What has language got to do with music?
By Sumaila Isah Umaisha
THE famous Hausa singer and Kannywood actor, Garzali Miko, met the Nigerian popular content creator and TikTok star, Purple Speedy, in Lagos this month following the remarkable global popularity of Miko’s Hausa song, ‘Mai Sona’ (‘My Lover’), after Speedy danced to it at a high-profile event, helping to introduce the song to a much wider audience.
Since then, Miko has come under criticism, particularly over his inability to speak English fluently. Ironically, much of the criticism has come from northern youths, including some who possess only a limited command of English – the very language they invoke in judging him. More ironically still, some of the critics can only express their criticisms in Hausa.
Of course, going to school is important. Education is not merely about acquiring a language that enables one to communicate with a wider audience; it broadens one’s consciousness, deepens one’s understanding and expands one’s perspectives. With Western education and the English language that often accompanies it, Miko might have been able to communicate more directly with Speedy, without the need for an interpreter. He might also have been able to address his international fans personally and express his appreciation to them. It is, therefore, unfortunate that he missed such an opportunity.
However, to regard Miko as a failure simply because he did not acquire proficiency in English through formal education is to completely miss the point. At worst, such an attitude betrays an inferiority complex or a lingering colonial mentality – the assumption that one’s worth is somehow determined by one’s command of English.
If Miko were asked to choose today between speaking fluent English and advancing his musical career, I suspect he would choose the latter. It is his musical talent, not his command of English, that brought him into the limelight. Hausa is the language through which he expresses himself musically, and music itself is a universal language. If language were an insurmountable barrier, Miko would not have travelled this far.
Some may argue that he could have taken greater advantage of his encounter with Speedy and the international exposure it generated if he spoke English. Yes, English proficiency might certainly have made some aspects of the experience easier. But it is a mistake to make English proficiency a measure of musical worth or artistic success. A musician does not have to speak the language of every listener to move that listener.
Across Africa and beyond, musicians have built formidable international careers while singing predominantly, or even entirely, in their indigenous languages. Artists from Mali, Ethiopia, South Africa and other parts of the continent have crossed linguistic and national boundaries through the sheer power of their music. Their audiences do not necessarily understand the words they sing; they respond to the rhythm, melody, emotion, performance and artistic authenticity. That’s the power of music.
Therefore, those castigating Miko for his limited English proficiency instead of celebrating the talent that has brought him to the position of an international entertainer are either being naïve or unfair. They may not understand that the power of art transcends language, or they may simply be using a perceived shortcoming to diminish an artist whose talent has taken him farther than their English proficiency may ever take them.
Miko should learn English if he has the opportunity and desire to do so. There is nothing wrong with acquiring another language; indeed, there is everything right with expanding one’s linguistic repertoire. But learning English should be an advantage, not a condition for recognising his talent or validating his success.
In the final analysis, what has language got to do with music when the music itself speaks?
