Bitter truth.
This truth is going to shatter everything you have believed about the Black Diamond, especially if you are a stan like me. You probably have never thought of him in this light before. Same here. I never did until I saw a new perspective that shocked me.
Someone asked about unpopular opinions on the Nigerian music industry and the most unexpected reply dropped:
“Wande Coal is not underrated, he just didn’t fulfil his potential.”
To get a better understanding of this statement, let’s take a step back in time.
In the beginning…
How can you not love Wande? From the moment he stepped on the scene with Don Jazzy’s Mo’ Hits Records in 2006, he stood out instantly. It was such an experience listening to him belt out sweet melodies with his silky voice. Even on songs where he’s not the lead artiste and just did backup vocals, you would still feel his touch.
Coal gave us goosebumps. After teasing us with ‘Ololufe’, he went ahead to give us his debut album, Mushin to Mohits, which has been described by pundits as one of the most successful debut albums in the history of Afrobeats. Nobody else sang like him when he came out. Chuddy K came close, but Wande was just different.
At that point, we needed more of Wande. Like unrepentant drug addicts, we just wanted to get high on his music and never get low again. He had set the bar so high. Our taste for music would never remain the same.
The moment everything changed…
Then he went underground. To date, nobody knows the true story of what happened. Many rumoured that he had addiction problems and had to seek medical help at a rehab, claims he has publicly debunked on several occasions.
The hiatus did us nor him any good. While we were deprived of good music, he soon lost grip of his claim to the throne. Nigeria has too many talents for the seat to be vacant. Many other artists like Wizkid and Davido came along and we all moved on. By the time Wande came back from his hiatus, he had to struggle for our attention.
Sad truth
No doubt, Wande is immensely talented. Several new generation singers like Fireboy and Oxlade mentioned him as their inspiration. We will continue to long for his new projects and devour his music any time it drops. We will forever stan the Black Diamond. But the sad truth is, he might not become that A-list artist we all believe he is destined to be. He had his time, but he didn’t use it well.
Gone are the days when artists will drop one single and expect us to worship them. No matter how good you are, you need to show up consistently because the competition in the industry is so tight. Apart from dropping projects, you also need to have a well-oiled marketing system that will plug your music everywhere possible and give you as much visibility as possible.
Coal will be fine though. I’m super sure of it. He has dropped some fire projects this year and we’re beginning to see a lot more of him.
And that brings me to the conclusion.
Wande Coal is not underrated, he just didn’t fulfil his potential.
