Singer Terry G shares his concerns about the increasing presence of cultism in the Nigerian music industry, emphasizing the need for its eradication to bring back unity and safety for non-cultist musicians.
Popular singer Gabriel Oche Amanyi, known as Terry G, has revealed that the Nigerian music industry is now heavily influenced by cultists.
In a recent episode of the Afrobeats Podcast, Terry G expressed his concerns, stating that individuals like himself who are not involved in cultism find it difficult to operate in the industry.
Terry G highlighted the shift from the past, explaining, “In my time [when I held sway], cultism used to be in the universities. But it has entered into the music industry now. If we can remove it from the music industry, we would be [one] family again.”
He lamented that the presence of confraternities has become a significant barrier for non-cultist musicians, stating, “But if there’s frat [confraternity] in the music industry, people like us who are not cultists cannot operate anymore.”
Reflecting on his earlier years in the industry, Terry G noted that while there were people involved in cultism, it wasn’t violent and was more about solidarity. He said, “When we held sway, there were people doing cultism but it wasn’t violent. It was about love. They said it was for solidarity purposes.”
However, he now observes increased internal conflicts within these groups, which he believes is a major issue for the industry. “But now, I can see the same family fighting themselves. So that’s just the major problem of the Nigerian music industry. A lot of musicians are even scared to do music. They want to do cult before they do music now because that would pave way for them than the music.”
Terry G’s call to action is clear: reducing the rate of cultism in the music industry is essential for fostering a safe and unified environment for all musicians.