One of the reasons I like Photo-editing software like Photoshop, is the power they put in the hands of adequately skilled users to take existing images and literally transform them, to the extent that they look even better than the originals they are made from. It is this feature they have that makes it possible for many of us today, to RECOVER/REPAIR our damaged (or aging/fading) photos, including making Black and White pictures into colored versions!

However, as is the case with everything else in life, there is a "small" potential negative impact of the general availability of software with this ability: Some "bad" people are able to DOCTOR or manipulate original photos/images using various tools in the software to make produce "hybrid" versions that depict people doing things they actually NEVER did, or in places they never went! I am sure you know what I mean.

My reason for mentioning the above is that I believe EACH one of us in life has a unique identity which reflects in the way we speak and act etc. Out uniqueness makes us add a "flavour" to society that sets us apart from the crowd or others. In my opinion, one of the most important keys to succeeding in life is to NEVER stop being your original self.

And this brings me to what is perhaps the most dangerous thing about NOT being original - or true to yourself. Whenever you unthinkingly adopt other people's ways of thinking, you instantly become doomed to make the SAME mistakes they make; miss the same opportunities they miss etc. You could of course argue that you would also achieve the same successes they do - and I would not contest it.

However, I would point out that rather than duplicate their thinking, if you instead applied YOUR OWN original thinking to their way of thinking, you are more likely to end up doing BETTER than you would if you simply stuck with theirs. In other words, I am saying it not bad to listen to or consider the views of others. It is however imperative that that you constantly/actively think about and analyse what you are told by others to ensure you arrive at the best decision for yourself and/or those who may be affected by the choices you make - including your friends and family.

The society that progresses is the one in which THINKING aimed at improving on the results already achieved with existing ways of thinking is encouraged (and happening) constantly.

I once read a quote that went something like this: "If everyone is thinking alike in a place, then no one is doing any thinking at all there".

It's taken me a while, but I am now at the point where I get to THE point - the answer to the question posed in the title of this issue:

No, Fela would NEVER have been picked as the winner of the Idols Africa competition by the kinds of judges that we have there.

For one thing he would not have had his band with him so he would not have been able to show what today we all know/remember him for. That's one of the things missing from this competition: It's a limited platform provided for performance by people whose talents we wish to discover.

Fela Anikulapo Kuti today is no longer with us but his fans worldwide still celebrate him and his music - Afro Beat. Yet anyone who has heard Fela's music knows it has its DISTINCTIVE African flavour, even though traces of influence from American Jazz and other music cultures are noticeable in it. What Fela succeeded in doing was to "borrow" from other societies and find a way to "fuse" their music with original styles from the African setting, till he ended up with what he called "Afro Beat" music.

It is so much better to be original or at least an IMPROVED (but not a photo, or worse carbon) copy. Which is why shows like the Big Brother Africa and Idols Africa give people like me much cause for concern. These events continue to expose the very unhealthy preference that modern African youths have for trying to be like people in developed societies.

Idols Africa for example has three (black African) judges who tell many of the young African contestants aspiring to become music stars that they CANNOT sing. These wonderful judges based their decisions on standards drawn from developed societies about how a person who can sing should sound!! Yet, we all know that many of our most successful musicians in/from Africa (some of who have achieved international success) do NOT sing like people in developed societies.

Here's an important distinction I believe needs to be made: Most of our original African musicians are better looked at as ENTERTAINERS rather than "pure" singers (if there's anything like that). For instance, the average African audience is NOT likely to be equipped to identify or recognise a "VIBRATTO" (whatever that means) in person's voice when s/he is singing. Yet on some occasions when I watched Idols East Africa show (Tanzania I think), I heard the female judge advise some young female singers not to FAKE their "VIBRATTO" as it does not sound natural. Two misled groups: the African singer trying to fake a "vocal style" and the African judge bothering to "look for" or recognise it in an African.

Why is it always that we believe what is good for them is good for us. I am not saying what they do is bad or anything of the sort. I just believe we need to determine MORE consciously what we NEED for our own societies that will WORK for us. The Asians have been doing this successfully for years, and that's why they have - in most cases - preserved their culture and way of life much better than we have, over the years, in spite of western influence.

It is my considered opinion that the Idols Africa contest need to be RE-FOCUSSED to look for African musical competencies in our young contestants. We need to have more of our own people, trained to look for our own kind of talent to function as judges in events like this.

One BIG question I believe that needs to be asked (or INVESTIGATED) is this: What does it take to become a successful musician in Africa, who can go on to succeed in Europe/America etc as well. When we look at musicians like Fela, Makeba, Lagbaja, Femi Kuti(a one-time Grammy award nominee), Dbanj and Nice (who I understand recently performed before an audience that included legendary Nelson Mandela), one thing is obvious: They spice(d) their "singing" (which can sometimes sound like TALKING e.g Fela) with "story telling" and "slangs" that RESONATE with their audiences.

They also use(d) creative blending of African instrumentation + dance etc. It is the ablity to do the foregoing, and others in a manner that FULLY ENTERTAINS that makes these musicians come across as ORIGINAL even when their work has been influcenced by the West. And that is what we need to look for in identifying musical talents in our countries.

Most of those who do well in the Idols Africa contests, where standards from America in the main are used to judge who can "sing", will FAIL miserably in terms of getting acceptance for their music from the African audiences of their societies. Check out the top rated artistes in my country for instance, and you will find that people like 9ice and Dbanj DO NOT sing the American way. Yet they get many of their tracks requested by fans and played by DJs ever so often. Think about a guy like Daddy Showkey and imagine him trying to ape James Brown for instance. Ludicrous - that's what it would be.

It Seems I Am NOT The ONLY ONE Who Feels This Way About Idols Africa

I am not someone who feels a need to find others who agree with his point of view before expressing them. Which is why I had already gone ahead and titled this newsletter issue as above. However, just before uploading and sending out the email notification, I Googled the string "Idols Africa" just to see what others were saying on the subject.

The number 3 position on the Google search results page (http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=idols+africa&meta=) I got was taken by an entry in the blog of some guy called Siasa Duni. And what he had to say about Idols Africa in SO MANY WAYS mirrored my exact sentiments. To be honest, I felt like he had read my mind. Plus as it turns out, he (and myself) are not alone. Virtually all others who made posts on his blog in response to his expressed quite similar opinions to "ours".

I believe all of this makes good food for thought for EVERY African person. It's time we started learning to THINK independently of the developed societies, even as we "borrow" ideas from them. We need to learn to do what the Asians are doing so well: copy intelligently by adapting the "good" from other societies to SUIT your unique and peculiar socio-cultural situations and preferences. We Africans DO NOT sing the same way even the so called African Americans do. That's why when one sees an African trying (or more accurately "struggling") to mimic Whitney Houston's powerful vocal style, it often tends to border on the comical.

Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Miriam Makeba (and more recently Lagbaja, the masked Musician; Dbanj, 9ice, Tuface Idibia, Asha + many more) are good examples of African born/based musicians who would likely "FAIL" miserably if judged by the singing standards used in developed societies WHEN THEY WERE STARTING OUT.

I am sure these artistes, being aware of their African-"ness" felt no need to "copy" or "mimic" people in those societies. They knew their strengths lay in exploiting their OWN unique styles of singing and making music i.e. their own styles of ENTERTAINING audiences. That's why they achieved/are achieving musical and financial success. Their audiences home and abroad RECOGNISE(D) the originality of their music and appreciate(d) it.

Every aspiring or practicing African singer or musician will need to borrow a leaf from artistes like those mentioned if they hope to make a noticeable impact, last long and BE REMEMEBERED!

Incidentally, this entire issue of the "confused" African Identity is one of the main issues I try to tackle through my talks, seminars and coaching programs as a Self-Development Educator. The links provided below lead to two of my personal philosophy papers and one article, that elaborates on the dimensions of this problem and how it has "stunted" the growth/development of the African continent.

1. Paper: Why I Do What I Do The Way I Do It. Click

2. Paper: I Am A Self-Development Educator, & NOT A Motivational Speaker Click

3. Article: Black Africans Need To Stop Whining & Start Acting! Click

4. Siasa's blog post on a similar theme Click

ON-DEMAND LEARNING EVENT: RAPID SPEECH PREPARATION COACHING

ON-DEMAND LEARNING EVENT: In-House Excel-VB Programming Coaching For Your Employees

Minimise Expensive Software Purchase By Developing In-House Excel-VB Programming Expertise Among Your Staff.

Your company can eliminate vital decision making delays due to IT personnel being overloaded for instance, by empowering “champion” employees within individual departments to quickly and easily develop solutions to that address the immediate business data analysis/reporting needs of their respective units.

Other benefits of having In-House Excel-VB Solutions Development expertise:

(a). It will provide temporary alternative to - or relieve pressure on - the IT department.

(b). Provides users a useful/friendly development environment for new reports and analyses - which in turn enhances software needs definition - reducing software development or purchase costs.

(c). Empowers employees to analyse company data to improve performance.

It is my belief that just as I was able to develop over four(4) automated spreadsheet applications to solve real-life problems – in my spare time - as a non-IT staff in Guinness Nigeria Plc (read details on the about page at www.excelheaven.spontaneousdevelopment.com), your staff, if equipped with similar skills, can do the same for your company – and possibly help you AVOID expending scarce cash (1). buying expensive commercial software or (2). hiring "pricey" software developers.

Click here to learn how I have built custom Excel-VB driven software for client companies for as much as N200,000.00(Proof Available). While there you can request/download my FREE MS Excel Coaching Skills Matrix workbook and a one-page Excel VB Programming Coaching Course Outline.

Call 234-803-302-1263 to request further details.

Web www.spontaneousdevelopment.com

Yours in Self-Development!

Tayo K. Solagbade
Self-Development/Performance Enhancement Specialist