[News] Will A Bentley Car For Next Rated and Taking The Award Show To Atlanta In U.S, Make ‘Headies’ More Prestigious?

 

Less than 48 hours ago, Smooth Productions, the organizers of the popular Nigerian Award ceremony held an announcement event for the next fixture of the award program.

The results of that meeting has since left the whole country in a deadlock with a lot of Afrobeats fans and listeners livid about the idea, and the reason is this. In the last one decade plus, the Headies awards has shown tremendous growth. From the days of the barely known Hip Hop World Magazine Awards to its metamorphosis into the Headies Awards, the biggest African Award ceremony.

Despite this obvious show of growth, it is important to equally point out that in the last few years, although the events itself had lost a lot in terms of quality production and popular support from both the artist ecosystem and the fans, the awards ceremony had grown into a “cultural extension of the Afrobeats to the world movement” and everyone had come to accept it as “our” thing even though it was on a sentimental level.

Fast forward to 2022, the Headies decide to capitalize on the Afrobeats to the World wave and try to inject some upgrades to the event. Here are some takeaways that stand out;

1. The 2022 Headies Award ceremony is going to the USA. Atlanta, USA to be precise.
2. The winner of the Next Rated Award Category will be getting a 2022 Bentley.

Here’s the bone of contention; a lot of people think that Hip TV founder Ayo Animashaun would be making a huge mistake by taking the Headies Awards to Atlanta.

Here’s my rebuttal to that; This is like asking Dangote not to build a refinery in Lekki because he started selling his products in the North.

The Headies Awards ceremony is a privately-owned event, by a group of people who have decided that they wish to make some profits from celebrating outstanding Nigerian musicians. If they decide that they wish to move their event to the Maldives then so be it.

The Headies has done it all, and taking it to the USA isn’t a bad idea, considering how wide we’ve cracked the American market in the past year alone.

This same Headies Award, when it used to be called Hip Hop World Magazine had done a couple of editions in some Nigerian villages all for the culture. This is a brand that has mostly benefited more cultural boost than money in the last decade of its consistent showing out. If moving to the USA and getting the partnership of larger media houses and sponsors is the way to go then I’d pitch my tent with the same man who’s managed to keep the roof from falling year after year despite the continuous dissatisfaction of the fans and his inability to also deliver an outstanding event.

It is no longer news that Nigerian artists no longer think the awards show a priority in the last few years, in fact, at the last one, Wizkid had to be flown out to the event to secure a certain level of attendance as most Nigerian acts are now focused on foreign awards and recognition.

One thing is very clear, the Headies needed to do something different to bring back life into the brand and if this is that strategy then I don’t think it’s a bad one.

Headies going to the USA is entirely different from Afrobeats going to the USA. Don’t get it twisted. It’s still one man’s business, not a government parastatal.

On the other hand, the Next Rated Category winner driving home in a 2022 Bentley? Damn that’s ice cold. Although I personally think a 2022 Bentley is a lot, I agree with the gesture.

From a businessman’s perspective, that one reward elevates that category to the most coveted category of the night, and equally opens up the chance of premium sponsors for the same category in subsequent events.

I will not teach a man how to run his business if I’m not invested in the said business, and neither will I dictate the means by which he decides to move up in life. Moves like this are meant to elevate the portion of Afrobeats real estate that the Headies Awards lays claim to.

The idea that an event which could easily be held and broadcast live from any part of the world should solely be done in insane. What did COVID-19 teach us if we didn’t learn that we are not only a part of the world now, the world can also be a part of us.

And to the final question on everyone’s mind; Who Wins the Next Rated category at the Headies Awards?

The 2022 Next Rated award category and Bentley belongs to Mr BNXN (Buju). He’s quite eligible for the category based on his timeline in the industry, his project, and his feature-run which has been exceptionally outstanding. He reminds us of the money maker years of Wizkid, Olamide & Davido hit-dishing collaborations.

Everyone else being currently considered for this category has not had as much of an impact as BNXN within the timeline for the Headies Awards consideration.

He definitely stands out ahead of Arya Starr & Ruger, both of whom should still be contesting for the Rookie of the Year categories but would be breaking into the Next Rated on the strengths of their two projects each, hit songs and industry impact in the past year.

While Zinoleesky also makes the category on merit, he doesn’t have a project that falls into the timeline for the Headies consideration, coupled with his drug troubles with the NDLEA.

Written by AfrobeatsMerije.
Bisi-Taiwo Chukwumerije is a blood-bound Nigerian writer & Music Executive.
Tweet your favourite, random, mind-boggling songs, EPs, LPs, Albums, & music projects to him;