THE TIMES: THE CHALLENGE TO CREATE BETTER ARTS
This post is written by EliMuzik (Edward Ayikoe), a Ghanaian musician who is passionate about his music and the state of music as it exists in today’s world. He is a FELARITE, meaning takes inspiration from Fela Kuti.
I asked him to put together his thoughts on the state of arts (music) in Ghana after reading a string of posts he was sharing on twitter. Below is Eli’s piece of mind.
I WRITE BECAUSE I FEEL.
And right now I feel the art I love is taken as yet another product to be consumed before it’s time is done.
This, I find has become the way in which they who consume and they who create have accepted and made it the norm.
For me, I have not always believed there isn’t a way to create and share art but now I do. When I say a way, I’m referring to how long it takes and how one shouldn’t let him or herself be influenced by the already existent.
For any young artist like myself, there’s a great need to get the art out there; so we observe, seek advice and act upon it based on what we think is best or what we’re told guarantees success. And so there’s very little time to think through what we create mean.
Everyday amazing talents are lost to the idea that truth is weak and false is strong.
They say it’s a business so artists should approach it as such but I say it’s a way of life, so before anything else, it should be approached as such. Everyday amazing talents are lost to the idea that truth is weak and false is strong.
Truth is to say I’m broke and music is all I can do best to survive.
False is to say my fart smells better than yours
But then it all can be argued as forms of art.
So I ask: Of what value is truth and false to the young mind, whose foundations are built upon what he hears, sees and feels through these forms of art?
Our goal should be to change hearts and minds.
Our goal should be to create works of art that shape a generation and generations to come for like the great Renaissance era; of times gone. That time has come again and we are tasked to do even greater than was done then. And we can only do so if we believe art has always and will always be of great value to mankind for it is our past, present and our future.
Imagine if music couldn’t be copied or sold on street corners like cheap clothing.
Imagine! Just imagine!
https://soundcloud.com/elimuzikgh/magma-prod-gmk
follow him @elimuzikGh
