Na We Be Our Own Problem
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In not early (as was promised) but late August 2019 Burna Boy, now known to the world as The African Giant stomped Toronto's Rebel stage in front of a packed house that showed out for the second time in just over a week to see the star perform. As expected, Burna Boy gave a complete performance. Lights, band, gbedu, everything. That the missed show from a week earlier received no direct acknowledgement from the artist himself is not a surprising thing.
This can be expected from global stars who could be forgiven for viewing a doting Toronto crowd as just another stop on the road. Plus, these things happen. Shows get canceled. People get stuck at airports or fall sick or have untimely emotional breakdowns - it’s not unheard of for an audience to be left disappointed by an artist absent without leave. However, what feels unique to this situation is how the series of unfortunate events were communicated to fans and concertgoers.
Concertgoers who booked flights across multiple provinces, who bought outfits, who spent hours ironing out the kinks in their Zanku only to be left watching opening acts who, try as they may, couldn’t muster any enthusiasm from a crowd who were expecting to see Burna Boy for the first time in Canada.
Performances by Nigeria’s stars have not always been like this in Canada. It seemed we had progressed from a time when artists like Ike and MI struggled to pull larger crowds in Canadian cities to a fruitful season where the exciting acts like Adekunle Gold, Lady Donli, Kizz Daniel and homegrown talent like Nonso Amadi are able to execute multiple shows across different cities to positive reviews. It’s possible to pull off successful shows here.
Yet along with this growth in popularity and reach of the music we have failed to see a renewed focus on the quality of the fan experience during these concerts. Many who show up to support their favourite African artists report the same conclusions. We hear classic hits such as:
“The line was crazy, getting it was a mess”
“He didn't get on stage until 1am”
“The show didn't start until 2am”
“They had a dance competition at the start...why?”
“They just come and shout into the mic”
It’s clear that the standards we set for the average show haven’t moved in the same direction as the popularity of the music. Up.
At the end of the day, if we want this Afrobeats to the world movement to stick, the fan experience cannot be glossed over. The responsibility of this lies with all of us. The artists consider how seriously they take the performance of their art, the promoters to weigh up the cash grab vs the experience (I barely typed that with a straight face) and then for us, the concert goer, to decide just when that show isn’t worth it.
