Issues with trending Nigerian music videos

These changes are especially very pronounced in the hip-hop, rock and rap genres of the art.Weekly Trust Entertainment spoke with a cross section of Nigerians who expressed varying views on the influence of contemporary music videos on the society, in terms of societal ideals.“I love to listen to and watch music videos, it is a […]

These changes are especially very pronounced in the hip-hop, rock and rap genres of the art.
Weekly Trust Entertainment spoke with a cross section of Nigerians who expressed varying views on the influence of contemporary music videos on the society, in terms of societal ideals.
“I love to listen to and watch music videos, it is a part of my life; but these days, I hardly watch these songs, because the music videos we see nowadays are not morally good. They promote nudity and bad sexual attitudes,” Justina Paul, a security guard in the Utako District of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), says about contemporary music videos.
She said though people must listen to music, because it is a part of human nature, the sad thing about contemporary Nigerian music is that most of the videos are not healthy for public consumption especially for the children and the youth.
“What they are showing people through these music videos is what is making people to behave badly, because the kind of dances portrayed are degrading, especially to women who are mostly half naked or badly dressed. Apart from this, these days, they only promote romance in the videos,” Paul says to drive home her point.
Critics say most Nigerian artistes try to promote foreign ideals in one way or the other, which they said are not good for the society, especially in our African cultural context.
Music as an art has a wide range appeal and effects on people. It has been viewed by some experts as part of human expression that binds cultures and subcultures together. What this means is that music has a huge influence on the way we behave and plays a role in attitude formation.
Gone are the days when families sat together to watch and enjoy good musicals that frowned at social ills and promoted the culture of love and respect for one another as well as unity in diversity, laments Pastor Olu Victor.
In his view, young people these days are exposed to music videos that corrupt their morals and which do not promote good societal values.
“The people making these videos should take note that music has a great contribution in building our society and if things continue this way, it could cost us a lot in this nation,” the pastor warns.
“I will advise the youth to stay away from music videos that promote nudity and other immoral behaviors because what the eye does not see, the heart cannot grieve about it,” he advises.
An article posted on jottedlines.com entitled ‘Negative effects of music videos on children,’ notes that music videos have such a great influence on young people that they have defined contemporary culture for the last 50 years, but the mass appeal of the art form brings with it both advantages and disadvantages.
On the positive side, they inspire, entertain and stimulate, while on the flipside, they can inculcate unsavory behaviors and attitudes among the youth. The young viewer must show caution in choosing the beneficial aspects from the lot.
The article says that majority of music video fans are teenagers and young adults, who are at an impressionable period of their lives and can turn out to be anti-social if they idolise their attractive music stars, whose life-styles are often regarded as ‘extreme’ and ‘on the edge.’
Although song/lyric has been an important medium of thought for centuries as a form of poetry, it has revolved over the years becoming an issue of concern for parents, especially with the accompanying videos, because they have become more explicit, with regards to sex and drugs.
The music video is thus a powerful psychological tool. Unfortunately, the format has now become a breeding ground for sexism, substance abuse and risky sexual behavior, behavioral experts say.
Against this backdrop, some commentators are of the view that better work should be done on music videos in Nigeria to suite the society taking into consideration that both children and adults watch these contents.
“In my own opinion, the deviation of contemporary music videos from what was obtained in the past is quite wide and the focus these days is more on the sensual appeal, which kind of creates the market for such videos,” says Mr. Ronald Mutum, a contemporary music critic.
He says because these videos focus primarily on romance, the materials are fit only adult audience or a selective audience.
“Compared to older music videos like Majek Fashek’s ‘Send Down The Rain’ and say 2Face Idibia’s ‘African Queen,’ I will say these are really good and decent music videos that can really be enjoyed,” Mutum says.
“In 2Faces’s ‘African Queen,’ you see different African women in their attires and very beautiful hair dos. This is a good cultural ideal that is worth promoting in these videos and it is really a decent video,” he adds. “I am free-minded and I do not think it really has a great impact on our cultural ideals but what it means is that it is not for the consumption of children.”
As for Mrs. Eunice Ede, contemporary music videos are not so exciting because they are simply not as good as the videos of yesteryears.
“They do not really help the society because the bad things they promote have overshadowed the good they may have,” Ede notes.