Wizkid & Burna Boy: A Friendship Sealed in Legacy
Cosigning budding young musicians like Buju and Omah Lay, the superstar duo dominated music conversations over the weekend. Here's what it means for Afrobeats.
“My brothers and I doing arena’s far away from home like it’s nothing! U deserve all and more Odogwu!!! Love my G 4L.” Those are the words of Wizkid to his friend and colleague Burna Boy, as shared on his Instagram feed.
They both ruled Music Weekend: A deluxe of Wizkid's Made in Lagos, which recently peaked at number on at the Billboard, was released. And Burna Boy delivered stunningly at the 20k-seater O2 Arena. Today Afrobeats is supreme.
Years after “Oliver Twist” African pop stars showed no attempt to slow down their attempt for global bags. Wizkid, Tiwa Savage and Davido were the Nigerian front runners, and only about four years ago did Burna Boy join them. He's sufficiently powered up to them though, thrice winning the BET Award for Best International Act, snagging a Grammys for fifth album Twice As Tall and selling out shows in massive arenas.
Along with Wizkid, he's formed the Perfect Afrobeats Bromance. While fans might trade jabs over Burna's supposed insecurity, the duo wax stronger off the media, frequently sighted together sharing a blunt, hanging out in the studio. “Ginger,” their collaboration on Made in Lagos was a fine addition to their catalogue of three songs.
Over the weekend, both friends were again united, this time in an ideological sense. On song and stage, the pair open their platform to budding younger talents, placing the industry in a space where it’s possible for everyone to benefit. You must have watched that clip of Rema bouncing with exaggerated swagger, stomping around Burna’s stage as the Giant followed with the biggest smile, their backs hunched as they performed Rema’s hit songs. When the DJ teased “Woman,” the arena went crazy; like “Lady” and “Soundgasm,” those songs are uniquely Rema’s—a mish-mash of vibrant drums over swooning emo keys, with vocals so energetic it’s almost like a feverish hallucination, an introduction to a sweaty, pulsating, sensuous world, where gibberish is worship, and the woman is queen.
It’s easy to see Rema’s appeal. Coming from Benin in Edo state, his style owes the culture of that southern hub, where its young are early on introduced to layers of American culture, especially emo-Trap music and its associate thrills and vices. Watching Rema at the O2, I was reminded that even though his talent is rare, the society is still creating great talents, and the possibility of his career is great hope for many in the underground. Him being on the stage of one of his heroes who happens to be a global superstar (just as he is) stretches back to Rema’s formative years in Benin City, and this journey becomes etched in history, a light forever shone by one of them, a level of excellence to aspire to, a level that’s entirely achievable.
Ruger also performed in London. The pink-haired, eye patch-wearing Ruger rode hot on the success of “Bounce,” which was newly re-released as a UK single, and though clips of him aren’t massively circulated, his prowess as a live performer is well documented. It’s remarkable how his star power has catapulted within one year, though it’s also worthy of mention that Mavin Records, the parent company of his label Jonzing Records, has a remarkable program for developing artists. When talent meets years of finessing, you get Ruger, a superstar aware of his voice, his language, his image and how to make it all come together. Again, Ruger’s involvement in the Super Afrobeats Weekend brings light to the structure that’s backed his rise, the Don Jazzy-led dynasty whose earlier iteration, Mo-Hits, had set the precedent for the pop business in the 2000s. Proof that old game is tested game, however freshness of talent makes Afrobeats hot. And everyone eats.
Of course, Burna Boy’s Port Harcourt statesman, Omah Lay, was on that stage as well. Now that I think of it, Rema and Omah Lay were the last pair of Headies Next Rated winners. Ruger is a strong contender for the next. But, back to Omah. With voice soft as water, the musician’s tales of love and street reality, is undeniably gritty and technical, showing a specific detail but never the full picture. In terms of style, he’s quite different from Burna Boy, whose gaze zooms out more often, as in “PH City” and “Another Story.” But their grasp of emotive storytelling is connected by what they share: Port Harcourt. Our previous cover stars, Ajebo Hustlers, also traces the city’s history, going back to revered griots like Duncan Mighty, Timaya and Cardinal Rex Lawson.
Lagos, just like Port Harcourt, has inspired many of its creators. Though its image in contemporary culture is relayed as noisy and opportunistic, the state, like everywhere else, has a more complex nature. When Wizkid released Made in Lagos last year October, only a few critics noted his attention to darker spaces, where sex and alcohol turns the wheel of the hedonist life, accessed without wealth or status. Even when musing about Grace and his success, the eventuality of settling into a good time was never far away.
Asides the sonic excellence and the influence the tape has had on the music climate since then, Wizkid’s positioning of young stars was another take away from the project. Wizkid allowed the trio of Terri, Tay Iwar and Tems conduct their respective records with mastery and hunger. “Essence” became the song of the summer, and Tems’ profile has skyrocketed, now placed in major conversations and fan-girled by the biggest pop stars.
On his deluxe, Big Wiz embraces producer PPriime (“Anoti”), Buju (“Mood”) and Tay Iwar, who vocalizes on “Steady.” Buju, who was Burna Boy’s protégé at Spaceship Records, has owned the year with a string of songs and features, offering fire hooks and verses left, right centre. By tapping him up, Wizkid unites his present international buzz with the local phenomena, showing a united front. He also wanted Bella Shmurda on the deluxe, but the young star’s ongoing label issues worked against what would have been an obvious career boost (Bella though has background vocals on “Anoti”). Later, Wiz tweeted: “One day. I’m gon y’all down and explain how important Bella Shmurda’s voice is in African music.”
Wizkid, who’s gearing for his concerts, will surely keep up tradition. Two years ago, he’d brought out Fireboy DML and Oxlade at the O2 Arena, and it was the budding stars’ first taste of that level of stardom. In an interview with Afrobeats Intelligence, Oxlade spoke about how he excitedly grabbed his friend Fireboy backstage, as they both marveled at how far they’d come. “Those moments were defining moments for us,” he said. “That was when we knew that this is not a joke, we were born for this. We were born to make people smile at home and in another man's land. Coming to do what we love to do and it was through the platform of a legend. Do you understand?”
More than it's been for a while, the Nigerian pop scene seems to be closely knit. It’s not just the big guys. The likes of Blaqbonez, Ayra Starr, CKay and many others are forming relationships that go further than just creating records. Each person’s platform is a possible step higher and the market, bigger than ever, thrives off such support.
It speaks to how far the industry has come, that all at once, these distinct young voices are making inroads into global markets. It’s also an indicator for the expanding focus on cultures—there’s literally a paying audience for every sound or style, given that the creator has packaged his product well. We should also place a premium on custodians of the culture, by arming our culture journalists, writers, YouTubers, podcasters and documentary producers with good budgets and access. This story deserves to be told by us. Any other way and the narrative suffers.