Do ordinary Nigerians have the power to unravel the success of Banku Music's chief priest?
‘Life Is Eazi’ concert in Lagos
A very popular reaction to Mr Eazi every time he finds a way to push himself into the wrong side of Nigerians is that he will be ‘unblowed’ by music lovers.
By ‘unblowing’, they mean; Mr Eazi (who is a ‘blown’ artist) will find himself in the fast lane to obscurity, and subsequently, lose his ‘blown’ status. It’s the most unsavoury fate that can befall any popular musician. Anybody who has tasted fame and success via music will tell you that their worst fear is that everything that they are can be taken away from them.
An artist who isn’t at the peak of his powers once told me in a rare display of candour, that his biggest regret is that he couldn’t find out how he had lost the interest and respect of music fans across the country. It keeps him up at night, just like it does many others who currently have the masses eating out of their hands. It’s one of those core topics that occupy the mind of musicians every time.
Mayorkun and Mr Eazi performing at the Mr Eazi Live At Fela Shrine concert (Pulse)
Mr Eazi is a star because his music exploded in Nigeria in 2016. Nigerian music lovers blew him by interacting with his music.
You can attribute his success today to a number of factors in his control such as hard work, consistency, persistence, attention to details and the ability to create juicy records. But for every skill he has, there are countless artists who do these things better than he does. He simply became a star because his music ‘blew’ up in Nigeria.
And how did this happen? Because of a number of factors. But acceptance by the masses, peer to peer sharing of records and word of mouth are still the key ways in which a record blows in Nigeria. Music industry experts tend to play down the choice and influence of the masses when it comes to the success of a musician. That’s because it takes power away from them.
You can never hear an expert of the industry say an artist ‘blew’ because people simply just began to enjoy his music. They will cook up scientific reasons, such as a strong promotional budget, aggressive recording techniques and brand strategy. These things matter, but when it all boils down to the bottom, the only reason why an artist blows and stays ‘blown’ is because people like the music and they like the person.
It’s that simple.
Mr Eazi peforming at his Live concert in Fela's Afrika shrine (Pulse)
The strongest artists are those who have found ways to appeal to the emotions of people, thereby giving them access to their heart. Wizkid, Davido, Tiwa Savage, D’banjand a few others have attained this status. And that’s why they stay blown. They have achieved this over many years of connecting with people via music. At this point, the music simply becomes a soundtrack to that emotion.
Mr Eazi does not have that type of connection yet. He is a young artist who has barely enjoyed a year of pop success. His aggressive release tactic had ensured that he created enough records to extend the duration of his music on playlists. But that’s about it. People rarely have a connection to him. They are on to his music but not his personality. He has very little in terms of celebrity power. His records still continue to speak for him and provide him with influence. Without his music, he has no connection.
That’s the feeblest type of success in the music industry. It means you are one record away from being in the limelight. One record away from ‘Unblowing’. If people stop listening to your music, you lose it all.
‘Life Is Eazi’ concert in Lagos
That’s why interviews are important. They provide artists with a chance to bring fans into their lives and create a bond. It shapes how they are viewed, and how they resonate when their records aren’t playing.
“My fans want to see me, but they’ve not seen me because I’ve been booked in different countries around the world. Just watch out what will happen in December,”Eazi told NET in reaction to the negative press that he was generating. “I also just left computer village and it was a stampede, I was shown so much love. I am currently at the Airport and I am getting love from my people, so beneath the banters, it’s all love. Those who love Mr Eazi will love me regardless.”
What’s wrong with this statement is the assumption that his core fans are enough. For pop artists to be relevant, they need to connect with more than a small subset of music lovers. They are to aim for everyone and anyone who consumes music. Pop artists can’t have a ‘core’ fanbase alone. They either have the masses interacting with their brands or they don’t.
Mr Eazi
So can Nigeria music lovers 'unblow' Mr Eazi?
Yes, they can. And that’s because Eazi’s brand isn’t strong enough to survive people ignoring his records. Only an artist such as D’banj can do that. Eazi still needs people to interact with his music, and interviews that generate negativity tend to discourage people from doing that.
And once they do, he becomes ‘unblown’.
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