Talks about Jovi and Stanley might not end anytime soon, critics and fans always have a way of bringing back a debate at every opportunity.
Does the industry center around these two because it was the only beef that ever made waves or that they can still milk out the buzz from it at every given instance? Observing the turnout of events it long ended as a contest for supremacy, it’s more about “cruise” catching fun. Either fans or camps of both parties are not resulting in breaking the circle by uncovering the fundamental differences that exist.
Emotions often dominate and when that happens there’s the assumption that there are only two ways to amicably settle the dispute. Either one party is right or the other party is right. Then there’s the truth aside that which embraces objectivity with a more rational approach in giving “reason” a chance to reassert itself after an avalanche of emotional debating.
The Truth – “reason”
Jovi undisputedly remains in the history books of the music industry as one of the pioneer of pidgin rap/ Mboko. The logical explanation to this is that the success of DON FOR KWAT a 2012 jam gave hopes to pidgin rappers around the nation that you could rap in pidgin or mboko and get appreciated. It was the gateway to self believe amongst rappers to confidently come out of their shelves and present their realities via rap unapologetically, stories that will make waves because of the relatable power.
DON FOR KWAT laid the foundation for rappers in two ways Inspiring a new breed and motivating those who were still skeptical about the HIP HOP culture. Many Cameroonian rappers were heavily influenced by the Western HIP HOP culture especially with the rise of so many old school rappers in USA. There was zero originality, a cross section of rappers were wanna be American rappers “How can you be more American than Americans” funny right!
Just like many musicians especially rappers have signature songs where they’re mostly referenced most based on its widespread recognition and exposure DON FOR KWAT was like the signature style for the new Hip Hop era, it was the blueprint for rappers to build on and redefine their artistic directions.
Was Stanley Enow among the new breed of inspired rappers thereafter? Well HEIN PERE was released in 2013 , the success of this piece gave hope to rappers and the rap game that pidgin rap could go mainstream with an international recognition. The success of HEIN PERE served as a catalyst to the movement DON FOR KWAT had laid down. It gave birth to another breed of rappers as well while reigniting the fire in rappers who were still in doubt about the acceptance and success of pidgin rap.
HEIN PERE laid the first bricks on the foundation, it become an International discussion.
You might miss out on being rational and objective but these two rap songs revolutionized Cameroonian HIP HOP sphere and influenced the rap culture. However , years gone by we know who actually had a vision for the creating a safe space for a movement to live. Remaining steadfast to the same believe without experiencing a paradigm shift the mboko god stayed representing and preserving.
The fundamental differences now lie in the contrasting artistic philosophies and career paths, the discussion is no longer same couple with the creative levels. An understanding of this is a pivotal element to guide subsequent debates.