Old Wizkid Or New Wizkid || Which Do You Prefer?

Old Wizkid Or New Wizkid || Which Do You Prefer?

In recent times, one statement appears to be making the rounds with a number of music lovers, which is, “Old wizkid is better than new wizkid”, amusing right? Probably, though statements as such might seem myopic or sentimental, it definitely contains some truth.

Now the question to ask is, why is this sentiment getting embraced by a large number of music listeners, could it be a targeted hate? is the average music listener failing to evolve musically? or could  wizkid really have lost his mojo?.

I’d say No to a large extent, why? I’d tell you why.

Wizkid came into the music scene with bangers which was owed to the hypnotic feeling surrounding his music at the time, it was beyond the lyrics, beyond the genre, it was a new era, a switch in the status quo, it was a sound we never thought we needed, it was fresh and to top it all, it was evergreen.

There was something about the old sound that just stuck immediately it got heard, the hooks were catchy, the lyrics were simple to grasp due to the perfect harmony it had with the melody, the content were not only cool but highly relatable, an average high school or college kid would listen to “holla at your boy” and get drawn into a reverie of being that cool, fresh, fly ladies man because it reflected the reality he absolutely yearned for, it was beyond music, it was a melodic genius which created a state of oblivion in the heart of his listeners.

That era is past, music evolved, growth occurred and wizkid journeyed in sync with the tide but unfortunately, a good number of his listeners didn’t, they are still stuck on that past, they are hung on that nostalgia so whatever new sound wizkid has going on just fails to resonate with them because it sounds alien, it isn’t Nigerian enough, it lacks that simplicity they fell in love with, it is rid of that bubbly energy it once had, it lacks that feeling it once gave them, it is too new, too western, with complex hooks that lacks the precision of the past.

Let’s take SMILE for example, a beautiful song, absolutely serenading rhythm, top lyrical content but something appears to be amiss, the old wizkid energy perhaps, the “pakurumo” “tease me”, “gidi girl”, the “jaiye jaiye” sort of energy, it’s all gone with the wind.

The current sound has taken a different form, a more mature and subtle progression which is laudable of course but difficult getting used to by some factions of his fans who have chosen not to evolve with his sound.

IN CONCLUSION, NEW WIZKID IS ALL SHADES OF GOOD MUSIC, BUT NOT THEIR PRECONCEIVED IDEA OF “GOOD MUSIC”  DUE TO THEIR INABILITY TO DETACH THEMSELVES FROM THE WIZKID OF OLD.