It is undeniable that social media has made us even closer to the things we love.
Over the past two or three years, the streets of Twitter and Instagram have seen the best and worst of Nigeria’s stan culture. The biggest Nigerian celebrities have firmly established fanbases populated by some of the most radical stans ever known to man.
Most of these fanbases are centered around A-list artists, predominantly of the Afrobeats genre. Wizkid FC, Marlians, 30BG, and Titans are arguably the most renowned fanbases, centered around Wizkid, Naira Marley, Davido and Big Brother alum Tacha, respectively. Most Burna Boy stans parade the umbrella name, Outsiders.
Stans of each fanbase are most popular for trending their artistes out of the blue, posting random statistics that elevate their respective G.O.A.T above his or her closest competitors, reposting photos of their G.O.A.T and taking shots at members of ‘opposing’ factions with little or no provocation.
The surfacing of mainstream stan culture in Nigeria owes a lot to the steady rise of the Afrobeats/Afro-Pop genre of music. This genre reached a different level in the mid-to-late-2010s after the biggest artists broke new ground and set amazing records. They also managed to be controversial enough along the way.
Some people believe that collaboration should be prioritized over competition to advance the culture.
But others strongly believe the incitement of competitive vibes is what artists and celebrities need to stay on their toes. As a result, Wizkid FC must always sub 30BG and so on.
How It All Started
Ironically, the current order is a far cry from the late 90s and early 2000s. This was when the “establishment” reigned supreme with Kennis Music dominating the Nigerian music scene.
2Face Idibia (as he then was) was the flagship artist and the face of the record label. Of course, the contraption was dismantled and the Kennis monopoly came to an end.
Thereafter, 2Face Idibia, P-Square, D’Banj, and Wande Coal bodied the 2000s and parts of the 2010s. Onwards, we began to see a new era emerge with artists like Wizkid, Davido, Olamide, and Burna Boy taking center stage.
Perhaps, if social media and end-of-the-year concerts were as rampant in the 2000s as they are now, maybe stan culture in Nigeria would be more ruthless now.
Numbers (streams, YouTube views) have made it easier to tell who’s popping and who isn’t. Throw in the competitiveness that drives most creatives and watch a stan culture emerge organically.
Why There Will Always Be Stans
This combo of creativity, numbers, and competitiveness is becoming very commonplace. One only has to look at the streaming numbers of songs like Fireboy’s “Peru,” CKay’s “Love Nwantiti” or BNXN’s “Finesse” to see that a new guard is emerging.
Here’s the wow factor, the current leaders of the culture didn’t have the numbers— all they had at inception was creativity and competitiveness. However, somewhere along the journey, numbers made them more appealing.
This new guard that’s coming is about to birth the biggest expression of Stan culture Nigeria has ever seen. In much simpler terms, Nigerian stan culture is eons away from demise.
Anyway, one quick question
Who Do You Think Has The Most Stans In The Nigerian Entertainment Industry?
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