In the early hours of April 13, 2020, Nigerian musician, Brymo got in a vicious Twitter exchange with Nigerians. The issue had been brewing over the preceding two days as Brymo was making some boisterous statements that Nigerians have deemed, 'risque.'
One would say the issue started brewing when a fan tweeted, "Please guys give the Brymo album a chance. It’s a wonderful piece of work I swear." Brymo replied jokingly that, "They should give the biggest album on the continent a chance ??... lol."
To be honest, the storm has come in the heat of some accolades for Brymo. You can see some of that below;
Then, a Twitter user wrote out that, "Brymo makes lovely music. He is one of the best out there in this country, but Yellow won't even crack his own Top 3. Good album, not great." Brymo replied that, "Fucking liar... !! Yellow is my best work so far.. out-streamed all of my catalogue in two weeks..."
After that, Brymo sent out the following tweets;
The issue is still ongoing and destined to birth more mess that this article has documented, but this bit is enough for this content. In the end, we need to ask...
Brymo is a 6-album veteran who is destined to be one of the greats when he slows down with age. The problem is that the Nigerian music listenership always equates success to 'popping' on radio and getting Detty December bag.
Those things are very important to all artists. However, not all artists will be mainstream. For niche acts who thrive off the quality of their music and a cult following, the standards for success are different.
Except of course, you are a Jay Electronica who hopes to thrive off one album and be called one of the greatest ever, Brymo has done the hardwork and he deserves to blow his own trumpet. The only problem is that Nigerians expect this warped standard of humility from celebrities.
The hypocrisy is when Burna Boy, Wizkid and Davido sing about being 'the best' and get no backlash on the authenticity of that statement. What usually comes for those big acts when they make such statements is disagreement from pained stan bases of other big acts who come up with scatterbrained receipts to support bogus claims.
It's almost like these stans can't process the existence of more than one big act. It's even worse now that Brymo, a niche act has thrown his hat into the ring. To them, only a major act can lay claim to being 'the best.' While Brymo's statement will not tick every box of being 'the best,' and 'the best' can be very subjective, he does have a fair point.
By musicianship, rudimentary artistry and discography, only MI Abaga will fairly compete againsst Brymo in this country. The man has gone through his 'stubborn phase' to exert himself in the music conversations in his own way. He has found his own version of success - that might not be the widely accepted definition of 'success,' but any reasonable person knows Brymo is a successful artist.
The eternal sentiment of elevating alternative/folk over pop music
Agreed, we usually elevate alternative and folksy brands of music over pop as 'quality music.' Yes, all kinds of music can 'quality' and be 'bad.' Yes, it's easy to call Brymo's brand of music 'quality' over mainstream pop, but that's not the argument here. Brymo's success was never going to be determined by the same standards as mainstream pop acts.
But at what he is, Brymo is succeeding beyond measures and living his dreams. The reason we always elevate 'alternative' and 'folk' brands of music as 'substantiated' or 'quality' over mainstream pop-ish kinds of music is also very simple; resonance. The human mind processes substantiated music differently to pop.
Pop music will make you dance, not be your companion when you need one who isn't human. The power of music is beyond just the sound and what is being said. Music is an experience that triggers a response and sells an experience. For that reason, pop is only likely to trigger a response and trigger a memory, not sell an experience. That's why Brymo's music is elevated.
In a dysfunctional industry like Nigeria's, Brymo who is not one of the major acts in this country will throw a show on a weekday and sell out medium-sized event centres while his fans sing their hearts out. He is also an accomplished performer who delivers an experience - not just music. People are just being illogical towards his claims on Twitter.
The problem
Brymo has a right to say what he said. The only problem with it is that such outbursts might be against his brand while also being out-of-character for an artist who is usually away from the public eye and the madness of social media. He has had some dark days, but he's one of the most likeable celebrities around.
That said, if that gives his new album, Yellow some promotion, then so be it. Brymo needs the wins. In 2019, Blaqbonez told me that he put in work for his social media profile because he noticed that anytime he orchestrated some social media moment, his streams increase. Streams for Brymo's music will definitely increase on the back of this.
The problem with promo by controversy
Nonetheless, PR by social media controversy is lazy. It's effective because people are gullible, but it's still lazy. Artists need to get creative with PR and promo beyond feeding into controversy. Already, Brymo is posting links to his videos and to a brand that he probably has a deal with.
How good is 'Yellow' album?
While statements are subjective, Yellow is the best Nigerian album to have dropped in 2020. No contemporary Nigerian artist has the consistency of Brymo at releasing quality music. It's a complicated issue, but Nigerians on Twitter need to rest or learn.
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