Yet another interesting news. Maxwell recently took to twitter to announce he will perform in Nigeria, two days after Valentine’s. His vocals are so sexy and I am sure his Nigerian fans will appreciate his presence in the country. I have been calling this invasion for a while now, i.e. the increase in American artists performing in Nigeria given the current state of the US economy and the digital revolution taking place in its music industry as a whole.
For all the terrible reputation/surveys/rankings and bad country branding Nigeria enjoys, in the final analysis, if promoters can pay to get USA artists, in a recession, to show up, then that’s what it is. I have no issue with it. I just INSIST Nigerian and other similarly situated African artists should have that reciprocity in the USA music market. I also insist on their turf, in their homeland, the celebrity artists are treated with respect.
However, we gotta earn that respect too. Does your music move the ladies and the soul like Maxwell’s does? Exactly my point. We’ve got work to do in and out of the country. Africa is not Asia. The influx of American celebrity artists who command hefty fees from promoters will ultimately affect the kind of music Nigerians want, and how they view the value of the Nigerian artists.
History does repeat itself. Also, with the continued cookie cutter crap emanating from the industry, it is only a matter of time when we completely fatigue fans with the same “ova” “hi” “tinkolo gaga” sound. Don’t you dare pick on #Poko #Tonto Dikeh people. She’s not even a musician and she fits right into the current music industry structure and sound. That’s the music industry’s problem not hers. She is just smart to leverage on such an opportunity for even more reach with her brand’s message, while the rest of industry gets “hi” off “overgreased and over fat” American music diet.
See Maxwell’s tweet below. The “Summers” hashtag he refers to is in reference to his upcoming album.
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