Wizkid rewrites the history of the new generation of Nigerian pop stars with his performance at the AfroRepublik concert which held at the 02 arena, Saturday, May 26.
Late last year, Wizkid sold out the Royal Albert Hall in London and at the end of the show, the singer had promised that his aim for the coming year was to sell out the iconic O2 Arena and true to his words, barely seven months after, Wizkid announced his concert and it was sold out days before the event.
It was his first major international performance for the year and the concert was preceded by performances from the likes of Maleek Berry, Yxng Bane who brought Kojo Funds on stage, Mr Eazi who performed his latest single, London Town alongside UK rapper, Giggs, Tekno, Not3s, Tiwa Savage, but the night belonged to Wizkid, the Starboy of Nigerian music.
S O L D O U T
May 26 we're shutting down @TheO2!@wizkidayo x @MaleekBerry x @mreazi x @Not3sofficial x @alhajitekno x @TiwaSavage x @yxngbane and your host @EddieKadi.
#AFROREPUBLIK.... Africa To The World...
Congrats Africa ! #Afrorepublic Cc @wizkidayo @iamsmade and to everyone Else involved! Africa rises! Dia PAPA
Introduced by British superstar, Naomi Campbell, Wizkid took to the stage wearing a mask and backed by a full band with his dancers, he had his fists in the air as the fans went wild and lit up the arena with their phones.
And that was the beginning of a concert that delivered all that was promised plus so much more, as Wizkid kicked off the night with Manya, and performed songs from his catalog like Show you the money, Nowo, Fake Love, Omo Jaiye Jaiye, In my bed, Final with the crowd at the O2 arena singing along to every song.
@wizkidayo is the only musician right now in Nigeria that can perform fantastic on stage. He’s the only one that will give you Goosebumps #Wizkid #StarBoy #AfroRepublik
Part of the brilliance of his set was his constant interaction with the crowd in between his performances.
While Wizkid's new songs may have gotten him caught in the new buzz of modern day fans, it is his music from the past that set him on this path and he knows this, returning to his oldies as he told the fans ''Let's do some Wizkid classics right now'' and rendered songs like, No Lele, Tease me, Don't dull, Azonto, Pakuromo and Love my baby, evoking some of the loudest cheers on the night.
Midway through the set, Wizkid brought out Tiwa Savage, who he referred to as 'someone special' as they performed Malo.
The night also saw Skepta who called Wizkid, ''the greatest artist in the world right now'', as he took to the stage alongside a choir for Ojuelegba remix.
playWizkid during his performance at the Royal Albert Hall last year (Guardian)
With a double dose of Soco and Daddy Yo, Wizkid brought the show to a climax performing Ojuelegba as he promised, ''London I want to thank you for coming out tonight and I want to promise you that we gon make this happen again next year''.
Once again, Wizkid has shown the growth that Nigerian music has experienced over the years, historically selling out his headline event at the O2 Arena and everyone present or who streamed live via the provided YouTube channel will forever remember the night when Wizkid brought not just his hit songs but precision, joy, amazing work ethic and upped the ante for this generation of artists.
On the night, over 20,000 fans turned up from around the world and Wizkid served up a beautiful experience that will be savoured for a long time.
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