Nigerian stars Wizkid and Ckay have been added to the star-studded festival started by The Roots. The festival created by the roots in 2007 is set to take place over two days during the 4th of July weekend in Philadelphia at Mann Center located in Fairmount Park.
The Covid pandemic halted many in-person festivals, making this event a first for The Roots, who have not performed in person since 2019. It goes without saying how massive this is for Afrobeats and African music as a whole. The rise of Wizkid to global stardom has been fantastic to witness. Even more significant than his rise to stardom has been the conveyor belt of other Nigerian acts recognized worldwide.
Performing at a festival on one of the biggest weekends in America says something thunderous about the Afrobeat genre. Wizkid’s continued global success has shown us how hungry the world is for our sounds and, through that, our culture. Being up there with Ckay further cements the notion that the world is paying attention, and America being the massive market it is, is tuned in to what is coming out of the continent.
One can only hope that such recognition will open the world up to the other talents Africa possesses.
