“L’on aurait pu s’en passer” is what I told myself yesterday as I read through the hundreds of opinions and views about the recent saga that has rocked our teething music industry. It was attention-grabbing, of course. I mean, we are talking about Daphne, arguably our biggest urban musician dragged in the court of public opinion and subjected to scrutiny by self-declared witnesses and self-mandated experts of the musical court, each one dishing their own jurisprudence neatly packaged in writs formed out of their own subjective and/or informed opinions.
I personally posted Daphne’s new song “Doucement” here, two days ago, just one hour after it was uploaded to YouTube. I watched the video twice before posting it here because I noticed how the video featured a certain timeline from Daphne’s other videos that featured Numerica.
I found the storytelling timeline quite interesting and thought about writing an article on it. But I felt uninspired and decided not to. So, instead, I decided to post it with the caption “it appears Numerica has broken Daphne’s heart.”
The reason I am bringing this timeline is that, for those who may not have exonerated Daphne and freed her of all charges, it showed that from the onset, the concept most likely had been planned. The appearance of Numerica in two previous videos begins to make sense. But then again, a flash of brilliance could have happened and with technology, editing the two videos into the “Doucement” video is child’s play for Dr Nkeng.
In any case, Daphne’s team, represented by Ndikum Valery has presented OVERWHELMING evidence on his Facebook page, that the song ‘Doucement’ was recorded in January of 2017 and the accusations forwarded by the two young ladies do not hold any judicial water. But for the sake of justice, we shall wait for them to make their way to the bar and present counter-arguments along with evidence that could sway our opinions (for those of us who have exculpated Daphne and everyone else implicated in the project) and show us that the gloves do fit and she must not be acquitted. So far, the weights have been placed only on Steven’s Music side of the scales of justice.
But in all honesty, that is the least of my concern. I am rather saddened by the way the whole thing was handled. This PR around this thing has left me wanting. It is my Mr Leo’s black collant all over again. We are reinventing the wheel here. I have long said here that when it comes to matters of show business, your client may be your friend, but is not your friend.
I would have hoped that communications around the whole issue be done through more formal channels, for everyone who has had a say in the issue. And by formal, I am talking about either a PR Agency on retainer or someone in-house.
If we look at it critically, the reputation of three of our most powerful musical and audiovisual houses here are in play; Alpha Better Records, CPE, and Steven’s Music. This is not something to be brushed off carelessly.
As a matter of fact, I think Ndikum Valery of Steven’s Music did well to make a video show to the world that indeed Steven’s music could not have received a song from one of the ladies accusing Daphne of plagiarism as the song, Doucement, had already been recorded two and half years ago. It was timely and necessary. Those who argue that Blanche Bailly’s ‘Favor” which was featured in the “Doucement” video was released two months ago, when the “Doucement” video was supposedly shot in January of 2019 must be living in the Stone Age and must have never heard of the ‘Edit’ button. Those who still deny and rest on conspiracy theories of doctored evidence are just showing bad faith.
But that’s Valery. On the flip side, however, we have Daphne’s manager who comes out on Facebook, guns blazing and threatening lawsuits on the basis of defamation of character. And then we have Dr Nkeng who more or less belittles one of the accusers on a Facebook post.
Guys, I have been falsely accused of theft before, and let me tell you, that sh!t is infuriating. So, I perfectly understand how Daphne’s manager and Dr Nkeng must have felt. But the truth is, as much as it is within their rights to express their frustrations in the manner they did, they, unfortunately, do not have that luxury anymore. That’s the price to pay for being a public figure.
Daphne is our most bankable urban musician, and anything her management does reflect on her and her brand. And her collaborators coming out to do it the way they did reflects on her brand too. It’s a simple equation. It also shows that all the actors involved have to learn to better coordinate their individual communications under such circumstances. One cannot be building and another one tearing it down.
Some will say the industry is still growing and we are still learning, but, I think we have grown enough to know better than to communicate that way. And in addition, we are talking about major players in the industry and I think the responsibility of showing how things should be done befalls them. Perhaps it’s time for them to seek PR representation?
And I know that they are capable of better. My article on Daphne’s personal brand raised some hairs. Valery and I had an exchange on the issue. And while we both were at loggerheads, each one of us stoic in our stance, our exchange was cordial and respectable and no blood was drawn. He earned my respect, and I am sure he would not spit his drink in my face if I ran into him at a bar, my imaginary girlfriend in tow. Hehe.
Wandji Wilfred.
***Reference: “If the gloves do not fit, you must acquit” is a famous statement made by the famous lawyer Johnny Cochran during the trial of O.J Simpson in 1995
Photo: Nji Asonganyi