Flop of the Week: The Headies Nominations list has a black hole in the middle

After the 2017 edition failed to hold last year, the awards’ organizers announced the nominations list this week and the reactions have ranged from dismay to anger.

For one, the awards have failed to do their due diligence in certain regards. At least one of the nominees released his album before the year in review.

In certain categories, some songs were scandalously left out of the nominations list.

In a way, the case has been made that the songs were left out because they did not enjoy the popularity of the other songs. And while this does make some sense, this weak attempt at inclusion has come at the expense of some of the best songs we’ve heard in the year in review.

There’s also the curious case of a certain hip-hop album that was left out for unexplained reasons. Upon its release, critics adjudged Ajebutter 22’s sophomore album, “What Happens in Lagos” to be the one of the most conceptual albums in Nigerian history. Yet the Headies ignored the album, instead of giving cosigns to familiar faces.

The underground music scene in Lagos is quickly becoming one of the most promising hubs for music in the space of the last few years. In the last year, it has produced some of the most progressive music that has come out of our shores.