My response has always been based on two standard templates.
“I really don’t know much about the industry anymore, but I’ll ask a few people what’s possible and what’s not”, if I’m not very close to you.
“Please tell your kid to do music as a hobby and not as a career because it’s not a very healthy space for any young person to be these days”, if I am relatively close to you.
I should know, because I have run a record label, Strictly Next Level Records, that gave the world one of the best female rappers out of Naija, Bouqui, in the mid 2000s, before I decided to face the broadcast media space fully.
Back then, it was a little crazy, but trust me, these days, it’s more dangerous and a lot more toxic than you know and imagine.
The subliminal nature of music makes it a dangerous tool that can penetrate your subconscious mind without much resistance and can take over your thoughts without your permission.
It is therefore frightening to see that such a powerful communication and indoctrination tool has been allowed to become a cesspit for drug abuse and drug trafficking, money laundering, youth indoctrination, gang wars, cultism, human sacrifices, all types of voodoo, internet fraud practioners, organized prostitution, and many more scary social vices.
What has been revealed to you in the past few days after the death of Mohbad, is just a tip of the iceberg really.
A lot of your faves in the industry may be social media sweethearts but a lot of them are absolutely ruthless and borderline psychopaths in real life.
All you need to do is listen deeply to the lyrics of a lot of the songs out there and you will hear hidden messages and violent street codes that you didn’t take note of before now.
Ironically, churches have bred most of the biggest artistes out there, but the lack of requisite support structures and platforms, as well as systemic exploitation and under appreciation of these talents make them lose most of their “flock” to the “world”.
Since nature abhors vacuums, a legion of unsavoury and shady characters have stepped up to fill that vacuum and are subliminally indoctrinating our kids into all sorts of vices right under our noses.
It’s OK to support your kids in any venture they wish to undertake, but unless you own N30B like Adeleke or your surname is Dangote, which will help you build a protective cocoon around them, make sure you do a deep dive into the company they keep in the industry.
A word is enough for the wise.