THE just-concluded presidential election was definitely a free and fair one. With increased relevance of Nigerian musicians, especially hip hop artistes, we have seen a continuation of what happened in 2011 election in a more obvious way. Nigerian showbiz stars are now making huge money by endorsing their preferred political candidates, and pitching their tents with political parties.
It will be recalled in the 2011 elections, music superstar Oladapo Oyebanjo, popularly known as D’banj, launched a Pro-Jonathan campaign and conducted an interview with the current president. The move generated a backlash on the social media, as music fans, industry watchers and some hip hop artistes accused the superstar of getting involved in self-benefitting campaign. Many denounced that the entertainer was actually representing the Nigerian youths through that endorsement.
However, in this year’s electoral period, it seems the trend is gradually being accepted, as several hip hop acts now follow the Koko Master’s footstep. At the moment, musicians, more than ever before, now take centre stage in political campaigns by endorsing political aspirants, releasing praise singles, theme songs and other commercial advertisement. The artistes’ allegiances are usually carried further on the social media, where they also canvass for votes from their various fans.
Beneficiaries of this new trend now see D’banj as the game-changer. His decision to campaign for politicians might be a copycat of what happened in the United States of America, where artistes like Wyclef, Jay Z, Jennifer Hudson, Oprah Winfrey, Usher and others, came out publicly to endorse President Barack Obama.
Despite the hip hop brash perception by many Nigerians, the genre, like others, is now becoming one of the choice campaign tools for political parties, business organisations et al. While some music lovers would agree that Nigerian hip hop has advanced, others are of the opinion that it is being polluted by unconstructive lyrics that promote violence, drug abuse, fraud, gangsterism and other negative vices.
It is funny how, today, you see politicians dancing Azonto, Alanta, Shoki and other dance steps at rallies, irrespective of the lyrics of the songs. The questions on the lips of many is that, ‘could it be that hip hop is taking over from Fuji music, the same way that Fuji seems to have overthrown the popularity of Juju music? Could this also be the reason why many Fuji acts are now collaborating with hip hop artistes? Is this why some Fuji musicians have even promised to release hip hop songs?’ These questions still beg for answers.
In the past, especially in the South-West Nigeria, Fuji musicians were known to dominate political rallies, voice-overs for TV and radio jingles and recording of albums for politicians and political parties. However, this year, Fuji artistes like K1, Alabi Pasuma, Obesere, Saheed Osupa, to mention a few, seem to have been overwhelmed by their hip hop counterparts. A school of thought has adduced this to the infusion of indigenous language lyrics, pidgin, and the use of traditional musical instruments such as gangan, omele and sakara by hip hop artistes.
In the past, hip hop, like reggae, used to be a platform for criticising politicians and their activities. The late Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, was also known to have criticised non-performing politicians through his music, and had gone further to form his own party, Movement of the People (MOP).
As the Nigerian hip hop stars are now popular across the African continent and beyond, it is seen as a re-branded tool for Nigeria. And with regards to its use by politicians to gain political clout, some fans perceive this trend as a welcome development, reasoning that artistes have their legitimate right as citizens to support candidates of their choice, even though others still feel that whereby the artiste’s support stems from his musical contract with a certain politician or political party. This might be misleading to their fans.
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