MUSIC SCENE: Why international collabos are not always worth it

In the last couple of months, two songs that are the quintessential ‘wedding love song’ have been released that have made me pause and think about our standards in relation to international music.

The two songs I am talking about are “Marry You” by Diamond and Ne-Yo, and more recently, “I Do”, by Willy Paul and Alaine.

For some reason, it would seem that any time an African artist does a song with an international one, they are seen as a much bigger deal – perhaps bigger than they are, even, as if they were not a big deal before. I say this because I think both of the songs are mediocre. Hear me out.

'I DO' IS MORE LIKE 'I DON'T'

If we’re talking on the basis of the type of music that these artists have produced without international collaboration, both Willy Paul and Diamond have much better songs. Diamond’s “Salome”, featuring Rayvanny and also published in 2016, has 14 million views on YouTube (in comparison to six million for “Marry You”). While the three were launched almost three months apart, it would take a miracle for the latter to garner as many views as the former even if they were released simultaneously. Even though "Salome" is a rendition of a very popular old school hit, it manages to lyrically and visually to stand on its own two feet. Willy Paul’s “Fanya”, though trailing behind by about 100,000 views to his most recent song, still has a better beat, a catchier tune (even though you can try to deny it), and to be honest, I just like it better.

“Marry You” seems like a lazy song. It doesn’t sound different from anything, doesn’t distinguish itself in any way, except for the fact that it has Ne-Yo in it – almost as if the artists met on Coke Studio, which is a great platform, and decided that they absolutely had to do something together, regardless of its quality. You know who else did the same thing? Sauti Sol and Yemi Alade. But look at what they produced! An African anthem.

”I Do”…let’s just say, I Don’t. Nothing makes it stick in my head in comparison to the host of wonderful Kenyan-produced items of music available – of course the first one I would think of is ”Sura Yako”, but aside from that, even Atemi’s ”Baby”, or the old school ”Wedding Day” by MOG serves as a better earworm.

We don’t have to have international artists to make good songs, but collaboration is necessary, and helpful to the growth of a vibrant, eclectic African music scene. But can the products of the collaborations please be good, as opposed to below-standard tracks made because of some farfetched notion that we need them? Please note that, for example, it was Wizkid, an African artist, who helped Drake score his first ‘No. 1 as a lead artist on the Billboard Hot 100 on May 21 2016’ for their jam ”One Dance”. For real, guys – we can do great all by ourselves.