THE WIZKID DAVIDO STORY – A BEEF THAT EVEN A DECADE OF GLOBAL FAME CAN’T SQUASH

Maybe it’s a philosophy thing!

I had an academic rival in secondary school. We finished top two the whole of junior school and I didn’t come in first once. We both had different approaches to the exam thing. She was extremely intelligent and studious, me relying on whatever common sense and half attention I paid in class to pay off in the hall. Both worked. And although we were pitted against each other, we didn’t hate each other,

So maybe it’s a philosophy thing or it was because we were not OBO and Starboy?

Wizkid’s recent tweets targeted at his longtime rival and friend on some very blue moon days, continues in the long line of targeted social media attacks and a hatchet that cannot just seem to stay buried between the two Nigerian music legends.

It’s not uncommon for heated rivalries to start to spill into bad blood, especially when the people involved where the hottest commodity on the market and stayed hot. The comparisons between Davido and Wizkid have been there ever since their breakthrough into the scene, and with both artists continuously going band for band in reaching new record breaking music heights, the Davido Vs. Wizkid conversations weaved it's way into the foundation of Afrobeats and unfortunately, or not it does not seem to be going away anytime soon. Hm.

The bi weekly Wizkid Fc vs. 30bg discord that we did not subscribe for on social media apps like Twitter, is just one of the many products of a beef that might have just gotten a bit rotten. With recent posts Wizkid has aimed more sting at his counterpart and fuelled by idolizing fan bases with very active social media presences, agendas to spread and memes for days it’s going to be a very long week.

But why the beef?

Music lover to Music lover, I don’t know, and with music politics and social media the most used source of information and still the most unreliable source of information, there’s a doubt that we would ever really know

Unless they come out to tell (taps the mic)

The long standing twitter banter and snide remarks and commendations and support shown to each on different occasions coupled with the promise of joint tour probably in the garbage somewhere, the “beef” has seen many highs and many lows.

With “Morayo” in the air and Wizkid’s recent over activity on his social media, critics and fans have attributed the star’s current twitter streak to album roll out shenanigans and whatnots, a ploy to engagements and keep yourself trending, but does Wiz really need that, and if it’s not, then what made all efforts of previous reconciliations null.

And what happened to the period where two legends were existing independently of each other.

Like I said, it might be a philosophy thing,

With both artist reaching the very top of the game and taking different routes to get there, its not uncommon for different egos to continuously clash, understood, maybe. At least on my playlist they’re not fighting and refusing to play after each other.

However, a more distasteful side to the beef has been in the glorification of drama and banter in being the superior warfare, name callings, accusations and memes being the preffeed arsenal. And their original weapons cast aside only used for their albums. I mean, you’re an artist. We would love to see the beef in your art form.

Although many would argue it’s hip-hop culture to release diss tracks and not Afrobeats (where love is always being preached a lot more than it is practiced) first of all, please hold. It’s not just Hip-hop. Composers like Mozart were releasing music sheets and pieces replying to their rivals. Music is an art and expression of human behavior. It is only normal as well that rivalries, beef and likes should be represented in it.

So we add another year to over a decade of beef and name callings without news the music being used as a source of reply, no disses, no conscious music to contextualize the beef in real time and add to the culture. No value from the beef, just break ups and make ups without ‘art to back up the public dramatization of conflict in human interaction’ in the words of Joey Akan.

So Cheers.