- Enoch Oyedibu
- Davido, Wizkid
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But when Davido posted his quitting statement on Twitter, Wizkid’s comment on the post, saying “much ego” has sparked reactions that Wizkid indirectly wants him to leave music. But should Davido leave the music? It is not meant to be a question. This is because Afrobeat is not for anyone.
Davido, one of the biggest Nigerian Afrobeat singers, revealed recently that he wants to leave music for those he called “niggas”. His intention was to ensure that all those he called “niggas” can have the chance they’ve all been anticipating and get “peace.”
While Davido didn’t reveal the chance he was thinking to give to the “niggas”, his statement here has sparked a lot of reactions to make his fans deduced a subtle meaning, implicating Wizkid and Burna Boy.
Fans thought Davido was referring to the duo who have been the biggest artists contesting the competence and dexterity of Davido’s music and influence over the last decades since they all started the journey. But they were not the pathfinders.
The start of Afrobeat in Africa did not have room for a lone ranger. It collectively started with different artists hitting the black and white TV screens and Radio with their beautiful and well-weaved lines of songs.
But the take is nobody can say Afrobeat was built by them alone and so, no one can chase anyone out of it. This is because it is not owned by any artists.
The early 19s to independence first saw Fela Anikulapo Kuti fathering Afrobeat in Nigeria. With Tony Allen, his drummer, Fela twerked Afrobeat to one of the many standard grooving artists drawn from today, including Burna boy.
According to sources online, Fela created a new style that combined American blues, jazz, and funk with traditional Yoruba music, leaving many to quickly say he is to Afrobeat what Bob Marley is to reggae.
But the aesthetic genius of Afrobeat did not end there. In fact, it sets the ball of another dimension rolling, heralding the likes of antiquity singers who graced the dance floor for “Sisi” and “Bobo” in those days.
In Nigeria, songs of Sunny Ade, Orlando Owo and Shina Peter who often called himself (he is) the founder of Afro-juju (another genre of Afrobeat) can never escape pub houses. All of them beautifully sung in different dimensions and styles that bless our souls.
Like Afro-juju, Afro rap songs streamlined its newness to us in the 1980s with Stevano UGO. Subsequent artists unfold their craft and then, it keeps unfurling like the onion’s layers until we’ve P-square brothers, 2 Face, Wande Coal, Banky W, Don Jazzy and Dbanj.
Before Wizkid, Burna Boy and Davido got to the musical screens, there were already lots of artists blazing the trail. But when Davido posted his quitting statement on Twitter, Wizkid’s comment on the post, saying “much ego” has sparked reactions that Wizkid indirectly wants him to leave music. But should Davido leave the music? It is not meant to be a question. This is because Afrobeat is not for anyone.
Read Also: Why Wizkid Betrayed His Anodyne Nature, Trolls Don Jazzy Signee, Davido, Fans?
Enoch Oyedibu
I am a writer and investigative journalist who specialises in literary criticism and underrepresented narratives. Among other publications, I have been featured in Business Day Nigeria, TheICIR, Platform Times and Daily Nigerian. Right now, I work as a full-time staff writer for Unconventional Magazine.
