Revisiting the madness that was Amber Rose appearing in Lagos, Nigeria

For those who didn’t know. Once upon a time, in the nearest distant past, Amber Rose once flew into Nigeria, made the biggest headlines, hit a venue for 20 minutes, and left the building just before she was supposed to get into full twerk mode and bring down the Nigerian music industry with her famous derriere.

But that never happened. The twerk didn’t come, heck, she barely even appeared in front of cameras for a full 10 minutes.

The year was 2015. D’banj, the African Michael Jackson was celebrating his 10 anniversary as an artist, and trust D’banj, he had grand plans for the grand celebrations. The Koko Master had done well for himself. From his time as a security guard in London, he had spent the last 10 years navigating murky waters to the top of the African charts. That was worth celebrating. We all wanted that celebration to happen.

“My first album called, ‘No Long Thing’ came out on March 25, 2005 and that’s why we are kicking off the celebrations on January 31, 2015 with the kick-off party hosted by the sexiest herself, Amber Rose,” D’banj told NET.

“And I call it a party because I’m inviting people to come and have fun and celebrate with me. Then throughout the year, we’ll visit different cities, different nations, we’ll be partying in some and at some places we’ll be having the Koko concert."

Sexy Amber Rose was elated. She threw in her confirmation for the big date, and we all went wild. Amber Rose was showing up, and if we were nice enough, she just might arrive with her best friend and super stripper, Blac Chyna.

The news ran a circus around the topic. It was a complete build-up. D’banj had done it again, throwing himself to the top of the headlines due to a gimmick. Interviews were held, and the invites went out. The music industry was on standby, waiting to experience something. Anything.

The famous model posted a photo of the Kokomaster's celebration flier on her Instagram, early Sunday morning, announcing the good news. She wrote: 'Lagos, Nigeria I'm coming to Turn Up with my Friend D'banj January 31st for His 10th year Anniversary Weekend! #1 Kokolet

Nobody knew what to expect. This was the first coming of Amber Rose to Nigeria, a country where she was famous due to her exploits as a model and stripper in Hollywood.

Finally, it was D-Day. The venue, Ocean View, was prepared, and cameras on high alert. Amber Rose flew into the country, arriving at the Murtala Muhammed international Airport, Lagos. Sadly, there was no Blac Chyna in tow. A photo to confirm this was posted online by D’banj, with the caption: “Welcome to Lasgidi No 1 kokolet @amberrose ,This Weekend is Gonna go down in History . Thanks for coming for me. Much luv. Appreciate .OooSssHhhEee TurnUp Time”.

At the night of the event, the press turned out in full. On a table, just by the entrance, D’banj displayed a gallery of his awards, which ran into double digits. They shined and glistened as everyone waited for the moment.

At the red carpet, a little drama ensued.

Nigerian singer Seyi Shay attended the party and dissed Amber on the red carpet saying "I don’t know what she does, what does she do?” She then compared Amber (Kanye West's ex-girlfriend) to her adversary Kim Kardashian (Kanye's wife)  saying, “At least Kim K has a reality show, a clothing line, she’s a model”.

Finally, it was time for the circus. Amber Rose and D’banj pulled up in style, and a red carpet was rolled out. D’banj smiled from ear to ear, posing for photos with his trophy for the night. They stopped by the gallery of awards, where he shared some stories about the most important ones to Amber, who had a measured smile.

And then the party began.

Once Amber Rose and D’banj entered the hall, everyone trooped in, waiting for that moment.

“I want to see her twerk oh. I came to see her twerk live,” a journalist told me. His eyes, salivating at the thought of seeing that famous butt jiggle in front of him.

But it didn’t happen. Amber came on stage, mouthed a few words, tried to do some shoki, and then left. There was no twerking, no performance, nothing. She was in and out in under five minutes.

Amber Rose and her entourage walked up and left the event after it became obvious that the anniversary celebration party was taking too long. D'banj's performance of hits can be best described as uncoordinated as the pop star kept interrupting himself while performing to ramble.

When the DB Records star continued doing this for a sustained period of time, Amber Rose and her crew left the event. Prior to her leaving, Amber Rose announced the premiere of D'banj's new video 'Feeling A Nigga' remix featuring Akon. Strangely, mid-way into the showing off the video, D'banj announced that the video to cut off. He then went on to ramble which killed the flow of the event.

The story flowed through the media, creating a ruckus in the country. People provided their hot takes, and opinions flew wild.

D’banj’s media reps responded to the situation, saying that Amber Rose left the party “because she was tired.”

“Amber Rose did leave early because she was tired (long flights) and was escorted back to her nearby hotel by D’banj’s entourage and security” read the statement.

The statement further explained that Amber Rose arrived in Nigeria at 5:50pm after having an event at Amsterdam on the same day. On her arrival she went straight to her hotel, and turned up at the anniversary celebration as D’banj’s date. After taken part in the party held at Ocean View, Victoria Island, Amber Rose left  as a result of jet lag.

Did D’banj really need Amber Rose for that party? Amber Rose had her benefits, which include, the shock factor, intense social media conversations, rampant tweets and Instagram posts and reposts, PR points, bragging rights…the full range of it all.

Everything D’banj needed and planned for with that party he got, and then some. In many ways, it was a win.