When are we going to cease this mentality or the practice that only up and coming artistes must approach/pay the established ones for collaborations on musical projects?
So lately, I’ve been trying to uncover reasons why we’ve not been able to produce a new potential super star in the music industry this year and even through 2018. The generation of Ko-c and Tzy Panchak started way back before 2017 and like it or not, I maintain they’ve still not been able to cross that barrier to become ultimate headliners.
I noticed that the very good songs that we get to hear and vibe through the year end up vanishing away without the artistes breaking through because they don’t get that usual assistance that those who have already made it can show towards them, either for marketing purposes (to remain relevant themselves) or to keep the ambiance in the industry booming and show support to those rising.
For those of us who follow showbiz internationally, you will agree with me that this year would not have finished in some industries without a possible collabo between Awu and a big named artiste either for “Yayayo” remix or a new project, or a collabo between Fhish and another artiste for “Anti Kirikou” remix or a new project, or better still, a remix of “Rambo” between Aveiro Djess and some other name.
The above mentioned names of artistes and their songs have made waves nationally this 2019 but you will see that 2020 is coming already without these artistes making major deals or headlining shows in their names simply because they couldn’t get the validation or they couldn’t tap into the fan base of those already at the top just to confirm to their fans that “Yes, this guy is good, or this song is good”.
Now, let me address something very important. Posing in a picture with an upcoming artiste or making a cameo appearance in his/her video is a very temporal measure of show of support and has no lasting advantage. The best avenue of support and entertainment that two artistes can give to their fans is to collaborate on a project.
I’m saying this because lately I’ve seen a lot of such and we come out hyping that artistes are supporting each other, when they can’t or haven’t entered the recording studio together.
Seriously, this aspect of older artistes not reaching out to the younger ones for a project together is very important and I insist that you just need to check next door and see how established artistes are comparing their influence at the top by helping and collaborating with new artistes who have good and new projects in the market.
Here, the trend is that the new artistes must approach the ancien with a little money after which they will collaborate on a song that will drop as a single, or in an album. Not saying that money shouldn’t be collected, or the new artistes shouldn’t pay, of course the artiste that is already at the top had to spend much to build an audience. But what I’m saying is that there is that genuine love that you can have for a song or project by an artiste who is not known and you decide to sacrifice your studio time and invite him over for a collabo, not necessarily a video. How about you do it as though you have foreseen his career at the top and you just want to make a signature that you were with him when he started?
Last year, we saw Stanley Enow openly say he loved Awu‘s “Sidomina” and he went as far as saying he will jump on the remix which they eventually did. Well, that may not have been the best choice of song for a remix, but you see the idea and message it leaves in the minds of the fans is something we should encourage.
Again, I love the efforts Mr. Leo is putting in the careers of Kameni and Gomez. He has virtually gone silent this year just to see them move ahead. There is still a long way to go and I only hope that the strategy is that which has a plan for 2020 and beyond. There are several artistes with good songs that this year that may end up going down the drains without getting that collaboration that they deserve to remain relevant, or to grab a few fans including Awu, Fhish, Kikoh, Aveiro Djess, Janea Polharny, Young Holiday etc.
I don’t know if this post made any sense, but I sincerely hope it does coz kept looking for that bridging paragraph but couldn’t find it. You can share your thoughts if you have any. Thanks.
