by Isoken Aruede

 

Dear lover of music, I was once like you; top 40 on my playlist and up to date with the latest celebrity gist and controversies.

I also used to say the same exact thing about Nigerian music:

“I don’t listen to Nigerian music. It’s all meaningless and they only talk about waist-wining and bum-bum”

Oh lover of music, I only have one thing to say to you about this statement:

“SHUT UP!”

Do you listen to Simi?

Did Brymo disappoint you?

Omawumi nkoh?

What about M.I?

Not to be rude, dear lover of music, but you say that Nigerian songs only focus on upbeat tempos and repetitive lyrics, but let’s be honest with ourselves; the foreign music scene also get am oh! And they get am plenty!

So why act like Nigerian music is all ratchet and empty when you haven’t done your homework and done your research on the beautiful Nigerian songs out there filled with stories and depth?

The best songs won’t always be all up in your face, so the first step to finding good music is to realise that the music videos you see on tv and the songs banging on the radio are merely commercial successes. These tunes are mostly party jams as people are naturally attracted to simple upbeat jammable songs.

People do get depressed, oh lover of music, and such songs help them temporarily forget about their problems and take them to a happy place where their moods float sky-high and they don’t have to think too much.

Dear lover of music, it is only when you realise that good music goes beyond what makes the pop charts, then you’ll open your mind to the amazing world of passionate lyrics filled with stories, emotions, experiences, and visions from phenomenal Nigerian souls.

It’s out there, but it’s up to you to find it.

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Isoken is an undergraduate of the Pan-Atlantic University; currently studying for a degree in Media & Communication. She has always been interested in creative writing and from the age of 6, and has written a vast number of poems, public speeches, newspaper articles, and short stories. She won the 2013 National Essay Competition organised by the YSCC (Youth Support Counseling Consult) along with the opportunity to tour the U.K upon her victory