Wizkid’s ‘Essence’ Gains Momentum

Yinka Olatunbosun

Once again, Nigeria’s authentic star boy, Wizkid has made Nigeria proud. His song titled ‘Essence’ released on October 30, 2020 as the 11th track from his fourth studio album, ‘Made in Lagos’ has made it to the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Global 200. That’s the first Nigerian song to have ever achieved such milestone in the prestigious music chart. In the original version, the grammy-winning artist featured Tems on the vocals and had the track produced by P2J and the amazing Legendury Beatz. Wizkid as well as other artists had made hits with Legendury Beatz including “Azonto” and “Ojuelegba” and with Brymo- the smash hit- ‘Ara.’

Asides the grammy-winning “Black Skin Girl,” with Beyonce, Essence was a first hit collaboration in a while that Wizkid would drop that would feature a female Nigerian artist other than Tiwa Savage- his long-time collaborator. Tems’ unique voice commands attention because it is very sensual and laced with an irie vibe. The song which debuted on Billboard at number 67 had moved up to 44 by the time of filing this report.

Wizkid who reportedly lives in Ghana had the music video to the song shot in Accra on April 9, 2021 and just very recently the Canadian singer-songwriter, Justin Bieber featured on the song’s remix. Excitedly, Bieber would describe the song as the ‘song of the summer’ on his Instagram post, alluding to Spotify’s Summer music list in June which included the song. Of course, the song had earned its earliest recognition when US Former President, Barack Obama added it on his list of favourite songs for 2020.

Interestingly, the song had been critically received in leading music publications such as ‘Revolt’ and ‘Rolling Stone’ thanks to its digital release to the US market on June 29. Since then, it has made astronomical climb on prestigious music charts. Another version with an additional feature from Canadian singer Justin Bieber was released on August 13, 2021 and the song is currently on number one US Digital World Song Sales (Billboard), number one on UK Afrobeats Single, 13 on US Hot R&B/Hip-hop (Billboard) and 23 on New Zealand Hot Singles.

Predictably, Nigerian music fans received the news of the remix with Bieber with mixed reactions. While many applauded it, a great number of fans argued that the song “needs no other body,” perhaps ignoring the fact that Bieber is not just anybody. He holds 31 Guinness World Records and surprisingly two grammy awards. He is one of the best selling artists of all time, the youngest male to make it to the Billboard number one and a teen idol commanding fan dominance like the rock legends, Queen. Bieber is purely intoxicated with the song ‘Essence’ and you can tell from his Afrobeat dance to the song on the beach side video.

For music artists, UK and American markets are the biggest music markets in the world. And for Wizkid’s Essence to cut through the noise and rise on music charts- that is a breakthrough. Nigerian music fans who troll foreign artists when they jump on Nigerian songs for remixes need some education. Music is serious business involving boardroom meetings, contracts, suit-and-tie and of course sales. Many fans seem to forget that. Sometimes, if not most times, music productions are economic necessities. Imagine putting the net worth of Bieber and Wizkid on the balance scale, who really needs the other? Ironically, some Nigerian music fans who are active online try to speak for the rest of us on who should feature on Nigerian music artist’s songs. Music is a universal language just as sports; there is no room for discrimination. Hence, this jaundiced apathy against international collaborations is quite nauseating and needs to stop.

Truly, ‘Essence’ is a great song already with Tems and so is Luis Fonsi’s Despacito which Bieber featured on its remix. Remixes are not new and will be here for life. You can either like or dislike a remix but it is not fair to make your preferences look like a national viewpoint. With the introduction of music streaming sites, music had become more global than it had ever been. Collaborations, such as this, are indicators of the global energy in music and the shift towards Afrobeats. When the world was mad about reggae, it bred merchandising: fashion and art world replicated pieces of fashion accessories and wall paintings in the reggae colours: black, red, green and gold. Rather than trolling for no profit or shutting down social media platforms that can enhance its popularity, fortunes can be made from commercialising Afrobeats.