Relationships and loyalty are supposed to count for something; they are expected to be pegged above every mechanism in the book when it comes to showbusiness.
Unfortunately, the pervasion and obsession of social media and trends have gradually killed such critical life ethics.
This week, musician Edem was on Twitter and had some words for his peer, Sarkodie, over the latter’s inability to feature in the video for his new single, ‘Favour’.
He wrote, “Yo, Sarkodie, I know you feel bad for bad for not showing up for ‘Favour’ video. Team even lose money for that but I forgive you my G. No hard feelings. Call me when you need me, I go dey for you.”
Subtle Jabs
Edem is one of the most intelligent chaps in the music industry. He is confident, articulate and knows the business.
Some observers have commended him for calling Sarkodie out but I feel otherwise. There’s nothing commendable about his tweet. His tweet is fraught with subtle jabs and innuendos.
How did he know that Sarkodie feels bad for not showing up for the video shoot? Did they communicate? If they did talk and Sarkodie expressed his regret for not showing up, why put it out on social media?
His team lost money due to Sarkodie’s inability to show up. How?
There could be varied reasons money could be lost for Sarkodie’s no show; they may have purchased costumes for him, gone to a location of Sarkodie’s choosing or any other demand from Sarkodie that had some form of expenditure.
If the above scenarios are true, then it clearly means, they communicated over all these. Why didn’t Edem communicate his dissatisfaction to Sarkodie in the same mode they had such discussions instead of placing his concern on social media?
You forgive him? Clearly, Edem is aggrieved for Sarkodie’ refusal or inability to show up at the shoot but why use social media to address such?
Edem says it is no hard feelings but that’s a fib, a clear contradiction of his tweet. You have no hard feelings, yet, you are ranting about money lost and all.
“Call me when you need me, I go dey for you” is sheer cynicism; Edem reminding Sarkodie he was responsible for Sarkodie’s first major breakthrough when he put him on his Hammer-produced track, ‘You Dey Craze’.
Pitching Sarkodie for Ridicule
The moment I saw the tweet, I realized Edem was being disingenuous.
This was Edem not only courting for a pity party but pitching Sarkodie for backlash and the venerated rapper was actually debased by observers on that platform.
Some critics of Sarkodie have over the years held it against him about his so-called inability or refusal to offer support for his peers, with his issue with Kwaw Kese as the latest albatross on his neck, so, it was convenient for Edem to post such on his handle and invite all manner of vitriol on Sarkodie.
The confounding bit is this; when Edem was looking for Sarkodie for a collaboration, he didn’t post it on social media.
When the two had a discussion on the theme of the song and the making of the song, it was not posted on social media and when Sarkodie provided his verse to the track, Edem did not post it on his twitter feed.
So, how come, that Sarkodie doesn’t show up for the video shoot for inexplicable reasons, and the world is getting to know that Edem is not excited about it.
Trend over Relationship
Edem is smart; he knows that in this current dispensation of the business, music, regardless of how good it is, needs some sort of promotion, push and marketing in order to generate that buzz.
For him, he chose to shroud the release of his song with controversy and relegated any form of relationship and loyalty to the background. He was willing to treat Sarkodie unfairly in order to gain the needed attention.
He knows that, he could have easily reached out to Sarkodie to discuss whatever money he lost for the latter’s no-show, or the fact that he forgives him for not showing up.
He knows, that he could have easily reached out the same way he reached out when he had Sarkodie in mind for the collaboration.
The fact is; he was willing to put Sarkodie under the bus in order to generate a promotional drive for the song and he did. He was willing to drive eye balls to his new video at the detriment of the brand, Sarkodie.
The New Normal
The new normal is that entertainers have now developed a penchant of airing their grievances on social media instead of reaching out to each other and having healthy conversations.
The new normal is to instigate unnecessary chatter on social media in a bid to trend and be part of whatever chatter is making headlines.
The new normal is engage peers in a social media banter, in the glare of the world, instead of having healthy private discussions.
The new normal is that trends trump over friendship, relationship and loyalty!
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