Bad To Me: Wizkid enters ‘amapianosphere’

20 Sep 2022 - 15:06

Published under the Creative Commons Licence

However you look at it, Wizkid catching the amapiano bug should mark a crowning moment for the South African dance genre, whose red-hot popularity, starting from the COVID-19 lockdowns, could be signalling a regime change in mainstream listening preferences across the continent.

Wizkid.

Since its resurgence via the efforts of local stars like Daliwonga, Major League DJz, Kamo Mphela and the Scorpion Kings, the sound has gotten the whole of Africa smitten, striking particular interest in West Africa, where it is being married with other pop pulses.

Davido, for his well-received collabs with Focalistic, and Asake, known for his innovative experiments with the genre, seem to be the sound’s poster boys here. Burna Boy too, for appearing on DJ Tarico’s ‘Yaba Buluku’ remix.

Now, with the P2J and Sammy Soso co-produced ‘Bad To Me’, Wizkid, an effortless hit machine and Afrobeats royal, has joined the bandwagon – taking to the log drums, subtle percussion work, soulful keyboards and intermittent chanting that suffuse amapiano, but making sure to impress on the song with West African linguistic stamps like Yoruba and Nigerian Pidgin.

A bit of history: amapiano is a loungier and more cerebral progression of kwaito and gqnom. First popularised in the townships of Johannesburg and Pretoria around 2012, the beaty and ambient musical style is crafted to soundtrack the party circuit. For some reason, it is often the nature of the South African music scene to be insular and sceptical of inviting external influence, while Nigeria’s for instance, is generally more receptive, harnessing the various rhythms that reach it. And so, until a few years ago, amapiano remained confined to South Africa. Other countries, since finding the sound, however, have begun using it as canvas for local creations. It is how, I suspect, Wizkid's baptism has occurred.

Beyond leaving a big splash, Wizkid’s releases, because of his growing global stature, tend to become political. His appearance on ‘Bad To Me’ – which heralds his fifth studio album More Love Less Ego and follows 2020’s Made In Lagos – has exposed another grey area – this time, regarding inspiration and appropriation. It has also raised urgent questions about cultural protectionism among amapiano activists, who worry that their creation is being stolen from right under their noses, with others profiting off their art.

There is zero debate about the origins of amapiano, and one may be shortsighted in entertaining fears about its ownership. Indeed, Wizkid trying out amapiano could be amplifying the sound and making it richer. It is how sounds like hip hop and R&B have progressed over the decades. Perhaps, this is amapiano’s transition to the rest of the world, and South Africa's cue to embrace other influences and push the boundaries of their pop.

On his choice of theme, trust Wizkid, whose catalogue overflows with a fertile appetite for ample female contours, to remain with carnal obsessions. “This kind of body don dey cause a migraine” is how he launches into the amapianosphere, two years after his last major single ‘Essence’.

He also relies on a fluid thought stream, sticking with a flirtatious calm and lyrical charm that finds him befogging the line separating love and lust. “This kind, this kind love, yeah/ Wey dey make me want more, woah”, the pre-hook goes. Also, he is not forceful about his invitation to amorous relations. And so, what happens after he departs what I suspect is a party with the song's subject? "When we leave, we fit do am your way/ Or if you want, we fit do am my way.” On paper, love and sex differ. A master hypnotist, Wizkid theorises with comely efflorescence, that the two are the same, driven by similar passions.

Quintessentially, Wizkid has stayed clear of all the online banter that has attended the release of his new song, as if to neutralise this discord. His historic international run, which includes a Grammy and record-breaking chart presence around the world, must remain unsullied, as must his relationship with other African acts. His main focus: “This kind, this kind love, yeah/ I dey want for the night.”

Wizkid should quickly return to his unique sonic technique which fuses horn-led Afrobeats with reggae-dancehall and R&B. Before that, however, ‘Bad To Me’ will go down as among Afrobeats’ biggest acknowledgement of amapiano as the new African dance groove.