Legendary Nigerian highlife musician Bright Chimezie has voiced his worry about the decline of meaningful lyrics in today’s music.
According to him, while the new generation of artistes are producing enjoyable sounds, many of their songs lack lyrical depth.
In a recent interview on the CreativTea podcast, Chimezie urged younger musicians to pay more attention to infusing strong lyrical content into their work.
He recalled that during his prime, he and his peers created songs with messages that remained relevant and timeless.
“Music is more profitable now than my time. The only problem I have with the present crops of artists, is their lyrical content. In terms of rhythms and every other thing, they are doing quite okay.
“But, what message are they passing to the society? Some of the things we [me and my contemporaries] sing stick. I remember I did ‘Respect Africa’ in 1984, that’s about 40 years ago. But I can still watch what I did 40 years ago and be proud of my lyrics.
“These days, I ask these boys, ‘The things that are coming out from your mouth, by the time your music stays up to 40 years, can you sit back with your children, see yourself and be proud of yourself?’
“So, those are the things. They are doing very well. But I think it is very important for them to add good lyrics to their music,” he noted.