This is a debate that has been going on for long with opinions panned. On one hand you have those who think all it takes is a change of heart for Cameroonian entertainers to enjoy working harmoniously with each other to advance the industry and the pessimistic hand of which I am one who think a lot of other structural adjustments need to be made before people can genuinely become selfless and give more of their skills and efforts to something for the benefit for all.
There is even a #holdhands movement that is making its way albeit slowly to becoming a real thing-championed by people with good intentions and genuine camaraderie.
For all the reasons and explanation people can advance as to why collaboration is not yet a thing around here, none holds ground like - lack of financial resources.
We see this particular factor in play even when it comes to the creativity of the artists. Making music is great especially when nothing is at stake; when you are writing songs and performing for your friends and nobody expects you to become a sensation and you do not even feel the pressure to look, act, or sound like one. Then there is a moment when you decide to make a career out of music and everything changes. Every verse you write and every instrumental you pick becomes part of a strategy game and it is no longer so much fun. Not to talk of the pressure from family, friends, acquaintances and society.As money gets into the conversation, everything else starts to get out. We compromise, dangerously.
I am one that believes in collaboration. I am greater at cleaning up ideas than I am at dreaming up new ideas so for me, working with others can make me produce much better results. Unfortunately, the entertainment industry is what it is and in this country it is even more fragmented and volatile.
The economic climate also does not allow a lot of legroom for artists to hold some sort of part time job to handle the bills while still allowing time to the artist to develop his/her work and handle the other business transactions around selling and generation income from the craft. So you have people with very fragile subsistence situations - collaboration therefore is just damn too expensive.
Collaboration especially in creative endeavours requires that a lot of time be spent in forging a bond between the collaborators, they need to be around each other for extended periods of time to properly understand each persons unique strengths. We however find ourselves in a place where it is almost impossible to have up to five people together under no contract, giving in their all towards a certain goal.
Another reason is most artists are not convinced about their choices which makes them adopt a myopic short-term view of their careers. When I was still active in the music industry, the few times I succeeded in getting people in the studio to collaborate, the vibe only lasted for a few days. People start getting frustrated when there is no sign of victory early on and that's all because they are hungry. They would respond to the next call that promises to put 1000frs more in their pockets than what I had to offer even if that call came from something unrelated to music.
Kanye we all know is the ultimate collaborator when it comes to music. For his MBDTF album, he rented out a studio in Hawaii for weeks and flew out more than 30 people to work on the album and the result was what is arguably his most stretched sonic interpretation of music.
One product of everything I have explained above is the producer+artist package I believe Cameroon will become known for even though it is slowly becoming a trend worldwide with acts like J Coke, Nasty C, PARTYNEXTDOOR, and Ty Dolla $ign all known for producing their own music or at least most of it.
Some of the talents I know will make it to the top of the food chain produce and perform their own music. We all know Jovi and Salatiel but some of the lesser known names are Deecy, Vegah aka Trongpikin, Tee Nellz, Skriim, and Moulah Waf who is known for producing Stanley's Tumboss and is set to release his first mixtape on the 28th of August. I am certain there are many more out there who have not entered my radar.
Jovi leads and wins because he knows how to produce, rap, and ENGINEER and has a loyal image producer in his brother Feb, which means his organization has fewer moving parts and therefore his time to market is cut short and more manageable. You probably noticed how I had 'engineer' in all caps because that is what actually sets him ahead of many. I have heard many great songs lost in the mix.
Fact is, the performers who produce their own music are the ones that will survive in this industry, at least artistically. So if you are reading this and you are an aspiring artist, you better learn to produce your own music because once that producer you are counting on finds someone who can actually pay more for his beats, he is definitely not giving them to you. There is the rare case of loyalty but it's better to be safe than sorry. I know for sure I wouldn't have even been in the music industry for as long as I survived if I didn't have a complete home studio and produced my own tracks.
Now that Maahlox and I.V.O’s relationship has met its end, we are all anxiously waiting to see what Maahlox will do next and some are even declaring the end of his career, claiming I.V.O is the architect of his sound and he cannot find another I.V.O- problems Jovi and Deecy will never have.
Imagine a Mr Leo without Salatiel - how hard was that? - Not to wish anything bad into fruition but if Jay-Z and Kanye could get to this point then we know better to never say never.
You will have the few: the Lockos, the Daphnes and the Stanleys who have a robust team with the finances to get them what they want, but unfortunately that is not the norm and less likely the norm for an artist on the come up who is still trying to work on their craft or an artist that is trying to create their own sound - one that will not necessarily make sense to labels that are more concerned with pushing a sound they know the public is already familiar with.
Any- Ha!
There's is no point being salty at people for them not wanting to collaborate. You have to understand the aforementioned pressures can cause anyone to make decisions that ensure their immediate survival even if it might hurt everyone in the long run. As fans, before you condemn artists for not wanting to work with each other, understand that it will happen more if you paid for the work you already got.