Forbes' list of controversy

A list of most bankable African artistes
released by Channel O and Forbes African
Magazine sparks off debate in entertainment
circles, Jayne Augoye writes
THE last few days have shown that nobody can
undermine the power of the spoken or written
word. Who would have thought that the word,
"bankable," which simply means, "guaranteed to
bring in money," can generate so much
controversy as witnessed recently? This is after
the meaning of the word and context in which it
was used had been misconstrued.
When Channel O and Forbes Africa magazine
released the list of Top 10 Most Bankable Urban
African Artistes on Sunday, little did they know
that it would cause a stir. On the list, which is,
predictably, dominated by Nigerian artistes, such
as Don Jazzy (No. 2 on the list), P-Square (3),
D'Banj (4), Wizkid (5), 2face Idibia (6), Ice Prince
(9) and Banky W (10), are Africa's most bankable
stars.
The number one spot went to the Senegalese
international super star, Akon.
According to the authors, the criteria for selection
included endorsement value, popularity, show
rates, sales, awards, YouTube views, appearance
in newspapers, investment, and social media
presence, among others.
Despite this caveat, the list has continued to
generate more questions than answers for the
fifth day running.
The 'uproar' appears to be fueled by the fact that
some fans and music critics who are yet to come
to terms with the final cut, think the list had to do
with just how much money the artistes have in
their bank accounts.
Some failed to read between the lines and put
into consideration the fact that other factors
come into play besides jewellery, cars or gadgets,
which these artistes display on their Twitter,
Instagram or Facebook accounts.
Riding on this premise, Cool FM on air
personality, Freeze; and Tiwa Savage's manager/
fiancé, Tee Billz, took to Twitter to express their
grievances over the list.
Billz screamed blue murder, adding that his lover
was, indeed, richer than those mentioned on the
Forbes list.
His tweet reads, "That Forbes list. Hmm@
TiwaSavage Bank tell you how many she has more
than $$$."
Freeze, on the other hand, blamed it on what he
described as the Nigerian mentality.
"Mr. Forbes, on the contrary, it's not your fault;
it's Nigerians.' We believe the daftest things as
long as they come from an American source,"
Freeze said.
He added, "Mr. Forbes, when we are doing things,
let's be using our sense. Kwam1, Asa, Femi Kuti,
and Flavour are amongst many other bankable
artistes."
When one takes a cursory look at the debate on
Twitter, it appears that some respondents think
Iyanya may pass for the richest Nigerian musician
at the moment. They hinged their argument on
the fact that he bagged a whopping N100m
contract this year alone.
Others say the Ghanaian star, Sarkodie, shouldn't
have been placed ahead of the Koko master
(D'banj) and Ice Prince. They add that the authors
compiled their list based on Twitter washings and
bogus wealth display by these artists, as
splattered on entertainment blogs.
As though corroborating some of these claims,
when contacted on the phone, Limpopo crooner,
Kcee, said, "Most times, people just talk about
something they know nothing about. They say
they adjudged based on album sales. So, who
gave them (Forbes) the records? Is it the Alaba
boys?
"There are so many artistes who were left out of
that list that ought to be there in the first place.
The truth is this, the richest and most travelled
Nigerian artiste performing at tours and concerts
at the moment is Flavour, yet you do not hear
anything about this.
"I am quite close to him and you can imagine how
much returns he makes from all of these. This is
simply because he doesn't want you to know or
have the figures. The list is incomplete and
incorrect as far as I am concerned."
After all said and done, it is believed that most
times, hype is all an artiste requires to be
considered as major success in the industry and
not necessarily whether or not he or she is
bankable.