Music Is Not For All


I am not writing this article to discourage anyone about taking music as a career, but I am writing this article to enlighten those who have already taken the step of determination and perseverance to be the next Wizkid or 2face.

The road to stardom is not a smooth ride. I’m sure every music star can attest to this. Every child nowadays no longer wants to be a doctor, a lawyer or even an astronaut. Music has become every child’s dream and due to this recent trend there has been an increase of school drop outs. The education system is dwindling and not up to 5% actually make it to stardom.

Lets’ transport our minds back to the good old days of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, When we had great musicians like Ebenezer Obey, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Orlando Owoh, King Sunny Ade, Sir Victor Uwaifo, Majek Fashek, Bobby Benson and a host of other great talented musicians. Music back then was not congested; there were only a few spirited and talented ones who were able to pursue their dreams.

Education was key then and those who wanted to become a musician started as an apprentice under a well-known artiste or band. These musicians where well tutored because they performed and played with live bands making them a complete musician. The few who ventured into music in those days made it big and where recognised across the shores of the country. These artiste where courageous and most of them are recognised as legends today. How many of our artiste today in the next 20 years can be categorized as a legend that impacted in the lives of people. If you ask me I would say very few can fit into that shoe.

This goes out to every artiste out there who because were choristers in their churches feel music is the right path to take. It becomes a cliché to hear an artiste these days during interviews saying  that they have always been a musician right from the age of 12 singing in their church or school. Being a good chorister does not make you a professional musician. Also having a very good voice does not make you a musician.

Taking music as a profession involves more than just knowing how to sing or a having a good voice. There is what we call the total package and only very few Nigerian artistes have it.  There are some musicians who need to leave music alone and go back to wearing robes and singing on the altar. Music as a profession is not meant for all.

It’s not far-fetched why we have a lot of upcoming artiste who would never make it past going to free shows and submitting their records to deejays and still won’t be known maybe just their streets and neighbourhood. The answer is right in front of them. Every up and coming wants to be Wizkid or sound like Wizkid. There can be only one Wizkid, another is just a counterfeit. Upcoming artiste should learn to be creative in their lyrics, appearance, performance and should have an identity of their own. From my observation I have come to realise that in years that pass by, we only get to see not more than 3 upcoming artistes who manage to cross from obscurity to fame.

Music is not a do or die affair, neither is it a game of chess. Many go into music as their only way out to poverty or joblessness. But whether you want to venture into music as a career I employ you to first complete your education so that you’ll have a backup plan should in case you later realise that music is not your calling and you have already exhausted all your resources and time.  Your certificate can still bail you out and if you are lucky you might still get a good job to finance your music career if you still haven’t given up on becoming a musician. I rest my case with this closing remark; one man’s meat is another man’s poison. Because your friend or brother has made it big in music doesn’t mean you can also make it big. Find your calling and leave music alone to the professionals and gifted ones. Music is not meant for all.

Image Credit: news.discovery

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