When Kizz Daniel got arrested last week in Tanzania, I was bitter about it; I wondered why the Tanzanian authorities would embarrass a fellow brother (we being Africans and all )
But my partner scolded me saying, “Why won’t they arrest him? Kizz Daniel own too much, sef,” like we say in Nigeria. He also reminded me Kizz Daniel wouldn’t be the first musical artiste to be arrested over breach of contract on foreign soil.
Recall Omah Lay and Tems suffered the same “walk of shame” in Uganda in 2020 when they performed during Covid lockdown in the country?
And speaking of the “walk of shame”, he reminded me of a Jimmy Cliff song:
Have you heard the news?
I was in Africa
Down in Nigeria
Oh they threw me in jail
I went through hell getting bail…
So being jailed on foreign soil isn’t a Kizz Daniel creation.
Now, if there’s a song that has really got Nigerians truly proud in the past few months, it’s Kizz Daniel’s “Buga”. Go on social media, Youtube, Instagram, Tiktok especially where the Buga challenge is hot, from Maiduguri to Mar -a- Lago you’ll find Nigerians and most especially foreigners taking on the Buga challenge. Politicians and Presidents of countries even got on the trend.
I saw George Weah of Liberia Buga-ing on TikTok. Lagos state Governor, Babajide Sanwo- Olu was among many VIPs worldwide who Buga-d and were captured on social media. Oh, don’t forget sprinter, Tobi Amusan and her victory dance.
In short, wherever you find the music aired in public, home and abroad the young and old will get up to Buga.
That’s how phenomenal the song has become.
Buga is a Yoruba slang, literal translation means “cover them,” so to Buga won is to tower above, tower above your haters, competition… show them who’s boss! You go low but come up to tower above them.
A twist on the British phrase “stoop to conquer!”
As the song goes: “Let me see you go low, low, low…Buga won”
…Especially when they least expect it.
If you pay close attention to the lyrics, there’s nothing out of this world about it but the beat, the dance gesture adds to the appeal the song has on everyone who has ears to appreciate the beat.
The singer, Kizz Daniel should have continued to ride the crest of rave applause the song is garnering across the world…but he is not, not presently at least. He is now being viewed by promoters as an artiste to keep at arm’s length.
When Promoters give you “yard,” as they say online, you are going to start begging for shows pretty soon.
One promoter claimed Kizz Daniels is a sloppy businessman, one who forgets his lyrics on stage and turns up late for shows; another infers that Daniel doesn’t honour contracts as evidenced by the Tanzania debacle where he was arrested for not performing for a show he had been billed to perform; his excuse being that his gold chain didn’t arrive!
There’s more, Daniel is proving to be an oppressor, too, Buga-ing common folks who serve him. Daniel is alleged to have confiscated the delivery bus of a laundry service company for allegedly damaging his clothes from a previous service.
Online, fans are tearing him apart!
It’s no wonder some fans are describing Daniel’s talent as average; they say he never knew Buga would blow…well, it has and seems to be blowing Daniel away from common sense it seems.
Some are comparing him with Davido, saying, Daniel isn’t even half as rich as Davido, yet the latter is more hardworking, doing shows worldwide with little controversy.
But I say, what’s a star without controversy?
Maybe Kizz Daniel is testing this thing called fame; it can be intoxicating. On the other hand it can be fetish or simply foolishness.
It seems Kizz Daniel can’t perform if certain clothes or certain jewelry aren’t on him; maybe his voice would cease on stage or like some are saying he would forget his lyrics…who knows?
It can only be foolish to sign a $60,000 show, as claimed by the Promoter in Tanzania, for instance and not perform because your jewelry didn’t make the flight to Tanzania?
No bi juju bi dat?
How do you shirk a show the Tanzanian Promoter claimed he’d expended $300,000.00 on just because your darned clothes clothes didn’t arrive!
What do you mean, you can’t perform naked?
Well, I mean if it comes to that but it didn’t, Kizz Daniel should have performed in other clothes, gears, singlet and jeans would even suffice but yet, he shunned that and got arrested!
Same overriding foolishness when he seized the laundry delivery bus that came to pick up from his house.
Why didn’t Daniel just report to the police and let our over zealous police “deal decisively” with the errant laundry service? Why take the law into his own hands thus ensuring the police came in and freed the seized bus.
This is an unnecessary embarrassment; biko.
Kizz Daniel has a long way to go and if he wants to continue to buga-won, he’ll do himself some good by shedding foolish behavior.
The music industry in Nigeria is full of wannabes fighting to own the spotlight; dropping banging singles and hugging the limelight for as long as they can because the fans are fickle and Buga will soon become a one time hit song.
Too many musicians have fallen away even after we danced like mad to their songs; Bros Kizz, don’t be like them; instead be like Davido who with all his money and father’s to boot, is working so hard and showing up.
Kizz Daniel should hear the news, your business is show business; you must show up for the show or you’ll be out of business!