Why don’t Women in Afrobeats get the same support that Men do
2020 has been a great year for afrobeats. Amongst all the madness of Covid 19 and the halting effects it’s had on us, one of the things that have kept me going is music for every mood, and afrobeat has been pure vibes.
As is normal for this time of year, Spotify did a wrap up to show me the songs, albums and artists that I listened to the most this year, and even though my top song was by a woman, my top artists were all men. I briefly considered that having more male artists meant they had more of an opportunity
Days later, I came across a video with two industry professionals talking about how women don’t support each other in the media industry. And as sad as it was that statement rang very true.
Women at the peak of their careers, artists, presenters, and DJs do not always out rightly collaborate; they miss prime opportunities to cross audiences. There’s an ideology that there can only be one female top dog, so they’re constantly pitted against each other, who is sexier, prettier, and has a better body?
It’s a constant competition fuelled by gatekeepers and fans alike, most of whom are often men. It’s disheartening because they don’t have to be friends to be allies, the men aren’t necessarily friends, but they always work with one another.
Whilst women are great in their own right and don’t need another woman to be a successful artist, surely it can’t hurt to team up with fellow heavy hitters or even fresh new talents.
Male label executives often groom young male artists, other male artists collaborate and sometimes create albums, perform together, and tour together. Still, the same isn’t true for women (although South Africa is making strides in this) even sisters Teni and Niniola have still not released a song together even though it would be a great move.
There are even unspoken rules that when a top female artist is performing another top female artist can’t be on the same performance bill.
Think about your first introduction to male artists, Wizkid, Shattwale, King Promise, Dbanj, Aka, Nasty C, Omah lay, Fireboy DML, Rema; now think of female artists and whoever put them on, are they usually women? If not, ask yourself why that is.
It’s hard being a woman in the industry, the constant criticism, the over-sexualisation, the comparisons. The fact that women sometimes need an entire army at their back to be placed on equal footing. And on top of that, women can’t get away with half the things men can.
Partly because it’s a numbers game, an uneven playing field where the men vastly outnumber the women in the industry; therefore they’ll naturally come out holding the short end of the stick, which is perhaps why the women feel the need to compete to carve out a niche for themselves.
The problem isn’t simply in the music industry, it’s a microcosm of the world, particularly in Africa; there’s a fundamental issue with the way women are seen and therefore valued. Africa was built for men, women are often seen as second class citizens, the system wasn’t built to serve or help women in any way, so when one gets in, she’s already conditioned to shut the door behind her no one else can take away her spot.
It’s a shame too because If we focused purely on the work, the talent and art that women bring, several women in the industry would give the men a run for their money, this is not to say the men aren’t talented. Still, some women don’t even get a chance to show what they can do, they’re either boxed in, or forced out by men wanting something in exchange for supporting them, or time catches up with them, and they drop off by themselves.
The ones who do make it through work extremely hard, sometimes to the detriment of their personal lives, so why do they not get the same support level? Why are they constantly and consistently pitted against each other, why do fans have to pick one another?
Perhaps we need to take a closer look at the system, restructure it with things like affirmative action, creating specific professional policies that will favour women in work environments.
But I’d also like to see women in positions of power all over the world, specifically, those who are in the industry play their parts, presenters and DJ’s who dedicate entire sets to female artists, managers, PR and A&R agencies who work exclusively with women, so that women are given a fair chance and can compete without discrimination based on sex.
Lastly, stay up to date with all you need to know about African music at SOA, right here.
Why don’t Women in Afrobeats get the same support that Men do
