Controversial interviews push the culture forward

Early on, one of the first things I learnt in entertainment journalism is not to start an interview with “

As a matter of fact, before I entered the business, I knew some questions were stupid to ask in an interview.

These set of questions somehow were the gold standard for journalists back then. They would shoot these questions at celebrities back then. Even poor 50 Cent was hammered with these terrible questions when he first came to Nigeria.

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Over time, these silky questions have given way to PR friendly questionnaires. They are safe, soft and in the box. The questions are orchestrated and the answers come off as rehearsed. Listening to interviews on radio or watching an interview on TV might be a bit tedious. It's a case of dejavu, we have seen it before and we have heard it before. It's the same old parade.

Thankfully, the Internet has opened up a safe space for real and actual conversations to exist. Podcasts and Internet radio allows for real opinions to be aired without the restriction of standard TV and radio. Podcasts more especially in Nigeria.

Once again, people are talking about another Loose Talk episode On this one, Blackface spoke about what led to the split in Plantashun Boyz and why he has a few issues to settle with his former singing partner 2face Idibia.

Just like the M.I and K-Solo podcasts, some people have raised concerns about letting guests speak out and make controversial statements.

A few people see it as a ploy by media houses to make headlines and create controversy. It is understandable that people feel this way. Candid interviews or conversations are hard to come by in our media space for several reasons which won't be highlighted here.

What is most important is that people are having discussions that are moving the culture forward. There is nothing wrong with allowing a guest speak his mind. When necessary, hosts of the interview might argue with a point or disagree but freedom of speech should not be hindered.

ALSO READ: 2face Idibia responds to Blackface

Nigerians used to the old way of doing things. Media personalities don't want to ruffle feathers. The downside of this is that important stories won't be told and history will be lost.

There is a reason why little or nothing is known about the music and film scenes of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. This is because journalists were more concerned with curating the gossip and relationship lifestyles of then than documenting history.

This generation shouldn't fall for this mistake. There is a responsibility on us to tell the stories of what happened in the 90s and 00s. They might not be politically correct but things in life are rarely are.

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