Music is a way of life and a universal language. It is the meeting point of the high and the low, the rich and the poor, the happy and the depressed.
We all love music. Don't we?
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There is a song for every occasion and every mood and as such there is no such thing as "I am not in the mood for music" and in the words of the late Mohbad "music no need permission to enter your spirit" that is music doesn't need your permission to permeate your being.
Besides passing the vibe check and being fit for an occasion or mood, music has served other "more important" purposes like calling out bad behaviour among leaders and politicians as can be seen from musicians like Fela and Falz. Praising great deeds and even stopping wars and creating awareness amongst the masses.
Because music is a universal language, it is possible to love a song even though you don't hear a single word of it just like I love "Adiemus" by Enya and "Despacito" by Luis fonsi to mention a few. This means that regardless of if the lyrics is rich or not, I don't know, the music just passed the vibe check and as such didn't need permission to enter my spirit.
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I totally agree that these days, most musicians are lacking in lyrics and it shows from song to song. Some rely heavily on the beat producer to give a very good beat while they mumble a few words and voila, song is set.
This is understandable given the fact that many view music as a way out of poverty and as such both the talented and untalented delve into it with hopes of making it in the entertainment world.
The result is low quality music, especially lyrics wise.
This is because even the talented have the pressure to keep dropping songs either to make more money or to please their fans or even to maintain relevance and not seen as "the one-hit artist"
Then there is the untalented, struggling to maintain relevance and keeps dishing out songs month in month out. Songs that are only rich in instrumental but not lyrics.
Admittedly, some of these songs are very sweet even when we know that it is lacking lyrically. A good example is "Pana" by Tekno
how do you feel artistes can be made to put more effort into writing songs than will have more impactful messages
I think that by creating award sections that specifically celebrate lyrics, it would encourage musicians to put some effort into the song writing.
Also having weekly charts or countdown of top 10 songs lyrically will go a long way.
This is because it is not enough to always caution/announce bad "behaviour". It is equally important to celebrate good and thereby encourage others to know that good is still celebrated.
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Despite these, I feel that because music is a reflection of experiences or personality of the owner and one cannot give what he lacks, it is impossible to expect good lyrics from those lacking talent and passion for music, who are in it specifically for the money and the game.
Currently, there are a good number of musicians who still produce stellar lyrics. Someone like Falz, who not only being lyrically strong also uses his songs to address social vices and seek reforms in the country.
Simi, Johnny Drille, Ladipoe are notable mentions too.