Rivers State born upcoming artiste, Mabel T. Green, popularly known as “Gussy Baby” has appealed to the Rivers State Government and the private sector to promote upcoming artistes in the state, through sponsorship of their songs to enable them compete favourably with their counterparts in Lagos and other neigbouring states.
The hiphop and dance hall artiste made the appeal in a recent interview with The Tide Entertainment Editor. She noted that the music industry in the state is not only vibrant, but dynamic with an enabling environment.
She recalled that in the early days, Rivers State was the nerve centre of entertainment as show biz personalities from all parts of the country came to Port Harcourt to organise shows, but today the reverse is the case due to the brain drain syndrome in the industry.
She noted that most talented indigenous musicians have relocated to Lagos and other states in search of greener pastures which has negative impact on the image and development of the industry. She said this must be discouraged if the state must remain relevant in the nation’s entertainment sector. She called on such people to come back and join hands in salvaging the industry.
The music star reiterated the plight of musicians in the state and urged government and other organisations to partner with the Performing Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN) in Rivers State, to regulate the activities of musicians and other entertainers who come to the state to organise events without carrying PMAN along. According to her, no musical event takes place in Bayelsa State without the consent of stakeholders in the entertainment industry in the state.
She therefore urged the Rivers State Government to adopt similar policy as a panacea to the development of the music industry in the state.
The hiphop and dance hall star who started music at the age of six said despite the challenges, God has blessed and actualised her childhood dream of becoming a musician as she has risen from a mere chorister to a wave making artiste in the state and beyond.
According to her, the nine years sojourn in the entertainment industry has been very fruitful as she has released two studio albums, namely “Goodness” 2010, which has two tracks and the recent one titled “Exquisite” 2017, which contains five tracks as well as collabos with well known Nigerian musicians.
The Estate Management graduate of Ken SaroWiwa Polytechnic Bori, however noted that despite her humble achievements, it is not yet uhuru for her as lack of finance and sponsorship of her songs have remained a daunting barrier in her career.
She therefore appealed to the state government and private organisations to come to her aid.
The Bonny, Rivers State born musician disclosed that her mother has been the source of encouragement to her while pop star, Rihana and the Late Keffi are her role models.

Jacob Obinna