Well. This hit us hard. The Weeknd is going to have an album titled “Starboy”. That alone smacks us all in the gut like some sucker punch. We didn’t see this coming. Even in the farthest corners of our collective imaginations (where vampires, drug-fuelled sex, and aliens reside), we couldn’t have conjured this.
How sad. We reject it. We protest it. Heck, we even hate it. And here’s why.
Nigeria has our own Starboy. We have watched it grow from just a whisper to a household name. One that we have all come to love, appreciate and connect with. When Wizkid decided to alter his business arrangement with Banky W’s EME, there was little to stop him. He raved, ranted, gave juicy scoops to journalists, and flatly refused to be under the banner that discovered and groomed him to this point. He was right. Afterall, the brand Wizkid had become bigger than EME, and needed space to fly independently, free from the hassles and restrictive red tapes of an organized record label.
He was successful, achieved part-freedom, and struck a deal with the his bosses, which allowed him begin work on a new record label. That record label would be founded, announced and infused into all of Wizkid’s branding to gain popular recognition and acceptance. The name of the new label?
“STARBOY!!!”
How perfect was it. The name encapsulated and embodied everything about the young singer. This was Nigeria’s fresh prince of pop music, who had dominance over African music. He was shattering glass ceilings, breaking down doors, shutting down stadiums, and basking in the glow of intercontinental awards. He was our hero, our knight in music armor, defender of the Nigerian sounds, or Wizkid…our Starboy. The label has initially seen him signed Maleek Berry, and Legendury Beatz.
The name had become synonymous with the singer, and become a great part of his branding. The biggest artiste in Africa is called Starboy. He also has extended his business model, signing (or cosigned?) Efya, R2bees, and Mr Eazi as a unit to help project the brand.
This year he is projecting our music into the US, building brand Wizkid in globally, and that has slowly began to bear great fruits. Wizkid already signed a tremendous deal with Sony Music Entertainment, and plans are in place to amplify his content and brand, supported by an organized and global business structure.
No doubt he had plans to grow the name in that country, but all of that has been threatened, if not sabotaged by one act of thievery by The Weeknd.
A huge amount of Nigerians are familiar with the drug and sex-fuelled singer who showed us the beauty behind his madness with songs such as ‘The Hill’, ‘Earned it’, and ‘Can’t feel my face’. His previous album ruled the world, and now he is back with a new one named: “STARBOY”.
With the amount of backing and fanbase that he currently has at his disposal, it won’t be hard for the title to stick to him forever. Throw that in with if the singles become hits and we have the name Starboy forever snatched from the hands of Wizkid.
What does Wizkid think about the new development?
He was fast to respond to the album title announcement on Twitter. Although he also quickly deleted the tweet.
Well, coincidence? Or jacking of names? No one knows. But what’s clear is that Wizkid no longer is the sole Starboy we know.
