Echoes of the beef between Olamide and Don Jazzy from The Headies 2015 were heard on Thursday night at the 11th edition of what prides itself as the biggest and most prestigious music award in Nigeria.
Held at the Convention Centre of Eko Hotel & Suites, The Headies 2016, like others before it, served up some interesting topics for discussions among music lovers.
Below are some of them.
- Not much has changed with Eedris
One of the early surprises of the night was the reunion of 90s hip-hop pioneers Eedris Abdulkareem, Eddy Montana and Tony Tetuila of Remedies. The three rolled back the years with songs like ‘Sade’ and ‘Sakomo’. He might have grown older and lost some of his energy but Eedris showed he still has a lot of the defiance that all but ended his career in midflight. He did not only drop offensive words during the performance, he was about to get into another needless rant about former President Olusegun Obasanjo before his colleagues shooed him off stage.
- 2face shows why he is still king
With many big names absent and some of those who went on stage giving tepid performances, pop icon, 2face Idibia, reminded those watching why he is still king of the game. His tribute to artistes who died in 2016 was well delivered and well received. The audience sang along and got one of the rare moments of magic on an otherwise dour night.
- Adesua outshines Simi
Organisers of the award played on Falz and Simi’s collaborative album titled Chemistry and came up with Biology to describe the rapper’s hosting duty with actress, Adesua Etomi. The hosts’ night was made difficult from the beginning with the poor quality of sound as they sang to kick off the show. If Adesua ever thought of taking up music, the way her voice was lost in the grating feedback and bad acoustic from the speakers won’t look good on her resume. She however gave the show her best shot. Combining acting and comedy, the Out of Luck actress made Simi look like she just failed a JAMB question when the X3M Music artiste received the award for best collaboration with Falz for ‘Soldier’.
- Zakky didn’t learn anything from Daddy Showkey
Daddy Showkey provided the first major spark of the night with his energetic but brief performance of songs like ‘Somebody Call My Name’ and ‘Dyna’. He left the stage with people calling his name. One man who didn’t take a cue from that was torch-bearing yesterday rapper, Zakky Azzay. His award presentation lasted longer than his ‘Na Me Go Marry Am’ manages to do in people’s memory these days. Everybody was glad when he eventually left the stage.
- Mr. Eazi was popular choice for Next Rated
Unlike last year when many questioned the presentation of the award for Next Rated to Reekado Banks over Lil Kesh, Mr. Eazi’s triumph over Humblesmith, Ycee and Aramide was applauded by the audience. The crowd shouted the Starboy Worldwide artiste’s name before the winner was announced. Humblesmith’s performance earlier in the show couldn’t sway the audience in his favour.
- All not well with Ubi Franklin and Lilian Esoro
Estranged couple, Ubi Franklin and Lilian Esoro, arrived the award ceremony and let separately. They also presented awards separately. Another proof that all is not well with one of the most celebrated weddings of 2015.
- Jude Okoye’s classic on Bobrisky
Peter and Paul Okoye of P-Square were absent at the award but their older brother, Jude, made a statement of his own. Asked to present an award alone, Jude got on stage and asked why there was no lady to pair him with. “Not even Bobrisky?” he asked, leaving people in fits of laughter.
- Bovi continues dig at Freeze
Comedian, Bovi, who co-hosted The Headies 2015 with dancer, Kaffy, used the opportunity to take a swipe at Freeze over a beef the popular OAP had with fellow comedian, Basketmouth. Bovi continued the dig on Thursday when he joked that many celebrities stayed away from the award because they did not want to be in the same room together. He made reference to Olamide and Don Jazzy, Wizkid and Linda Ikeji and Shina Peller and Oritsefemi. He then added that organisers had arranged for Basketmouth to sit in the hall while Freeze would have been denied entry.
- Wizkid snubs Eva Alordiah’s fiancé
Eva Alordiah’s fiancé suffered the worst kind of public embarrassment when Wizkid walked in, ignored his outstretched hands and gave his fiancée a hug instead. The snub was made worse by the fact that the Grammy nominee came late into the ceremony and all eyes were on him as he entered. Eva left The Headies 2015 with butterflies in her stomach after her fiancé proposed to her on stage. That same man was left highly embarrassed by Wizzy who acted as if he wasn’t even there.
- Epic boycott by artistes
Olamide and Don Jazzy made the news at the last Headies with the nasty beef they had at the ceremony. They made the news this time around with what they didn’t do at the ceremony. Olamide, who won two awards on Thursday, stayed away with his entire YBNL crew. It was the same thing with Don Jazzy and members of his Supreme Mavin Dynasty. Apart from Olamide, other award winners missing were Ill Bliss, Patoranking, Young John, Clarence Peters and Bez. With representatives collecting most of the awards on behalf of winners, the 11th edition of The Headies was robbed of the shine of previous editions.
