Wizkid’s O2 Greatness: The Importance of Investing in the Next Generation
Beyond the frenzy of selling out a big venue, the gesture of introducing growing music acts on the biggest stages is a culture that should be celebrated and encouraged.
The direction for this week’s issue was crystallising in my mind when I got two email notifications – 2 new subscribers, organically, bringing this community to 70 members! I mean one of them even happens to be a foreigner. We are getting there. 100 before this year runs out. Keep sharing the gospel of AfroDives, community.
Virtually only one topic had dominated the discourse in the entertainment space for the week. Your guess is as good as mine. It is Wizkid Big Wiz selling out the 20,000-capacity O2 Arena in London, back to back to back. Three times in the space of four days! It is like Real Madrid winning the UEFA Champions League three times in a row between 2016 and 2018. If that was an era of unprecedented success on the field, then this is equally unmatched greatness on the stage.
The O2 Arena is one of the most popular and busiest venues in the world. It reportedly has the largest floor space of any building throughout the globe. Such venues are not for the common folk. It’s either you’re Celine Dion, the organiser of Summer Olympics, the event planner for the ATP World Tour Finals or an Afrobeats superstar, like Wizkid.
Selling out a 20,000 capacity three times is tantamount to selling out a stadium. I’m sure Wembley is next on Wizkid’s mind. The O2 level is now too low for that kind of pre-eminence. Even the venue’s management had to present Wizkid with an award of recognition. It’s the kind of pull they see only a few times in a lifetime.
But beyond the O2 fever which has taken over social media, it is important to underline a commendable culture which is exactly one of the things established acts need to keep doing for the fast-rising ones. The likes of Blaqbonez, Buju, CKay, Tems and Bella Shmurda were all brought on stage by Big Wiz to perform before a mammoth crowd, the like of which none of them had performed before.
It is a dream come true for many of those promising Afrobeats acts. Blaqbonez couldn’t hide his excitement, saying that he’s gone from being a nuisance to opening the show at O2.
It is a gesture that not only motivates them but also fulfils a dream they had nursed for a long time. None of those acts would singlehandedly command such presence, which is why the onus is on the globally acclaimed stars to lend a hand to the up-and-coming ones.
Retweeting their posts, signing them under your record labels aren’t enough. Showcase them on the biggest of stages as well. Big Wiz won’t be at the forefront forever, nor will Davido, Olamide and Burna. They know it. That’s why a Fireboy will always remain grateful. Blaqbonez, Bella and Buju won’t forget their O2 debut and the man behind it while the Mayor of Lagos knows that he wouldn’t be in office if not for one senator’s nephew.
This is the kind of culture Africa and Afrobeats need if the current momentum will be sustained across generations.
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