Music is a changing art but its subjective relevance makes it difficult to objectively measure what’s good music—and what is not. Regional and global music industries are packed with countless musical artistes who are constantly in a fierce battle, in order to stay relevant.
This aggressive battle and the loose nature of pop-culture present a perfect platform of unadulterated antics—with many musicians riding on the shocks of their immoral activities to remain relevant. It doesn’t really matter how attention or publicity is generated; every publicity has a worth, they all come with name calling.
Beyond the usual artistes’ collection of necessary and unnecessary tactics to remain in the news, only a few are able to musically evolve—to the extent that, the deep touches of their songs are able to effortlessly push their names year after year and sometimes generation after generation.
It comes a time when a musical artiste must begin to care about the substance of his music—and consider how long his words will remain relevant, un-caused by dirty industry tricks or aggressive promotion. After all, music has longer life span than the human behind it—if indeed music has a soul, then we are looking at the true value of the soul.
A music legend whose songs have remained relevant despite his absence and the fast changing phase of society is Bob Marley—and this has been greatly possible because of the substance of his songs; the words, the direction and the touch. Let’s get this right; Reggae as a genre is not popular because of where it comes from or the voices, but because of the lyrical substance…
To me, every musician is capable of staying relevant during his life time—and therefore, the test for the true legacy of an artiste’s comes from the impact and relevance of his words, long after his departure or when he is unable to exert undue influence. And to achieve this, the artiste must evolve; conscious efforts must be made to give longevity to the words of his songs.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC4WXHPKwcg
While his generation of African artistes continue to push noise layered with heavy musical beats which eventually become hit songs, Fuse ODG has visibly redefined the direction of his musical career—by just deciding to pay a little more attention to his words, ensuring that there is some sort of meaning behind his recent releases.
Of course, Fuse ODG himself was a culprit in the churning of meaningless and therefore valueless songs. Many of these songs somehow become hit songs—until the next of the same substance drops.
Fuse’s ‘Azonto’ hit song which largely introduced him to many Ghanaians is a typical example—very catchy and therefore became a musical anthem in Ghana and beyond. But it couldn’t live into the year after and wouldn’t be played in half a decade to come—because, it does not carry a ‘transcendent’ message that will unceasingly be of importance.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VetNdbu-ZNc
Bob Marley remains a quintessential hard-hitting musician not because of his voice—but because he carefully selected his words, sentences and made sure his lyrics were timeless. And this is the direction Fuse ODG has taken with his ‘This is New Africa’ (TINA) movement—or at least, so it seems.
Suddenly, Fuse ODG seems to have grown out of the music box—his musical evolution is becoming clearer release after release. His recent songs on the back of his TINA movement have become meaningful, as they don’t only seem to entertain but touch the human soul.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuY5XzzED-I
Interestingly, his music videos have become more decent, appealing and less degrading of women—and more importantly, those looking at Africa do not just highlight the greatness of the continent but also throw into the mix, a hope for a better tomorrow.
Fuse ODG is not singing ‘Stand Up For Your Right’ and I don’t think he will suddenly stop mentioning naughty and booty, but he is able to touch the inner soul with his recent releases such as ‘Only’ and ‘Top of My Charts’ while still remaining popular with his generation.
Timeless songs do no necessary have to be ‘call to action’ or push for revolutions; they can be exciting but must contain that touching meaning, capable of pushing it beyond the immediate hype.
It’s interesting to see FUSE ODG’s musical evolution pay off in a form of wider acceptance—but at the same time, it is deeply sad that his Ghanaian colleagues do not even seem to be considering a re-evaluation, let alone EVOLUTION.