Not until Ilerioluwa Promise Aloba, Mohbad, died in 2023 (a Hip hop Nigerian artist) did most people realize his call for help in many of his songs, but not a single person noticed except maybe in the circle of his friends and allegedly tormentors.
Everyone was after the danceable tunes and not paying any particular attention until it was too late.
Year in, year out, artists who are abused or on the verge of losing their souls cry out in excruciating pain, but their audience is blinded and ears deaf.
Before him, Mrs. Osinachi Nwachukwu, a gospel artist, also cried out from abuse through her sonorous and unusually heartfelt worship, but yet no one paid attention until it was too late.
Almost everyone believed that she was simply a worshipper instead of noticing that it was only a way to express her pain and fly with wings from her alleged manipulator and abuser.
Sometimes, some of them would be so explicit in their description, but many of us are after the melodies and not the message.
The international artists list is endless, including Justin Bieber, Tupac Shakur, Biggie, Prince, Kanye West.
Every one of these artists has fallen victim to a mafia-like web that they can’t readily break out from.
Some of them agreed that when they were offered fame on a platter of gold, they were not informed of the sacrifice they had to pay until it was too late. Some have allegedly sacrificed their mothers, siblings, and even children to step up the game.
It is no longer news that many African youths and the entertainment industry imbibe external influence from the United States of America’s entertainment industry, popularly known as Hollywood.
This influence manifestation is so strong and contagious.
For all of these industries, the apex is more powerful and allegedly dark with puppet masters,
who see talents, buy into them, and after a while sign them to the allegedly dark game of sodomy, drug trafficking, human trafficking with no option to back out.
Allegedly, many of these artists have to sacrifice something to gain fame, and if any artist refuses such and is lucky to live, he or she is written into irrelevance.
Their musical career is ruined—no gigs, no endorsement, no more networking, and most often the media are used against them. That star would fall like a pack of cards into the abyss.
In most cases, many of them would use what they have to cry out for help, but if the truth be told, their audience never hears nor understands the messages until it’s too late.
Why do we always miss that cry for help? Is it more spiritual than just the normal universal love for music without understanding the depth?
Why, after so many deaths, do the scales fall off and people begin to regret not paying attention to the messages and stories that were planted or crafted in those lyrics?
Anyways, it is high time that people not only pay attention to lyrics but pick out the cue for help. And who knows, a soul or life may be saved.
Agreeably, only the Godhead can save souls. While human beings can also try not to be carried away by every dance step or lyric, rather, pay attention to the lyrics and ask why. People should say something when they see something.
Law enforcement agencies should also play fair and not be biased.
See you next week.