Mary J Blige And Summer Walker Headline The Roots Picnic’s Return To Philadelphia

After two years, The Roots Picnic is finally returning to its in-person live format in 2022 — and that’s not all. The festival has been extended an extra day and will take place June 4-5 at The Mann at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. The eclectic festival lineup will be led by Mary J Blige, fresh off her Super Bowl halftime show performance and backed by The Roots; Summer Walker, whose 2021 album Still Over It topped the charts last year; and Nigerian singer Wizkid, who is undoubtedly this summer’s king of festivals.

Further down the flyer, the resurgent Jazmine Sullivan, jazz revivalist Kamasi Washington, and a pair of jam sessions — one led by J Period, with Black Thought, Benny The Butcher, and Rick Ross, the other featuring Keyshia Cole, SWV, and Musiq Soulchild — fill out the top-line acts. Other big draws include sax-rapper Masego, urban gospel OG Kirk Franklin, Chicago drill pioneer G Herbo, the quirky Tierra Whack, tough-guy rapper Freddie Gibbs, country star Mickey Guyton (who also sang the National Anthem at this year’s Super Bowl), Yebba, and Chief Keef.

There will also be a live podcast stage with Rory & Mal, Questlove Supreme, Jemele Hill, and more. Ticket presale began today at 10 am EST, while general sale starts Friday, February 18 at 10 am. You can get more information here.

Wizkid And Buju Are In A Big ‘Mood’ In Their Colorful New Video

Towards the end of 2020, Wizkid released Made In Lagos, his long-awaited fourth album, which produced “Essence,” his collaboration with Tems that went on to become one of the big songs of the summer of 2021. The track was later remixed with a verse from Justin Bieber, which further boosted the song’s appeal. That remix appeared on a deluxe reissue of the album, which also featured another fan-favorite record: “Mood,” with rising Nigerian singer Buju.

Months after sharing the deluxe album, Wizkid and Buju bring their talents together in a new video for “Mood.” It’s a vibrant effort that features Wizkid and Buju having a grand ol’ time together as they show off some dance moves. Wizkid also gets whisked away by a woman who does a great job of grabbing his attention.

Wizkid’s newest video comes after he and Burna Boy connected for one for the celebratory track “B. D’OR“. He’s also set to bring his talents to Puerto Rico’s 2022 Afro Nation festival, which is set to go down next month. Megan Thee Stallion, Burna Boy, Tems, Ckay, Koffee, Naira Marley, Rema, Tekno, and more are expected to perform.

You can watch the video for “Mood” above.

Made In Lagos (Deluxe) is out now via RCA Records. You can stream it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Burna Boy And Wizkid Have A Ball In Their Triumphant ‘B. D’OR’ Video

Burna Boy and Wizkid bring out the titular trophies in their triumphant video for “B. D’OR” — which they promptly slice in half, turning the coveted football awards into expensive-looking chalices. While I’m almost certain the trophies used in the video — which was shot in Lagos and features a cameo from UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman — are replicas rather than the real thing, it’s still a flex for the two Nigerian superstars, who spend the remainder of the video riding jetskis and hosting a yacht party in the Lagos bay.

The collaboration, which is the second in a year for the two famed Afrobeats stars, is named for the prestigious Ballon d’Or award given to the “best male football player in the world.” While the two stars’ own soccer skills are mostly unknown, the two certainly can claim to be in a similar echelon of worldwide popularity as the award’s various winners, as they are the most well-known artists in their genre (incidentally, the last and only African player to receive the award was Liberian striker George Weah in 1995).

Burna and Wizkid are both set to headline the upcoming Afro Nation festival later this year in Portugal (COVID protocols providing) alongside Megan Thee Stallion.

Watch the “B. D’OR” video above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Burna Boy And Wizkid Demand Their Trophies On The Exuberant ‘B. d’Or’

Burna Boy and Wizkid are, at this point, probably indisputably the most prominent and recognizable Afro-fusion artists in the US. If you ask any music fan to name a Nigerian artist, the odds are pretty high that one of the two (or Davido) will be the first names mentioned. While Burna became the first Nigerian artist to headline Madison Square Garden, Wizkid’s “Essence” is widely regarded as one of the biggest songs of 2021. So, when the two decide to collaborate, it’s always special.

Picking up where they left off with their January collaboration “Ginger,” Burna and Wizkid reunite for the upbeat “B. d’Or,” which is named for the Ballon d’Or (“Golden Ball”) soccer trophy for extraordinary male players. Produced by P2J, the same name behind the dominant “Essence,” the track incorporates beatboxing within its propulsive, tropical sounds as the two artists compare themselves to past winners of the prestigious trophy like Lionel Messi, asserting that they’ve earned similar levels of recognition.

Wizkid and Burna are set to headline Afro Nation, the biggest afrobeats festival in the world, in Portugal next July along with Megan Thee Stallion, solidifying their claim as the biggest afrobeats artists in the world — and when there’s a trophy for that, you can bet they’ll be the ones taking it home.

Listen to “B. d’Or” above.

Wizkid And Tems Dazzle On ‘The Tonight Show’ With Their Latest Performance Of ‘Essence’

Wizkid and Tems have been riding the success of their hit record “Essence” for more than a year now. The song, which appears on the former’s album Made In Lagos, was released in late 2020 and since then, the duo has pushed the song to heights that few afrobeats records have reached before. In a matter of months, “Essence” became the first Nigerian song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. It would enter the top ten of the chart thanks to a remix from Justin Bieber, which helped to boost the song’s popularity. Now, the two have brought their talents to late-night TV.

The pair stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to dazzle with the latest performance of their breakout song. Per usual, they were excellently dressed for the performance, which took place on a big concert stage draped in blue and purple lighting.

Their latest rendition of the track comes after last week, when Wizkid invited Tems to take the stage with him at London’s O2 arena in front of a massive crowd.

Their The Tonight Show performance comes after Wizkid and Tems signed on to perform at Portugal’s Afronation festival next summer. They’ll be joined by Burna Boy, Megan Thee Stallion, Ckay, Koffee, Rema, Tekno, and more.

You can watch Wizkid and Tems perform “Essence” above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Burna Boy, Megan Thee Stallion, And Wizkid Will Headline Afro Nation 2022

Afro Nation, the biggest afrobeats festival in the world, is returning in 2022 after a two-year hiatus with a star-studded lineup including Burna Boy, Megan Thee Stallion, and Wizkid. Taking place in Portugal on July 1-3, the festival took two years off as a result of the global COVID-19 population but is returning next year with what the organizers call a “landmark” iteration.

In addition to the above headliners, the festival is bringing more big names from multiple genres across the diaspora, including Beenie Man, Ckay, Diamond Platnumz, Koffee, Naira Marley, Rema, Tekno, Tems, Wande Coal, and more. While most of the names are obviously big in the afrobeats world, Megan Thee Stallion’s presence expands the purview of the festival to include an even broader perspective of the diaspora.

These are just the first wave, though, with more names to be announced in the future, so expect to see some more surprises down the line. With the festival taking place on the sand at Praia De Rocha Beach, there will certainly be more artists excited to join the fun. Pre-sale tickets will go on sale starting at 9 am on Friday, November 5, with general release tickets going on sale starting at noon.

You can find out more at the official website.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Tems Proves To Be Worth The Wait

It’s usually a good sign for an artist’s career when their concert in a major metropolis sells so many tickets that it has to be moved to a new — and larger — venue at the last minute. It’s probably also a good sign that despite the change of venue, the line wrapped around the block before the doors opened. The last opportune omen is the fact that those people in line patiently waited over 2 hours past the initial doors time for those doors to open and stuck it out through a show that lasted until well after midnight.

With all those tenets in mind, it looks very much like Nigerian Afrobeats/R&B singer Tems is already a star. The Monday night LA stop on the singer’s first-ever US tour followed the above arch, starting out at The Roxy before switching to The Fonda Theatre a day before the show was to take place, which didn’t stop a legion of fans from lining up down Hollywood Boulevard, around the corner on Gower, and all the way down the street for most of the next block. Those fans certainly did wait it out, and their patience was rewarded by an impressive performance from the burgeoning star.

Tems’ opener, Amaarae, generated suitable hype for the headliner with a set that showcased her bold personality and welcoming demeanor. The opener pulled fans onstage to perform alongside her more than once and provided a lively counterpoint to the relatively lower key set that followed. Her exuberant tunes were more defiant and extroverted, whereas Tems’ set — taken from her two EPs, 2020’s For Broken Ears and last month’s If Orange Was A Place — was more internally focused and emotional.

Tems’ performance bore many of the hallmarks of a veteran performer, despite her ostensible rookie status. Framed in angelic light and wearing a flowing, translucent dressing gown, she delivered powerful vocals over renditions of “Damages,” “Free Mind,” and of course, “Essence,” the Wizkid megahit that brought Tems to national prominence. Her fans, a diverse mix of young people, many flamboyantly dressed in traditional African patterns and styles, bought into every new song in the set, despite some being relatively very new. The inevitable singalong that broke out when she launched into “Essence” — assisted by Wizkid in a surprise appearance, naturally — left the impression that she’ll have plenty of opportunities to improve on lots of future tours.

About that delay, though: It’s becoming clearer by the day that fans will be feeling the fallout from the pandemic and resulting entertainment shutdown for a while yet. So far, we’ve seen multiple examples of supply chain and logistical problems forcing artists to postpone events in just the last few weeks. Post Malone was forced to postpone Posty Fest due to supply problems, while J. Cole canceled and rescheduled a pair of shows after hours of delay because there wasn’t enough time to set up the stage as he envisioned. Although Tems didn’t specifically cite these problems, there’s little doubt that switching venues affected the production and prompted these delays.

Tems’ concert is also the second one Uproxx covered recently where a relatively new artist who’d broken out during the pandemic suddenly found that they were way more popular than projected at the last minute. Blxst’s Santa Ana tour stop, initially set for The Observatory’s smaller Constellation Room, was moved to the main stage practically the day of. The bad news is that eventually another breakout star will likely be forced to either play the smaller venue, leaving fans out, or reschedule shows as fewer venues and crew will be readily available. The good news is that these last-minute updates indicate the improving health of the industry, with tickets in high demand, and better projections for stars who couldn’t see their real-world impact as they grew their profiles mostly over the internet for the past year.

For acts like Tems, that can only be encouraging. Having to build a career in less-than-ideal conditions probably added a number of additional stressors on top the usual pressures of learning to deal with fame on the fly. But being able to see real-life rewards — particularly in respect to learning that your star has risen even higher than you (or your booking agent) could have imagined almost makes it all worth it. So, even as we all face the residual effects of the pandemic in live entertainment, for some stars and their fans, the payoff is more than worth the wait.

Wizkid And Tem’s “Essence” Is Now The First African Song To Go Platinum In The US

Tems

Grammy award-winning singer, Wizkid, is soaring to new heights with his 2020 song, “Essence”, which features Nigerian artist, Tems. The song is now the first African song to go platinum in the US. “Essence” Goes Platinum Nigerian artistes Wizkid and Tems have received a platinum plaque for their global hit track “ Essence.” The song […]

DaBaby Unloads Quick-Fire Raps Over Wizkid’s ‘Essence’ For A New Remix And Fans Are Not Happy

Prior to a month ago, DaBaby had his eyes set on new music he planned to deliver to his fans. The rapper promised a new album was on the way, but all of that became an afterthought when he unleashed a homophobic rant targeted at individuals with HIV/AIDS during July’s Rolling Loud festival in Miami. Since then, DaBaby has found himself in a string of controversial moments and it continues with the release of his latest track.

On Tuesday, the North Carolina rapper delivers a remix of Wizkid and Tems’ summer hit, “Essence.” His take of the track completely alters the song’s original nature as Wizkid and Tems’ relaxed vocals are replaced by DaBaby’s quick-fire raps. He also uses the track to address the recent criticism he’s faced since his Rolling Loud rant. “I just feel like, you know, when situations like this present themselves, man,” he says on the track. “And people try to, you know, assassinate your character, man / And assassinate who you are, man / And everything you put that hard work in for, man.” He adds, “Sometimes you gotta demonstrate, you know, that’s how I came here / And I don’t mind demonstratin’ / I don’t mind exercisin’, you dig what I’m sayin’?”

The remix arrives after it was reported that DaBaby met with nine HIV/AIDS organizations after his Rolling Loud. As for the remix itself, most fans were not too happy with it and they took to Twitter to share their displeasures.

You can listen to his “Essence” remix in the video above and read the responses from fans below.

Wizkid Invites Justin Bieber Into The Afrobeats World For A Remix Of ‘Essence’ With Tems

Wizkid’s mainstream appeal has noticeably increased since the afro-fusion star dropped his stellar fourth album Made In Lagos last fall. The project saw the singer work with big names like H.E.R., Ella Mai, Burna Boy, and Skepta, but the album’s most popular song came through an unexpected collaboration with fellow afro-fusion singer Tems on “Essence.” The track has grown to not only run in contention for song of the summer this year, but it’s also the highest-charting African song ever, as it peaked at No. 54 on the singles chart this past week. Now, the song is due for a huge boost thanks to a new remix.

Wizkid and Tems invite Justin Bieber into the “Essence” experience for a brand new remix of the track. While some fans felt the collaboration was a bit inorganic, Wizkid and Bieber are paying no mind to the comments, showing each other love on social media. “Thank u for letting me jump on the song of the summer,” Bieber wrote in a Twitter post that announced the remix. In his own post, Wizkid wrote, “I promised you something special. @temsbaby & @justinbieber on da way.”

In another post, Wizkid teased more music on the way for fans. “Made In Lagos Deluxe,” he wrote on Twitter.

Press play on the remix to “Essence” in the video above.

Made In Lagos is out now via Starboy Entertainment/RCA. Get it here.