If you regularly browse through the pages on social media, you will come to terms with the fact that celebrities have many fan pages and PR online organizations promoting their greatness and superiority without their knowledge. The interesting thing about this phenomenon is that it is lucrative because of the likes, comments, shares, and internet traffic it generates for those who created these pages. In the height of the rivalry between Ronaldo and Messi, thousands of social media pages were created by their fans to promote their greatness and superiority. A similar online rivalry by fans pages and posts is playing out between Nigeria’s most successful musicians. Reading these posts, you will quickly see the bias and the lack of objectivity. Most of these posts are often weighted along ethnic lines and often lacking truthful facts and analysis.

We could call this age an age of gullible followership. In the religious arena, this is common. It has now overflowed into all areas of our lives. This is the secret behind the success of the Kardashians where followers do not scrutinize what is presented to them on TV or the Internet. And we are all guilty as charged. This is also the phenomenon behind the rise of megalomaniacs who become dictators and eventually tyrants. If we only spend a short while to critically think about what is presented to us, we will acknowledge the truth. For the 3 biggest Nigerian musicians in terms of awards, album sales and streams – Wizkid, Davido and Burna Boy easily top the ranking even with Tems, Rema, Asake and Ayra Star hotly pursuing the big 3. 

Analyzing the big 3 objectively, you would acknowledge the role played by Wizkid in the last 5 years in making Afrobeats what it is today. The breakthroughs of collaborations with Drake in Come Closer and Tems in Essence are worth mentioning. Before Wizkid emerged, there were others who cleared the path. Tuface, PSquare, Dbanj & Don Jazzy, Tiwa Savage and Yemi Alade pushed the envelope. Before them, the groundbreaking works by Fela and others cannot be overemphasized in building the international momentum that Afrobeats presently enjoys.

Looking at the musical terrain today, Burna Boy stands tall, and his height is getting higher. Burna Boy is also an extraordinary ambassador for Afrobeats. The number of nations that Burna Boys has performed with sold-out arenas, separates him from the pack. There are other visible facts and attributes about Burna Boy that differentiates him. The major reason why he is selling out concert venues is because he is a performer per excellence that delivers the full package of singing with a live band, dancing, and giving an unforgettable energetic experience that no other Nigerian or African musician can presently equal. Burna Boy can also rap excellently, write, and do much more that most of his competition. 

This extraordinary ability of his is shown in the categories he is nominated in the forthcoming Grammy Award. He is nominated in four categories – Best Global Music Album – I Told Them, Best African Music Performance – City Boys, Best Global Music Performance – Alone, and Best Melodic Rap Performance – Sittin’ on Top of the World. As I was researching to write this piece, I realized that Burna Boys extra qualities or skill set makes him stand out. And if I want to stand out in my life’s pursuits, having extra skills or putting the extra in my services or products will stand me out. Yes, we are all service providers like the Nigerian musicians who are making Africa proud. It is the extra that we put into our goods and services that will make the difference and move us above that pack.

Ata Ukuta, Editor – Towncryyers