Now Burna has won a Grammy

I must begin this by stating clearly that I’m writing this as a Burna Boy fan, a fact I’m sure I’ve mentioned at least once in this column in the short time it has been on this platform. That clarification is necessary just in case the headline isn’t clear enough. Or you thought this is going to be one of those pieces making one prediction or another. I saw one article with a headline to the effect that now Burna Boy has won a Grammy, he has nothing to prove but will still keep fighting his demons or words to that effect. I wasn’t really interested in reading the article as so much has been written already.

Long before his win at the Grammys, someone had predicted a few years ago that Burna Boy was not going to last ‘at the rate he was going’ at that time. That was informed by him arriving rather late to a concert or concerts where he was the lead performer. To be fair, it didn’t really take that much power of clairvoyance because Nigeria’s music history is replete with examples of burnt-out stars, talented people who went out like a candle in the wind. The reasons for failure would vary but what matters is that at one time or the other, these stars thought they were on top of the world.

However, before one could say Burnaa, the Coachella brouhaha happened. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is an annual music and arts festival held that takes place in the US. In 2019, Burna Boy was announced to perform at Coachella but the musician took offence with the way his name was written in smaller font size than some other ‘lesser’ artistes. He said that as the giant of Africa that he was, his name should’ve been made more visible or something like that. Some Nigerians who really hate the idea of anyone rising above their station or overstepping their bounds thought Burna Boy was overreaching himself: Who does he think he is? Imagine calling himself the African giant, bla bla, they fumed. Truth be told, there are some people who just hate the idea of anyone being confident in their own ability, etc. Burna Boy then went on to title his 2019 album ‘African Giant’. Then, like play like play, ‘African Giant’ got a Grammy nomination in 2020. It’s not impossible that some people may have prayed against him winning. So, when he didn’t win (Angelique Kidjo won), those people may have felt vindicated. Some even said he shouldn’t be trying to win a Grammy at his young age. Meanwhile, that same 2020 edition of the Grammys, 18-year old Billie Eilish won five Grammys out of the six nominations.

Enter ‘Twice As Tall’ which had music and business mogul Sean Combs (P. Diddy) as one of the producers. There was a sense that a lot of people did not expect Burna Boy to be nominated for the Grammys again. Even at that, there was the opinion that even if he got a Grammy nomination against their expectations, the chances of this album winning were very slim to zero. Because they thought ‘African Giant’ was actually better than ‘Twice As Tall,’ etc. Someone advised Burna Boy to pray that Angelique Kidjo doesn’t release another album before the awards ceremony because if that were to happen, the idea is that an Angelique Kidjo album would automatically knock out Burna Boy’s ‘Twice As Tall.’

All of those permutations became pointless on Sunday, March 14, 2021when Burna Boy won the Grammy award for Best Global Music Album for ‘Twice As Tall.’ Expectedly, people are falling over themselves to congratulate him. Congratulations are definitely in order. I’m happy to bask at the moment. I know I said I won’t make any predictions but if any must be made, the most would be to say Burna Boy’s best is yet to come. Because say what you will, Burna Boy does take himself and his craft seriously.

What Happens to Women After March 8?

Another way to ask this question is: What happens before the next International Women’s Day? Or if you like: What happens after March, Women’s History Month comes to an end? You may have seen the memes on social media about women suffering violence for a number of days at a stretch in March, then come March 8 (International Women’s Day) or March 14 (UK Mother’s Day), women are suddenly beloved. In Nigeria, to mark March 8, the federal government released a list of 50 women in government. The idea was to create the impression that the government is empowering women.

With all due respect, making the list unnecessarily long, where every Jackie and Jill had to be named proved the opposite of whatever the government was aiming at. How is it that almost every female assistant or aide had to be named? If we had women in positions like governors, deputy governors, president, vice-president, influential heads of relevant government agencies, no one would’ve needed to fabricate a list of 50 women. Ask anyone if there are enough women in the really important positions in government and the answer will be a resounding no. But the government must be ready to own up to its lack of solid plans for women. Here we are in Nigeria where certain government officials would not even shake a woman’s hand. There are offices a woman cannot enter into except accompanied by a man!

This turned out as a long rant. All I’m saying is that except we set measurable targets, we’re doomed to empty celebrations of women every March. But we can start small. For instance, by the next March 8, we can commit to improving female school enrolment. Government, NGOs and all those who claim to champion women can focus on solving or reducing one problem at a time. For instance, girls in parts of Cross River State are still being used as repayment for loans as small as N10, 000. Were they moan those women celebrated on March 8?

74^th CANNES FILM FESTIVAL:

Spike Lee Returns as Jury President

American film director, Spike Lee is returning as Jury president of the 2021 (the 74^th) edition of the Cannes Film Festival (Festival de Cannes) which will run from July 6 to 17, 2021. The award-winning director of films like Do The Right Thing, BlacKkKlansman, was first selected to be Jury president for the 2020 edition which was derailed by the COVID-19 global pandemic. The organisers tried different ways to keep the festival alive in 2020. One of such was the “We Are One: A Global Film Festival,” a 10-day event involving 20 major film festivals featuring films, shorts, documentaries music, comedy, and panel discussions that were streamed on YouTube for free from May 29 to June 7, 2020.

The reasons for Spike Lee’s return as jury president can be gleaned from what festival top guns had to say about him. President of Cannes Film Festival, Pierre Lescure said: “Throughout the months of uncertainty we’ve just been through, Spike Lee has never stopped encouraging us. This support is finally coming to fruition and we could not have hoped for a more powerful personality to chart our troubled times.” And Thierry Frémaux, who is a general delegate said Spike Lee’s “enthusiasm and passion for cinema has given us a huge boost of energy to prepare the great Festival that everybody has been awaiting for. The party will be great, we simply can’t wait!”

The Official Selection and the composition of the Jury for the 74^th Cannes Film Festival will be announced in a few months’ time by early June and Spike Lee as Jury President will announce the winner of the Palme d’Or, the festivals’ highest prize, at the closing ceremony on Saturday, July 17.

OSCARS 2021 Nominations

Nominations for the 93^rd Oscars were announced on Monday, March 15, 2021. Mank (directed by David Fincher) leads the pack with the most nominations of 10. This is followed by The Father (directed by Florian Zeller), Judas and the Black Messiah (directed by Shaka King), Minari (directed by Lee Isaac Chung), Nomadland (directed by Chloé Zhao), Sound of Metal (directed by Darius Marder), and The Trial of the Chicago 7 (directed by Aaron Sorkin) with 6 nominations each.

Viola Davis nominated for Best Actress in a leading role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, directed by George C. Wolfe, became the most nominated Black actress. This is her fourth nomination which took her from being tied with Octavia Spencer with three nominations. Chadwick Boseman also got posthumously nominated in the Best Actor category for his role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

The Oscars Awards ceremony holds on Sunday, April 25, 2021.

Onoshe Nwabuikwu, AIRTIME columnist is a renowned TV/Film critic and Film scholar. She also has experience in advertising as a senior Copywriter and Corporate Communications as Communications consultant.