The 'Beef Factor' in popular music

The interest generated by this rivalry was said to have caused some top guns of the industry to fuel the rift in order to whip up sales of records. This self-invented rivalry turned bloody, and eventually led to the murder of both Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur.

There are hip life and rap musicians in our country with ‘beef’. The scuffle between Kwaw Kesse and VIP at the recent  Joy FM “Night With The Stars” event is clearly an example of ‘beef’ between two sets of musicians.

In reality, the ego, showmanship and the struggle to prove who has more clout does not make it possible to avoid ‘beef’ among hip life and rap artists.

However, the manner in which these artists carry out this banter determines how far the banter can be carried. Pulling guns at each other is surely not the way to go as the end result is obvious.

Yes, the idea of a showdown between musicians in Accra and Tema was divisive and must be discouraged. All the musicians billed for the ‘Night With The Stars’ event could have performed on the stage as one big family without necessarily classifying them into the Accra and Tema factions.

Although the motif for this move would have been to generate interest in the event, one can only hope the organisers have learned some valuable lessons.

Whether or not it is right for one hiplife musician to have ‘beef’ with another hiplife musician is entirely a matter of opinion. The popular culture of hiphop and rap comes with its language, fashion and trends. If our rap and hiplife artists accept these trends, then they should be willing to play by it and see any form of rivalry as an opportunity to push the frontiers of their creativity.

Again, this ‘beef’ should not be violent or carried on to stage performances as the possibility of physical attacks become imminent. Apart from this, the entire mood of the show can be poisoned by bad blood among artists.

As event organisers have a lot of questions to answer  when things go wrong, it will be in their interest to call to order a musician who starts a ‘beef’ on stage.

It is the business of event organisers to make sure that adequate security is provided at shows to prevent any physical contact between artists with serious forms of rivalry.

By Rudolph H. Asumda/Graphic Showbiz