The growth of the gospel music in the Cameroonian music industry so far cannot be overlooked. The industry has been impressive over these few years though still needing the feet of other gospel industries like Nigeria and Ivory Coast to stand. However, it’s been gaining negative publicity too, for the rough reception a few foreign artists have had in recent time.
While countries like Nigeria, South Africa, DRC Congo, Ghana, Côte D’ivoire and Kenya can all boast of a solid gospel sector, Cameroon is still creeping behind like a sweet potatoe plant in a mashy area, with very little or no success in this industry.
Most event organizers have been s.art enough, to use this vulnerability to leverage from the popularity of most foreign artists in this sector, by inviting them to Cameroon. Their motive sometimes is not even to inspire the country’s artists, but it’s low-key money-making. They pay these foreign artists and then expect to reap cows from the local population through concerts. Something most of them do very well by the way.
To prove to you that this is about making money, they don’t go for unknown names or to Countries whose artists are not popular in Cameroon. This explains why Nigeria will always be a first choice and from Nigeria, only big names make a triumphant entry here. If not, how many Ghanaian singers can you say have headlined concerts in Cameroon?
In a country where not upto five artists can boast of having headlined shows and made a fortune internationally, we can’t count the number of foreign artists who storm Cameroon year after year on a highly paid basis. Is it these foriegn artists fault?
It can’t be their fault because even the Bible says “your gift shall make room for you” – Proverbs 18:16 and that’s exactly what their talent is doing, earning money for them.
But is the consuming desire to make profit off these artists by event organizers in Cameroon gradually burning bridges for young rising Cameroonian artists?
One of the most successful concerts that Cameroon has hosted in the gospel sector in recent time, has been the “Ada in Cameroon” concert which took place in 2020 (during lockdown).
Since then, both in the Francophone and Anglophone sections, there hasn’t been a better concert involving a foreign artist. As a matter of fact, two of such in 2022 alone have been flopped and inconsiderable. Earlier in March of 2022 Mercy Chinwo flew to Cameroon and had one of the shows she wouldn’t have wanted to have in her career. As if that was not enough, Just last week, Ivorian sensation, KS Bloom’s concert in Cameroon has been making rounds all over.
The feedback has been unimpressive. As a matter of fact, the singer was allegedly sent behind bars by the event organizers for not having lived up to their agreed terms. This raised eyebrows of many celebrities who advocated for the immediate release of the artist. It’s reported that Maahlox paid for the artist’s release though.
Now, the question, is what foundation are some of these event organizers laying for the home grown artists who’ll eventually have foreign invitations at some point in their careers?
We are still to have a Cameroonian gospel singer headline a major concert out of Cameroon. Indira Baboke is on a trajectory and could hold that down maybe in countries like Ivory Coast, where she has a plethora of fans, at least her social media suggests she can. But besides Indira, do we have yet another artist who can fill up a 5,000 capacity event out of Cameroon? This is based on social media following and influence (it’s a question which you can answer with an artist’s name).
We know that most event organizers often give a middle finger to the aftermath of their concerts, especially after cashing in, but what is the relationship they’re building with other counties for their own artists? Can Cameroonians now say they don’t need foreign concerts to be relevant? We don’t agree ! Every artist needs a foreign market, and this can only be possible with good history and relationship between countries involved.
If these organizers look forward to making a positive impact in the long run, they need to retract and be mindful of what their actions are doing to the country’s image.
