Announcing your retirement from music is becoming the new trend for some of these Cameroonian musicians to keep the attention on them. But do fans really want these artists to retire for good?
Jovi Le Monstre, Ambe, Meshi and recently, Tenor are some of the artists who have publicly told their fans and media about their retirement plans even though none of them has dropped the mic yet! So what’s the deal!?
All the above artists seem to have impressive resumes, past struggles and interesting survival stories; which begs the question: Are they ready to throw all that away to begin walking on another career path?
Jovi first shot into limelight with his 2012 hit single, ‘Don 4 Kwat’ and soon, an album titled, H.I.V, which revolutionized Hip Hop in Cameroon. Since then, the rapper has released more albums and EPs than perhaps, any other urban artists in the country. The music has given him credibility but his constant squabbles with other artists on social media has definitely grossed more criticisms to his brand than any other. So when he announced on Twitter that he was quitting music after dropping his “last work” many got even more confused including Phillbill and Blaise B.
Ambe announced his retirement back in 2019 only to jump out of it few months later to drop a song titled, ‘Don’t Go Remix‘ he featured Jovi on. Fans questioned if he was serious about quitting but he said “Jovi called him out of it”. So did he do it for clout?
Speaking about clout chasing, singer Meshi also hinted she will be leaving the music scene after enjoying five years doing what she loves. She told fans she’d be gone once her new single was out but since releasing that single and video “Marry Marry’ on July 10, she is still in the game.
Rapper Tenor dropped a cryptic post on social media early July insinuating he’s ready to quit music but few days after that, he announced he will be joining Def Jam Africa Francophone, making him the first and only Cameroonian artist to be signed under that international music label. So why then did he say he wanted to drop the ball?
After all these public quitting announcements, fans want to know why are they still doing music?
First of all music is their life, hustle and strength. It is very difficult to walk away from years of work, dedication and struggle. Hardly does any one walk away from such hard work.
Most of these aforementioned music stars have done all they can to build up a strong brand, something they want to be proud of, something they want to be remembered for and admired for by not just their family and friends but also, by the next generations to come.
Some of them are tied to contracts which has allowed their record labels or distribution managers to spend so much on their craft. Can they just match out of these contracts just because they feel defeated or less inspired?
Music is the food of the soul and musicians are the bearers of that food. If they impact lives/souls with their food, why stop the food supply? Most of them will tell you that music makes them feel alive, gives them hope when there seem to be none. Do you think they will want to give these feelings away… just like that?
We thought as much.
