Wizkid losing the Grammy is perhaps the biggest news in the entertainment industry so far this year.
The fact that he lost not one, but two even with the monumental success of Wizkid Grammy-nominated “Made In Lagos” is a big blow not just to him and his fans but to the whole Nigerian industry as a whole.
Many are of the opinion that this doesn’t mean anything and that we don’t need foreign validation. But what does it say if they snub someone like WizKid? Someone who is perhaps the most successful artist in Africa in the past two years in this manner? It’s a lot to think about, yes.
One thing the whole of Nigeria can agree on is that they robbed Wizkid. In the future, maybe if the Grammy’s are not interested in giving Nigerians awards unless there is no Angelique Kidjo, maybe they shouldn’t nominate us at all?
But even with the magnitude of this robbery, it’s not hard to see why Wizkid didn’t win last night. If you look at it clearly enough, you’d see.
So, Why Didn’t WizKid Win The Grammy?
Besides the fact that the Grammys have always been shitty and they need to do something about how they treat black creatives, Wizkid was set up.
WizKid had the magnitude of success in the United States that would make him a contender for Song of the Year, if not Album of the Year. But God forbid, they nominate a black man; an African in any of their local categories.
So instead they placed him in a category meant for African artists like him. (The majority of whom have never tasted the kind of success he’s enjoyed).
The problem is that MIL was never a fit for the Global music category. It should have been nominated in other categories. The global music award is reserved for international performers exhibiting non-European, indigenous traditions. And that’s exactly what Angelique Kidjo does.
If the music is on the Billboard Hot 100 song as an R&B record (“Essence”), it probably isn’t indigenous enough, right? So how was WizKid supposed to win in that category?
The truth is, they knew what they were doing. Wizkid would probably have won if he was nominated in other categories like Best R&B record or Song of the Year.
What Happens Now?
Of course, there will be bants by rival fans who would want to use this opportunity to get back at Wizkid, something his success has prevented them from doing for a long time. That’s okay. But after that, nothing else is going to happen.
Wizkid will go on, drop his “More Love, Less Ego” album and things will pretty much return to how they were before the Grammy came into the picture.
Wizkid is one of the most successful artists of this generation. Not winning the Grammy won’t have any effect on his career. The only thing that’s worth thinking about is the next generation of artists (Rema, Omah Lay, CKay) who have mirrored Wizkid’s music. What exactly is their place in the global music conversation now?
Everything and everyone else will be all right in the end.