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| Wizkid and Seyi Shay were nominated at the 2016 NEA awards. |
As the happiness clears from seeing another episode of the internet show: Laughing Seyi Shay, a new question arises. What if she was right?
Seyi Shay has been Nigeria’s replacement for Patience Jonathan,
with four strikes in the comedy department already this year. First she
mispronounced the T-W-O, then she called EP (Extended Play) Electric
Package, before saying the full meaning of the colloquialism ‘Phoney’
means phoney, instead of phonetics. Now she is back with a new cracker,
stating that Wizkid is the true owner of Drake’s hit single ‘One Dance’.
"The
same debate is going on in Africa right now, that he sampled the
Afrobeats, It was actually Wizkid's song so it was not Drake's song, I
don't know if I can I talk about this but it's actually Wizkid's song,
Wizkid wrote it, Legendary Beats and some other Nigerian producers
produced it as an Afrobeat song and they stripped a lot of the music
away..." Seyi explained at an interview during her stay in Jamaica.
All the other
episodes of Seyi Shay have one thing in common – they were all failings
on her part, which reveal her lack of intelligence at that point in
time. But this new case was different. This was no spectacular loss of
memory, or a noncommittal revelation of IQ lapses, this was also no
display of ignorance. This case was special because it came with new
information.
Again, what if Seyi Shay was right?
Let’s
look at how close Seyi Shay and Wizkid are. The duo have no love lost
for each other after coming through the music industry, and giving each
other helping hands. Seyi Shay appears on Wizkid’s sophomore album, “Ayo
(Joy)”, on the track ‘In love’. On Seyi’s debut album, Wizkid also
returns the favour, showing up on the hit single ‘Crazy’. This working
relationship by both parties might have transcended the studio, with
parties from ends exchanging information. The information about the ‘One
Dance’ creative process might have slipped through the camps and gotten
to her.
Also, look at the creative credits for
the song. There’s just a lot of questions in there. Nineteen85, Noah 40
Shebib, and Wizkid. Then on the African end, we have both Nigerian
prolific pop producer, Sarz, and South African strong man, DJ Maphorisa
of Uhuru also laying claim to it. First, we know that Wizkid cannot
produce a song to save his life, why is he in there getting credits?
Then why the various versions of Sarz and Maphorisa both claiming
credits?
BeatsbySarz
DJ Maphorisa
The words of Seyi Shay keeps ringing: …Wizkid wrote it, Legendary Beats and some other Nigerian producers produced it as an Afrobeat song..”
We
know work was done on the song by two African producers. Perhaps if she
had name-dropped Sarz instead of Legendury Beatz, would we have given
her more benefit of doubt? A good conspiracy theory will be that the
‘Afrobeat’ song Seyi Shay talks about might be in existence as a Wizkid
unreleased project. That project might have had Sarz (who he trusts),
Maphorisa (who has featured him on ‘Soweto baby’ and produced for him),
and Legendury Beatz (his in-house geniuses) working on the song. Wizkid
might have taken the song to Drake, claimed production, and had parts of
it thrown in for a world-class song. Sarz and Maphorisa fail to get the
direct credits, but recognize their works, thereby putting their names
in the mix as a sort of personal pride. This makes perfect sense.
But no, let’s all shame Seyi Shay, and ignore the potential scoop of the century that she has unearthed.
What Seyi Shay said
may contain elements of truth, but the entire entertainment industry is
built upon selling altered stories to fit a narrative. Things happen in
secret, but a doctored version is what is reported to maintain a
consistent, happy, and not too incriminating façade. The story that gets
to the press is not what actually happened. People with the real story
are called ‘Confidants’, and cannot share these tales. It is a taboo for
anyone to share these inside stories. That’s why Tee Billz is nobody’s
friend right now. He broke the code.
This Seyi Shay’s version might just
be one of those times where the veil between the world and the
underbelly of the industry has fallen, however, she too has broken the
code, and needed to be put back in line with the party narratives.
“Don’t say what you know nothing about! #Shutup”, the man tweeted, throwing Seyi Shay under the bus, and saving his skin.
And we all are happy to amplify that ‘Shut up’, because sadly, it fits the narrative that has been handed down to us.
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