Open Letter to MTN Project Fame

Dear MTN Project FAME Academy,

6 years ago saw our joy conceived for a great TV reality show that got us glued to our TV screens was born. It was the MTN Project FAME West Africa Season 1, where Iyanya emerged as the winner of the debut edition.

Earlier before then, the Nigeria Music Industry was full of “talentless” and senseless weed-lovers who took over *rings bell* (no shades). Big thanks to the likes of Tu Face, Mode9, Darey Art Alade, Asa et al who made the difference.

Since 2008, You have continued to produce great talents, spotting them from their nook and cranny all over West Africa. 6 years of fantastic job, the talents you’ve produced have toiled and now is the time to tell of the success they have made.

I hope you’ve heard Iyanya’s hit track titled Kukere, where the lovely vocalist turned a stunning dancer. He later dropped Flavour, your waist and a couple of others. Yes! Iyanya has hit our speakers hard and he’s one of the successes to ever come from your Academy.

The big question is, would he have won the Project FAME in 2008 if he sang one of his hit drops? Would he have got us glued to our TVs singing Kukere rather than that thrilling performance of “Flying without Wings”?

Sometimes, it feels like Chest and Abs are substitutes of good music.

I do understand that the couple of RnB songs he did immediately after project FAME did not hit in Nigeria (blame our love for the bad tunes) but let me remind you of Darey Art Alade’s “Not the Girl”, Tu Face’s “Rainbow”.

Our dear Iyanya, it’s ridiculous how you did a whole album with none of the tracks showing the vocal prowess you use to have. We miss the pre-Kukere Iyanya and you’ve made it look like you’ve forgotten all you learnt at the Project FAME academy.

Finest boy, Praiz is also one of the successful products of your academy as he has been doing quite fine in the music world. I was thrilled at his Rich and Famous track that I did tip to win at the Headies.

I was so glad when he won. You must have heard his other singles featuring popular Longomba on Oshe and his latest hit track Mercy, thrilling. 3 tracks already with such a microscopic fraction of vocal content, help us teLl Praiz we need more outstanding vocal performance on his tracks.

I’m not totally blinded to his Instagram videos which has served as the only avenue to display his vocal prowess. Dear Praiz, I see the fact that you have it in you but the Nigerian music audience does not seem to possess the utmost serenity.

Well, I’m in that same audience and I know a lot of people who expect same from you. I hope your album comes dedicating three or more tracks that will thrill some of us who love and cherish good music.

My dear Chidinma, kedike mistress, the Nigerian Jordin Sparks we still don’t have. Your final stage performance at the Project FAME Academy still leaves trails of indelible happiness in our minds.

How your screams came out landing with perfect harmony still leaves me occupiedly amazed. Project FAME, I hope you remember her first dropped Jankoliko which shallowedly passed a message to all Nigerians.

Then, she came with kedike, the love song that got massive airplay. Then, that seemed like the end of your product’s music terrain ’cause it feels she balled too much on Emi ni Baller that she got a musical hamstring injury.

I was sadly stunned and shocked at her new drop, Kulicha, which leaves a dent on her reputation of good music production. Improving or declining? That’s left for her to sit and think about. At this juncture, I must say Chidinma has given us lot of dance tracks and I must say we’ve enjoyed them but then we need her to balance them with mind-blowing operas. Yes! I said it, operas, you can do it Ekile.

The new products, Oyinkansade has in my own futuristic opinion stepped into the shoes of his predecessors. Though, producing a fantastic duet stay with me cover performance with immaculate, his Adura track was still less of vocal awe. If he continues that same way, he might just end up drowning in the seas that drowned Iyanya.

Then help ask Olawale what exactly his last drop was about. Hope his Vocal ability has not been “gbelor’ed” to the cemetery?

With the above case studies, Project FAME, it is glaring your products have derailed from what you taught them at the academy. I don’t see a difference between Iyanya and Wizkid who never attended your academy.

I expect you to produce better musicians in the subsequent editions to come. This I believe you can achieve if you focused more on contestants writing, composing and performing their own songs.

I do not totally request you eliminate the performance of popular songs by other musicians. All I’m saying is, you can’t produce Future Sam
Smiths, Michael Jacksons, Stevie Wonders, Bruno Mars if you don’t let them master the art of composition.

It is time the music industry took a turn from just doing music to doing good music. It is time Nigerian artistes started balancing love for money and love for good music. It is time we took song composition seriously as the foundation of mind-blowing, ground-tearing and mouth-opening tracks.

It is time Project FAME started producing not just talented singers but awesome writers and composers. It is time for a total musical overhaul, for whatever is done in countries like USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand can be done in Nigeria; all it takes is a right structure.

Just before I retract my hands, I would love to appreciate Producer Teeymix for signing Oyinkansade and Immaculate to Vivace records.

You’ve got two talented musicians who need your wealth of experience to become the real DoroMegaSuperStars (no shades).

Lastly, I’m saying a big thank you to YabaLeftOnline crew, who took out of their precious time to blog this. God bless you.

Long live Project FAME!
Long live Good Nigerian Music!