In this chapter, I have used the concept of precarity to capture the
lives and livelihoods of marginalized Cameroonians as portrayed in
Lapiro’s music. How this artist observed and most of all, depicted
suffering and uncertainties of life in Cameroon was, par excellence, an
unapologetic fight for human rights. For three decades, Lapiro
brought to limelight the degrading socioeconomic and political
circumstances in his country, strongly believing that he could draw
the attention of the greedy leaders to these worsening conditions.
Despite the hardship they experience daily, Lapiro saw Cameroonians
as resilient people, as overcomers, as those who do not easily give up
in the face of misery imposed on them. Lapiro eulogizes the
economic feat of these strugglers and at the same time, accuses the
power structure of negligence and dishonesty. For the fact that
through his music he advocated for the downtrodden all his life, we
can describe Lapiro as a religious man. He examined the deteriorating
conditions of life in his country and found himself playing the role
of Jeremiah, the weeping prophet.