What happens when you perform "(Codeine) Diet" before a rapper who preaches against drug abuse?
Performing one of your biggest verses or songs at one of the most anticipated shows of the year is a no-brainer, and one would expect that was the rationale behind Tiwa Savage’s decision. Yet when she performed her verse of the Slimcase-assisted posse cut, “Diet”, a song that glorifies codeine use behind a thin veil of shaku-shaku, at a concert where many had come primarily to see J-Cole, it was a representation of something far bigger.
On Friday, April 27, 2017, the rapper known as J.Cole performed in Nigeria for the first time ever for the launch of the lager brand, Castle Lite, barely a week after the release of his 5th solo studio album, “KOD”.
The details of Cole’s set will be talked about for a long time. As I type this, I wonder if I’ll get my voice back before he gets on his plane to New York.
But there are more important things for the purpose of this piece.
Prior to the release of the album, J.Cole had said the acronym stands for three things: “Kill Our Demons”, “King Overdosed” and “Kids on Drugs”.
The album’s subject matter itself seems to lean towards the former description, suggesting that Kids on Drugs is the most ideal of the definitions.
On songs like “Photograph”, “ATM” and “1985 (Intro to the Fall-Off)”, the rapper talks about addiction to drugs, social media, fame and wealth, with most of his verses directed at young people trying to make sense of a digital world.
The strength of a message
It is somewhat ironic, and slightly creepy, that the first time he would perform songs off the album was in Lagos, a city that is now itself dealing with a drug epidemic among younger people.
We know that music can have an influence on people, their habits and choices. One would expect that Cole hoped that his album would reach the right ears and start a conversation about drug use and a more balanced life for young black people outside the pressures of modern society.
But what about a performance? How important is an artist’s maiden visit to a country? Is it possible that Cole’s performance, the stories in his album and the proximity of his album’s release to his visit to Nigeria could make a statement against drug use and possibly influence those who were lucky to be in the auditorium at Eko Hotel and Suites on Saturday morning?
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Well, for a start, Cole only performed 3 songs off KOD, the album’s title track, “Motiv8” and “Photograph”.
Each time he performed either of those songs, his apparent surprise at the fact that Nigerians “knew the lyrics” was the only subject worth discussing.
There was none of the self-righteous preaching that most of his non-fans berate him for. J-Cole did not say a single thing about drugs.
We’ll be left wondering if local media would have considered it worth reporting that an American rapper came to Lagos and talked about drug addiction in a hall where marijuana and codeine bottles were exchanging hands while he performed.
Kids on Drugs
On one hand, though, it may not matter that Cole didn’t admonish us like we hoped. The chorus of voices that sang the songs of the new "KOD" album proved that the album's themes might have been struck a chord with Nigerian listeners a long time before he climbed on stage.
For a rapper who lacks or ignores the camaraderie of peers like Drake, J.Cole’s fans love him for his storytelling and the real-life lessons he tries to convey in each song.
In K.O.D, what he's saying is clear. The truth is the section of the fans who know the music know its message and in a way, it has gotten as close to them as it probably ever will.
The rest depends on whether J.Cole's anti-drug campaign is strong enough to make an impact among listeners in Lagos.
The epidemic of drug abuse in this sunny city can be drawn to many reasons ( security, corruption), but the influence of pop culture cannot be discounted. As drug use is glorified in western media, eager young Nigerians have been moved to emulate their idols, and experience the euphoria that they speak of.
In a bid to react to trends and stay on top of what's relevant, Nigerian musicians have also been making music that glorifies drug use.
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Songs like Olamide’s “Science Student” and DJ Enimoney’s “Diet” which Tiwa Savage performed are only two songs that seem to glorify or at least, desensitize drug abuse; taking a societal ill and reducing it to a catchphrase that will be repeated in earnest until everyone ignores what they are actually talking about.
Songs like the cuts of J.Cole’s album are not nearly as popular as the Olamide and Enimoney hits but they offer something that is desperately lacking; an opposing perspective and balance.
Not everytime codeine, sometimes sense
While many Nigerian musicians can offer these dissenting opinions ( and they do), the consensus is that music of that sort cannot blow in Nigeria.
The success of J.Cole’s set proved that Nigerians can love a musician who preaches against drug abuse as much as they would love one who does.
It offers hope that, in a city where yahoo boys are label patrons, musicians can be successful without glorifying indiscretions and societal ills.
By just being himself, being on that stage and performing songs that discourage popular ills and getting worshipped by the fans, J.Cole may not have convinced anyone to stop doing drugs, but he may have put pressure on local musicians like Tiwa Savage to hold themselves to a higher standard and understand their influence and what endorsing a practice can imply.
Solving the drug crisis is another of Nigeria’s problems that require long-term solutions, but using music to save the youth is a good place to start.
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