Funke Akindele's "Industreet" is an honest depiction of the Nigerian music industry
With "Industreet," Funke Akindele and JJC lifts the lid on the Nigerian music industry. Here are 10 ways Funke's "Industreet" is the typical Nigerian music industry.
Industreet
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![The Harvest [Instagram/kachibenson]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'100'%20height%3D'100'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "The Harvest [Instagram/kachibenson]")
It's usually advisable not to judge a series by its first episode, but, with "Industreet," the first episode which recently screened at IMAX teased an interesting season ahead.
The series introduces a combination of narratives from the first epiosde. There's a lot of story which I hope doesn't become generic as the season progresses.
"Industreet" best performance is found in K-Switch, who makes a strong impression playing an established artiste, AKG, who happens to be the son of a pastor. AKG is a witty, arrogant, 'talented,' successful Nigerian artiste.
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Check out 10 ways the music-oriented drama is an honest depiction of the Nigerian music industry.
1. Misplaced accents
One of the difficult things to find in the Nigerian entertainment industry is an English accent that's easy to follow and understand.
In "Industreet," Dreamz and AKG are often seen communicating in a foreign accent that has no origin.
2. Rising stars in the Ghetto
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There are several Nigerian singers who went from nothing to something. Some have their sob stories to motivate other upcoming acts.
There's Ice Prince, who dropped out of school because he couldn't afford education. There's Patoranking, who sold rat poison and did carpentry.
In "Industreet," Dreamz is symbolic of numerous talented artists in the ghetto, waiting to be discovered, waiting for the big break that would elevate them.
3. Drug Addiction
The first episode of "Industreet" kicks off with AKG sniffing cocaine. The fact that the illegal drug habits of some artistes don't make it to the news doesn't mean that they don't exist.
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4. Lip Syncing
There are just very few Nigerian artistes, who confidently take up a stage to perform their songs.
At most shows, artistes are seen throwing the microphone into the space for their audience to sing along to a track playing in the background, while they bounce around on stage.
In "Industreet," AKG and Dreamz deliver 'amazing' lip-sync performances that have their fans throwing up their hands and moving their waists.
5. Hype Man/Preferential treatment
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There are quite a number of artistes who would never go up a stage without a hype man. Like, who would support them with exclamations and make them appear busy to their audience?
In "Industreet," Dreamz' request for a hype man is denied. However, AKG, who is an established act gets to have his hype men bouncing around the stage with him.
This also points out the preferential treatment given to A-List acts vs Z-List acts.
6. Dealing with the press as a Z-list act
In the music industry, artistes are defined by their name and achievement. Except for few media houses, who work towards taking credit for discovering a star, most media houses only want the big gun.
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In the TV series, Ada, an OAP, refuses an interview with Dreamz because he isn't a big star and nobody wants to tune in to hear him speak.
She however, she grants an interview to AKG, who is the biggest star.
7. The lateness syndrome
It's a norm in Nigeria for artistes to stroll into an event hours later than its scheduled time. Recently, Nigerian musicians took their 'Eko Hotel behaviour' to London and got disgraced.
In "Industreet," an event kicked off hours late because the performing artistes and event organizers were late to the show.
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8. Signing contracts without a lawyer
There have been cases of artistes who in a rush to be the next big thing, sign contracts without reading or getting legal advice.
At the end of the day, their fame becomes a nightmare and content for the media.
In the first episode of "Industreet," Dreamz finally makes it, as a record label recognizes his talent. He is offered what seems to be the deal of a lifetime; except that it isn't.
His manager Ahmed stops him from signing the contract which stipulates that he would get 20% of revenues, has to produce three albums in two years, and the agency reserves rights to allocate funds as it pleases.
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Of course, Dreamz isn't pleased with his maanger.
9. Sharing music files with a producer or 'helper' without an agreement in place
We have heard stories where a particular singer claims his lyrics were stolen by a producer or by an influential artiste after he played his version for them to 'help' his career.
In "Industreet," Dreamz' hype man, who desperately wants to 'blow,' gives a copy of his unreleased and unsolicited music to MO Eazy, an artiste signed to AKG.
MO Eazy happens to be the one who writes all of AKG's music, but, unfortunately, he gets no credit for his hard work.
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AKG doesn't promote talents under him. He would always say, "it's turn by turn,' while he earns his fame off their talent.
10. Good music
Just like the Nigerian music industry is blessed with quite a number of original work of art, "Industreet" comes with potent and infectious tracks.
If you're passionate about the Nigerian music industry, you would have fun watching "Industreet." You may even identify some real life artistes in some of the characters.
"Industreet" premieres on May 26, 2017.
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