Simon Utsu|25 June 2017
1. Wizkid wins BET Award for best African art!
Same Wizkid also won 3 soul train awards earlier this year, making him the first African to ever win at the soul train. Like I've kept saying, Wizkid is arguably the biggest Nigerian export abroad since Fela. From the way he effortlessly garnered acceptability abroad to the way he's winning awards and getting Collabos from rave US artistes here and there —once again, I've been vindicated! Thumbs up starboy. I even learnt he and top rapper, Future will be touring the world together in August.
2. DBanj shades DonJazzy in tweet!
I read that tweet and was like, what's wrong with the Kokomaster? Why tag Don Jazzy and say he's begging you inside his heart? U dey craze? Abeg you guys should make peace, since your break up, your brands have both fallen- it's obvious you were made for each other. Ask the members of 80's boyband New edition and 90's band DruHill how they fared after separating…. their individual stars fizzled out like a decaying nuclear reaction shortly after they broke up. Just go ask Bobby Brown and Sisqo ok?
3. It's hightime Wizkid and 2Face get top professionals to manage their brands!
From the world's point of view, Wizkid is arguably the biggest musical export from Nigeria in recent years whilst from the average Nigerian's point of view, 2face is almost unarguably the country's biggest (musical) export.
Last week, Wizkid unleashed a scathing response to a subliminal tweet aimed at him by Davido, he ended up crushing an ant with a sledge hammer —quite unnecessary it was. Such temper tantrums thrown without decorum and control will reveal your weaknesses, make people capitalise on them and diminish your brand in the long run. He needs someone to consult and help him construct and handle his responses to every Linda Ikeji, Dammy Krane and Davido. As for you Davido, your head there! You dey mad! Commonsense fall on you.
Also, If I'm to go by what I've observed in 2Baba's Campari commitment, I think he deserves something bigger with the Campari brand than just turning up at their promotional events and appearing on their billboards. I was at a sit-out to watch Chelsea vs Arsenal FA Cup final game a few weeks back and Campari brought 2Face there for a red carpet promotional event. He came, jumped around and sang some of his hits and exchanged banter with some of us. And I asked myself, if 2Face actually knew he was being cheated by this Campari brand.
Tuface is very big —he's big enough to turn Campari to top a 5 best selling alcoholic beverage in Africa. If I were his manager, I would have advised him to sign the kind of agreement P.Diddy signed with Ciroc Vodka. His management team didn't just sign that he'll be marketing it for them but that with his brand being tagged along, he'll get a major percentage of their profits in America. From what I read, in just five years, Diddy's partnership with Ciroc has turned it from a relatively unknown Vodka in the US to a top 3 bestseller. In fact, that partnership is also the reason P.Diddy has topped the forbes entertainers/celebrity rich list for the second year in a row. This is the kind of symbiotic relationship I expected 2Face to go into with Campari and not the seemingly parasitic one he's in with them currently, where they're gaining much more from his brand than he's gaining from them.
Maybe it isn't coincidental that P. Diddy is one of the few rappers with a university degree. He has a business admin degree from Howard, I believe this has helped him with his decision making all along- changing his brand name from time to time, knowing when to pause music and go into fashion, stop fashion and go into beverages and in all these, cut the best deals.
Simon Utsu
Is a Social Commentator
