Nigerian singer Paul Okoye, popularly known as Rudeboy and formerly one half of the defunct P-Square duo, has expressed concerns over what he sees as the declining respect and value fans attach to musicians.
Speaking in a recent interview with Lun Lifestyle TV, the singer attributed the trend to the rise of social media, arguing that it has eroded the mystique that once surrounded artistes and made them more revered by their fans.
According to Paul, although social media offers several advantages, it has stripped musicians of the aura of mystery that previously made them appear almost godlike in the eyes of the public.
“Music videos somehow now, because of this generation, is a waste of money. I am sorry to say this. But do you remember us [P-Square] before? You don’t see us anywhere. You just watch music videos, you see us and that’s it, or we come to your country, you see us. The reason you don’t see people faint for artistes anymore is because they see them on TikTok every day dancing and promoting your music. If Michael Jackson was alive now and doing promotional content on social media, nobody would see him and faint,” he said.
Paul claimed that because artistes are no longer mysterious, fans are no longer eager to watch them in music videos, adding that shooting music videos is now a waste of money.
“Unfortunately, it’s too late for us to bring back the era of artistes being mystiques. How can you advise an artiste to post every day? How? Post what? You don’t need to. Social media brought positive change to the industry but it also led to ‘see-finish.’ Artistes are now too exposed. Fans see how they eat, cry. Before when artistes go to club, they stay in restricted VIP areas, but now when they are clubbing, everyone is filming,” he added.
