Like i always tell music-heads when we discuss and Nigerians in general, just because you are succeeding at something doesn't mean you are making positive progress. Fela was able to impact lives, change perceptions and even predict the future as regards the Nigerian Society and though he was not as successful in terms of international features which i believe were far within his reach, he was able to gain recognition in both the local and international music community as the founder/originator a a music genre we now call Afro.
The fact is as already seen in recent times in the music industry, people have forgotten the main purpose for which music was supposed to function. just as you have a certain population of people who enjoy reading novels, watching movies and doing a whole lot of other mind enriching activities, the population of people who listen to music cuts across the entire population as it can be seen that individuals who read specific novels dependent on choice induced by moods tend to have playlists of songs they tend to feed their mind with. Siting an instance, a lover of gangsta movies and novels will tend to listen to a lot of hip hop where as a lover of romance novels will tend to like RnB.
Now back to the point i am trying to buttress, music like every other art form is an expression of what you feel inside and hence just as individuals only confide in people they believe can be useful or have gotten certain experiences that thus makes them able to relate to their present state of mind, an artist is able to preach to his audience/listeners. Siting another instance, a Christian can be seen to have a strong Christian playlist and the Muslim, a relatively strong Muslim playlist as what you listen to interacts with your mind without your knowing.
So here's my question, what happens when you feed your mind with contents pertaining to based on women, partying and a bunch of stuff that doesn't help you succeed in the real world?
Nigerians have failed to realize that the moment when you become a music icon, its like you have hypnotized a certain portion of the society and have the ability to dictate how they see life which is why you can find that fans even go as far as dressing like their favorite artistes.
The way i see it the only reason why drug user music (speaking from the foreign point of view) is making waves as much as it is is solely because these artistes have since sold the lifestyle out to the public so them doing all the stuff they do in terms of songs and videos helps them sell their products more through influence on fans.
Now coming to the Nigerian context, what are our artistes feeding our mind with? Yes club bangers are always needed to spice up the lifestyle every now and then but what about the times when people need to hustle, stay motivated and also be aware of the happenings around them?
Fela was able to do this as an artiste and hence influenced and inspired an entire generation and this is the positive progress i was speaking about. It's not enough to be able to secure international collaborations and afford everything you want to buy. Think of the millions of people you influence with the things you say and content you expose them to.