By: Ikhide Ikheloa
Interesting. Should have been Elon Musk. Dude bought the presidency and Donald Trump – and proved within a week that America’s democratic foundations are on shaky grounds. There’s nothing money cannot buy in America. All hail President Musk, welcome to X, the country formerly called the United States of America.
Time’s [music] icon of the year is Elton John, an odd choice, I can see Gen Zs wondering: “Who is this old man, SMH”, the good thing, is no self-respecting Gen Z would be caught reading Time Magazine, LoL, so not much damage there, it’s like asking them to stay up and find out the next Nobel laureate in literature, not happening, lol.
Elton John is a legend and I am sure deserving of the honor. I do think it was a lazy choice, and as with Trump, a clear indication of how insular the journalists of Time have become. No wonder mainstream media is struggling in the age of social media.
Instead of Elton John, I would have chosen Burna Boy. Like him or not (and there’s plenty to not like about him, he’s quite the jerk) he is the leader of a pack of musical warriors who have redefined how the world sees and plays music. It’s called Afrobeats. Afrobeats has literally taken over the air waves worldwide. Everywhere you go, it’s Afrobeats rocking the space.
Afrobeats is here to stay, globally. We are not talking about a patronizing ode to niche music, but a full throated acceptance of a brand new genre of music. I don’t know of any young person in their twenties and thirties that doesn’t rock Afrobeats. And if you asked them for the name of an Afrobeats musician, they would most likely swoon and mention Burna Boy. I know my four kids and their friends and cousins swear by Burna Boy, lol. My enduring videoclip of my daughters and their cousin is them at a Burna Boy concert somewhere in the DC area helping a vendor woth “ogogoro” sales, chanting “Shayo! Shayo!! Shayo!!”
Burna Boy is easily icon of the year, no disrespect to Elton John, whose music I totally prefer to Burna Boy’s (Your Song and Daniel move me to tears). But then, listening to Burna Boy is to be immersed in a gifted artist-businessman’s world. Music at once catchy playful and faux deep, his beats brilliantly speak to the attitude and aptitude of millions of youths, it is almost as if he is mocking the protest songs of Fela’s world. Which is interesting because Fela should be the undisputed father of Afrobeats. There would be no Afrobeats without Fela’s genius and industry.
Burna Boy has carved a transactional relationship with Fela’s music and Nigeria’s anxieties and cashed out big. He really owes Fela’s estate millions I. royalties, he has climbed on the battered back of that ancestor and cried all the way to the bank. He has also astutely collaborated with western musicians of stature and infiltrated their spheres of influence – and dominated everyone and everywhere.
In Baltimore I was on a lunch cruise and all they were playing was Afrobeats, specifically Burna Boy. I asked the DJ if he’d ever heard of Fela. No, he hadn’t, I spelt out F-E-L-A to him, he recorded it on his notes app and promised to Google it later. I knew he was whining me. Burna Boy lives.
So, my (music) icon of the year? Burna Boy. Of course.
