Somizi Mhlongo has spoken about the negative response from some Nigerians to Tyla’s Grammy win over three Nigerian nominees in the same category.
“I’m gonna speak about this as calmly and as politely as I can,” starts Mhlongo.
“… The level of entitlement. The sense of entitlement. Hm? Grammys are not your mother’s jumping castle party.”
“Grammys are not Nigerian music awards. The level of entitlement thinking that only Nigerians that are nominated are qualified [to win],” Mhlongo continues.
Mhlongo was reacting to the social media posts by some Nigerians, who criticised Tyla’s victory, saying the three Nigerian artists in her category were more deserving of the Grammy.
“I think what hurts the most is that it’s a girl, and it’s not a Nigerian lady… It’s a South African woman, who was nominated amongst three Nigerians, if I’m not mistaken.”
“Now you’re making us a laughing stock to the world… look at these Africans. We’re giving them a piece of the pie, and now they’re fighting over it,” says Mhlongo.
The negativity is dimming Davido’s stardom
“And you’re taking away Davido’s credibility, his superstardom. Davido is a superstar.”
“Davido is too much of a superstar to be caught up in this [inaudible]. Everyone in that category deserved to win. Trust me, I doubt there was gonna be a South African who was going to complain if any of the people who were nominated won. But South Africans were going to be provoked if a Nigerian won. Yo! We were not gonna hear the end of it,” exclaimed Mhlongo.
“Stop it. And sadly, it’s not all Nigerians. It’s just these [inaudible]. And what’s done is done. Tyla has two, and she can still get three.”
Facts play a role with the Grammys, not emotions: Mhlongo
“Grammys don’t care about your emotions. It’s facts. And you know the facts, in terms of that song… numbers don’t lie,” said Mhlongo.
“Stop taking away the superstardom of all the other artists that were nominated, as if only Davido deserved to win… Every artist who was there deserved to win.”
“And then lastly, I wanna correct you again… that category was not an Afrobeats category. It was the best African performance. And stop saying Tyla’s music is not African. Who the f%&$ do you think you are? She’s South African, and we South Africans enjoy and resonate (with) the music,” said Mhlongo.
“Stop thinking you are the gods of music. Nigerian music is beautiful, but you’re taking away the beauty of African music,” concludes Mhlongo.