Wizkid/Chris Brown — Shabba (remix)

There are many things one can say about Nigerian popstar Wizkid. First, and as relevant here, he is a lyrical minimalist. He has mastered the art of setting sparse lyrics over a danceable tune to create a hit. Consistently. A choice phrase or a catchy hook, preferably set in rhyme, is a wonderful mnemonic device necessary for a singalong.

It is simple. The club is not the place for convoluted existential musings. The wise afropop singer knows this; the ones who don't know, we don't know.

It is this self-evident formula that has kept Wizkid afloat since his 2010 breakout. But on the anticipated 2016 summer jam "Shabba", this formula doesn't quite fly and it is not hard to see why: Wizkid's Shabba is not a song. It is a public service announcement.

Wizkid, in essence, is a local Nigerian artist, who under the tutelage of Banky W, gained public attention half a decade ago, urging everyone to 'Holla' at him, a boy. Returning this time, already a self-styled ‘Baba Nla’ (big man), a record label boss, enlisting the support of international superstars, Treysongz, French Montana and, arguably the biggest male popstar in the world, Chris Brown, to complete a star quartet making a familiar public cry: Look at me now!

Shabba is an important statement even if it does suggest a curious case of artistic poverty dressed up in ostentation and self-congratulation. It is often a long, testimony-worthy road to stardom, and for the Nigerian pop music enthusiast, Wizkid's ‘Shabba’ follows a familiar grass to grace trope. It is tolerable and tiring but everyone does it: the successful artist in celebration, the struggling artiste in hope.

The past few years have seen local music stars collaborate with foreign superstars: D'Banj with Snoop Dogg; P-Square with Akon, and then Rick Ross; Davido, arguably Wizkid's biggest rival on the local scene, collaborated with Meek Mill. Wizkid, too, in a re-released version of his hit single ‘Ojuelegba’ with Drake; then in an assistant role on the chart topping ‘One Dance’ with Drake again. To be a truly successful local music star, the spirit of the times suggest that you must feature one visibly globally reputed act on a song.

However, Wizkid is not having one of it but three! In putting Treysongz, French Montana, and Chris Brown on one song, Wizkid has redefined the rules, changed the playground, and could be charged with excessive exhibitionism. Except that conceit, otherwise condemnable in everyday people, save for a few outliers, is the very life-blood of celebrity culture

If collaborations between artistes were intended for musical complements, then Shabba, produced by Mike Will Made-It, with its many guests rather complicate a simple summer song. All of the guests have a rather forgettable showing, with French Montana sounding exhausted after both Chris Brown and Treysongz have suffered false-starts already. Wizkid, the host, appears to be straining to convince his new company and maybe audience that he belongs there, by attempting a high-octane, American pop sound. A leap too far, it fell flat.

If you ask him though, Wizkid might tell you he didn't get here by sitting around as the game moved. He has changed record labels, changed producers, and allows his music vacillate between afropop, afrobeat, and even less distinct subgenres—anything to suit the occasion.

‘Shabba’, you can tell, is Wizkid's attempt to cross borders, a rite of passage into global acceptance. And while it may not be the grand entry he would have wanted, it is an important step away from Ojuelegba, one deserving of a party. When you consider the guest list, it is even more impressive what the former Surulere, Lagos boy has achieved. And if you're not overly critical, you might even "bounce to the beat like Shabba." Whatever that means.