Your favorite musician is a liar because of you

Growing up as a kid, I was naïve. I listened to everything that everyone had to say on TV, and in my innocence believed them all.

As usual, I idolized the stars, ate up their every word, and because of the images and the narrative that music videos and celebrity parties displayed, I was of the opinion that life in the music industry is one huge party. A place where the champagne is always cold, the women are the prettiest, and the sun is shining forever.

I failed to see beneath the shroud of happiness, the razzmatazz that accompanies musicians, and the work that goes in behind.

Most importantly, I failed to see that it was all a lie. That life in the music industry and by extension, the entertainment industry is mostly a carefully scripted lie, designed to impress the fans, and create a larger-than-life imagery for people to flock to.

These days I am grown, and I understand the game more than you reading this. I am immersed in this lie, and continuously attempt to capture the truth, and tell stories that surround the music that we all consume. But getting to this point was a bit hard.

First my innocence had to be taken away from me. Seeing these stars in real life, and understanding what goes on behind the scenes was a slow process that took away my innocence. I saw people for who they really are, saw the truth behind the stories, watched as scandals unfolded, and their worlds unraveled.

How do you deal with the fact that the star who preaches daily on Instagram about being a better person, is a petty, conniving scoundrel who has only ever screwed all his business partners? Or the champion of virginity doesn’t possess a hymen?

Each experience brought me extra knowledge and growth, and today, no artiste, no celebrity can lie to me, because I know it, and I see it all.

But your celebrities still lie. They lie to you daily on Instagram, on Twitter, via press releases, and concocted statements, and more. They lie to be loved, they lie to be relevant.

Musicians lie about the business in Nigeria. A certain act who was offered an international deal claimed to have received $4million for the deal. It’s a lie. No African act, can get a deal with those figures. Only the A-list international artistes can struggle to command that sum.

But that artiste lied. And he did it because he wants to sell you a fake story that would make him appear relevant, bigger and more important than he is.

They lie about their album sales, and claim to have sold millions of records. Many of them don’t even shift as much as 50,000 copies of their CDs. But they have to bump up those figures in the media. They have to be a god to you, and feed your adoration with more stories and narratives.

Others lie with the size of their houses, the size of the crowds at their concerts, their ‘international’ touring numbers and many more. They operate in a web of deceit and falsehood.

But why do they lie to you? Why do they have to be these perfect individuals to you?

Because their money is tied to it. The bigger the lie, the bigger the artiste. The bigger the paycheck. If an artiste lies about his booking fee, he gets a bigger booking fee from others. If he lies about a deal, every other deal would want to match up to it.

If they lie about their lives, they attract people of a certain lifestyle and class, and that somehow translates into money.

It is now up to you, the fan to devise new ways to discover these lies and not fall for it. Read about the music business. Learn about how the game works. Watch enlightening videos by professionals, and follow the critics. The critics tear away the hype, drive home the truth, and educate you.

Read, learn, grow and seek the truth. Stay woke my friend.