"The genius thing we did was we did not give up" - Jay Z.
Audacity.
That's probably the word that best captures the fuel that powered the
push. The push that grew Nigerian music from the doldrums in the 90s to
the dizzying highs it's hitting in 2020 and I am super proud to have
played a role in the redefinition of the Nigerian music industry.
Without
a master plan, without government support, Nigerian music grew from a
time when the main source of local music was small imprints funded as
passion projects or trophy investments, to the return and entry of
global players like Universal, Sony, Warner, Kupenda etc.
As
I join many other industry players to celebrate the success of the
music industry in general, my crew and I are taking time out to
celebrate the milestone - a decade since the debut of Buckwyld 'n'
Breathless, the concert brand.
My first name
is Efe, last name OMOROGBE - the emphasis deliberate. If I got a million
naira each time my last name was misspelt over the years, I'd be
hosting Dangote to brunch on the regular by now.
I've
worked professionally in the entertainment industry for more than two
decades wearing several caps - writer, journalist, producer (television,
music, event, film), songwriter, copyright protection
advocate/administrator, label exec, consultant, talent manager and more.
I'm obviously better known for talent management, Now Muzik and 2face.
Six out of ten times an acquaintance dials my number on his or her phone
and the words "Efe 2face" pop. I can't be mad. For a phenomenon who has
spent much of the last quarter of a century dominating fellow
foreground figures, brands and platforms, an understated guy in the
background stands a chance of having his identity subsumed by the super
brand that is 2Baba, albeit inadvertently.
While
I'm also extremely proud of our modest accomplishments at Now Muzik and
Hypertek Digital, it's the trials and triumphs of creating, birthing
and sustaining the Buckwyld 'n' Breathless brand that fills me with joy
at the moment. Why? Because it is a decade of one of the most
challenging projects I've taken on in my career so far. Period.
First
of all, let me unapologetically reiterate the cliche, "There's no such
thing as a small show". Every experienced event promoter, producer or
planner will tell you this for free. There's no such thing as an easy
production. No production is without its unique challenges and no matter
how many times you've delivered it, a routine production can still go
horribly wrong. Like my mentor, Edi Lawani would caution back then,
"Prepare with the assumption that everything that can go wrong will go
wrong".
If this is true for a regular concert
in Nigeria where it is commonplace to hit the mark by lining up a few
trending artistes, rigging good quality sound/screen/lighting and
running through the acts backed by a deejay and punctuated by spurts of
comedy, one can then only imagine how high the stakes can get when the
production hinges on an edgy script, three headliners, half-a-dozen
support acts, 16 -piece band, 30+ dancers/extras, month-long rehearsals,
multiple costume changes, intricate multimedia /props /SFX sequences
and perhaps the most daunting - an average of N70m budget per show! With
Buckwyld 'n' Breathless, more than any other production, there are at
least, 20 things angling towards going wrong at the same time. Like the
tag BnB, it's always crazy.
The way the
industry has grown over the last 25 years has, like everything else,
created the great, the good, the bad and the pretty ugly. For the most
part, it has been organic, driven by passion and gusto, championed by
independent players without the benefit of government support, formal
structures and pre-organized processes. So, while it has earned its
vibrancy and resilience from this freestyle mode, it has also created
challenges with effective monetization and a culture of shortcuts among
practitioners. This has, in turn, created an industry that sort of
normalized less-than-professional conduct particularly in the area of
live performances. The result was an approach to delivering live
concerts that saw talents relying too heavily on a collection of hit
records and therefore expending minimal effort on stagecraft, often
leaving discerning fans feeling shortchanged.
The
seed for a "proper production" was sown in 2006 when Buckwyld Media
(then known as Now Muzik Events and Promotions) was engaged by 2face
Idibia as production consultants to deliver 2face Live: Chapter 2, the
"Grass 2 Grace" album launch concert at Planet 1, Maryland, Lagos. We
had for two years prior, fantasised, planned and plotted that "proper
production" as artiste and management, and the release of his now
classic sophomore solo album presented an opportunity to walk the talk.
And we did exactly that to the delight of a packed house many of whom
gushed for months on end about how Chapter 2 was their favourite concert
experience in Nigeria at the time.
We were
happy and inspired but not satisfied. We knew what nobody else knew -
how much better it could have been with a bigger venue with more stage,
backstage and headroom space, bigger budget, bigger cast, more prep
time, fewer disappointments and so on. Four years down the road, all the
pieces of our "proper production" puzzle fell into place.
September
26, 2010, was D-day. 2face Idibia was a bonafide international
superstar and the biggest draw in the land. His catalogue of hits had
grown tremendously to include crowd-pleasers like "Free", “Enter the
Place", "Flex", "Implication", "Only Me" and collabo cuts like "Yori
Yori" with Bracket, "Stylee" with Cool DJ Jimmy Jatt, and the almighty
"Street Credibility" with 9ice. Eko Hotel had completed the ambitious
Eko Convention Centre and Cecil Hammond, who had incidentally witnessed
Chapter 2, was in the mood to take his already successful Flytime
promotion gig to the next level. Buckwyld Media was primed to deliver
the concert experience that would change the game for good. 2face Live:
Buckwyld 'n' Breathless happened and it's been a tougher job trying to
convince me that impossible is something since then.
Rave
reviews, multiple editions - Lagos (Away & Beyond), London (Away
& Beyond), Lagos (The Disruption), Nairobi (Disruption Africa),
Lagos (The Lagos Dream), Lagos (Power of 1) - and magic moments by
headliners MI, Sauti Sol, Tiwa Savage, Flavour, Phyno, Falz and of
course, 2Baba later. Buckwyld 'n' Breathless occupies a unique space as
the concert experience that offers discerning live music fans more value
for their time and money.
None of this would
be possible without the invaluable contribution of the dream team (past
and present) and partners behind the BnB project - Innocent Idibia,
Helen Abutu, Osarhiemen Omorogbe, Tony Anifite, Edi Lawani, Kingsley
James, Andre Blaze, Ayeni Adekunle Samuel, Ayo Animashaun, Danny
Kioupouroglou, Cecil Hammond, Ohimai Atafo, Mike Igbelabo, Bayo Omisore,
Hoffmann Akubeze and all our wonderful vendors, consultants, and
sponsors. Of course, special mention must be made of all the amazing
star talents and the supporting cast of dancers, musicians and extras
whose brilliant performances have created the magical moments Buckwyld
'n' Breathless is known and loved for. From the depth of my heart, I say
thank you and God bless.
To fully appreciate
how much we have grown the live music space within the annals of the
mainstream pop scene in Nigeria over the last quarter of a century, a
bit of context may be helpful.
Circa 1996, the
live circuit opportunities within the pop space were, with the
exception of the likes of Lagbaja, few and far between. While the party
scene was popping - the high life/juju acts and performers often made
more from praise-singing and spraying than their negotiated performance
fees - the pop scene was a wilderness of sorts with trending stars
justling for low-paying slots on the few brand-sponsored platforms
available. Long before we had a global megastar like Breezy popping
onstage with Davido on his international tour, trending pop acts
considered it a big deal then to open for foreign acts like Yvonne Chaka
Chaka, Awilo Logonba and Caron Wheeler (Soul 2 Soul) in Lagos,
Nigeria.
Fast forward to the present day.
Promoters block book the Eko Convention Centre and other top concert
venues for mainstream pop stars to dirty our pre-covid 19 Decembers and
rake in hundreds of millions in revenue. At home and abroad, some of the
most iconic venues are witnessing the commercial prowess of homegrown
Nigerian talents. And as the growth continues, we stand proud of our
contribution thus far and remain poised to work towards raising the bar,
higher and higher. As we say at Buckwyld Media, push the envelope!
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