Are we just not good?

I recently downloaded and watched a video clip of Wizkid’s album concert.

As the minutes of my laptop video player passed I gazed at the screen in absolute awe and envy as I watched artistes, particularly previously much detested WizKid perform. I’m indifferent towards the dude now. I was in awe of the crowd and cheers and success, and I couldn’t deny that. As I watched one word after the other flawlessly escape their weary-from-singing mouths, I couldn’t help but want to be in their shoes. I couldn’t help but shamelessly acknowledge the fact that I wanted it all, the attention, the fame, the looks, the money, all of it, every bit of their celebrity. I don’t want their personal problems, and STDs, or their poor educational standards, or bad looks, or fat shape. I want the good parts; to live a very convenient and stress-free life, a life free of some sort of worries I would love to do without. Yeah, like getting broke. On second thought, do I really want to be in their shoes?

It’s no news.The popular kids are the music people. The popular young people are those that do music, and nothing else really matters. The whore called music has used its huge ‘booty’ to over-shadow the massive talent among our youth. Writing, art, sports, business have all been downgraded to the abyss of insignificance. Music is all we want to know.

I am a serious sucker for talent and what people can do. So I’m working with a bunch of brilliant people on a magazine that exposes the talent in Nigerian universities. On the front page is Yung6ix, who ironically turns out to be a musician. As much as I critique other magazine makers about their concentration on music and the young population of readers about their interest in only music, I have to admit the ugly truth. Until experience and research prove me wrong, we are all sold to music. For how long? When are we going to come to the realisation that we’re worth more than rap and punch lines?  When are we going to concentrate effort and interest on other things that matter also? Whatever happened to talent diversification? Or are we just not good at other stuff?