Popular reggae artiste, Orits Williki, has said that despite the boom in the Nigerian music industry at the moment, the music of the 1980s was higher in value than what is obtainable nowadays. According to the reggae crooner, music of the early and late 1980s exhibited functional and aesthetic quality of music unlike what is obtainable today despite the fact that musicians these days are making more money than their counterparts in the 80s.
Williki who made the declaration recently in Lagos during a sports event held at National Stadium said there was no basis for comparism between the music then and now. According to him, everybody has become a musician today as a result of Information Technology (IT).
He noted that before now, every aspiring musician ought to know how to play basic musical instruments and also know how to write meaningful songs unlike what is obtainable at the moment whereby anybody can just walk to the studio and have all the beats already computerised for him.
I must be frank with you, the Nigerian music of the 80s is far better than the Nigerian music at the moment because in the 80s, we had very good lyrics and songs being churned out by musicians. But you cannot say the same about today.
“There is no doubt that the music today is experiencing boom. Also there is more money in the industry as musicians do smile to the banks, but the fact remains that you cannot compare the quality of what we had in the 80s with what we have at the moment.
These days, anybody can enter into the studio and release and album without even knowing how to play one musical instrument. In the 80s you must know how to play the basic musical instruments to start with. We appreciate the boom in the industry, there is no doubt about that but when you talk of quality, I can assure you that the music in the past are of better quality than what we have now.
On why he kept his fans waiting without releasing a new album, Williki said he recently released a double album which is now doing well in the market.
When asked about his colleagues who left the shores of the country for greener pastures abroad, he said it was not good for anybody to stay away for too long because whoever does so would have a disconnect between himself and the society.
“Well, for those of us who stayed behind in the country when our colleagues were travelling abroad for greener pastures I think we are better off.’’he said.
