by Aanuoluwa Odole
You have watched the Colors performance video of Ku Lo Sa by Oxlade, the “hand choreography” comes second nature to you. You are excited because he is coming to the O2 Arena, your city! You have your tickets ready in anticipation of a performance of your favourite song. What you get instead is an abysmal experience from the opening acts and a disappointing show by the headlining act, Oxlade. You are perplexed. Have you been bamboozled? Nevertheless, Nigerians at home are not shocked; they expected nothing less.
Music is a performing art. It is a creative activity intended to be performed in front of an audience. Since prehistoric times, music in its different forms has always been performed. Musicians often take different approaches to performing with each genre. Today, concerts and tours are important sectors of the global music industry, generating billions of dollars as revenue. According to Pollstar, the top 100 worldwide concert tours of 2022 grossed $6.28 billion, with Bad Bunny topping the list with $393.3 million worldwide.
With the exception of the economic benefits of live performances in the form of concerts and tours, artistes are able to bring to life their bodies of work. As a fan, your appreciation for music feels complete with a live performance, that is; if you live anywhere in the world other than Nigeria. The Nigerian music industry has rapidly begun to climb to a status of global recognition. However, there is a vast difference between the number of concerts held in countries with large music markets like the United States and South Korea than those held in Nigeria. In 2019, no Nigerian city was included in the list of countries with the most music performances compiled by the World Cities Culture Forum.
Imagine Rema successfully transforming your solo listening experience to a room filled with fellow ravers screaming the lyrics as he embodies his songs on stage. You listen to the hypnotizing intro of Soundgasm every day and then finally, you get to see Rema recreate it live as he smiles and swings his mic. Only, you did not get to see any of the concerts because you live in Nigeria.
With the minimal number of concerts held annually, Nigerian music fans are still presented with less than the bare minimum. Shows start late, artistes don’t sing live and rely on the backing track. Do Nigerian musicians even care about their fans? There is never talk of the greatest performer in the Nigerian music industry because there currently isn’t one. Priority is not given to live performance and very few artistes in Nigeria embody the art of live performance.
After facing criticism for his underwhelming 2022 Afro Nation performance in July, BNXN (Buju) in a Twitter space with Afrocentric music commentator, Emmanuel Owoniyi blamed the organizers. He stated that there had been no soundcheck before the performance. He also claimed that he had to rely only on the rear speakers as there had been an issue with the front speakers. When issues or conversations on weak performances by Nigerian artistes arise, a quick cop-out by these artistes is to shift the responsibility to show organizers or “sound”.
In an interview with The Upper Ent, Moyo Onipede, show promoter and production coordinator, explained that it is near impossible for show organisers to not conduct sound checks, she also emphasised that artistes need to want to perform as much as the audience wants to see them perform. At the centre of the art of music is the artist, the different expertise used during the process of creation, which extends to performing all ties down to the artist. It is quite irresponsible for artistes to leave everything up to the organisers.
In her Netflix documentary on Homecoming at Coachella, Beyoncé explained; “I personally selected each dancer, every light, the material on the steps, the height of the pyramid, the shape of the pyramid, every patch was hand-sewn. Every tiny detail had an intention.”. The two-hour documentary not only presented the full live performance but the behind the scenes and the creative process of the entire show. While the large scale of the 2018 Coachella headlining performance cannot be compared to the regular concerts and shows held by Nigerian artistes, what matters is the work ethic. The question is are Nigerian musicians capable of putting on an actual show, from costume to lighting and visuals, production, vocals, dancers and audience engagement?
Performing a sold-out concert at the O2 Arena in London is a career landmark every Nigerian music artist aims for. Davido has achieved this twice. At his second show in March 2022, fans were quick to point out their displeasure at DJ Ecool’s performance. What ensued was the release of Snapchat conversations between the DJ and Zlatan on the set list, from which we could infer as the “final rehearsal”. The concluding plan for Zlatan’s performance at the O2 Arena was discussed on Snapchat. Did DJ Ecool and Zlatan even rehearse his set?
Understandably, there are a plethora of things a musician can be known for, from songwriting to their image/concept. However, if, Western artistes can receive criticism and take active steps to improve, why can’t Nigerian artistes (who are constantly striving for the same level of success) do the same? Saweetie and Dua Lipa have both faced backlash for their performing skills, with clips of them going viral and becoming memes. In 2020, Dua Lipa went on to release a dance-pop album, reclaim the viral meme during her tour and perform at the Grammys with electrifying choreography (where she won Best Pop Vocal Album). In the same vein, Saweetie attended a performance boot camp in 2021 and has since been praised for improving, particularly in her 2023 Rolling Loud Performance.
Credit has to be given to Oxlade for singing live though. There is no denying that he is a good vocalist and his December 2022 Trace Sessions performance now proves he is a great live vocalist. That’s an artist that cares about his craft enough to improve. Platforms like Trace Sessions, Glitch Sessions, the Colors Show and NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert allow artistes to impress listeners with their vocals. Listeners still, however, deserve high-quality concert experiences, if they wanted to hear the sound recording while you dance, they would have stayed at home.
Perhaps, there is a disregard for live performances, especially at concerts, because Nigerian music fans just don’t care? Time after time, they buy tickets for these artistes in the futile hope that there has been an improvement and complain about the lack of, only to repeat the cycle. Excuses are then made for these artistes, with some blaming it on the Afropop genre not requiring good vocals and a lot of focus on “cruise and vibes”
It is also interesting to point out that the demographic of artistes who consistently suck (for lack of a better word) at performing live are mostly male artistes. It is quite obvious that when the discourse on lacklustre performances arises, female artistes are hardly ever included. There is a lot more effort put into their performances, from choreography to costuming and, most importantly, vocals.
The impact of a great performance cannot be denied. People; casual listeners and fans get to respect your artistry even more. Great performers are never forgotten. Recently, Asake performed his new single ‘Yoga’, as well as ‘Organise’ from his debut album on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. All anyone has been able to talk about is how amazing he is, not only as a hitmaker but also as a great performer. When musicians care about their craft enough to not only release good music but to put in the work to bring these songs to life when performing, it cements their authenticity as artistes.
In Nigeria, performing as an art is generally sidelined and overlooked, with a few good performances once in a while. It is quite appalling that for some of these artistes, a good or sometimes average live performance appears like a full moon and I vote to make it a point to tell them every single chance we get.
