Of a truth, we are what we consume. In fact, the quality of any individual’s output is first determined by what he or she must have taken in. To become a good product, a man must guard his heart with all diligence at all times. Failure to do so will simply give room for bad output. In the days of old, a great deal of decency existed in our society. At least, back then, theirs was tagged a sane clime. From the world of fashion, sport, media and what have you – they were all fit for public consumption.
Today, the fabrics of decency has been discarded with. According to a report dated 17-2020. Isaac Herron, a writer for the Youth time magazine, he described “music as the blueprint and fabric of global culture”. Music is such a huge factor. At the very least, it a medium of making huge sales and gaining massive followership.
According to Listverve.com, “music and its effect on the brain is a fascinating relationship”. That perhaps explain why the lyrics of the song “Sweet mother” remains relevant even up till this day.
Right now, this jet generation is not so much interested in a decent song rather, the focus is on sound and all manner of gutter lyrics. How we got here seems so much like a mystery. I recently watched a short video clip on a friend’s phone. A young girl of about five or six years was wriggling her waist seductively to a song by one Naira Marley. The Lyrics of the said song directly demeaned the female gender as it referred to them as “Awon omo suck away”. As I watched closely at the video, all I could see was a young innocent girl unknowingly rejoicing at something very sinister. What more, she was clad in one of those provocative kill-me-now cloths.
There are of course so many other songs on the Nigeria entertainment space with very demeaning lyrics and with deep corruptible capabilities. How then did we get here? Ultimately, it is very easy to blame others for whatever troubles we have. Some ascribed the current status quo to the influence of the Western world. But in truth, it is a collective fault which perhaps draws her root from defected family structures.
Often times, it has been found that a child who grew up in a broken home is more prone to regard love as trash. Late Tupac corroborated this line of thought when he totally rubbished his dad in a song. About his dad, he referred to him as a “coward”. That song of his was a big hit but then, the message therein does not establish worthy virtues. Overtime, listeners of foul songs begin to act out what they hear.
Take for instance, the story of Bro. Shola. He had in the year 2010 gone to a barbers shop down the street to have his hair trimmed. It was while at the shop that he heard about the Zulezu boys. Afterwards, he fell in love with the “kerewa” track. In the year that followed, Bro. Shola was in the news for raping a minor. While there may be other factors responsible for his abominable act, we cannot exonerate the impact of bad music.
Beyond the negative effect of unhealthy song lyrics, the government must at all times seek to regulate and if need be prosecute artist with low life intent. At least, this will in a way help to filter and make available for a flourishing and decent society. I for one will never support any music that asks our ladies to go naked just for the sake of doing music.
If the Sunny Ade’s,Late. Dan Maraya Jos, Osita Osadebe, Onyeka Nwenu and others can do good music without polluting the minds of others, what excuse does this generation have?
– Olayinka Kayode Kingsley
Email contact: olayinkakayodekingsley@gmail.com
