Singer, actor, and filmmaker Baba Dee—elder brother of the late music icon Sound Sultan—has voiced concerns over the current trajectory of the Nigerian music industry, cautioning that it is moving away from meaningful and impactful content.
In an interview with Saturday Beats, Baba Dee contrasted contemporary trends with music from earlier decades, questioning the commercial viability of conscious songs today. “Why are conscious songs not commercially viable? When Blackface made Hard Life, that was the music we were dancing to. Sound Sultan’s Ole was commercially viable. What I’m telling you is that the pattern has changed. What is music saying now? You must at least say something that contributes to our general well-being,” he said.
Drawing on his experience as a theater artiste, musician, and filmmaker, Baba Dee highlighted broader challenges in Nigerian entertainment, particularly the pressure on creators to produce quick, low-budget content. He observed that digital platforms such as YouTube have fostered a “fast food” approach to creative work, where projects are completed rapidly with little room for originality or artistic depth.
He further explained the impact of evolving revenue models on the industry, noting, “Now that budgets have become smaller, the approach has become ‘fast food’; finish one project and move on to the next. Just like every other sector in Nigeria, the cinema industry is affected. Some people become both judge and jury in their own case. Now that alternatives exist to track revenue objectively, things are changing. Streaming in the music industry has become the ‘new cheat code,’ and sometimes it tends to short-change artistes. But that’s where we are. There are different mediums of selling films, and we have to adapt and evolve.”
Baba Dee also criticized repetitive content on YouTube, noting the overuse of the same locations, actors, and characters in online films. “No creativity. It’s messed up, but it is what it is,” he said, underscoring the need for innovation and originality in Nigerian music and entertainment.#newsafro_
