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The Face of West African Entertainment
By Linda A. Annan
Africa claims to be the root of many music genres; from jazz and blues to reggae the influence is evident and the popularity of such genres continue to surpass that of their point of origin. Why Africa seems to have a difficult time elevating its own music categories to worldwide recognition is mind-boggling. Instead it sits idly as others borrow and sometimes steal from its creation.
Highlife gets a bit of a nod for how far it has gotten, though such achievements end at the tip of West African borders. Whether its success could have been pushed farther is something to be pondered.
After years of unsuccessfully trying to gain worldwide recognition for such an authentic genre, West Africans seem to be making other attempts – like a stab at the so-called reggae version of Hiplife called Raglife.
It is one thing to fuse traditional music with modern ones to keep up with the pace; it is another, however, to create new ground-breaking genres with no links to inauthentic ones.
Fela Kuti may have left behind a few traces of Afrobeat since its introduction as a few up-and-coming artists still express interest in rousing it. But where do such efforts take off and where do they end when only a minority of musicians are intrigued by its sound?
West Africans fail to finish what they start in pop culture and instead appear to work better picking up from where others left off.
Not to say Hiplife and other forms of music fused with various genres have not been a wonderful addition to the West African melodious world. Obviously Osibisa's success was evident of that.
But where does our rich traditional music fit in? Our dances lack presence in modern/pop music and tend to be only reserved for traditional songs best left to foreigners to appreciate.
A re-introduction of drums, slit gongs, rattles and double bells in some of these so-called new genres could at least create some distinction, though it still fails to substitute a genuine invention.
Much progression is needed and that same attitude extends to keeping pace with the music world, West African pop culture could excel if it took a detour into the exploration of untouched areas within its own culture.
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