Detty December: Concerts, Concerts, Everywhere!
There was blitz, glitz, and rapture in 2019 which was characterized by an avalanche of concerts that spanned many days at a time. Vanessa Obioha looks at the most outstanding ones that marked the past #Detty December
Livespot X Festival with Cardi B
Livespot 360 Creative Agency kicked off the #Detty December concert galore with the Livespot X Festival scheduled for two days. The first day was in Lagos, Nigeria on December 7, while the last day was in Accra, Ghana on December 8. The festival was greatly hyped on mainstream and social media due to the headliner, American rapper and celebrity Cardi B. It was the first time the ‘Bodak Yellow’ rapper is touching the soils of Africa and as such her arrival was well celebrated. Cardi on her part increased the frenzy of her visit by making viral videos of herself touring the city of Lagos, nicknamed herself Chioma B as well as proclaiming undying love for the entertainment hub of Nigeria. The selfacclaimed ‘Queen of Twerking’ headlined concert was adjudged the best of the season.
Flytime Music Festival
For five days, Flytime Music Festival organisers locked down Eko Convention Centre in Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos with series of events. It kicked off the festival with the annual Rhythm Unplugged music concert usually sponsored by Pepsi on Friday, December 20, 2019. Local artistes who paraded the 15th anniversary of the music concert stage included MI, Zlatan, Olamide, Patoranking and international acts like American rapper Mase and Jamaican reggae artiste Koffee to mention a few. The next day was an intimate music concert headlined by the popular international RnB band of the 90s, Boyz II Men. The musicians serenaded guests with their famous songs, eliciting a feeling of nostalgia for some of the lovebirds in the gathering. For the third concert, Flytime Promotions crew flew in Megan Thee Stallion, a sexy sassy American rapper who like Cardi B is known for twerking dance moves and overly explicit lyrics. One of the viral videos of her concert shows her clad in a Nigerian flag-inspired swimsuit and twerking for Nigerian artist Davido who seemed to be in a dilemma as his loyalty to his fiancée, Chioma was tested. But unlike Cardi B, Stallion’s visit didn’t receive much hype. Tiwa Savage’s ‘Everything Savage’ preceded Burna Boy’s concert which took place on Christmas Day, marking the end of the five-day music festival.
XChange 100
In 2018, XChange 100, a consortium of event promoters led by media mogul, Tajudeen Adepetu, was launched. The platform served as a venue for different events in the busy yuletide season. It included music concerts and a first of its kind, a lifestyle awards. In 2019, the event returned with a four-day event held at the Eko Energy City in Victoria Island. Happening at the same time as Flytime Music Festival, the series of events kicked off with Soundcity All-Star Party and was followed by Urban Music Festival. The third-day concert tagged Afrobeat Fest and Asa and Femi Kuti graced the stage. However, Adepetu and his creative team saved the best for the last. Olamide’s Made in Lagos Concert crowned the series of events with artistes like Phyno, Lil Kesh performing. For some reason best known to the organizers, the Lifestyle Awards did not make the list.
Greater Lagos Fiesta
Lagos State government continued its tradition of yuletide season celebration with a sevenday festival tagged ‘Greater Lagos Fiesta’. The music festival which were carefully planned to take place in five zones: Ikorodu, Ikeja, Lagos Island, Badagry and Epe simultaneously culminated in a countdown to the new year marked with goodwill messages and fireworks.
Grown and Sexy Experience Concert
In a bid to bring back the love songs that marked the 90s and early 2000s, Nigerian artiste Seyi Sodimu organised a concert that had the best adult contemporary musicians in the country performing. The concert took place on December 18, 2019, at Eko Convention Centre and witnessed an outstanding performance by one of America’s best RnB artistes, Joe. Local artistes who performed at the star-studded event include Paul Play Dairo of ‘Mo so Rire’ fame, the once-famous RnB band, Styl Plus, Afro-soul and jazz artiste Brymo to mention a few.
2Baba 20 Years A King Concert
2Baba started 2019 with the announcement that he will be marking his 20 years of relevance in the music industry since he became a member of the defunct group, Plantashun Boiz. The series of events that marked the celebration came to a climax on December 28 when he held a concert. The concert featured musical acts like