The Benin Renaissance
Osimhen. Shallipopi. Rema. What do they have in common? They dominated and shaped pop culture in 2023. Also, they are descendants of the old grand Benin kingdom. Welcome to the Benin Renaissance.
Renaissance - a French word meaning "rebirth."
In 2017 (one hundred and twenty years after the mass murder and looting of the Benin Kingdom), a lithe Nigerian striker signed his first overseas football contract with VfL Wolfsburg in Germany.
The striker would go on to play for three different football clubs before settling in Naples, Italy, in the summer of 2020 after signing with Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, popularly known as Napoli.
In the 2022/2023 season, this striker called Victor Osimhen became immortal when his 26 goals in 32 matches helped Napoli win the Serie A since 1990 when the 'fussballgott' Diego Maradona captained the team.
Osimhen became the first African player to win the Capocannoniere Award for leading the league in goals. The Lagos-born Edo indigene who leads the line for the Nigerian senior male football team, the Super Eagles, is bound to break another record - the first Nigerian player to win the African Footballer of the Year award since 1999.
The ceremony, scheduled to be held on December 11, will again anoint a Nigerian as the goal king of Africa after a long, dry spell.
At the Ballon d'Or ceremony on Monday, October 30, 2023, Victor Osimehn became the first Nigerian male football star in the top 10 of the best players in the world. He ranked at number 8.
At the event, the rave prince of Afrobeats, Rema, performed his global smash hit 'Calm Down.' The runaway single and its pro-Americana revised edition featuring the talents of Selena Gomez grabbed the 'Song of the Summer' badge.
'Calm Down' has a mountain heap of records broken or created. At the top of the pile stands the most illustrious - "the highest-charting hit from an Afrobeats lead artist in Billboard Hot 100 history," peaking at number three.
Rema has had a year of sheer dominance, globe-trotting the world with his banger of a song from Bollywood to Hollywood.
On April 28, 2023, he released Rave & Roses (Ultra), the deluxe version of his debut album. The LP spawned the hits 'Holiday' and 'Charm', which helped to satisfy his core audience back home as he continued his international exploits.
At this year's Headies, Rema won three awards - Best Male Artist, Digital Artiste of the Year and African Artiste of the Year categories. His hat trick of wins wasn't the highlight of the night.
During his speech, he said it is important for Nigerians to protect and respect Afrobeats, a plea that resonated with people back home still smarting from Burna Boy's controversial statements about the lack of depth in contemporary Nigerian pop music.
Rema is smart enough to position himself as the man of the people. This approach goes beyond endearing himself to a key but maligned demographic of Afrobeats, as more of our stars pay premium attention to foreign consumers with stable currencies.
Divine Ikubor has never shied away from his origins. As a Benin boy, he has incorporated his culture into his art.
In the build-up to his new EP's release, Ravage, he stirred up a hornet's nest when he released promotional visuals via his Instagram account.
The clips feature silhouettes of Rema in a crimson and hellish universe with scary dreadlocks, a sword and bat wings. The album art for the EP is a skeletal man with a sword barely holding to a horse with flame flaring from its head.
Rema's iconography since his debut album has strayed beyond the conventional, upside-down artworks, burning skeletons and bats.
In his defence against Illuminati rumours, Rema said he chose the bat as his emoji because it is significant to Benin people. Bats are fixtures in the Benin sky. Thousands of bats live on trees at the Oba of Benin palace.
Could it be a coincidence that the red motif ties in with the famous red soil in the Benin region?
Benin/Edo artists have never shied away from spiritualism in their music. In one of Nigeria's most iconic musical recordings, 'Guitar Boy' by the late great Sir Victor Uwaifo, he sang about a mysterious encounter with a mermaid at the Lagos beach in 1966.
In 1965, Uwaifo became the first recipient of a gold disc in Africa for his classic record 'Joromi.' In his illustrious career, he got seven other gold plaques.
His son Alexander Uwaifo (known popularly as Andre Vibez) is the co-producer of Rema's runway single 'Calm Down.'
In March 2023, during an interview with Wonu Osikoya, Andre Vibez said he has at least 25 plaques from 'Calm Down', continuing his father's legacy.
The Benin/Edo boys have dominated this year, but it is not only the guys running things. Nollywood actress, Osas Ighodaro, born in New York and raised by Edo parents won the Best Actress in a Drama – (Movie/TV Series) for her role in ‘Man of God’ at the African Magic Viewers' Choice Awards (AMVCA).
Remarkably, she won the same category at the 2022 edition of the AMVCA for her role in 'Rattlesnake: The Ahanna Story.'
We can't talk about 2023 without the hottest new prospect in music - Shallipopi.
Crown Uzama was born in Benin City, Edo state. On March 14, 2023, Shallipopi released a single titled, 'Elon Musk', after uploading several freestyles on TikTok.
'Elon Musk' quickly became a viral hit, burning through urban Nigeria at an alarming pace. The track incorporates the Naija strain of amapiano, a fluid rhyme flow and slang from the Edo Street universe.
At the peak of the rap single's crossover, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested Shallipopi for alleged Internet fraud. On June 23, 2023, Shallipopi and others received a verdict of two years imprisonment with the option of fines.
Upon his release, the upstart quickly went to work and struck when the iron was hot. On July 10, 2023, he dropped his debut EP 'Planet Pluto' featuring the hits 'Obapluto', 'Ex-Convict', and others.
The EP was a resounding success. In the song 'Obapluto,' Shallipopi sampled 'Ogbaisi' by Pa Monday Edo. After a bit of scuffle over rights and permission, both parties settled.
Pa Monday Edo is featured in the Obapluto video, celebrating Benin's culture and heritage.
Shallipopi now has his imprint, Plutomania Records, signing his brother Zerryl and Tega Boi.
On Friday, November 10, the rapper released his debut album 'Presido La Pluto.'
In a fast-expanding and relevant ecosystem of Street-Hop and pop artists, Shallipopi's voice and POV are essential in a Lagos-dominated market. He brings an authenticity that is not rooted in Lagos. For what he lacks in technical skills, he provides a familiarity and energy native to the Nigerian audience.
On November 14, 2023, Rema will be headlining the 02 Arena, his only show in the UK this year.
Nine miles away from the venue is the British Museum, where the stolen Queen Idia ivory mask is on display.
In recent years, museums have been returning looted Benin artefacts stolen by British troops. There are still a lot of Benin treasures trapped in museums on display for the white gaze.
While these artefacts will surely make their way back, a Benin renaissance in the arts has lifted the grand old kingdom into popular culture.
Usually associated with negative stereotypes like commercial sex work, cultism, and the occult, 2023 has proven to be the year of the Benin Renaissance for dominating arts, culture and sports.
Strutting into the comment section as a proud Edo babe with my head held high and a smirk on my face. AOT2, thank you always for the quality and depth of your work. There was a lot to learn from this writeup.
This was beautifully written Tayo.
Loved how you wove and interconnected different elements, especially Rema's UK tour and how Benin artifacts still sits pretty in Britain.
Thank you.