Why foreign music is taking over at the expense of local music!

All you have to do is flip through local FM and TV stations to realise the penetration of these musical imports; to sample the sweetness of the African melody of Mafikizolo’s Khona, Yemi Alade’s Johnny or Diamond’s Number One.

Proof of the success enjoyed by these artistes was evident at the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards where West African and South African artistes as well Tanzanian’s Diamond had multiple nominations and thrilled the continent with their performances. Kenya’s Sauti Sol were the only act to earn a nomination. Kenyan artistes and showbiz industry insiders are now crying foul over this apparent takeover and siege by their continental music counterparts whose music has  sold beyond their borders and taken over, not only the Kenyan, but African showbiz scene by storm and enjoyed some measure of success in the US and UK as artistes like P-Square, DBanj, Wizkid and Fuse ODG have secured collaborations with big-name international artistes.

The fact that the music scene has seemingly been ‘naija-cked’ has sparked a bitter debate within showbiz circles that at times has had artistes and record labels alike pointing an accusing finger at DJs and media outlets for propagating the takeover. More often than not, the response they receive is the unapologetic position that media in all its forms must celebrate success and not shy away from the fact that sometimes it may be more than just home-grown talent.

Without a doubt we are currently enjoying richness in our arts and especially in music and dance. Time and time again people from other African countries will comment that Kenyan talent can indeed not only rival some of the best in Africa but hit the very apex on the international stage.

Increasingly, it has become more apparent that instead of pointing a finger at the Nigerians, Tanzanians and South Africans, perhaps it is now time for us to evaluate their successes as a case study and ask the right questions to propel the Kenyan music scene to the next level.

The arts are part of a state’s creative capacity, spurring innovation and creating unique products and services. Creativity is part of any state’s competitive edge in the global marketplace where distinctive design and effective communications can spell the success or failure of a business or policy venture. Nigeria, Tanzania and South Africa are among states that have recognised this and have incorporated the arts into economic revitalisation, education, literacy, work force development, tourism, community sustainability and social service plans.

Recently, President Uhuru Kenyatta met with Akon while attending the US-Africa Summit, with the global star taking to social media to announce his invitation to Kenya from the president. One can only hope that fruits of this notable showbiz contacts will reverberate within Kenya’s growing music scene as did that of Tanzania’s president his Excellency Jakaya Kikwete rubbing shoulders with American showbiz heavyweights during a recent visit to the US. So far, Kikwete has demonstrated good use of these contacts by helping Tanzanian artistes link up with the international music heavyweights.

He invited Tanzanian mega star, Diamond Platinumz, to a dinner where he hosted Kevin Liles, the former president of Def Jam Recordings and executive vice president of The Island Def Jam Music Group, who now currently manages Trey Songz, Estelle and Big Sean.

The Tanzanian president invited E!’s Terence J, David Banner (rapper and producer) and Chaka Zulu to Tanzania’s film and art conference, which took place in July. At the conference Tanzania’s entertainment media players were inducted on skills they needed to grow the economic potential of their showbiz industry. President Kikwete is also said to be in talks to have Trey Songz come to Tanzania.

The Senior Vice-President and Managing Director of MTV Networks Africa, Alex Okosi, who has been instrumental in the growth of music and entertainment in the continent, helped persuade his bosses to launch a dedicated MTV channel for Africa and since MTV Base has said that Nigerian artistes and video directors now produce some of the best music videos in Africa.

“What we are trying to tell people is that they need to produce good music videos because that’s the best way to market yourself,” Okosi said.
A number of Kenyan artistes including Wyre and Redsan, among others, have been trying hard to make it on the global music scene. They have done collaborations with world class artistes but none has ever managed to get American top musicians or graduated from local celebrity to playing venues around the world like top Nigerian artistes do. Unanimously the artistes all agree on one thing; their marketing strategies need to be reviewed to make as much money and go to such high levels.