Music is a universal language. It was described by Drake to mean one of those weapons which when it hits you, you feel no pain. It doesn’t matter if it is sang in Swahili, Chinese or Hausa. If the rhythm, beats and vocals sounds good to the ears and touches the soul, even a deaf fan will relate to it.
Coming back to Cameroon, a bilingual country (French & English)  with many cultures and traditions, music has become the order of the day. With French being the dominant language spoken, anglophone artistes have taken this advantage to express themselves in the language known to be one of the most romantic languages in the world.
Creating a huge fan base is not an easy task for a music artist. Especially one who is new to the game. You need to sound good, cut across all angles leaving no stone unturned while paying close attention to your choice of lyrics and making sure your music is well understood.
To me,  Francophone Cameroonians are simply the best fans who shower love to their artistes, be it on shows, on the streets even on social media platforms. I have been opportune to study the mentality of both the Francophones and Anglophones with my stay in Buea, Douala and Yaoundé.  I swear they are two different kind of people. That said, let’s come back to the fan zone. Have you ever been to or taken a keen look at a Tenor concert? be it pictures oe videos? If yes, then you and I are on the same page. One of the aspects that took him to where he is today is the love from the fans. The manner in which the francophones shower love on their favourite artistes is an extraterrestrial feeling. I will be jealous if I was an upcoming artiste, better than Tenor but yet to get out of memory cards and WhatsApp groups.
This superb success of Tenor and support from the francophones has pushed most anglophone artistes to be  using  ”Too Much” French in their songs,  so much so that the fans don’t even understand the artistes at all.  I know a few fans who come to me and be like ”Bro what is Mr. Leo saying in that second verse? “
When it comes to this very topic of the use of French in Cameroon music, it never gets old. Never!
Anglophone fans are responsible for the fact that their favourite artistes use mostly French in their songs. Don’t be fooled if someone tells you it is because the country is made up of French speakers being the majority. Or proverbs like ”A prophet is never welcomed in his own home. ”Lies! many anglophones don’t respect nor welcome their artistes. This is sickening I must confess. An artist will perform in Bamenda or Buea, and many are looking at them as if, it’s a Child’s play and majority of anglophones consume  more than 70% of nigerian music and also maybe american music. Cameroonian weddings have 90% of Nigerian music meanwhile we have enough Cameroonian songs for weddings.
On the other hand, the anglophone artistes make themselves unnecesarily available to almost everyone and at all times. I wouldn’t pay a dime to watch Stanley Enow when I know I will see him thrice a week, be it in Molyko, Las Vegas plus or the public transport agencies. As an artiste, you need to make yourself scarce, people have to pay to see you. At this stage in Cameroon music, a very few artistes get their revenue from album and single sales. The only means is through shows and concerts. If you are hovering about and seen everywhere, ”People go sawa you”.
The anglophone mentality of everyone being a star makes it difficult for artistes or celebrities to gain the respect they deserve. No one is saying loving and respecting your brothers and sisters using their talent to entertain us is a must. It’s simply better to spread love than hate or envy. We are 2/10 on this football pitch, the only player from our side is a physically disable. If those sitted on the bench began warming up, why not clap for them?  Did the article make sense to you? share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Victor Kange
#NaTengiYesu ™