O2, LondonA triumphant, sold-out evening with stars including Skepta, Ella Mai and Tems, and a tribute to Virgil Abloh, is derailed by R&B
Singer Chris Brown
African
music perhaps has no greater ambassador than Afrobeats superstar Wizkid. The most-streamed Nigerian musician in the world sold out the O2 arena in just 12 minutes: when he walks on stage, his backdrop visual of candle flames pales in comparison to the constellation of phone torches that welcome him to
London. “Joro!” he sings – a contraction of the Yoruba term “joromi”, meaning “come, let’s enjoy”. Taking every opportunity to gyrate his hips and wave his arms, you get the sense that if Wizkid’s first love is music, his second is dancing. His stage presence is sexy and provocative, his presence intensified by a distinct lack of fireworks.
The core of the set is just Wizkid supported by DJ Tunez. They rattle through his classics in a medley – No Lele, Back to the Matter, Tease Me, Don’t Dull, Pakurumo – that spiritually transforms the arena into a Nigerian hall party: the tempo is unrelentingly rapid, the bouncy rhythms and lyrics setting the entire arena jumping. Tunez introduces it as a throwback set for the “day one fans in the building”, not the “Essence warriors” – a tongue-in-cheek reference to the tension between balancing Wizkid’s early work with the newer tracks that have made him a huge star. That said, they blow through these songs with such speed, they can’t help but feel slightly wasted.