If you are perhaps in your early twenties, not so familiar with the foreign music scene earlier than 2010, and you were in the audience of Pepsi Rhythm Unplugged at the Flytime Fest 2022 headlined by the legendary Craig David, you might have experienced a little confusion about the fuss and energy over Craig David’s appearance and performance.
Two times Grammy awards nominee, 43 overall music award nominations with him winning 12, 25 top 40 singles, and over 5 billion streams worldwide, Craig David was one of the hottest music names in the early 2000s and remains an icon in the British music industry of all time.
While he had established a pretty solid reputation for himself in the British underground music scene in the late 90s, Craig’s major breakout didn’t happen until he featured in ‘Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)’ by Artful Dodger which went straight to number 2 on the charts upon its release. After he finally released his debut album ‘Born To Do It’ in 2001, the album went on to debut at number 1 on the UK album charts, selling over 7.5 million albums worldwide, a huge feat for a UK R&B artist, and has since been certified 6× Platinum. And get this, he was only 19.
When Craig stepped on stage at the Flytime Music festival, it was interesting to see reactions from different members of the audience ranging from folks going crazy to some people wondering and asking ‘who’s that again ?’. Craig delivered an amazing, energetic show, performing hit songs from his albums over the years and taking breaks in between songs to express how excited he was to be in Lagos. Craig also brought his TS5 set to the delight of the excited audience who partied to the old skool anthems.
When he finally performed Walking Away and 7 Days, arguably the most successful and popular songs on the Born To Do It album across regions and countries, the crowd went wild, with some members of the audience who had left the hall for a break or to get drinks rushing back in.
It’s a formidable feat for a performing artist who isn’t even 50 yet to have records that evoke so much nostalgia in a demographic of young people. So, yes. Craig David was and is still very much a pretty big deal, and his devoted fans at the Flytime Fest 2022 will not be forgetting that night for a while.