Censoring Lyrics Will Kill Creativity – Rex Omar

Veteran musician, Rex Omar has kicked against any attempt to censor songs in Ghana.

According to him, any attempt to check and control the lyrics of songs in the name of curbing profanity will kill creativity.

Contributing to the issue of profanity on Daybreak Hitz on Hitz FM with Andy Dosty, the ‘Abiba’ hitmaker said he had always held a different opinion whenever people talk about such things.

“What is profanity” he quizzed and noted that songs that people perceive to be profane are songs about life and things that are happening in society.

“Social songs are social songs, political songs are political songs, lifestyle songs are lifestyle songs,” so, “sensual songs are sensual songs,” Rex Omar stressed.

He noted that people are sometimes “judgmental” forgetting that things are not like they were 30 years ago. “The kids are more experienced,” the musician said.

Rex Omar noted attractions between male and female are natural and therefore, “let’s not use profanity for a song,” because “it is not right.”

The veteran musician, who doubles as the Chairman of the Ghana Music Rights Organisation (GHAMRO), kicked against any attempt to implement a censorship policy.

According to him, “creativity is a thing of the minds so you cannot sensor the creativity of the mind.”

The GHAMRO Chair citied for example that, when he listens to A.B. Crentsil’s ‘Moses’, which at a point was banned because of its alleged profanity, he listens to the creativity of the song while someone else will see the song from a different perspective.

Rex Omar, buttressing his point, explained that, to some people, some words in songs are classy while others will see those same words are “distasteful”.

“We don’t have any [Censorship] Board like that and we don’t need any board like that…it kills creativity…censorship will stifle creativity,” he said.

The veteran musician stressed that controlling musicians’ lyrics or content will even infringe on their rights.