Babyface Edmonds Blamed for Failed West African Marriages
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Accra, Ghana – When Babyface panned the words to the song ‘I give good love’ in 1989, he had no idea that he would be responsible for opening a Pandora’s box of misery and dissatisfaction in modern day West Africa.
When pubescent secondary school girls heard this man sincerely singing the lyrics, it subconsciously created a false impression of what married life would be like for them, once they came of age.
I give good love
I’ll buy your clothes
I’ll cook your dinner too
Soon as I get home from work
I’ll pay your rent
Your faithful lover
Soon as I get home, soon as I get home from work
Girl, I’ll treat you right
And I’ll never lie
For all that it’s worth
I give good love (good love, good love, good love, good love)
The reality in most African marriages is quite the opposite.
“Me???? To cook food for my wife???,” asked Abubakkhar Abdulahi, a chichinga maker, incredulously. “You’ll never get me.”
Mary Adei, a social psychologist says that the damage that Babyface has caused is virtually irreparable.
“He’s unwittingly set a false expectation, and these now 20 and 30-something women are devastated,” she explains. “I really don’t think there is anyway to recover.”
Ms Adei also added that she appreciates the move that hip-hop and nouveau R&B has made in setting more realistic expectations.
“It’s true that we in West Africa import a lot of our music, particularly from the US and UK. That is why I am glad that these newer artistes exclusively sing about one-night stands and focus on little to no commitment. It’s more in line with our cultural expectations that all men cheat, and that you should even be glad that you have a man.”
Neither Babyface nor his representatives could be reached for a reaction to the harm he’s caused in an already fragile society.
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