NEVER FORGOTTEN

 Firstly i want to say sorry for not posting on a regular, Nigeria happened. Since that is out of the way, lets get back to our thoughts of what is not on the trends but carry great importance in human and musical development.

My last post was about labelling certain artist what they are not, just because people don't have the true picture of the situation. I am a great follower of podcasts that inspire people, tell stories in an unvarnished and unpolished manner, from the mouth of the main actor, the person who's life was inadvertently affected, either passive or active.

Solidstar is an artiste who was prominent in the late 2000's,with great songs and features, very unique voice and sort of made slow bpm afrobeats songs which lots of Nigerians fell in-love with. Right in the eyes of the public, videos started popping of him working on expressway, seemingly not himself, lot's of rumour was abound regarding the state of his mental and physical self. Very few knew the true state of his condition and nothing was exposed, maybe its due to our African ways of keeping personal challenges at bay and trying to sort it out without looking 'weak'.

The Honest Bunch podcast  (which i am great fan of) had Solidstar over and in 90 minutes, listeners were treated to what it means to be unsigned, doing acapella versions of songs, then getting sponsored and blowing up to an household name. Many times, listeners and fans believe its all good with celebrities, when they see the cars, houses and other material representation of wealth but there is always a demon lurking, in various forms and shapes.
The drug problem in Nigeria is carefully avoided in conversations, lots of people don't want to agree or discuss that there is an epidemic of drugs in the general populace, certain persons make assertions regarding this but always say it in third person, like they do not indulge. Our "stars" are in the frontline of the abuse of drugs in the entertainment circle, but stay silent. Solidstar was directly affected and his career suffered because of this habit, amongst alot of other actions that he took, he got addicted to 'ICE', a drug that affects the neuro (amongst others) part of the brain, this took him to Yaba-left (twice), made him depressed, he sold his car, destroyed properties, started hearing voices (psychotic tendencies) and generally lost himself. 

Thank God and his family for standing by him and supporting, now he is clean and trying to make a come back, as human beings let us not be quick to wonder what is going with other people, they might be going through difficult life challenges or have unseen difficulties in the glamorous lives and we should not be quick to judge or disparage anyone addicted to substances. It takes alot to kill that addiction.
Finally, SAY NO TO ANY FORM OF DRUGS OR MIXED SUBSTANCES, either inhaled, ingested or consumed, mind the crowd you roll with and stay true to yourself, do not be scared to seek help when life is not favorable.

P:S: He is trying to make a comeback to his craft and needs all the support he can get, stream his old and new songs, show support by encouraging him on a regular basis.