OPINION: AKA and Megan Thee Stallion prove that ‘talking about the music’ no longer matters

For years, Megan Thee Stallion has enjoyed the steady rise of her music career.

A rise that has seen her get to a place where she enjoys a steady amount of time at the top of mind for most music and pop culture fans. 

She has also experienced great turmoil in her life after she was shot in the foot by someone she considered a friend.

Since the shooting, most commentators, reporters and pop culture critics have tried to make it seem as though there is nothing else going on in Megan Thee Stallion’s life apart from the drama surrounding the trial.

They have even gone as far as trying to claim that no one even speaks about her music anymore.

Most recently, Megan Thee Stallion drew criticism for her interview with Gayle King on CBS Mornings.

Similarly, the same thing has been said about South African rapper AKA (Kiernan Forbes).

There was a time when AKA was among the top rappers in the country, perhaps the continent.

He had (and still has) a very public spat with fellow rapper Cassper Nyovest but the spectacle of their feud lent itself to the entertainment value of the interest in both their lives.

In the years since, however, more and more of the drama in AKA’s personal life has brought itself to the fore of his brand and when one thinks about AKA, music is not even listed among the top three topics that spring to mind. 

READ: AKA and Nadia clap back at abuse allegations with R800k lawsuit

This has sadly coincided with the decline in his ability to put out a hit song.

With that said, both Megan Thee Stallion and AKA are still fairly popular and enjoy busy and seemingly lucrative careers.

With the decentralisation of information in recent decades, coupled with a willingness by artists and other industry insiders to lay bare the inner workings of the music industry, it has come to be known that the money is not in the music – especially for an artist. 

So, should they still care about whether or not we care about their music?

You see, what was once the end goal has now become more of a stepping stone to bigger, better and more lucrative things.

What most artists want now is not a life-long music career, it’s the foot in the door and the access to capital to fund their true passions based on opportunities provided by their talent.

At some stage, it was said that artists make more money from touring and performing live and then the world was hit with about two years of lockdown thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.

While some floundered and fumbled, others finessed and flourished. 

Now, for artists, the money lies in every other thing you can invest your earnings into.

That’s why we lost Rihanna to fashion and beauty, 50Cent to television production and Kanye West to the Kardashians.

As great and emotive as music is, being a polarising personality like Kanye West and even Megan Thee Stallion or AKA is more bankable.

And if people can’t respect you for being a great musician, they can respect you for being an astute business person and a successful personality.

And if they still don’t respect you after that, who cares, it’s not like many of them will ever get the chance to tell you about it face to face.

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