Where is Drake in Wizkid's "Come Closer" video?
RCA's Promotion and marketing of the audio release couldn't have been much stronger, but with the video release, the fans (Nigerians) lost some faith.
Drake and Wizkid
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RCA's Promotion and marketing of the audio release couldn't have been much stronger, but with the video release, the fans (Nigerians) lost some faith. If you have not noticed by now, Drake never appeared in the video, not even ONCE! The response from my Nigerians and Africans has been comical, but who can blame us? Just when we thought, for the first time, we had a solid collaboration that was not based on famzing and payment, but based on merit; the video seemingly snatched our joy away.
Let's not even add the fact that international media publications such as "Billboard" used Drake's picture as the thumbnail when they announced the official release on their site. There's a lot to be angry about, but let me try to break it down in the next few paragraphs.
First off, as Nigerians, I think we still have a hard time realizing that the major labels and just the American industry in general, actually has a structure.
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I was having a conversation with my colleague about the issue and I said, "Drake not showing up in the video is not like a Nigerian upcoming artist begging Davido to show up to a video shoot via WhatsApp for a song they recorded doesn't get his messages replied.” If Drake did not appear in the video, it was probably already part of an elaborate plan that was already well calculated months prior to the release date of the video.
Therefore, the idea that Drake doesn't regard Wizkid enough to show up for the video shoot is actually an absurd idea.
Now that we have established that, let's look at another logical reason why Drake might not have been in the video.
Drake is just recently coming off one of the biggest headline tours in Hip Hop history. In fact the he has been on his "Boy Meets World Tour" all year, so it's very feasible to imply that there was probably a scheduling conflict.
Again, realizing that the label and team Wizkid probably planned this whole project months ago, it actually makes perfect sense that there was a scheduling conflict.
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I also have another theory as to why Drake did not appear in the video. You see, Drake is currently still a much bigger artist than Wizkid is, especially to this new market that Wiz is trying to break into.
It is possible that Drake would have taken the shine on this song had this strategy not been in play. In fact, Billboard using Drake's picture for their post as opposed to Wizkid's suggested just that fact.
Assuming that the label and Wizkid's team considered that possibility, it would not be out of base to choose to exclude Drake from the video just to give Wizkid more visibility and facial recognition, especially to an audience that is not African.
In conclusion, it is necessary that we the fans don't solidify opinions or assumptions based on speculation. Most of the actions that we see today have been calculated and planned out. It is important we know that the major labels work with legal agreements and contracts with every move they make.
Hence, as stated earlier, Drake's absence was either already part of an elaborate plan or at least the parties involved had prior knowledge of the absence. Honestly, with the predictable Nigerian default reaction to these situations, I wouldn't be surprised if Wizkid and his core team suggested the absence.
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Controversy is always a means to an end in the entertainment industry. "Team Wizkid" probably knew Nigerians will make such a huge deal out of it, thereby promoting the song further in the process.
Ultimately, one of our superstars finally looks like he has a genuine chance to break out to the world (albeit with a sound that's not ours), we should not concern ourselves much with trivial things like Drake not appearing in "Come Closer." Last time I checked, Wizkid did not appear in "One Dance" either.
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