Cameroonian singer, performer and song writer Ewube, has been trending since her latest interview on “Hall of Fame” surfaced the media. Ewube didn’t mince her words when she hit hard on Cameroonian’s, calling them “unsupportive” and how they only wait for foreign industries to endorse their artists before they can believe and support them. The newly signed artist to the South African record label, Open Mic Productions, confirmed that there was a misunderstanding between her former record label, Steven’s Music Entertainment, and her, where she had recorded her soon-to-be released album. She believes that her already recorded album couldn’t be released in Cameroon because she feels that Cameroonian’s are not supportive. She believes her music is too good for it to not be highly valued, so she thought it was better to take it where it would be highly welcomed. Hence, South Africa is the new destination.Amazingly, #Ewube is super talented and versatile, and anyone would expect her to be shutting down shows across Africa by now, but who’s to blame for her falling off the pecking order in Cameroon’s music industry in particular? As a matter of fact, her cry is a cry of many artists who focus on what they want to do, caring less about what the fans are expecting from them.Keep in mind that when Ewube’s “Pop It” song blew up, she was dubbed the “Dance Hall Queen”, by these same fans she said are not supportive, a title she still holds.As a matter of fact, fans truly wanted more of her Dancehall vibe at the time. Many knew she was talented and thought Dancehall music was the best choice for her at the time and some still do, but it was a suggestion that she and her team ignored and tried to impose another music style or should I say narrative, on fans. This hasn’t worked out over the years and she now thinks fans are being unsupportive. Maybe Steven’s Music used to pour millions of FCFA into promoting Ewube, but when you look into it deeply, you tend to wonder on how much was truly invested in promoting her. Maybe she thinks that getting famous happens overnight… it does not, and even if it does, it can only be sustained by an effective system, i.e. a well thought out consistent promotional and marketing plan, the use of qualified and experience personnel such as a strong public relations team and more, until you or your label no longer obliged to pay huge sums to promote yourself as the media and fans will do it for you for free. Talking about validation, you might agree that her former label mate #DaphneNjie became very popular in Cameroon and did not need international validation. Daphne’s international collaborations were not to validate her, rather they were to expand her coastal reach and conquest.Artists like #Salatiel, Ko-c, #Locko, Mimie, #KrysM, Mr. Leo, #TzyPanchak and Shura, to name a few, all blew up in Cameroon first, and at the time, needed no external validation. Any of these who haven’t stayed relevant throughout might have been as a result of their strategies… Talking about albums, it wouldn’t make sense to blame fans solely for most album flops, as in Cameroon most artists ruin their own album sales with either high price tags or inaccessible or non-responsive sites. It’s true that Cameroonian’s will need to step up their support for their artists, (by not only watching them for free on YouTube but by buying their music, sharing it, attending their shows/concerts) which can help to make artists music trend and more), but these artists (and their labels) also need to start taking the blame when they screw-up their careers as all the blame of their career not going the way they wanted, cannot always be blamed on their fans. In every industry, there are artists who are more privileged than others and who may not work or need to work as hard as others to be known. Meanwhile, there are others who have to work harder to be known despite how talented they may be. C’est la vie. It happens everywhere, even in the biggest industries. I’m sure you can agree with me that talent is not everything. Most often, PR and Management does the job with the talent but can most record labels take the blame? How do we explain that Daphne has not released a new song in almost three years but is still popular among her fans and that her fans still want more from her? At the same time, if she continues to waste time delivering music, her fans might eventually get tired of waiting and might turn their focus else where to someone else who is delivering the music they want (this will be a topic for another time). When you don’t listen to your fans and only think your talent is more important than their quest, remember these same fans are exposed to new talents on a daily basis and if these new talents suit their appetite, the fans will not be afraid to switch.
