The Elegance Of Beef To The Entertainment Industry

In the words of writer, blogger, wordsmith, graphic designer and author T.F. Hodge, in his book, From Within I Rise: Spiritual Triumph Over Death and Conscious Encounters with “The Divine Presence”, “Having beef with someone is unnecessary and avoidable. Whatever the issue, if not positive, it is an opportunity to cut the excess fat from an unhealthy dietary network. Simply excuse yourself from the table of negativity and lean forward in peace.”

The entity called; “Beef” is very synonymous with hip-hop as the rap genre of music recognizes it to a large extent. It glamourizes hype, personal grandeur and enables the taking of shots at perceived rivals. It has always played a vital role in what makes the show, in the world of show business pop.

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It has inadvertently become part of the culture and lifestyle of the industry. Humans are by nature, very competitive and would always seek to outdo each other in any given situation or task. It has in a way contributed to the survival and evolution of the human race.

This, however, seems to be heightened in entertainment. It brings out the best in artists, gives room for competition, publicity, and most importantly, keeps things interesting in the world of glamour.

This aura is not just limited to entertainment, it can be found in sports, fashion, religion, politics, academics, the corporate world, media, and so many others. Historically, feuds have made a lot of individuals over the years emerge more endowed with fame and fortune. Fine examples are Ruggedman who claimed to have made more money from diss tracks and beefs, 50 cents who came out victorious from his battle with Ja Rule and Murder Inc crew and Pusha T’s undeniable success after the encounter with Drake.

But to every bright day, there is a dark night and this dark night has had its pound of flesh on us all. It was the beef between Biggie and Tupac, considered to be the greatest beef in rap history, that led to their untimely deaths in their prime. Many critics believed that their deaths would have been avoided, had they found amicable ways to resolve their bitter rivalry and to a great extent end the sourness between the east coast and the west coast.

Another deadly example was the political rivalry between Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the Leader of the Action Group party and Chief S.L Akintola his Deputy that caused the Action Group Crisis of 1962 and political instability in the western region in 1965, forcing the military to intervene as the region was in a state of emergency. This was among the reasons that unequivocally led to the first military coup in Nigeria on 15 January 1966.

Recently Wizkid and Davido seem to have embraced peace after being at each other’s musical throat for over eight years. Many critics believe that saga ground zero pitch was the now infamous tweet by Wizkid in 2014, and I quote “Thank u so much NewYork!! Amazing show last night!! Big up @wale nd @akon for showing me love!! Proper show! Proper venue! Boys talk!! Men work!!” and the rest as we know it, became what it is.

They had a filled time going at each other in their crafts, lifestyle and the digital space. But before we blame them solely for this unwarranted saga, their fans are not left out of this matter which I personally blame on stan culture.

In fact, most critics believe their fans, crew members and inner circle mates on both camps were part of the people fanning the flames of controversies and rivalry between them. Even when it seemed like they both were not too invested in taking each other on. Though this should not come as a surprise to anyone, as both artists attract a wide fan base collectively. Wizkid has arguably the biggest fan base in Africa, the famed ‘Wizkid FC’ and Davido has quite a large fan base, the embellished 30 Billion Gang (30BG).

We should know that they are not the first to go at each other in the Nigerian entertainment industry, it has witnessed Ruggedman vs All, Ruggedman vs Eedris Abdulkareem, Eedris Abdulkareem vs 50 cents, 2 Face vs Black Face, 2 Face vs Faze, Ruggedman vs Mode 9, Sasha vs Asa, MI vs Kelly Hansome, MI vs Vector, Wizkid vs Skales, Wizkid vs Dammy Krane, Burna Boy vs Davido and the list goes on.

To be honest this rivalry between Wizkid and Davido was inevitable, for this discord was fate. Both artists are part of the music generation of the 2010s. Davido on several occasions has pointed out that Wizkid inspired him to do music, as he was the first young champ to make money from music.

Beefs are good for the artists when channelled properly and managed decently but when it escalates it becomes a problem for all concerned, fans and artists alike. As Jay Z said in the song ‘Family Feud’ featuring Beyonce, “Nobody wins when the family feuds” and in this instance, nobody wins when musical brothers in arms continue to feud.

It is great that the ‘Big Three’ in the Nigerian music industry have made peace with each other and for now, all seems to be well in paradise, as we need unity more than ever in this quest for Afrobeats prowess to the world. We just have to wait and see another day in this Naija centric musical paradise to truly tell how long this peace would last. Though I hope it lasts as long as it can.

In the meantime, I say to you my dear gracefuls, More Love, Less Ego.