Bella Shmurda, an Afrobeats musician, has discussed how many Nigerian artists’ income are being negatively impacted by unnecessary spending.
Shmurda asserted that because they waste their money on frivolities, many of his peers are unable to finance their projects without the support of major labels.
The “Cash App” crooner revealed on a recent episode of the Afrobeats Intelligence podcast that he also made a similar error early in his career but later fixed it.
The singer made the case that artists may develop a brand without spending the majority of their income on pricey jewelry and vehicles, pointing out that branding can also take the form of simplicity.
“I don’t think packaging has to be materialistic,” he stated. It’s acceptable to wear excellent clothes, have nice skin, brush your teeth, and smell well as long as you know how to dress freely. We looked good, even though some of us had never had these things before. This man looks fantastic and is not wearing a chain. He’s not filthy. That’s sufficiently packaged for your needs, after all.
“It’s because of the too much emphasis on expensive packaging that our young artists now run towards advances and they end up being indebted to those companies. And the companies have to hold their catalogue for years. It’s because of these materials things that they go into debts. They can’t even fund their next project because they do use their money buy big motor. I made that mistake too but I learnt. And I feel like we just have to educate ourselves about these things.”