It is unreasonable to expect all artists to sing reforms
What you need to know:
As far as many people are concerned, music is first and foremost a peerless form of entertainment. All the rest is secondary.
While there is no doubt that music is a weapon so powerful it has felled tyrants, the contrary is also true. People enjoy music for its healing qualities and to escape reality.
Incidentally, Sauti Sol has come out with a new song, Tujiangalie, which is as political as any poor Bobi Wine ever sang.
The popular boy band, Sauti Sol, last week took to social media to demand justice for Ugandan MP Bobi Wine. They did it in a tweet. Apparently, that was a big mistake. An army of angry Netizens immediately descended on the group in a vicious lynching orgy, not because the band was wrong, but because the singers have never criticised their own government for its human rights abuse record which is less than admirable. I thought the criticism rather petty and mendacious.
Saying Sauti Sol was more interested in dildos than in political activism was a high level of intolerance which the activists were criticising in the first place. It also raised a few issues about the relationship between art and politics in society and whether artists have a duty to correct all the ills afflicting society and whether they can only proclaim their relevance through protest, the stuff which in Literature classes they call “commitment”.
INCARCERATION
There is no denying that art has proved to be a potent weapon against every form of human rights abuse by despots and the twisted state agents they train and employ. Dictators must use all the weapons of mass coercion at their disposal if they are to retain power, and it is up to everyone, in his own way, to show them the error of their ways.
Musicians, writers, poets, orators and even preacher have a vital role to play – telling the rulers that they are naked. Someone has to do it. That is why Bobi Wine’s torture and incarceration by Uganda’s army for telling the truth was so painful to many. Regardless of what his government says, the man could not have been so naïve as to think he can overthrow the dictator by stoning his car.
MISCALCULATED
On the other hand, if Mr Museveni thought the tender ministrations of state thugs and treason charges would tame Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, he miscalculated badly. Such moves against him have only made Bobi Wine a hero, even to those of his critics who think he should keep a tight leash on his tongue. Should the fiery MP be found guilty as is very possible in a dictatorship, it will be the beginning of the end for the man from Ankole. The former liberation hero who has ruled Uganda with an iron fist since 1986, is acting scared and making mistakes. By now, he must realise the agitation for change fronted by firebrands like Bobi Wine is gaining traction throughout the country, and there is little he can do about it.
TRYANTS
Anyway, to go back to the thread of this conversation, the grouse against Sauti Sol seems to be that the band kept studiously silent when some of their countrymen were being executed, and now they are poking their noses into the affairs of a neighbouring country. The tweeting critics seem to say that everyone, especially artists, should always carry the banner of revolution if they are to be taken seriously. Nothing could be further from the truth. Where was it ever written that to become a success every musician must emulate the likes of Bob Marley, Fela Kuti and our own Eric Wainaina during the days he was angry?
As far as many people are concerned, music is first and foremost a peerless form of entertainment. All the rest is secondary. While there is no doubt that music is a weapon so powerful it has felled tyrants, the contrary is also true. People enjoy music for its healing qualities and to escape reality. Very few like to be bombarded with revolutionary cant or pedagogical blather when they are trying to relax.
OLD NICK
If a musician is able to combine aesthetic excellence and a lasting message, it is a blessing for humankind. There are quite a few in that category. But an equal number does not possess this gift and so they must stick to all sorts of sublime nonsense especially while expressing their undying love for members of the other sex. The other attribute of music is that, for believers, it is the most popular form of worship. Apparently, Yahweh likes a rollicking chorus now and then after His many labours, and it is also said that Old Nick too favours a lively beat, which is why he has so many followers singing his praises chini ya maji.
MORALITY
Personally, I care very little for the lyrics of the songs I hear, but I do care for the melody and rhythm. In ordinary circumstances, I would never appreciate the songs of fellows like Sean Paul and a horde of American rappers, for I never know what they are talking about in most cases. However, I do love the way they go about it. There are many musicians of that ilk and the lack of political comment in their songs does not in any way detract from their appeal.
Incidentally, Sauti Sol has come out with a new song, Tujiangalie, which is as political as any poor Bobi Wine ever sang. That is a clear indication that even the self-appointed champions of political morality do not always know what they are talking about.
