They are like gods because of the wonders they perform with their songs, the aura of mystique and exclusive glamour and the millions of fans that follow them religiously. But Nigerian artistes are also gods because their lovers feed the fame and ego that give them such prominence, attending festivals in thousands – festivals of concerts and shows – offering sacrifices in ticket purchase, screams and physical energy. Unfortunately, the gods of Nigerian popular culture sometimes abuse these things.
Although they dish out ‘good’ content to their target audience every now and then, many of Nigeria’s music celebrities have fallen below the bar of what is tolerable, enough to arouse displeasure. When an artiste comes to limelight, especially on the platter of raw talent, there is usually the hype and attention around them. They quickly shoot to the main lobby of fame, thanks to YouTube views and downloads and media attention. This kind of attention from their potential fans says something like, “Okay, we didn’t know you before now but your music is just irresistible. So, let’s have more of it.”
In an industry that, more than ever before, is now teeming with uncountable names, record labels and abundantly gushing out songs, a fan of Nigerian music has a wide range of people to listen to. This level of competition means that an artiste has to prove that they are worth being preferred over hundred others. Once given enough attention to be established in the scene, they sometimes forget their humble beginnings and what got them there. One can count a good number of Nigerian hip-hop artistes who came from obscurity to national acclaim.
After feeding fat and full on fans, endorsements and tours, they sometimes put less energy into their content. They shock us with tracks and stage performances that are so much outweighed by the time and money spent on patronising them. And they do so unapologetically as if to say “I have arrived now. Even if all I do is to yawn in my songs, you all have no choice than to get crazed.”
What about the unbecoming late shows and delays? This grossly disrespectful gesture by Nigerian artistes has been repeated over and over again. It has now become fashionable and classy for performing acts to arrive late for shows and delay the commencement. These happen not at free concerts (are there even many of these?) but at music events that people paid and squeezed their ways into. The enthusiastic fans would then have to sit for endless hours and when their host performer finally shows up, he or she still manages to get forgiving whoops and a successful show. This is a statement of contempt and the fans are at the receiving end. Unfair, isn’t it?
Nigerian musical events now share in common, technical difficulties, sexual harassment, abusive bouncers, inadequate security and on and on. Majority of the crowds are middle class fans who have paid something tangible, waded through the thick fog of traffic and denied themselves of comfort just for the “mad love”, even if they cannot get front-row view. Only for their god singer to come up, lip-syncing, hardly delivering quality live entertainment and making the audience scream the bulk of the songs.
Blames for late starts have been attributed to the event organisers, the performing acts, complicity of fans and the African time factor. It is usually all of these and more but the artistes have a good share of it. It is unreasonable to come late or delay mounting the stage just because it is customary for the “chief masquerade” to appear at the show’s (very late) end. It is also a rude test of people’s patience. What ever happened to breaking the jinx and setting a good example? Is it too big to ask music models to be role models?
Although the culture of late shows has been coming for some time now, it became disturbingly repetitive at a number of concerts hosted by major pop artistes in December. Simi’s live concert, held on December 9, started five hours behind schedule, hamstrung by technical issues and eliciting frustration by fans like @Sholz who tweeted,“People really out here paying to attend Simi’s concert then she comes out five hours late, the nerve.” Also, @PatrickIgbokw reacted, “it’s disrespectful that Simi came so late to her show. Show that was to start 6pm, she came at 11pm… No one can waste my time on top money I paid. God forbid. Last show I ever went for was rhythm unplugged. Never again.”
At his much-anticipated concert, Burna Boy Live on Boxing Day, Burna Boy appeared after more than seven hours’ delay. This was an event people had purchased tickets weeks prior. One of the frustrated attendees, tweeted, “Left #BurnaLive not long ago, just getting home. It’s 1:30am FFS! I’ve got work in the morning. FML.” Similarly, the fifth installment of Olamide ‘Live In Concert’ was one of those in the string of late events. The headliner didn’t come up until around 1 a.m, although the concert was successful, highlighted by a surprise stop-by from Wizkid, who had showed up hours late for his own ‘Made In Lagos’ concert that night. Recall that in 2016, the international star had failed to perform at the prestigious Coachella and the ‘Made in America’ concert put together by Jay Z’s Roc Nation.
Only when and if the fans understand the kind of power they wield, they won’t curtail the attitude of some artistes. No concert can hold in an empty auditorium, they should remember. The crowd makes it happen; they dictate the tempo and their energy largely determines the success. Therefore, they need to realise that they can boycott shows and demand to be refunded when performance is poor. They can threaten to not attend the shows of artistes who are notorious latecomers.
It is equally up to event organisers to make the sound, stage and other necessary props at their best, latest an hour to the starting time. Performing artistes should be made to be on ground when due such that their lateness could leave them with contractual losses. Coachella offers a good model of event coordination and an effort at timeliness. Long before event day, the organisers publicised the order of program which includes entry time for each performer. When a schedule is public, it is more likely to be adhered to.
Not until the fans and brands take serious action, artistes will continue to take them for granted and get away with it. Frustrated fans have been calling out at defaulting artistes, unleashing backlashes online but online rants don’t have as much weight as boycotts and protest gestures. These include low turnout, insisting that artistes promise punctuality without which they (the fans) will not show up, leaving the venue in cases of delay, and other creative measures that check accountability.
The alarming trend arouses the notion that the extent of lateness seems to equal your greatness as if the longer you can make the crowd wait, the stronger your sway. Both the artistes and their fans should remember that their relevance and fame will be sustained only if fed with the admiration and love of the fans. The audience needs to understand that they are the shot callers here. They sure deserve better, for all they do for these artistes. They should remind these musicians that gods die when there are no worshippers, after all.
and then