wizkid • made in lagos (2020)

The Guardian is the first publication (AFAIK) that has Made In Lagos on its EOY list. They have it way too low obviously, but the write-up is pretty apt:

43. Wizkid – Made in Lagos
Nigerian pop continued to establish itself more firmly on the international stage in 2020 with successful albums by Burna Boy, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Tems and more. The best of them all was this lilting, versatile record by Wizkid. Guest stars from across the Black Atlantic – Skepta and Ella Mai from the UK, HER from the US, Damian Marley and Projexx from Jamaica – create the sense of a diasporic dialogue, where reggae, dancehall, rap and Afro-swing seamlessly and sensually intertwine.

may just be very stoned but there's some three dimensional sound design going on here

also i fucking love this album

the sound design is indeed incredible and sooo lush

Brad, ufo, others, did you watch the YouTube concert I posted two weeks ago? it’s such a vibe and yes, lush.

i only watched some of it but what i did watch was great. even the weaker tracks on the album like "mighty wine" came across even better live

Could we perhaps try to agree on one or two Wiz tunes for the EOY 77? I fear vote splitting might become an issue with this album. So many good songs.

def voting for this album, but my wizkid song will likely be dj tunez' "cool me down"

sorry longneck, i know wizkid would want us all to come together

will def vote for “No Stress”, and probably also for either “Cool Me Down” or “Pami” (torn between those non-identical twin songs). “True Love” also one of my fave songs of the year, but three Wizzy tracks is probably too much.

three Wizzy tracks is never too much obv, but *voting for three* probably is

I can get behind No Stress but I'm not sure it is the best song on the album.

it’s def its best single tho

not sure why we’re even discussing vot(esplitt)ing when we haven’t even done the nominations yet. not sure I’m a fan of this pre-poll/pre-nom thing.

A Wizkid special from Nigerian music mag The Native:

https://thenativemag.com/cover-story/wizmag

I watched the YouTube concert the other night, and it was awesome. Plus I don't think there's a minute of this album I don't love now

I can understand the love for this record, but after repeated listens over the past few months, I've found that it's just not for me. There's no dynamics? It's so slick that it just passes by like nothing happened, not a single track stands out for me. That would be fine if this was ambient music, maybe, but this is supposed to be pop, and I find it completely unremarkable.

duly noted

ride on time: video for "Essence" with Tems:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jipQpjUA_o8

.@wizkidayo’s “Essence” (ft. Tems) has debuted at #25 on Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart! 🤯🔥

This is Starboy’s fifth entry on the chart, extending his record as the African artist with the most entries here — his second as lead. #MADEINLAGOS baby!!!! 🥳🎉🥳🎊 pic.twitter.com/fypElEm4g1

— MIL - OUT NOW 🌍 (@WizkidSource) June 4, 2021

also here’s the first Wizkid sighting of the year, from Lojay’s fantastic new EP with Sarz:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4IEaUhIuCs
Lojay & Sarz ft. Wizkid • LV N ATTN

Lojay’s reaction on first hearing Wizzy’s feature on his track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqW37gmxJoU

Nice to see Essence lasting this long. A true highlight on a great, great album.

apple music has some sort master version of this up now, they need to continue to develop new technologies so i can continue hear this record in better fashion over time

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ_oCO-CSam/?utm_medium=copy_link

North American tour dates

got my new york tickets a few weeks ago B-)

"essence" has climbed into the top 20 on apple music, think it may have a shot at the hot 100

song of the summer (this year, last year, every year)

tickets for the Toronto show sold out in minutes, i coulda gotten a ticket but waffled for like literally 5 seconds and it was gone :(

Joey Akan taking stock of “Afrobeats to the World” on the occasion of “Essence” becoming the first Afropop song ever to crack the Billboard Hot 100:

link - hope it works

Tems' hook on "Essence" is also crucial, and *I predict "you don't need no other body" will be the bit from this album most stuck in my head in days to come*.

ha! Essence did persist as my favorite from the album

And it is pretty wild how much this blew up. That Akan piece is interesting, though kinda thinly sourced in terms of explaining the song's crossover—not that I'm saying he's wrong, I don't really know what influencers are up to lol

Regular price tix for the 2 dc area shows sold out quick. Venue and live nation just listing resale price ones for 3 times the original price :(

same here in Toronto :(

London date just announced

you're in Sacramento, a wonderful town
sing, sing, sing, din, din-din

https://pitchfork.com/news/burna-boy-and-wizkid-to-headline-lost-in-riddim-festival/

https://media.pitchfork.com/photos/60ee0fe22263890acdbe7839/master/w_1600%2Cc_limit/Festival.jpg

that line up is insane

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeMeopQqB6s

"essence" remix ft. bieber, he doesn't really add anything to it but it's fine

would be great if it can propel it into being a proper global hit though

i don’t blame them for trying to despacito it but totally useless addition

in more inspiring news he’s putting out a deluxe of the album in a few weeks so we should get a few new songs out of it

i haven't listened to it but i'm mad it exists

it would have made me mad if he'd ruined it or something but if it helps it become an international hit i don't really mind. his presence is thankfully unobtrusive

He's got a decent appearance on the Dave album.

second show added in Toronto, presale tomorrow prayers up 4 me plz

got a ticket to the second Toronto show, stoked

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_O4u_nDbGs
Wizkid feat. Buju - Mood

"essence" (remix) is #17 on the hot 100, my god

i haven't heard the bieber version yet, the rap stations here play the original and the pop station hasn't started playing it. one of my friends at w*rk is a big bieber fan so when this came on off her playlist i was sure it'd be the biebs version but nope! the original is outselling/-streaming the remix now it seems so i guess billboard is crediting it like that b/c of the initial boost + that's presumably what the pop stations would play

recorded stream of his third night playing the O2... he comes on about an hour or so in. just super fun to see a full arena rocking to his music, but he's also got a fuller band than when he was touring in the US, i think. a lot of the songs sound great esp w/ the back up singers. he also brings out most of the guests on the album... i highly recommend finding the spot in the show where burna boy comes out in a full rodeo outfit w/ cowboy hat and cowboy boots, their energy together is really funny. also tems! not sure if she came out at the other london shows but i wouldn't be surprised if it was the first time they performed the song together

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBBv-JT0-gE

also wiz says he & burna have a new song together, video already shot. seems like it's coming out fairly soon. appears to be called "ballon d'or," looks like it's a burna song w/ wiz feature but i guess we'll see

supposed to see him in January, hoping omicron won't mess up his plans

move over for L.A.X 🈯️

hey, Idaly repping for the NL 🔰

Wiz made it ♻️♻️♻️

this is a perfect fit for summer

i like how direct and snappy-feeling this is, gets in, bangs, gets out

as you may have inferred, I saw the man live last week. like Burna earlier this year, he sold out the biggest indoor (17,000-capacity) venue in Amsterdam.
it was a good-to-great show, quite different from what I expected. not some kind of MiL/MLLE suite at all, but a rough and tumble rollercoaster ride through his oeuvre, with pyrotechnics and stuff.
he covered most bases, there were unexpected inclusions: “In My Bed”, “Daddy Yo”, “Azonto” (yes!), and some surprising omissions (“Manya” for one). highlight was a blistering rendition of “Show You The Money”.
off the new album he only did “Money & Love”, “Bad To Me”, “2 Sugar”, and (surprisingly) “Flower Pads”, off Made in Lagos it was just “Ginger”, “Mood” and “Essence” (no “True Love” unfortunately). those he played with his band, the old hits were soundtracked by DJ Tunez. “Slow Down” (the R2bees slow jam) and “The Matter” (with Maleek Berry) are possibly his favourite oldies, he did both twice - and all through this he was in very fine voice.

all in all tho, I have to say I found him less… generous than the first time I saw him, in 2016. not just because the set was only slightly over an hour this time, also because he was less outgoing, just generic interaction with the crowd and no interaction with his band at all.

Thanks for that report, bc! He's playing in Montreal this spring at a big venue but tickets are surprisingly cheap (or at least the cheapest tier isn't bad), so I was considering it even though I haven't been to a show like this...ever really.

just do it, rob, it will be fun! the vibe will be great, no matter what, and you’ll get to catch Wizzy live. it just might be the best show he’ll ever give!

I’m really loving the album btw. after a slight lull I’m fully on board with it again now. the initial rush was very much sound palette-centered, but now it’s more about individual songs that are making cases for themselves. my new favourites are “Deep” (the only track I hadn’t saved after the first pass lol), “Flower Pads” and especially “Frames (Who’s Gonna Now)”, which is the real gem here imo. if we’re talking about songwriting, I feel that’s a song people will be wanting to cover (or interpolate or whatever). it has a pretty unique structure too, with the way the main elements meander through the song.

yeah last time I listened I was struck by how well it ends, opening up a bit on the way out