Think of some of the most popular music from Cameroon these days and what comes to mind easily will fall under one of these categories :- explicit, ignorant, passive, or the profession of fake love. Actually, this is not a Cameroonian thing. This is what is happening everywhere in the world where there is a pop culture. There seems to be no place in the world for conscious music.
We can debate whether or not there is a body actively diverting traffic away from conscious music or if this is really a vote from the public saying, “No, we do not want music that reminds us of our daily predicaments, we want something to help us escape our realities.” The former will likely lead us to conspiracy theories while the later will lead us to hypocrites -Many who claim to like conscious music but will still consume only popular music.
Any-Ha!
It is no surprise that conscious music doesn’t serve capitalism and hence does not attract much investment and advertisement dollars.
That said, there is one Cameroonian artist that still believes he can, through his music, spread political and socioeconomic consciousness though his music - His name is Bonzyz.
In his debut single “Kupshi,” Bonzyz who sings primarily in English, Pidgin, and his mother tongue Limbum was able to rally elderly traditional rulers from 9 villages in the Donga and Mantung Division of the North West region of Cameroon. In what can be considered a pure Hip Hop/ Rap track, one would assume his words in the song were touching enough to convince elderly members of his community to come out and show support.
Consistent with his brand, Bonzyz released a song ‘My Voice’ in which he addressed the Anglophone problem.
Another of his songs ‘I just di observe’ addressed the lack of collaboration and backstabbing in the music industry.
His latest release ‘No Ever Come Back’ is another one of his streams of consciousness - still addressing prominent societal ills, distasteful human behavior, and life’s natural ups and downs.
I have no special need or draw towards conscious music. I just listen to good music. I use different types of music for different purposes. When I write, I want music that can inspire my thought process and that will mean music that is filled with a positive message or one that can evoke my sentiments or emotion.
Sometimes, I just want to listen to instrumental music.
I will never, on my own time, listen to noisy high tempo music like all of Arafat’s catalogue or a song like Tenor’s ‘Kaba Ngondo.’ If I am in the club, that’ll work just fine but there is no space in my mind to retain anything from such music. I do think Tenor is easily the most talented urban artist and performer in Cameroon at the moment but I don’t have anything to learn from him because we come from and live in two different worlds.
Most of the time, I listen to music just to appreciate the art of writing. The message doesn’t necessarily need to be conscious in the sense of the word in this context. I am just looking for sick delivery, melody, and intricate wordplay.
No matter the kind of music an artist does, I develop a special liking only for artists that have some insight into the workings of society and use their voice to educate the masses. They don’t have to do it in their music but I expect them to use their platforms outside music to be a voice for the people.
I have had the chance to meet Bonzyz in person but I have not been around him long enough to know the man behind the music. I am always wary of artists using the ‘conscious artist’ brand just as a campaign speech to switch up on us after winning the elections - I hope not.
Any-Ha!
Here are links to the songs mentioned in article
Kupshi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSi0V45xMjo
My Voice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya0v1b9PNsc
I Just Di Observe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWf3bwHAtsA
No Ever Come Back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bWjN0A1K4o
Appendix
To give us some perspective on the content of his music and dish out some cultural civics to those interested, we should take a dive into his origins and the people he speaks for.
The Wimbum poeple of the Donga and Mantung Division of the northwest region of Cameroon make up one of the largest tribes in Cameroon with a population of more than 250,000. The Tribe is divided into three main clans, the Warr Clan, Wiya clan and the Tang Clan. Each tribe is ruled by a clan head and each clan is sub-segmented into villages. And they have a total of about 33 villages ( each ruled by a Fon) that make up the tribe. Their primary language is Limbum. Though Hausa and Fulfulde (bororor) is spoken in some parts due to it closeness with Nigeria and and favorability to cattle grazing, practiced mostly by northerners.
The primary religion practiced by the Wimbum people is Christianity with a relevant muslim community primarily in some villages like Binka and Ndu. The main Economic activity is farming and the major crops are maize, beans and potatoes. They also have cash crops like palm oil, rice, cocoa, cassava, soya beans and cotton coming from the Mbaw plains of villages like Sop and Njirong.
The Donga and Mantung division together with the Bui division boosts a lot of creatives and a vibrant youth population with a stand up attitude.