Women uplifting one another is always a beautiful sight but same can’t be said for most female artists in the Nigerian music industry. For an industry mostly dominated by male artists, it’s therefore distasteful to witness our music queens display envy, unhealthy competition, jealousy and recently, slut shaming.
Female artists have always been outnumbered so for the few that made it to the top, being exceptional and talented is always never in doubt. The legends such as Onyeka Onwenu, Queen Salawe Abeni, Christy Essien were all women that are highly regarded and still revered for their wonderful works and they all existed with little or no rancor. Of recent, super talents such as Asa, Mochedda, Kels, Tiwa Savage, Teni the entertainer, Yemi Alade, Seyi Shay, Omawumi, Waje, Simi and so many others have been prominent figures to have graced the spotlight but with these generation of women, rarely would you witness a total calm in the sea.
So where did it go wrong for the female artists?
Frequently you see collaborative works by the male artists. Olamide and Phyno have maintained a musical relationship that’s spanning years. Wizkid has countless collaborations. Davido has blessed many songs with his voice. Zlatan, Naira Marley and the list of male collaborations are endless but you look at the female spectrum and the list becomes short.
Women by nature are edgy and competitive by nature. The need to sound better, look better, stand out, be the center of attention are all naturally Innate in the female gender and all these tend to be transferred into their craft.
Instead of a woman to see herself shining with a fellow woman, she naturally sees her fellow woman as a competition. Look at naija weddings and you see bridesmaids trying to outshine the bride on her wedding day. Crazy right?
The fans; yes the primary music consumer can’t be absolved of these female artists beef and recently, the public brawl. For years fans kept pitching Tiwa Savage against Yemi Alade just as they do Wizkid and Davido. Reasons, no one can really say. It’s fun, good competition and ultimately keeps the entertainment sphere active and alive but there should be a line that should never be crossed.
Sometimes, we may never get the true picture of the foundation of this enmity within the female artist’s circle but one thing is for sure, women uplifting one another is the best way to go as elements are already stacked up against them not to succeed as their male counterparts.
As it is, men seem to do more uplifting than women and we can only hope for better days. We love to see our Queens win and more importantly doing it together.
–Kofoworola Kayode
