When you have lived long enough to watch Africa rise and stumble and rise again, you begin to understand that greatness is never a sudden thing. It grows. It evolves. It passes through the hands of many.
And when you see how far Africa has come in the eyes of the world, you cannot ignore the impact of young people who carried our sound into new territories. One of those young men is Wizkid.
I remember when he first emerged small body, but with the fire and confidence of someone who already knew the world would hear him. And that’s a powerful thing. In my father’s time, the struggle was to make the world listen to Africa at all. In my time, it has been to keep our message strong. But this new generation, their mission has been different to make the world dance to Africa without apology.
Wizkid did that. He took the rhythm of the streets, the energy of the youth, the spirit of modern Lagos, and carried it far far beyond borders, far beyond limitations. He didn’t try to imitate anyone. He didn’t bend to fit into the Western mold. Instead, he made them adjust their ears to our beat. That is no small feat.
When you see African music filling stadiums across continents… when you see our young talents being celebrated globally… when you hear our drums on the radio in countries that once ignored our voices understand that it is the work of many hands. But among those hands, Wizkid’s has been undeniably influential.
The boy became a symbol of the new African pride. Not loud, not boastful just consistent, intentional, and deeply rooted in his craft. And that is something I respect greatly.
Africa is on the world stage now, shining brighter than ever. And when you look at that stage and the journey that brought us here, you simply cannot ignore the impact of Wizki
FEMI KUTI: YOU CAN’T IGNORE WIZKID
