Re-entry muscle into the music industry after a long break/announced retirement

by Kabura Ng'ang'a

The music industry is pretty much just like any other industry where people choose to retire when they can or they just disappear when it is inevitable. However, many artists find themselves trying to make a comeback into the scene. This is very feasible in some industries but there are other scenes where everything is ever evolving and the re-entry has to be a struggle to keep up yet wanting to be remembered for the artist one was before going away.

A music industry such as the Tanzanian industry has new people stepping in each day and there is a sound that is ever growing and evolving. So disappearing and coming back has only worked for very few people such as AY and anyone who has dared to collaborate with Diamond or anyone in his label.

There is also the trouble of re-entering the industry as a woman as opposed to being a man. Soon after Nicki Minaj announced her retirement, people argued that she would always come back when she felt she wanted to but how many female artists have actually managed that? People compared her case with Jay Z’s but Jay Z’s comeback felt almost seamless and it might have been the gender dynamics. Lil Kim was also on top of the game when she had authority and domestic trouble and she had to leave for a while. She is yet to make a significant comeback into the scene and people really only remember her for her older material.

Just how necessary is a break and how hard will the re-entry into the music industry be for any artist?