Artificial Intelligence
Not Allen Iverson
I love all versions of this song
Buju Banton - "Reggae Music Fight to Free Africa, but No African Artist Sings to Free Africa, Just Fukkery!!"
- Thread starter Busted_Toes
- Start date
I love all versions of this song
Outside of Burna (who has music like that in his older discography) I don't expect any of the Big 5 afro artists to be on that level but you do have other major artists (a bit minor) to them that do though like
Falz
Flavour
Olamide
Jeriq
Cavemen
Phyno
Tekno
Labianca
Omah Lay
PoPimp84
All Star
Me to bruh classic shyt. This was the 1st version i heard so im a little biased
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The convo isn't on tier 2 and below artists
From the Big5 we can all agree Buju is correct that's it only Burna to a certain extent Asake.
Compared to Dancehall-Reggae (Buju, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Mavado, Vybz Kartel, Popcaan, Alkaline, and Masicka) have way more depth.
Burna, and Asake are the only ones really holding it down
Davido growing up super wealthy...not happening
Wizkid, Rema, and Davido....their music is stuck in the 'feel good for the moment' box [personally there's nothing wrong with that]
Burna, Asake, Seyi Vibez pushin' the genre forward
Wait, we are not waiting for Shabba Ranks to chime in???
Are you trying to say " who gives a fukk let them fight ?"
Uchiha God
Veteran
I mean, surely there's space for levity? I'm 100% sure that "conscious" tracks exist, but afrobeat seems like a party/vibe genre and there's nothing inherently wrong with that.
the language in this tweet is somewhat harsh, but the sentiment rings true:
as a people - it seems we sometimes put too much weight on entertainment
I do think party music and music with more substance can coexist though
the language in this tweet is somewhat harsh, but the sentiment rings true:
as a people - it seems we sometimes put too much weight on entertainment
I do think party music and music with more substance can coexist though
Artificial Intelligence
Not Allen Iverson
My dad had the cd when I was a kid.. I used to bump it all the time
bourgeoisie tall freak
Superstar
people gotta be more real about what motivates them to do better. for me it was never a generic so called "freedom" song. they had us singing ish like "heal the world" in elementary school, that was lame to me, respectfully (rip mike). it's a lot of people that are couch potato praising something like a "redemption song", respectfully. i get that it's a nice sentiment or whatever.
but for me, i hear people from similar positions as me singing about where they come from and the levels they reach on a more personal genuine level (tldr, gettin shmoney
)... that's always been good motivation for me to do the same, then when i reached the level i have the actual ability to parlay that to helping family, other people and communities. it starts with self.in the end, no one type of song from any genre and nobody in the history of the world of any trade could accomplish real freedom ..... but various types of songs have "freed" individuals many times over. who is wrong, and who is right.
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K.O.N.Y
Superstar
If this was a FBA rapper saying this(concious rapper) or not, the responses wouldn't have been so cordial...... interesting
this is a very cordial thread ive noticed
@Uchiha God
I think music with more substance is the exception, now that I'm thinking about it. The following only focuses on black music across the world (and it omits Spanish/Portuguese/French music because I don't understand those languages unfortunately)
A lot of Motown music was about just grooving and having a good time. The deepest most artists would get is about love, maybe. Remember when Marvin Gaye played "What's Going On" for Gordy and he freaked out?
RnB... Love and grooving mostly. Neo-soul briefly broke out of that tight mold but not many artists in that lane apart from Erykah and D'Angelo had the depth to weave complex themes into their music. I always say D'Angelo spoilt RnB for me (compared to what he put out, average RnB is basic sexy trash) but that's another topic entirely...
Golden age Hip-Hop was the exception IMO. The zeitgeist was keeping it real so being too party and fun relegated you from serious conversations around the genre. Well, until the turn of the millennium. Today, that's gone away.
Reggae definitely has a deep spiritual and substantial backbone. Marley and the Wailers and Tosh and them frequently sung about apartheid and racism and inequality in Jamaica and so on.
On the other side you had rock steady with Beres Hammond and co... Smooth rhythms, nothing too crazy. Twas a nice balance.
Today's dancehall is more violent and/or explicit (a reflection of current Jamaica probably) but unlike in the contemporary hip-hop scene, there is a regular acknowledgement of the OG Jamaica sound by artists and fans alike, they know what they have today doesn't hold a candle to the high mark of Jamaica music 20 years and earlier ago. Even old dancehall was better, any Jamaican will tell you.
Ok, so on to Afrobeats (focusing on Nigeria)... And why I think Buju Banton, while well meaning (probably), is wrong and/or doesn't have full context
Consciousness in Nigerian music begins with Fela Kuti. Full stop.
Now keep in mind there are a lot of genres (Fuji, Juju, Apala, Palmwine music, Highlife) with a lot of illustrious musicians but they were/are mostly enjoyment ministers (again, just vibe and cruise and hail). If you ever seen a Nigerian wedding where money is being sprayed... They made music for that.
Now was the music ignorant back then? Not for the most part. Ebenezer Obey and King Sunny Ade made feel good music, interwoven with a lot of proverbs and good sentiments. They also have Obesere, Nigeria's version of Miami booty music, but what you gonna do, eh?
But yeah, Fela is the one who was able to successfully put grooves together with a strong conscious message. Railed against the government, the military regime, corrupt civilian governments, disorder, imperialism, apartheid, and so on. Had some questionable beliefs about women and what not (they all can't be perfect). But overall, he was a legend, because he was a musical genius, plus he was knowledgeable about current and past events, plus he knew how to simplify things enough to keep people moving while placing those concepts in their head.
And that's why he gets the props from artists across the black diaspora, he unlike other Nigerian artists up to then, transcended Nigeria.
And that's why his sons, while talented in their own right, and are accomplished artists, can't compare to Fela. He had IT. They don't. It takes a lot of talent to put out music with significant substance that isn't preachy or overbearing and still bangs.
Hip-Hop is lucky in that aspect because you can lean harder on your mastery of words and just have a dope beat behind you. With other genres of music you have to be more subtle because the musical background is more important.
Back to Fela. After his death, the pre-eminent artist in Afrobeat (he wouldn't classify himself as this but I'm simplifying) is Lagbaja. Musically close to Fela and actually made traditional drums more prominent compared to Fela's more jazzy ensemble (shout out to Tony Allen and co). And he knew how to mix having fun with more conscious concepts about the new civilian government (Suurulere)
Lagbaja is really important in Nigerian music history and I'd say he's the bridge between Afrobeat and Afrobeats. So what happened post Lagbaja and pre-Afrobeats that is relevant to this substance conversation?
Nigeria transitioned from the place to be in the 70s to the place you want to get out of by the 2000s. The rise of fraud and crime money and the opulence of those who spent that money, juxtaposed against the misery of those not fortunate enough to get out, and entrapped in poverty and chaos that was Nigeria. Music even more now, became an avenue solely for making money. Consciousness and quality be damned. The government transitioned from this thing you could save, to something that needed to be avoided and ignored on the road to getting rich despite and inspite of it.
Doesn't mean the quality of the music didn't improve as early knockoffs of 50 cent and Nelly were rapidly iterated on and producers started to fuse rhythms from legends of local genres with basic fun lyrics in pidgin about escapism and having a great time. Oh there was an unintentional sprinkle here and there about the harsh realism of the Nigerian environment but that was always a backdrop to the fun gbedu (beat)
Others have written better histories of modern Afrobeats so I won't attempt it here. But Buju's comments are outdated... Young Nigerians (and Africans) aren't fighting neo-colonialism.. they're fighting an oppressive world where it's difficult to eat every day and if only they could blow and not face those issues and face issues that come with having money (like too much partying and tons of women and so on)...
Now, even with this backdrop, most of the music is shallow and this is true in most genres because most artists just don't have the depth and even if they tried it would be laughable. However there is a ton of music in modern Afrobeats that goes beneath the surface, when you listen to the lyrics.
And you have to listen to the lyrics because if you're lazy you'll assume the song is just about vibes because the Afrobeats beat is always party oriented because that's how you draw the modern listener. Life is hard enough and you want them to listen to DJ Premier jazz boom bap?
(shout-out to Pre-pre-pre-pre-pre-premier)But you'll find a good amount of songs in modern Afrobeats speaking about mental health. About struggling to survive in a choking economy. About self esteem. About friends and family. About ethical decisions in a dog eat dog environment. It's not about African presidents who've been in power for 50-60 years but for a lot of people those topics are esoteric... What I mentioned is more relevant to their here and now and you can dance to it but you can still feel what the artist is trying to convey and there is depth because it hits a lot especially if you in the grind and the mud. Similar to how Jeezy may sound ignorant and shallow to some folks up there but for those in the know, his music had more soul and heart than that of the average trap rapper.
And again it's masked by the beat and there is a lot of garbage out there so it seems the genre is "all about love" and "is just a happy version of dancehall"... nah Buju. But Buju is a musical legend and he is old so I'll shoot him bail. But the consciousness that Buju is asking for is there in a different form championed by some artists.
And I do wish there were more analytical spaces in the mainstream where these deeper and more well thought cuts from Afrobeats artists could be dissected and celebrated. What is the genre's equivalent of the Source back then for rap? I think that's another step that has to be made so it can grow beyond just being loved by bytches and played by casuals, into an art form worthy of respect in all spaces.
Alright I'm done.
