How cancel culture and stanship became a thing in the music industry

• Efe had thought the success of the song would pique the attention of Wizkid, and he would get the recognition he deserved from the superstar, which would boost his standing in the industry.

These days, it is hard to tell if public spats and beef among entertainers, especially artists, are real or staged. Evidence abounds of how artists stage squabbles and quarrels to keep themselves in the public consciousness and remain a topic of public discourse. But in scenarios where this beef is not staged but is the result of ego-induced popularity and superiority contest, it often spills over to the fans of the warring artists and what you get is a virtual war of attrition between two different groups of a motley crowd of strangers defending and fighting for people who don’t know them.

It is even worse if one of the artists has more influence, clout and popularity and enjoys a cult following. The lesser artist is then guaranteed to be the victim of relentless heckling, verbal assault, cyberbullying and cancel culture. And this is what happened between Skit, Carter Efe and fans of popular Afrobeats star, Ibrahim Balogun, better known as Wizkid.

Timeline of events

Arrogant and Idiotic

Carter Efe had on Wednesday, during a TikTok live session, said Wizkid is arrogant and called him an idiot. “If Wizkid calls me my G, that means Lion don get belle. E no fit happen. That boy too get pride, idiot,” he said.

Wizkid fans pounce

Infuriated by his remark, Wizkid fans, popularly known as Wizkid FC, vowed to report Carter Efe’s TikTok, Instagram and YouTube accounts.

Wizkid FC strikes back

In a clear retaliation for insulting Wizkid, Wizkid fans followed through with their threat to report Cater Efe and his Instagram and TikTok accounts were taken down.

Cater Efe apology

After his Instagram and TikTok accounts were taken down, Efe took to his Twitter page to apologise to Wizkid and his fans. He told Wizkid FC that his love for Wizkid is genuine and not fake. But he doubled down on his description of Wizkid’s personality, insisting that he has “pride”.

What triggered the outburst of Cater Efe

In the music industry, Wizkid is known to keep a low profile and he has hardly been at the centre of controversy. His reclusive disposition has largely been interpreted as arrogance by many. In 2022, Efe released a single titled Machala. Machala is one of Wizkid’s sobriquets and his fans fondly call him that. The single was an instant hit. It topped many music charts and received massive airplay on the radio. Efe had thought the success of the song would pique the attention of Wizkid, and he would get the recognition he deserved from the superstar, which would boost his standing in the industry. But despite the massive rave of the song and appeal by staunch Wizkid fans to give Efe an audience and acknowledge the song, Wizkid remained aloof and indifferent. He spurned Efe. Insiders in the music industry opined that Wizkid’s treatment of Efe was spurred by his belief that Efe’s singing about him was not out of genuine love for him but a move to leverage his popularity and large following to build his (Efe) own brand and boost his image and craft in an highly competitive industry.

From a doting follower to an embittered troll

Efe did not take too kindly to how Wizkid ignored him after singing about the star. He became resentful, and what followed was years of pent-up anger and spite which led to his outburst and calling Wizkid names.

Cult following and cancel culture

Cancel culture in Nigeria, spurred by social media, involves public humiliation and ostracisation of individuals or entities for perceived unacceptable action or behaviour. While it’s seen as a way to hold people accountable, especially public figures, it also also been criticised for potentially gagging free speech, leading to cyberbullying and harassment, and causing reputational damage.

It didn’t take long for Efe to find out that there is a limit to what you can say against people like Wizkid. Of the top three music artists in Nigeria —Wizkid, Burna Boy, Davido — Wizkid has the most feisty, combative and virulent fans. They are always on standby to pounce on anyone who chastises or speaks about Wizkid in a bad light.

Cater Efe may be among the least likeable people on social media, owing to his creepy and cringeworthy behaviour and actions, but going after his social media account underscores the malevolence of stanship and the danger of cancel culture. The intemperate devotion and fervent support that come with a cult following many top and A-list artist enjoy often lead to their overzealous fans taking extreme and drastic actions they don’t approve of, but which somewhat hurt their personality.

Other high-profile Nigerians who have been victims of cancel culture

Naira Marley is one of Nigeria’s artists who has been a victim of cancel culture. Naira Marley’s trouble began in 2023 after the death of his signee, Mohbad.

All hell broke loose when Mohbad died in 2023 in controversial circumstances. This immediately generated a lot of speculation, with allegations pointing towards Naira Marley as having had a hand in the untimely, suspicious death of the singer. During this period, several videos of Mohbad’s assault went viral on social media, including that of Naira Marley’s close associate, Sam Larry, who was seen attacking the late singer during a music video shoot with another artist, Zlatan.

Angry Nigerians have since been heckling Naira Marley anywhere they find them, including on social media. His music career has also taken a serious hit due to his ostracisation.

Another person who has suffered immensely from cancel culture his another Naira Marley’s music career signee, Zinoleesky, who received the same level of attacks on social media.

The two have been cancelled to a certain degree as the music they have released since the death of Mohbad has received little or no attention from most Nigerians. They have also not been listed among artists to perform at major shows in the country and some radio stations in Nigeria have gone as far as banning the playing of Naira Marley’s song on air.

A look at the social media posts of Naira Marley and Zinoleesky shows that they still have a long way to go as regards resuscitating their careers, which are on their way to obscurity. Going by these comments, it is hard to see how the average Nigerian who once enjoyed the music of Naira Marley and espoused his culture, and attended his Marlian concert, would want to hear his song again or see him perform on stage without embarrassing or attacking him. Even his die-hard fans, popularly called Marlians, have since abandoned him.