'' series on the first day of the new year, which is a really solid body of work and got the rap fans excited.
There have also been the controversial and very polarizing ''Moral Instruction'' by Falz and the LAMB Cypher that became an instant trending topic online.
Added to this, a number of pop stars have also contributed projects as we have seen the likes of newlyweds Adekunle Gold and Simi not only release their joint single, 'Promise', but the latter also out with her first official single for the year.
Burna Boy has also shared the visuals to his collaboration with Zlatan which continues to gather steam, while Reekado Banks has tested the waters of life as a CEO with the release of 'Yawa.'
Let's not also forget American rapper Casanova, who sneaked into the country late last year to shoot the video for his song '2 AM' which features Davido and was released at the start of the year.
Even though the video scenes shot in Nigeria did a disservice and failed in adequately appropriating life as it happens on the street of Shitta, Surulere, Lagos, a neighbourhood where I stayed for close to two decades and can count the number of times I actually saw men walking around the streets with a hyena on one hand.
It still added to one of the talking points that 2019 has offered us already.
But perhaps the biggest moment so far in the year has to be Davido selling out the O2 Arena which irrespective of the various takes that have come in its aftermath remains a really huge deal, not just for the artist but the industry in a rippling manner.
So what happens next?
The argument again gains form when you see a lot of trends surrounding Wizkid that have gone viral despite his 'absence' from the scene or see the discussions surrounding the recent video of popular UK based OAP Shopsy Doo, who erroneously ascribes the inspiration of a number of Nigerian artists.
Opinions like that on a serious day should not even be given a second thought.
But to be fair, although the pace of things presently can surely be quicker, it is not at snail speed.
There is also the uncertainty surrounding the coming elections, a number of artists are struggling to decide if this is the best time to release their songs or just wait till the tension of the elections fades away, while some are just unsure of how strong their content is to maintain relevance for a larger part of the year.
If truth be told though, a really good record or album defies time and season, as long as it comes with a gripping story.
As the last two years have proven, some big artists have capitalized on the lesser volume of music in circulation at these times to score major hits with Davido's 'If' in February 2017 and Burna Boy's ''Outside'' album which had the hit anthem 'Ye' and Wizkid's 'Soco' all released in the first two months going ahead to become the biggest releases in their respective years.
Like they say though, it is usually darkest before the dawn, and projections show that things are expected to get real busier in the coming weeks.
Valentine's day beckons and love themed songs are expected to multiply, new albums are being completed with some already announced, visuals have already been shot and collaborations are being discussed.
The industry will again be a hub of activities and daily intriguing discussions but for now, enjoy this 'spell,' especially if the return of the top names in the game brings more impactful records that will elevate the standards of the music from the past year.
In This Story: #DettyDecember #NigerianMusicIndustry #GoneToSleep
Sharing is caring. Share this story
No comments:
Post a Comment