Is Bongo Flava a praise and worship chorus for the political elites?

Since the beginning of humankind, musical art and poetry have had a reputable position in human society. They have earned this reputation through their visionary role in presenting cultural, sociopolitical, and socioeconomic realities from a wide range of perspectives, hence giving fearlessly a more or less actual representation of the reality.

Corruption of the form, purpose, and avenue of musical art and poetic artistry is a huge damage to society as its richness and corrective character are marginalised, and many truths will be left unsaid. Music and poetry can convey messages without directly pointing out the intended recipient, in a way helping to ease social distress and communicate the shared feelings of the people.  

Nonetheless, we cherish those visual, musical, and literary artists who still hold to heart these great values of art. In the past, musical art and the poetry it contains were an important means of preserving history and knowledge for the future. Such history retains credence because the artists were allowed to be the people's voice.  

It will certainly be different in our times, when art goes by the whims of time, as artists are being careful about their safety, avoiding being critical of certain people and certain responsibilities. The result, because of 'hunger,’ is to reverse the roles and to make art a praise and worship mission for the political leaders.

Our musicians praise leaders even when there is obviously nothing to praise them for. But insofar as they make a living out of such, the visionary aspect of their art is immediately suppressed.

While I do not intend to sound unappreciative of the work of our leaders, I intend to highlight the exaggerations and raise questions about the motivation behind a noticeably huge quest for publicity.

The leaders are trusted with power and authority (most times) based on merit, which they are to exercise as a service. The service they offer is the same as all other professions: doctors, teachers, garbage workers, construction workers, etc. They all work and offer services to the public.

Political leaders do not do the people a favour by ensuring the provision of such services. They are helping us to manage our national resources for the good of all of us indiscriminately. The question that arises therefore is why our artists praise them as if they are donating those services to the country.  

The citizens elect a leader to take charge of addressing their concerns, not to be their god. Why praise a leader for building a bridge, bringing water, or ensuring that the harvested crops are sold on time when that is his/her duty?

As leaders first demonstrate the desire for such responsibilities and oaths of service, they must undertake such responsibilities diligently. Excess praise creates popularity for the wrong reasons, makes accountability difficult on the part of these leaders, and misleads the public feeling. Our musical artists should refuse to be used to mislead the feeling of the public.

Our music and art in general should independently and freely reflect our desire as a people to grow, to live in peace and security, and the pride we have in our resources, culture, traditions, faiths, and artistry in general.

Our leaders should not overshadow the scope of our artistic representation of sociopolitical reality, especially when there are noticeable ambiguities between the actuality and the representations.

Aside from praising leaders, our music today does not so much reflect the things people enjoy listening to. Songs are suspicious, especially when one is with children, as they deviate to an extremity of romantic expression whereby attentive listening will immediately flag the lyrics as inappropriate.

Musicians with the most powerful voices often compose the most lyrically explicit lines, depicting sexual acts in their poetry. Can you think of any?

It is high time our musical artists think of speaking for the people by way of advocacy for justice, peace, and human rights and dignity. Leaders come and go, but the loyalty of the citizens is a lasting value for the artists.

With entertainment having its own importance, it is time our artists are helped to see what really entertains the people rather than producing meaningless and obscene songs. A nation that loses the voice of artists to the powerful elites loses the voice of the people.

Shimbo Pastory is an advocate for positive social transformation. He writes from Manila, the Philippines. Email [email protected], WhatsApp: +639951661979.