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The battle for who the greatest male artiste is this year remains a mega one, and Wizkid aka Starboy has clearly made a head start, two even.
Once more and resoundingly so, he has managed to silence his fellow music arch-rival Davido as well as other pretenders to the throne Tekno and Mr Eazi simply as he has done the famed Aka from South Africa and Ghana’s finest Stonebwoy.
For when the moment of truth came during the BET Awards where they had all be nominated for the Best International Act: Africa category, Starboy had the last laugh. And he did it with attitude.
He did not even need to be in Los Angeles, California where the ceremony was being held to receive the award and...take a few selfies. He welcomed the news from home where he is rehearsing before he comes to Kenya as being part of his international tour that will see him perform in a number of States in America starting next month.
Not forgetting that he won the Billboard Music Awards early this year, this is a great feat for a singer his age.
It was his second BET win having shared the spot first in 2012 with Ghana’s Sarkodie but this time round, it came with anxiety and shock after false alarm went online before the real results were released.
At first, South Africa’s Nasty C fans were up in joy, sending congratulatory messages to him after a technical mistake. This was short-lived, embarrassing even for BET who admitted that its website had a technical problem.
“We deeply apologise to the artistes who were impacted by this error,” read a part of the statement, “and we look forward to celebrating all of this year’s incredible international nominees and winners during the BET Experience ...,” read a statement.
“Africa really loves you. You are the true star boy,” a Wizkid fan, one of the hundreds who joined in congratulating him wrote as the singer thanked all for their support.
The announcement of Wizkid as winner came a day before the main BET Awards ceremony, which took place on Sunday 25 June, and saw Beyoncé emerge as the big winner with five awards. The main ceremony saw rapper French Montana introduce Triplet Ghetto Kids, the dancing group from Uganda featured in his video for Unforgettable.
At is still not clear why Wizkid truly didn’t attend the prestigious ceremony but through the years, Africa nominees have been complaining of unfair treatment and representation in the awards that mainly target stars of black origin.
Last year, artistes voiced their dissatisfaction questioning why their category gets announced days before the main event and why they get treated as ‘second class citizens’ since they never get to share the big awarding stage.
Even though Wizkid was the biggest winner, in as far as Africa is considered, Tanzanian singer Rayvanny also shared the moment of glory after he was named the winner in the Best International Viewers’ Choice category, a category that was won by Nigerian act Falz last year.
“Yo guys, we did it,” he wrote on social media. “Thanks everybody who voted for me. My brother Diamond Platnumz, I know you are waiting for this. This is not mine bro, this is yours because you sacrificed yourself for me. Yo my brother. This one is for you. Thanks a lot BET Awards. This means a lot to me,” Rayvanny updated.
Earlier in the year, Wizkid’s started off with purpose after winning the Billboard Music Awards. His next project, his first under Sony Music, an album titled Sounds from the Other Side, will be released next month.
The battle for who the greatest male artiste is this year remains a mega one, and Wizkid aka Starboy has clearly made a head start, two even.
Once more and resoundingly so, he has managed to silence his fellow music arch-rival Davido as well as other pretenders to the throne Tekno and Mr Eazi simply as he has done the famed Aka from South Africa and Ghana’s finest Stonebwoy.
For when the moment of truth came during the BET Awards where they had all be nominated for the Best International Act: Africa category, Starboy had the last laugh. And he did it with attitude.
He did not even need to be in Los Angeles, California where the ceremony was being held to receive the award and...take a few selfies. He welcomed the news from home where he is rehearsing before he comes to Kenya as being part of his international tour that will see him perform in a number of States in America starting next month.
Not forgetting that he won the Billboard Music Awards early this year, this is a great feat for a singer his age.
It was his second BET win having shared the spot first in 2012 with Ghana’s Sarkodie but this time round, it came with anxiety and shock after false alarm went online before the real results were released.
At first, South Africa’s Nasty C fans were up in joy, sending congratulatory messages to him after a technical mistake. This was short-lived, embarrassing even for BET who admitted that its website had a technical problem.
“We deeply apologise to the artistes who were impacted by this error,” read a part of the statement, “and we look forward to celebrating all of this year’s incredible international nominees and winners during the BET Experience ...,” read a statement.
“Africa really loves you. You are the true star boy,” a Wizkid fan, one of the hundreds who joined in congratulating him wrote as the singer thanked all for their support.
The announcement of Wizkid as winner came a day before the main BET Awards ceremony, which took place on Sunday 25 June, and saw Beyoncé emerge as the big winner with five awards. The main ceremony saw rapper French Montana introduce Triplet Ghetto Kids, the dancing group from Uganda featured in his video for Unforgettable.
At is still not clear why Wizkid truly didn’t attend the prestigious ceremony but through the years, Africa nominees have been complaining of unfair treatment and representation in the awards that mainly target stars of black origin.
Last year, artistes voiced their dissatisfaction questioning why their category gets announced days before the main event and why they get treated as ‘second class citizens’ since they never get to share the big awarding stage.
Even though Wizkid was the biggest winner, in as far as Africa is considered, Tanzanian singer Rayvanny also shared the moment of glory after he was named the winner in the Best International Viewers’ Choice category, a category that was won by Nigerian act Falz last year.
“Yo guys, we did it,” he wrote on social media. “Thanks everybody who voted for me. My brother Diamond Platnumz, I know you are waiting for this. This is not mine bro, this is yours because you sacrificed yourself for me. Yo my brother. This one is for you. Thanks a lot BET Awards. This means a lot to me,” Rayvanny updated.
Earlier in the year, Wizkid’s started off with purpose after winning the Billboard Music Awards. His next project, his first under Sony Music, an album titled Sounds from the Other Side, will be released next month.
