Is creative freedom a myth in Nigerian pop music?

You know all of those stories that they feed you from the woke media and idealistic sites about how music should come from the soul, and mirror the best parts of your expression?

They tell you that artists should create from a place of expression, freedom and pure essence that can be packaged and delivered into the arms of an audience that want their soul touched and edified. They whisper sweet creative nothings into your ear; about how art is objective, infinite and not bound by the dictates of the world.

In short, they condition your mind to be a free spirit, and to create sort of art that comes to you in your dream and is deep, introspective, soul-piercing and worthy of the sages.

Having idealistic dreams about this is perfect. But when you are in Nigeria, and you are trying to make pop music, everything flies out the window. It’s not because you are not capable of creating perfect. It’s because you need to eat.

No one can blame you. The Nigerian society is not driven by ideals and legacies. It is driven and powered by the quest for survival. The average Nigerian just wants to see today, go through life, and amass enough wealth so as to survive. Poverty is a curse. And nobody wants it. Everyone wants to eat today.

The Nigerian music market is designed for artists who penetrate the masses. Who the people love and adore. It is not about the intensity of the art, neither is it about the quality of it. It is about who can capture the needs of the people, turn it into art and make a killing.

And the people are very specific. There’s a reason why people make the music that is deemed unintelligent; it’s because the general populace are not that smart. They don’t understand the panting of the soul, and the innate desires of a creative mind. They just want music that comes down to their level and attacks it.

“Baba, just give us jam.”

With this framework in mind, and knowing that your audience have unique tastes, where then is your creative freedom? In Nigeria, when working on material for the pop market, creative freedom goes outside the window.

Your investors understand the market as market as much as you do. They have professionals telling them the direction of the music, they have radio playing the biggest hits, and they want that. They want their money to double and give them great return on investment.

They want to fight through the industry and be able to come out with money in their pocket. The artist wants the same thing. And so, where’s the creative freedom?

Creative freedom is a myth in Nigeria, and while numerous artists can beat their chest and say that they have a free hand in creating the music that they put out, they fail to understand that the industry has already provided them with templates, formats and styles that must strictly adhere to find fulfilment.