Written by Jide Taiwo
Yesterday I stunned a friend of mine. I told him I didn’t like Timi Dakolo’s Iyawo Mi. To me it is sappy and made deliberately to be played at weekly wedding receptions all over Nigeria. Plus is it highlife of R&B or another Nigerian song with no defined genre? The dude looked at me like I was crazy. Then he went on to tell me how Timi is one of a kind in the country and how he’s an acclaimed soul singer and all that jazz. I don’t disagree. Fortunately the woman I’m getting married to- who I admit has posher taste than me (she grew up on Yanni and BB King, I grew on Barrister and Kollington) is not gaga for the song either and already penciled it off our playlist.
But then, regardless of how I- just a single individual- feel about that particular song, it doesn’t matter to the millions of other listeners who love it; as it shouldn’t. Therefore, it makes me scratch my head when artistes drop a song or album and “critics” do not review their material as favourbaly as they would have liked. Did you make your music for everybody?
In a bygone era of a multilayer pyramid structure of the way music was written, composed, recorded and distributed to the end user; critics served as the oracle who told you which artiste you should listen to and which should never be heard five metres away from his bathroom. And boy! Was their word law or what? Lord help you if Source Magazine didn’t give you at least a three mic rating. Or if you rubbed the godfathers of Nigerian entertainment media and they describe your material as “amateurish”. (I’m looking at you Uncles FAJ, KB, Mayor and Bob Dee). You might as well pack up and head back to your church choir. The listening public literally hung on every word said and written by these reviewers.
These days, anybody with access to a thousand naira data plan and a Twitter feed can review your music and give it a thumbs-down. The feedback is immediate. And who in this era of the internet when listeners can comment and anyone can be a critic is qualified to “review” music? Who makes these rules?
Now as someone also in the creative industry, I know firsthand the irritation that can stem from hearing a negative comment about your work. You’ve put it a lot of money and sweat equity into producing this “masterpiece”, how dare John Doe say that it’s wack?
I’ve seen a lot of bickering between artistes and reviewers which happens when Reviewer X for whatever reason doesn’t give Artiste Y a glowing assessment. Artistes want the criticism to be constructive. I say bullshit. Criticism is not meant to soothe your ego. That’s your mother’s job. She’s the only one created to love you unconditionally. When you put yourself out there, you stand the risk of not being liked- right off the bat. Hoping that EVERY single listener will enjoy your offering is like President Buhari expecting Nigerians to give him more time to strategize against Boko Haram: you’re just setting yourself up for misery. And I’ll tell you why.
Music by its nature is emotional. It connects with each listener differently. It is not made for reviewers to like; it is targeted at the heart of the fans. It is made to make the audience dance along or laugh or sing. Music takes you away from the speakers or headphones or whatever medium you’re listening through to within your soul and spirit. Fans don’t listen to music the way reviewers do (with a pen in one hand and the other hovering on the pause button to note a pesky line). Each person brings his personal experiences and needs into the mix and receives the music in a different way. The way we feel about music is more about our self than it is the artiste’s. How possible then is it, that everyone enjoys music the exact same way?
This is why I believe music critics belong to the era of cassettes: a fond memory of the how things worked in the past. Everything about the music industry has evolved: the mode of making it and the way the audience receives it has too. I do not have to wait for a weekly magazine to tell me why I should go buy a newly released single; I can cop that the minute the artiste releases it and tell her via social media what I think of her music. Therefore, no one can tell you how to feel about a particular song. In spite of their 7403 Twitter followers, they simply do not have that power.
Of course, there are influencers whose thoughts form the direction of popular culture, but they can be wrong as well. Only less than a year ago Noble Igwe called Yemi Alade’s album a collection of “rehearsal material”. Her millions of fans across the world certainly do not agree with him. And that’s not to say Noble didn’t have a right to feel so. After all, he was listening for himself.
Am I suggesting that music criticism is pointless? Pretty much so. No one person can determine how another receives the music within his subconscious. And it will be a very foolish endeavour for an artiste to make a record for favourable reviews instead of satisfying his fans. The music should be about them. Always.
Jide Taiwo is a writer, journalist and currently serves as the Editor of Bubbles Magazine. He’s in the process of finishing his book, Reflections of a Millennial. He tweets via @thejidetaiwo
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