Alibaba, a comedian and actor, claimed on Friday that aspiring artists engage in occultic rituals before being signed by a record label, asserting that there is a strong desire to become well-known and successful that is displacing some artists’ core principles and “this is where peer pressure sets in.”
Speaking on Friday’s Sunrise Daily on Channels Television, Alibaba asserted that these traditions are just one of many factors that lead to blind spots in emerging musicians, but he also asserted that certain artists are succeeding in spite of the demands of the entertainment business.
His remarks come amid escalating public outrage over the abuse claims made against the late musician Ilerioluwa Olademeji, popularly known as Mohbad, who was 27 when he passed away on September 12.
The comedian stated: “For me, there are some things that you would not want to do, and you must stick with it. It is the same thing with some of these artists — some of them do rituals no.,”
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“As an artiste, you must define your purpose, you must hold on to some strong values you’ve been brought up with.
“If you are someone who is in a position with your creative abilities, you don’t need that kind of pressure. You don’t need somebody making you sign or take an oath for you to be creative.”
“People just want to blow; they want to be seen, they want to be heard, they want to make money, they want to belong. And because of that, they step back from the values they have been brought up with and do what they shouldn’t do,” he said.
“They don’t smoke, they don’t hold cigars, they don’t hold the glass cup and drink whiskey in their [music videos], and they insist on it,” he said.
“Even if the choreography says it would add colour to the video, they would say no.”
