Nigeria's Worst Artistes: Gad The Screamer

There is evidence that Nigeria’s music industry has grown so big over time, judging from the international and local successes of acts like Davido, Wizkid, and lots more. Nigerian musicians and entertainers now shut down venues in countries we had heard almost nothing about before now, and thanks to the efforts of some like Olamide and Phyno who have kept their craft strictly within the confines of their indigenous languages, more artistes are now much more confident expressing their crafts in their local languages. But this does not in any way encourage artistic recalcitrance.

Our attention today is on GAD ODOGWU, or GAD THE SCREAMER who, for now, is still a budding artiste, and has just released two songs– “SAMBADABA“ and “ALERT“ to mark the end of the year. For some reason(s), less established or budding acts, a.k.a upcoming musicians are always not given much attention unless they ‘blow up’ and gain wide recognition. Yet, it is better to call them to order before they lose their crafts and career entirely because of their perceived desperation to make it in an industry that is already too tough for anyone and everyone.

So, from his days at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, Gad The Screamer has switched lanes between being a rapper and a singer like a monkey practicing how to hang on trees. According to sources, Gad has as much rap songs (and rap covers) as he has original songs in which he basically sang. One would want to argue that established acts like Drake, Phyno and Olamide also sing and rap, but it is evident that the worst thing you can do to yourself as a budding artiste is to start creating a conflict of impressions about your identity and brand even before your career has started. Actually, making such serious efforts to sing and rap in English, Nigerian Pidgin English, Yoruba, and Igbo would be admired by some, but frowned at by those who understand the industry. Gad “The Screamer” Odogwu does not appear to understand that you first have to earn credits for one effort before dabbling into another. Again, he drops virtually all kinds of songs, so many songs, and expects an unwary audience to identify with his creative choices. That’s impossible! Dude has earned himself a seat at the table of the worst artistes in Nigeria (at least for now) until he shows some level of seriousness about his craft. You cannot rap like Phyno and struggle to sing like Akon, be an author (he released a book, “THE NAMELESS COLLECTION” on Amazon in 2018) and expect your audience to understand exactly what you are trying to be or do.

This is not to hurt a budding artiste or wreck his young career. Rather, as has been often said, an advice delivered early saves resources and lives. And that is exactly what this piece is intended to do for the Nigerian music industry at large and Gad The Screamer, aka Gad Odogwu in particular.