A list of most bankable African
artistes released by Channel O and Forbes African Magazine sparks off
debate in entertainment circles
The last few days have shown that
nobody can undermine the power of the spoken or written word. Who would
have thought that the word, “bankable,” which simply means, “guaranteed
to bring in money,” can generate so much controversy as witnessed
recently? This is after the meaning of the word and context in which it
was used had been misconstrued.
When Channel O and Forbes Africa
magazine released the list of Top 10 Most Bankable Urban African
Artistes on Sunday, little did they know that it would cause a stir. On
the list, which is, predictably, dominated by Nigerian artistes, such as
Don Jazzy (No. 2 on the list), P-Square (3), D’Banj (4), Wizkid (5),
2face Idibia (6), Ice Prince (9) and Banky W (10), are Africa’s most
bankable stars.
The number one spot went to the Senegalese international super star, Akon.
According to the authors, the criteria
for selection included endorsement value, popularity, show rates, sales,
awards, YouTube views, appearance in newspapers, investment, and social
media presence, among others.
Despite this caveat, the list has continued to generate more questions than answers for the fifth day running.
The ‘uproar’ appears to be fueled by
the fact that some fans and music critics who are yet to come to terms
with the final cut, think the list had to do with just how much money
the artistes have in their bank accounts.
Some failed to read between the lines
and put into consideration the fact that other factors come into play
besides jewellery, cars or gadgets, which these artistes display on
their Twitter, Instagram or Facebook accounts.
Riding on this premise, Cool FM on air
personality, Freeze; and Tiwa Savage’s manager/fiancé, Tee Billz, took
to Twitter to express their grievances over the list.
Billz screamed blue murder, adding that his lover was, indeed, richer than those mentioned on the Forbes list.
His tweet reads, “That Forbes list. Hmm@TiwaSavage Bank tell you how many she has more than $$$.”
Freeze, on the other hand, blamed it on what he described as the Nigerian mentality.
“Mr. Forbes, on the contrary, it’s not
your fault; it’s Nigerians.’ We believe the daftest things as long as
they come from an American source,” Freeze said.
He added, “Mr. Forbes, when we are doing
things, let’s be using our sense. Kwam1, Asa, Femi Kuti, and Flavour
are amongst many other bankable artistes.”
When one takes a cursory look at the
debate on Twitter, it appears that some respondents think Iyanya may
pass for the richest Nigerian musician at the moment. They hinged their
argument on the fact that he bagged a whopping N100m contract this year
alone.
Others say the Ghanaian star, Sarkodie,
shouldn’t have been placed ahead of the Koko master (D’banj) and Ice
Prince. They add that the authors compiled their list based on Twitter
washings and bogus wealth display by these artists, as splattered on
entertainment blogs.
As though corroborating some of these
claims, when contacted on the phone, Limpopo crooner, Kcee, said, “Most
times, people just talk about something they know nothing about. They
say they adjudged based on album sales. So, who gave them (Forbes) the
records? Is it the Alaba boys?
“There are so many artistes who were
left out of that list that ought to be there in the first place. The
truth is this, the richest and most travelled Nigerian artiste
performing at tours and concerts at the moment is Flavour, yet you do
not hear anything about this.
“I am quite close to him and you can
imagine how much returns he makes from all of these. This is simply
because he doesn’t want you to know or have the figures. The list is
incomplete and incorrect as far as I am concerned.”
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forbes no list you as bankable so? You get bar you get bar wetin concern the avarage jo if some names no dey the list?how e change the price of fish for market? humility is the word.
ReplyDeleteThat one dey talk say he woman get bar pass another person wey dey the list...so?