Apparently, music is for low lives and I'm sure that most of us DISagree. Don't look at me like that, I didn't say that and I would never make such statement. You would never hear that from a "music-holic like me or better still music freak. This was a statement an acquaintance made to a friend of mine because she claimed to love and make music. According to him, music is meant for low lives, it is a way out of education, people go into music out of frustration and jobless-ness because they need fast money.
Before I go further in this write-up, I'd like to define the term "low-life" according to the internet, wikipedia precisely. A low-life or lowlife is a term for a person who is considered morally unacceptable by their community. Examples of people who are often called "lowlifes" are thieves, drug dealers, hustlers, freeloaders, scammers, gangsters, gangster girls, drug users, alcoholics, thugs, underage mothers, prostitutes and pimps.
In our very own Nigeria, we have very talented artists who didn't go into music because they were jobless or frustrated. We have the likes of Fela, King Sunny Ade, Asa, Waje, Timi Dakolo, Omawunmi, Darey art Alade, Cobhams Asuquo and others who sing (or sang as the case may be) powerful songs. Songs that touch the soul, songs that inspire the uninspired, songs that gives one the opportunity to view life in a different light. If the generalisation that music is meant for low lives is true, then it means that the aforementioned people are all low-lives but we all know that's not true.
They are people who are passionate about what they do and it reflects in every line they sing, in their tone, even in their carriage outwardly. Outside Nigeria, we also have very talented artists. The likes of Bob Marley, Celindion, Lucky Dube, Enya, Florence Welch, Sam Smith, Dido, Ed Sheeran, Sia etc. People who are idols of others, people who inspire other people just by looking at their pictures. The list is endless, the "infinity" kind of endless.
Who even makes fast money by singing stuff that doesn't come from the heart? Even those who sing songs designed for parties and clubs do not make fast money as such except they were already known. The likes of Davido, Wizkid, Tekno etc for Nigerian artists. Who wants to buy the CD of one Shegzo down the street who sees music as his last resort? Definitely not you right? I thought so too. Definitely not me too. As much as I would encourage one to pursue music, money shouldn't be the motive because most times, it doesn't work that way.
I used to write songs when I was younger and that was before I thought about getting admitted into the university or having a job hence I wasn't trying to escape from anything and I wasn't frustrated either. It was the passion I had that led me to write and of course, inspiration from God himself. Even now that I no longer write songs or pursue music, I still cannot do without music. Music to me is medicine. Its more than the sounds, lyrics or instrumentals, it's a lot more. There's no situation you find yourself in that has no song describing it. My brother is an amazing artist or musician since we're talking music. Even his un-sung songs consists of very deep words that makes me take more than one look at his jotters. It wasn’t inspired from jobless-ness or frustration, that I'm sure of.
Talking about great musicians, I wouldn't be fair to not mention my darling friend Amaka whom the statement "music is for low lives" was addressed towards. She's an amazing artist, I've listened to some of her songs and I was wow-ed. I have no reason to hype my friends or family (not like they would 'dash' me money). My analysis are based on what I believe in and have passion for as a person, no sentiments involved. I know how many times people's music has moved me to tears (maybe I'm being emotional but at least...), the kind of music that wasn't borne out of frustration or escape from education.
I just don't think it's nice to make conclusions without thoroughly examining the subject. A lot of people just have a funny way of expressing themselves but then, who am I to judge? All I'm saying is, if you won't encourage someone in the steps they take to actualize their dreams, or make any contribution towards the actualization process, you could as well just say nothing. A lot of people have been frustrated to the extent of aborting their dreams because of what other people think about the career path they chose.
This is not to say that there are no artists who go into music as a result of frustration or as an escape from education but then, there are equally a lot who go into music for other purposes. Its a generalisation I would not subscribe to or even keep to myself so I decided to share. This is only my opinion and Amaka's of course hence it is not binding so you can tell us what you think. Is music meant for low-lives truly? If yes, provide your explanations. We want to learn.
Facebook - Odusola Aanuoluwapo
Twitter - @odusolar
BBM - 2BC07AB1
Before I go further in this write-up, I'd like to define the term "low-life" according to the internet, wikipedia precisely. A low-life or lowlife is a term for a person who is considered morally unacceptable by their community. Examples of people who are often called "lowlifes" are thieves, drug dealers, hustlers, freeloaders, scammers, gangsters, gangster girls, drug users, alcoholics, thugs, underage mothers, prostitutes and pimps.
In our very own Nigeria, we have very talented artists who didn't go into music because they were jobless or frustrated. We have the likes of Fela, King Sunny Ade, Asa, Waje, Timi Dakolo, Omawunmi, Darey art Alade, Cobhams Asuquo and others who sing (or sang as the case may be) powerful songs. Songs that touch the soul, songs that inspire the uninspired, songs that gives one the opportunity to view life in a different light. If the generalisation that music is meant for low lives is true, then it means that the aforementioned people are all low-lives but we all know that's not true.
Who even makes fast money by singing stuff that doesn't come from the heart? Even those who sing songs designed for parties and clubs do not make fast money as such except they were already known. The likes of Davido, Wizkid, Tekno etc for Nigerian artists. Who wants to buy the CD of one Shegzo down the street who sees music as his last resort? Definitely not you right? I thought so too. Definitely not me too. As much as I would encourage one to pursue music, money shouldn't be the motive because most times, it doesn't work that way.
I used to write songs when I was younger and that was before I thought about getting admitted into the university or having a job hence I wasn't trying to escape from anything and I wasn't frustrated either. It was the passion I had that led me to write and of course, inspiration from God himself. Even now that I no longer write songs or pursue music, I still cannot do without music. Music to me is medicine. Its more than the sounds, lyrics or instrumentals, it's a lot more. There's no situation you find yourself in that has no song describing it. My brother is an amazing artist or musician since we're talking music. Even his un-sung songs consists of very deep words that makes me take more than one look at his jotters. It wasn’t inspired from jobless-ness or frustration, that I'm sure of.
I just don't think it's nice to make conclusions without thoroughly examining the subject. A lot of people just have a funny way of expressing themselves but then, who am I to judge? All I'm saying is, if you won't encourage someone in the steps they take to actualize their dreams, or make any contribution towards the actualization process, you could as well just say nothing. A lot of people have been frustrated to the extent of aborting their dreams because of what other people think about the career path they chose.
This is not to say that there are no artists who go into music as a result of frustration or as an escape from education but then, there are equally a lot who go into music for other purposes. Its a generalisation I would not subscribe to or even keep to myself so I decided to share. This is only my opinion and Amaka's of course hence it is not binding so you can tell us what you think. Is music meant for low-lives truly? If yes, provide your explanations. We want to learn.
Facebook - Odusola Aanuoluwapo
Twitter - @odusolar
BBM - 2BC07AB1
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