Alright, it’s evening.
We have had a ball, it’s been real and it’s time to call it a day. Maybe not to the music, but to the drama-vulture culture. The need to always be on the headlines, the disgusting ego struggle, the cowardice and the incredibly unattractive groupie herding.
African pop has gone through a lot of phases — from its creators struggling to be heard at home, to fighting for inclusion abroad, to defining what the culture really is, to global acceptance and the following insecurity thereof. At the forefront of these phases since the start of the 2010’s have been Wizkid, Davido and later on Burna Boy; musicians the fans have grown to refer to as afrobeats’ “big three”.
But as is almost everything with life, the cycle ends at some point. Many argue that these three men are at that point, or at least near it, but whether or not Davido, Wizkid and Burna Boy should be retiring is not why this piece exists. Their decision to remain on the stage while the ovation is loudest or to walk out of it is absolutely theirs to make. Besides, a man only peaks when he believes that he has peaked.
Where the real problem lies is in something way deeper than their sustained relevance. It is in the dirty work that they have to do in order to keep mouths talking about them and their names in frequent popular conversations. It’s in how low all the parties involved have proven to stoop to not lose the ego struggle tying them together.
Their deads have been dragged into this mud of petty jabs they throw at each other on the internet, their partners, parents, staff, colleagues, children — there seems to be no depth too deep for these mid-thirties “legends” to stoop, in the name of internet banter and trolling.
The latest of the drama series is Burna Boy allegedly beating up DJ Tunez, a disc-jockey largely associated with Wizkid. The two were said to have crossed paths at a Lagos party and ended up being physical. Burna Boy has as a matter of fact openly admitted to this event happening and his involvement in it. He seems to be wearing this act of shame like a badge of honour of some sort.
This isn’t the first time an encounter like this has occurred among the big three, but it’s one of the very few times it has gotten physical. For some reason, every time Wizkid and Davido meet in person, it becomes “all love”.
In December 2023 at an Even In The Day edition with Skyla Tylaa, Davido and Wizkid crossed paths, but suddenly realized it was “all love” between them. The two hugged, partied together and remembered how to relax their egos, only to return home to resume their internet banter.
I call this a performance of cowardise, lust for cheap attention and a humiliating desperation for sustained relevance. And I need it to end, stat.
If they’re musicians and want to keep being considered the lords of afrobeats, they should focus their energies on how to keep making relevant music and give back to the game in a way that keeps their names on everyone’s lips. Cheap controversies are the easy way out. For artistes who have put so much work into the game for over a decade, where is this wind of engaging lazy-ways-out from?
Perhaps, fear?
Are the big three… scared?
Itty can be caught studying African pop culture, writing about it or hosting a relationship podcast. When he's not doing any of these, then he's definitely at a bar, getting mocktail.
