“I’m heading for a grammy, one-man army, my hits gon’ be felt from Nigeria to Miami…” Those were the lyrics of singer/rapper, Skales’ breakthrough single, “Heading For a Grammy”.
If those lyrics don’t ring a bell, then these certainly will… “don’t doubt me, I go bring home grammy… credible, remarkable, unbeatable, palatable, reliable” 9ice surely wasn’t playing around when he wrote those lyrics for his hit single, “Street Credibility” featuring 2face Idibia, now 2Baba.The sad thing about these boisterous and somewhat boastful lyrics is that none of them has been able to live up to that promise, heck they don’t even look like they are on that path to begin with!
In the history of Nigerian music, only Afrobeat king, Femi
Anikulakpo-Kuti, has come closest to bringing what is arguably the
world’s most revered musical accolade home.
With a career that has spanned for decades and international
collaborations with Common, Mos Def, Jaguar Wright and many more, Femi
Kuti’s albums including Day by Day and Africa for Africa have won him Grammy nominations in 2010, 2011, 2013 and most recently in 2014.
That’s the farthest any Nigerian has gone with regards to bringing home a Grammy Award.
Enter Wizkid and Davido. Without doubt, currently two of Nigeria’s most promising Grammy prospects.
Davido, at 24, has accomplished much more than lots of artistes well
into their thirties and forties put together. With several hits and
accolades over his five-year-old career, Davido’s popularity has reached
international status having worked with the likes of Trey Songz, Meek
Mill and many others. Most recently, he signed a record deal with
international music label, Sony BMG.
Then there’s Wizkid, the 26-year-old music boy wonder. In typical
Naija fashion, there’s been comparison between Wizkid and Davido. I had
always chosen Davido over Wizkid for a number of reasons, but recently
Davido has been “falling my hand”. I could tolerate all his childish
tantrums and excesses, his sometimes questionable fashion choices and
his unproductive affiliation with B-Red, Danagog, Sina Rambo and all the
other HKN wannabes; but it almost seems like this deal he signed with
Sony BMG has become more of a curse than a blessing o! First of all, he
has postponed his sophomore album to only-God-knows-when and he hasn’t
dropped any new music for quite a while now.
Wizkid on the other hand has been making major moves of late. From
his announcement at the Ghana Music Awards where he made public the new
Ghanaian signings to his Starboy music imprint, to his going on tour
with Chris Brown, his recent collaboration with Tinie Tempah and now his
latest single, Shabba on which he has American music
heavyweights Trey Songz, Chris Brown and French Montana; did I also
mention his feature on Drake’s chart-topping single, One Dance , which by the way is still atop the UK charts.
I may not necessarily like a lot of his songs that are centered on
women shaking their endowments and all what not, but I would be the last
person to hate on someone with such talent and prospect.
If Wizkid continues at this pace, my projection is that he will
definitely bring home a Grammy award in the next few years… can I get an
Amen?
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