I became broke, depressed for refusing to sing about bums, boobs –King Wadada

For popular reggae singer who was the rave-of-the-moment in the early 2000s, King Wadada, life was never the same when he hit rock bottom. He said at a point in his life, he became very broke; even though, he was a one-time Kora Awards winner.

In a chat with Saturday Beats, the singer said that he became broke because he did not succumb to the pressure of singing about women’s boobs and bums. He said that although he had bounced back, thanks to his record label; when he had no money, he became depressed.

The reggae singer said, “A few years ago, I was very broke but I thank God I am back, thanks to my record label, City Pride Entertainment. They were the ones that picked me up. When I was broke, it was really bad and I realised that money rules the world. That situation made me know that after Jesus, the next thing in this world is money. Without money, you are nothing.

“I was so broke that I went into depression. Even though I had my music, I had no money to showcase my talent. I had a lot of rich friends but they did not come to my aid because most people wanted me to sing about women’s bums. But I did not want to do so. I want to talk about God because that is the reason for my living. If you are in this life and you are not talking about God, then you are lost.”

He told Saturday Beats that although women still swarmed around him, the only criterion that a woman needs to ‘roll’ with him is for her to become a Christian.

He said, “Women still swarm around me like before but I have converted every woman that is with me to Christianity. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ and any woman that follows me must be a Christian. We have a great commission and that is to obey Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour in the right way. We have to preach the message because Christ would be with us till eternity; that is what the Bible says in Mathew 28: 19-20.”

Speaking about the state of reggae music in the country, Wadada noted that artistes like Patoranking and Burna Boy were not reggae singers. “Singers like Burna Boy and Patoranking are not reggae artistes; they only sing reggae songs sometimes. It is the media that dubbed them reggae artistes. I also blame award organisers because they do not create a category for real reggae artistes.

“These guys are not reggae artistes but they are playing reggae music without knowing it. The music they are playing maybe reggae but they are not reggae artistes. When they are organising awards, people like me, Orits Williki, Ras Kimono, Righteousman and the like should be involved,” he said.

The singer further blamed the new generation of artistes for being responsible for the moral decadence in the society because of the way they have sexually symbolised women.

“Reggae music is meant to preach about social ills and vices. It is used to spread the message of truth. Right now, the youths have chosen to sing degrading songs about women to sell their works. They praise the body parts of women like their bums and boobs and this is not meant to be so.

“They play reggae music and still sing about these things and it is not supposed to be like that. There is nothing bad in praising women because they are very wonderful beings, but they should not focus on their body parts. These kids should talk about every aspect of life; the kind of music they are playing is encouraging killing, corruption and even kidnapping, because some people listen to it and want to make quick money.

“This kind of songs is damaging our country. I can say that our singers nowadays are destroying our country with their songs. Music is a very powerful tool; it is a weapon with which we can spread the message of good news to the whole world. I would like to advise these young boys to play good music; they should use their songs to preach peace to the world.

“They can use any genre of music to pass their message across, but it should not just be about praising women’s bums and making videos that would show women stripping and dressing in scanty clothings. Their videos are polluting the minds of kids,” the singer said.

source: Punch