As someone who's been rockin with pretty boy weezy since his first single and this was a proud big sis moment. Many...many labelled him as a one hit wonder whose boyish looks and (stretched) similarity to Soulja Boy was his main claim to fame. This is naughty noughties, everything was allowed from auto-tune to T-Shirt nighties. And this brings me to my first point. Auto-tune.
Wizkid isn't a vocalist and has never claimed to be but he can definitely hold a tune and while many an artist still blatantly use auto-tune, I almost forgot Wizkid was one of them and it was jarringly obvious when he attempted to speak to the crowd while the auto-tune was still turned on. He's definitely grown as an artist and now that Afrobeats has taken on a global significance, so have the expectations of its performers. This is far from a music faux pas in 2021 but...
Speaking of mixing issues, can someone tell me how no one noticed that the second mic wasn't on all the way from the first guest (none other than Ella Mai) through to Skepta until Chris Brown's surprise appearance? Even Tems, who's face said it all, at a point must have been wondering why she got all dressed up only to essentially lipsync and listen to a bunch of randos (us) shout back her lyrics. Essence. The song of the year as the DJ continued to remind us. The Grammy nominated. The song that's so over played it's gone full circle and is now underplayed. The one line hitter. Sadly it seemed like we needed another body afterall.
And that person was Chris Brown, who last I checked (and I haven't checked for a while) was barred from entering the UK because of his criminal charges. Now I (still) like me some Breezy, and I feel...comfortable saying this with my chest given the surprising roof raising applause his 90 second appearance garnered. It was a very cute moment, when Wiz started talking about his brother and a big surprise, for some reason the first person I thought of was Drake but Breezy really has been rocking with Wizzy for a minute. I remember seeing Wizkid for the first time at Chris Brown's Ghana concert. And I remember CB (awkwardly and happily) showing off the Azonto he learnt from Wiz on 106& Park. Everyone's on the Afrobeat tip now but let's give credit where it's due and recognise Mr Brown for really being one of the first major hip hop and R&B acts to show love. Bringing him on last does show him the reverence/love he deserves...I guess...but after the sound and mixing snafu that preceded him, I could only feel that his cameo took away from the importance of Essence.
And this brings me to my final critique. While a lot of thought went into the organisation, the set list was wanting. Wizkid has a sizeable repertoire and while there was an expected 'high-low-high-end on a high but sombre note' structure, the middle section lacked energy and the throwbacks felt rushed and almost indistinguishable from the jam session we had before he took the stage. Wizkid has stage presence but not enough, and while I usually think back up dancers are a cop out for non dancing performers, this concert would have benefited from dancers for the African party staples. Not to knock his hustle, but Wiz (as a Nigerian) isn't what you'd describe as physically imposing and while I can see the desire to have the artiste occupy centre stage (literally), during many segments it felt sparse and while he tried to work the stage, having the band closer could have helped with the making the stage feel so empty. Speaking of the band, they were awesome and could definitely have been better incorporated into the performance. My last gripe...No Stress... For a song that reads like it was written for a London performance, shouting out South London, Asian, Jamaican and African girls, not turning this into at least 15 mins of crowd work (read rest time) was a huge missed opportunity.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, in case you missed the part about my being a Day 1 fan, I still feel my 3x resale tickets were worth it. It was a high energy, rocking party and the DJ was awesome. The crowd was engaged, respectful and lit. I was woefully underdressed-literally rolled out of bed, onto the tube and into the O2 but if you're wondering why there's no black pleather, MAC NW 45 Foundation or 18" bundles in town; it's because of Wizkid. He came across as genuinely in tune with the audience (and perhaps, a smaller venue might be a better match. He seemed like he wanted to connect..we wanted to connect...I mean... Let's make it happen). I am immensely proud of what Wizkid has achieved. Essence is the song of the year Grammy or no Grammy (but yes, Grammy!). Three sold out shows at the O2. Ayo, you done do. On to the next one and I'm putting it out there in the universe... setting up a triennial Wizkid and friends residential in Cabo Verde, cos mehn... You really do have fans and friends for days!
