Spoken words artistes in Nigeria and entertainment Space - Asaya, Ola Adene speak

 By Olorungbotemi













When veteran Spoken Words artiste, Dike Chukwumerije, took to the stage at 23rd Nigerian Economic Summit in 2017 to perform his ‘The Wall and the Bridge’ piece, it was a moment of utmost celebration for Spoken Words artistes in the country and a win for the art form itself.


The performance of poetry has come a long way in Nigeria. Its history in its foundational form is embedded in decade-long of traditional folktales, which is ingrained in each of Nigeria’s diverse and rich cultural entities.













It is significant in the panegyrics and eulogy commonplace among the several ethnic groups in the country.


There is then a reason to worry when this art form, strong and punchy as a form of expression, elegiac and cheery in its essence and at the same time rich and deeply rooted in entertainment, has for a long time maintained a backseat in the circles of performance arts particularly with respect to being accepted by a wide range of audience and being profitable for the performers of the art. Unlike music, movies and comedy that have gained a stronghold in the Nigerian entertainment space, Spoken Words is struggling.


The art is struggling for recognition by the audience, a warm embrace from the gateways of mainstream entertainment and sadly, redefinition and authenticity from Spoken Words artistes themselves.












In a society where we by hook or crook listen to music and pay heavily for concerts, expend a lot in the cinema to see movies, obtain tickets to attend almost all comedy shows, make megastars out of actors, music artistes and comedians, comparatively, the sight of Nigeria’s Spoken Words scene is pitiable to behold.


Philip Asaya is one of the strong voices pushing the frontiers of the craft in Nigeria and by extension the African continent.













He shares the same sentiment. When asked what the current state of Spoken Words and its artistes is in Nigeria, he replied, “Struggling!” “Poets are really struggling. Very few poets are making money from Spoken Words poetry. Other poets just want to have their voice heard and they end up being abused.


There is no appreciation for the craft. That is why you’ll give a Spoken Word artiste an envelope after his performance. The poet will go home thinking it is money only to find a ‘thank you for coming’ letter in it.












This is someone who just memorised a thousand words in his head and came out to pour it, entertained you, wowed the crowd and made some of you think back to your past and think forward to your future. And then you’ll invite a musical artiste to come on stage and play a CD, then mimes to it off-key. And you pay him hundreds of thousands of naira. It’s that terrible”. Spoken Words is far from being accepted by mainstream audiences just as music has been.


So, Asaya’s lamentations were well understood. As a matter of fact, it underplayed the struggles of many Spoken Words artistes in Nigeria. In the quest to push their craft forward and catch the attention of mainstream audiences, they are being abused, underappreciated and exploited.


One of such artistes, Olabimpe (real name withheld) revealed that rather than being paid, she had to pay in order to perform her Spoken Words piece at events particularly rap concerts. She is a fourth year Law student at the University of Lagos and had figured out that Spoken Words just like rap uses rhythm, punchlines and metaphors. So, she deliberately infuses a lot of that into her Spoken Word s o that it could at least be relatable and perhaps accepted by lovers of Hip Hop music.












Though Hip Hop itself is a niche genre within the larger sonic context of Nigerian music. Yet, an embrace of her Spoken Words by fans of that niche genre, which amounts to millions in Nigeria, is enough reason to be excited. So, she began pushing her works to such audiences expecting to be welcomed and incorporated into the fold.


“Well, I was wrong. People just don’t understand Spoken Words in this clime. I had to pay in order to perform at rap events as an opening acts for rappers who themselves are up and coming artistes.












If any hip hop event is coming to Unilag, I’ll reach out to the organisers and they’ll say this is not rap but if you want to perform this, then you have to drop some cash which I did. I have paid N15, 000 to perform for five minutes at an event.” Asked if she noticed any spike in her audience reach as a direct result of these investments in her craft, she said: “It isn’t that huge. People just don’t seem to understand Spoken Words”.


This lack of understanding of Spoken Words that is been often referred to could be responsible for apathy of mainstream audiences towards the art. Unlike music, Spoken Words is deeply rooted in a cluster of depth, profundity and acuity.


At its core is an aggressive means for expression and reflection. It is like rap music in the 80s; sometimes confrontational and at all times direct. Many Spoken Words artistes have been clamouring for the sociability of Spoken Words.












It is believed that making Spoken Words less poetically intransigent and more affable may hasten the process of acceptance and appreciation by mainstream audiences.

Spoken words artistes in Nigeria and entertainment Space -  Asaya, Ola Adene speak

According to Ola Adene, a Benin based Spoken Words artiste, the performance of the art is becoming less dark and gritty. He is a part of a generation of Spoken Words artistes who are championing the mainstream appeal of the art.












His last Spoken Words album, ‘Social Work’ is a social commentary that cut across a wide range of themes. “Gone are the days when people think that poetry has to be dark and only for reflection and encouragement. We can do all of these while still entertaining people.


By so doing, you create a need for people to want to listen to Spoken Words,” Adene explained.


Asaya also corroborated this, “Spoken Words artistes have to be thinking about becoming mainstream. How can I write more about things that more people can relate with?

How can I write a piece that I can perform at a stand-up comedy show?

Can I write a funny poem to perform?

They need to be understandable so that brands can consider partnering with them.


That is going to drive the commercialisation of Spoken Words and the poets can start making profits from it.” They both might be right. There is a need to break down Spoken Words into what is widely comprehensible.


This exactly what was rapper Jude Abaga more known as M.I did with rap. He made it sociable. Before his time, Hip Hop music was struggling, just as Spoken Words is at the moment. Many fans were lost in the fizzy tempo of rap, which was highly influenced by Western culture at the time.













However, M.I is credited as the rapper who shattered the stylistic barrier and spiked the sociability of rap music. The rest they say is history. After sociability, Spoken Words artistes still face the challenge of funding.


Without making substantial income from their mastery of the craft, they are expending a lot more into it particularly for promotion of their Spoken Words piece. Meanwhile, the failure to do this will result to the inability of their creative work to scale beyond their immediate social circles and travel mileages.


This impedes the common growth of the craft. This promotion is mostly done using the internet. When Spoken Words artistes produce their performed poems, one of the platforms they put it on for their fans to download and listen is Kulikuli Poetry.


The platform is owned by Paul Joshua Uma more known as Paul Word. He is a Spoken Words artiste himself and doubles as a blogger helping poets push their creative work to wider audiences.













When Saturday Telegraph spoke to him, he decried the lack of funding and multiplicity of media platforms for Spoken Words artistes as some of the challenges impeding the visibility and overall growth of the art. “We don’t have that much visibility to the public in terms of online platforms. We need to create more avenues for people to access Spoken Words. We need more platforms.


If you put your Spoken Words piece on a platform like Kulikuli Poetry, at least we can guarantee you about 2,000 download.


That is without you promoting on your own. You can now imagine if you do.


The numbers will multiply. But poets can’t afford to because nobody is sponsoring them. We need funding. We’ve seen corporate investors put in money into other forms of arts. We’ve seen Development Bank pump money into the film industry.


They can do it with Spoken Words too. We also need more media platforms.













If we talk about Spoken Words, I can barely count the media platforms that we have in Nigeria paying attention to Spoken Words. We have Kulikuli Poetry, Word- Up NG,” he reiterated.


However, in this entire constellation of challenges militating against the survival and growth of Spoken Words in Nigeria, the artistes themselves bear a huge chunk of the blame for the stunted growth of Spoken Words in Nigeria.


Their inability to remain authentic, their lack of diversification and the prominence of what Philip Asaya described as ‘fake poets’ is doing more harm than good to the growth and commercial appreciation of Spoken Words in the country.


“I really don’t blame the people who underappreciate poets. They say the way you lay your bed, so you lie on it. There are many people who call themselves Spoken Words artistes and they are not. And it’s bad for the art. Imagine being someone who just got introduced to Spoken Words and you go for an event.













The first artiste comes, useless; the second, useless; the third, useless; the fourth, you’re yawning. You lose interest and that’s not just you. That means we’ve lost thousands of people who you can also influence to like Spoken Words at once. Spoken Words artistes need to be so good that they match up with these music artistes, attract the attention of media houses that will blow the trumpet in order to drive corporate collaboration.”


A perfect example of the prospect of Spoken Words and the influence it can yield when the artistes pay attention to developing their craft could be Tobi Abiodun.


He is a poetry slam champion who has performed even beyond the shores of Nigeria.


He once partnered with Heritage Bank to produce a Spoken Words advert for the bank. The advert went on to become one of the highlights of last year’s Big Brother Naija reality TV show. It, to certain extent, awakened the consciousness of mainstream audiences about Spoken Words.













“If you did a review of the poetry advert during Big Brother last year, you’d find out that people are beginning to appreciate and understand that Spoken Words can also be didactic, entertaining” he explained, adding that the ideal Spoken Words ecosystem would be a system where the art “can collaborate with other forms profitably, where poets are celebrated like musicians, like movie stars, where they get endorsement deals, where they can ask for what they’re worth and it gets given to them”.


On her part, Bunmi Africa, another Spoken Words artiste and host of the show, Lagos Poetry Sessions on Lagosbased radio station; City 105.1 FM believes that to achieve this, “Spoken Words artistes need to put more work into developing and creating more awareness for their craft.


That involves collaborations, live events and seeking more opportunities. The best form of support needed right now is an acknowledgment for the amount of value being offered through this art form, after all, ‘Exposure’ can’t feed Spoken Words artistes.”













The thing is Spoken Words has the potential to become a dominant force in the entertainment industry. Many people are peevish about the monotony that pervades the current spectrum of Nigerian music with respect to the sound and thematic value. And Spoken Words can be a viable alternative in this regard. From artiste development to industrialisation of the art, it’s a long journey to mainstream acceptance.

(NewTelegraph)