How 2Baba Changed the Game -Efe Omorogbe
Music executive, Efe Omorogbe has recounted how music legend, 2baba’s 2006 concert, changed the game for his production company, Buckwyld Media (then known as Now Muzik Events and Promotions).
In an article titled: Buckwyld ‘N’ Breathless: A Decade Pushing The Envelope, which he wrote in commemoration of the 10 years anniversary of the annual Buckwyld ‘N’ Breathless concert, Omorogbe who has served in multiple capacities in the entertainment industry, including label executive, songwriter, and talent manager, explained that until the music star contracted him to produce 2face Live: Chapter 2, the Grass 2 Grace album launch concert, Buckwyld ‘N’ Breathless was just like every other concert in the country at the time.
“The seed for a proper production was sown in 2006 when Buckwyld Media (then known as Now Muzik Events and Promotions) was engaged by 2face Idibia as production consultants to deliver 2face Live: Chapter 2, the “Grass 2 Grace” album launch concert at Planet 1, Maryland, Lagos. We had for two years prior, fantasised, planned and plotted that proper production as artiste and management, and the release of his now-classic sophomore solo album presented an opportunity to walk the talk,” he wrote.
Referencing the warm appreciation from 2Baba’s fans and music enthusiasts around the world, Omorogbe noted: “…we did exactly that to the delight of a packed house many of whom gushed for months on end about how Chapter 2 was their favourite concert experience in Nigeria at the time.”
In spite of the critical acclaim his brand and that of 2Baba earned from the concert, Omorogbe said he wasn’t satisfied and his picture of what a concert with “proper production” should look like became more vivid.
“We were happy and inspired but not satisfied. We knew what nobody else knew – how much better it could have been with a bigger venue with more stage, backstage and headroom space, bigger budget, bigger cast, more prep time, fewer disappointments and so on. Four years down the road, all the pieces of our “proper production” puzzle fell into place,” he revealed.
Four years after, precisely September 26, 2010, Omorogbe did the ‘imaginary’ when 2face Live: Buckwyld ‘n’ Breathless, again happened; this time, most of the things he fantasised about concert canoe to live.
“September 26, 2010, was D-day. 2face Idibia was a bonafide international superstar and the biggest draw in the land. His catalogue of hits had grown tremendously to include crowd-pleasers like Free, Enter the Place, Flex, Implication, Only Me and collabo cuts like Yori Yori with Bracket, Stylee with Cool DJ Jimmy Jatt, and the almighty Street Credibility with 9ice.
“Eko Hotel had completed the ambitious Eko Convention Centre and Cecil Hammond, who had incidentally witnessed Chapter 2, was in the mood to take his already successful Flytime promotion gig to the next level. Buckwyld Media was primed to deliver the concert experience that would change the game for good. 2face Live: Buckwyld ‘n’ Breathless happened and it’s been a tougher job trying to convince me that impossible is something since then.
“Rave reviews, multiple editions – Lagos (Away & Beyond), London (Away & Beyond), Lagos (The Disruption), Nairobi (Disruption Africa), Lagos (The Lagos Dream), Lagos (Power of 1) – and magic moments by headliners MI, Sauti Sol, Tiwa Savage, Flavour, Phyno, Falz and of course, 2Baba later,” he added.
Read the full article HERE
