Again, Fans Take Sides as Wizkid-Davido Feud Heats Up
Tosin Clegg
From time to time there has always been a drama from camps of two of Nigeria’s biggest music stars which has become a recurring decimal. Sometimes it’s a mystery how these issues emerge but as it settles into the consciousness of fans, there seems to be a search of what ignited the whole back and forth. It often starts with social media jabs, perceived competition, or comments from close associates.
Unarguably, both artists have expressed mutual respect at times as not too long ago, they were sighted at a club together where it seemed all was well and going well. It even gladdened the hearts of many and gave a new perspective to a friendship that would have been beautiful and filled with so many discographies if only things had gone differently. But frankly, fan bases and industry comparisons have often fueled tensions, which might have started innocently as it fuels supremacy in the globally accepted Afrobeats scene.
The feud as we all know has continued to reoccur for about a decade or more and has been filled with times of indirect shading during interviews, social media exchanges as well as unhealthy competitive comparisons exacerbated by their loyal fans.
This time around a social media post on X by Davido’s Creative Director, BlackTycoone seemed to have ignited the alleged drama. On Tuesday, October 1st, while Nigerians were in the atmosphere of the country’s Independence Day celebrations he shared this, “Tell your Daddy to drop na” and as innocent as the post was it might have started the whole drama. But many still debate that other things might have given rise to this.
But the drama reached a boiling point when some of Wizkid’s fans quickly rallied in his defense. What started as fans subtly addressing the situation soon escalated when Wiz entered the fray taking to his X account to deliver a series of sharp and heavily directed posts aimed at Davido. His posts were unusually blunt as he cuts deep into different parts of Davido’s affairs from his team, his uncle, his lawyer, his musical career, deals, and a few other areas.
Soon as his posts started gaining traction his fans amplified them engaging with enthusiastic backing and dropping more jabs. The situation spiraled as critics and fans of the opposite camp jumped into the fray attempting to undermine Wizkid’s arguments and deflate his drive. But quite frankly, this could have remained a contained narrative but has now suddenly become a full-scale spectacle as words continue to clash.
A post from an X account with the handle, Nelson Epega further added fuel to the inferno that was already burning.
He released an 18-second video where he claimed sports brand, Puma wanted to pay Wizkid less for their ambassadorial deal because he was less of an artiste than Davido. Wizkid replied shortly after stating he turned down the deal because the brand couldn’t afford to pay him what he wanted and that he doesn’t need for himself. He further concluded that he has love for everyone in this regardless. But the tech entrepreneur, Nelson had taken a heavy jab earlier as well claiming in a video he posted that Wizkid hasn’t had a hit song in four years but rather comes online to troll Davido and further exacerbating this, he regarded him as a junior brother to Rema, Ayra Star and Tems.
This further continued as more individuals continued to take jabs at Wizkid who was ever ready to strike back.
But in all these, concerns have been raised about the state of mind of Wizkid as he had always maintained a diplomatic approach in previous times but the intensity of his tone at this moment has left fans and observers shocked wondering if he was actually in the right state of mind. Davido on the other had remained quiet since this began, religiously promoting his new music video and Puma project. But his fans haven’t held back as they have fully engaged Wiz back to back without leaning in any way.
Moving forward I think careful attention needs to be drawn towards fans and their participation in the feud between their favorites. This is because their roles in inflaming the situation can’t be overlooked. Some fans on both sides have made terrible derogatory comments to both artists cutting deep into some sensitive topics which can’t even be talked about or heard of. If things are not tamed soon it might spiral out of hand and result in some damaging and dire consequences.
With the Nigerian music industry regarded as one of the biggest in the world, stakeholders need to do better and form more potent ways to manage such crisis and address it immediately as it surfaces because of how much of a role model or example are they making of themselves if this unruly and unacceptable behavior continues?
