Ghanaian musician Okyeame Kwame, has responded to claims by veteran broadcaster Tommy Annan-Forson that modern songs lack storylines.
In a conversation with Kwesi Kyei Darkwah on CTV, Tommy said because most songs released in recent times lack content, he hardly pays attention to them.
"I virtually don't listen to our [modern] music because there's nothing to understand. There's really nothing to understand. It's just blabber music. There's no storyline," he said.
Commenting on Tommy's submission, Okyeame Kwame wrote on Facebook, "I want to assume he meant “pop” music .
This statement is very controversial because we are no more in the audio-visual era , we are in the visual-audio era. The songs are abstract and simple and the tales are told in the videos , “visualisers”, TikTok dances etc," he indicated.
He further noted that popular music in modern times pay less attention to storytelling because there are other tools to aid in achieving the same effects.
"The background elements are now being used to elaborately express the stories behind the songs .
So , yes pop music is not lyrically telling stories . It is intentional . They leave some meaning to audience interpretation so that the listener can take part through interpreting the song through a social media reaction (dance , skits , speech etc )
This phenomenon is because we are now in the Visual-audio era and not the Audio-visual era. Let’s look at art with respect for the creators and the audience equally . That’s how we can fully appreciate the 'why'," he added.
According to Tommy Annan-Forson, music tells a story. He said when he plays country music, he's telling a story about himself and the listener.
"When I play a particular Country song that makes my heart beat, or skip a beat, I know that the listener will like this. It has a good storyline line - it affects you and I," he said.
The ace broadcaster has therefore charged DJs, radio presenters and musicians to ensure that quality music is served to consumers.
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