It’s a hard life being a former star or losing your relevance in the Nigerian music industry.
The
system chews you up, spits you out and tramples on you. And then you
wake up one, day, frustrated, disrespected and down. You look all around
you, and there’s nothing you own. Your fans have jumped ship, your
music is stale, you can’t find acceptance, the cheques have stopped
coming, and the concerts have dried up.
At that
point, it’s just you, your elevated but bruised ego, and the memories of
how you used to be a champion and the people’s hero. These thoughts hit
you hard, you feel like you are drowning, and when you turn on the TV,
there are new kids on the block, owning what you used to have. Walking
the roads you once ran on, and making the money that once belonged to
you.
At that moment, nothing else matters, your
brain, which has been peppered by a long abuse of alcohol and synthetic
drugs, heats up, and then you scream “fuck it.”
From that moment, you begin to rant your heart out, and you make sure people listen.
Eedris Abdulkareem has hit that all
time low. And he is having his fuck it moment. A legend of sorts, the
story of Eedris is one of Nigeria’s most regaling treasures. The rapper
who dominated with the most iconic conscious single ‘Jaga jaga’, once
fought off 50 Cent at the peak of his powers because he felt
disrespected.
His discography is stacked with 6 albums, some of them, almost classics.
But
the culture has moved away from him. The music industry shifts at every
point in time, as competition becomes stiffer, and the law of natural
selection favors the young. This pushes the older musicians away, and
they leave the spotlight.
Eedris has left the
spotlight. He is one of Nigeria’s forgotten hero, facing one of the most
distracted Nigerian generation, who do not care for the gems of the
past. And where he once sang jewels from his mouth, he is spitting insults and needless knowledge. He is attacking his children.
"We made it all happen so you all came back to make money, so show some motherf**king respect fools," Abdulkareem
says, reminding us all of the hard work they put in, which created the
industry of today, and paved the path for today’s artist to shine.
People with doubts in
their hearts will dismiss the man, but deep down he makes perfect
sense. The industry has enjoyed a lot of eras, with different stars
ruling them. And the struggle of each era, created a formula for future
eras to run with and refine. Eedris and his counterparts fought for
Nigerian music to break the influence of foreign content, and increase
the penetration of local music.
If that didn’t
happen, Davido and Wizkid will not be generating the amount of financial
value that they have today. Someone hustled to achieve something. They
are enjoying the benefits.
And yes. Older artists
are disrespected regularly by younger folks. They are disrespected
privately, and it rarely makes the news. 2face Idibia stood Daddy
Showkey up at a studio after agrreing to submit his vocals for a
collaboration. Oritsefemi was once denied entry into Wizkid’s home. The
list goes on.
And that’s why Eedris
is angry. The younger kids ruling the game are too wild. They lack
manners, and would rather not be in business with their predecessors.
But
Eedris of all people should know this. He has been in the game long
enough to know that the culture is one of disrespect, beefs and disses.
He has been cast away from the spotlight, just as he should, and
everyone has moved on.
I wrote an article recently
about how artist should diversify their cash during the prime, and
utilize their earnings to live a fulfilled and happy life when they
leave the spotlight. Did Eedris do that? I don’t think so. If he did, he
wouldn’t really care.
The music industry does not
cuddle you when you leave. It excommunicates you. And that’s what has
happened to Eedris. He ought to take it on the chin, and walk away.
Bitterness is too petty to be disguised as news.
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