PURPLE Lagos and the Illusion of Sincere Outrage

On 6 April, 2026, X aggregator page, Album Talks, posted promotional content for an event, garnering 7.7k views. Come 11 May, they made a similar promotional post for the same event. Just like before, the engagement was minimal: 2 Quotes, 1.9k views, and a smattering of positive comments. Two days later, when they followed up with a promotional video, reactions were grossly divergent. 236 mostly angry quotes. 60 comments. 307k views. And a world of complaints.  

All three posts were to promote PURPLE, The Block Party’s latest party series, which took place in Lagos on May 15, Accra on May 16, and concluded in Abuja on May 17, May 2026.  Having built various brands since its establishment in 2018 and a monthly format in 2019, including Mainland Block Party, Island Block Party, Premier Block Party, and Capital Block Party, among others, PURPLE is The Block Party’s bold step to bring EDM culture (Afro-House, Amapiano, and Afrotech, specifically) to burgeoning rave scenes in West Africa and even in the diaspora. Headliners for this year’s PURPLE were South-African EDM act DJ Maphorisa, Jazzwrld, and Thukuthela, all of whom had notably collaborated with Nigerian artists. Just another party series. Surely, no one could be angry with such a momentous rave in Nigeria? 

As it turns out, a lot of people were angry, but not for immediately obvious reasons. When the third post was made, just two days before PURPLE Lagos, users went up in arms about tone-deafness. For context, in the weeks leading up to PURPLE, Nigerians and other African nationals had witnessed a disturbing spike in xenophobic attacks. Countries such as Ghana, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe had implemented varying levels of engagement with the South African government as of April 2026. In contrast, Nigeria’s first publicly  reported engagement took place on May 4, 2026, a meeting between officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Acting South African High Commissioner, in Abuja.  This was after reports of the two Nigerians who died: Nnaemeka Matthew and Andrew Ekpeyong on April 21, while in detention of South African law enforcement agencies, and Kelvin Chidiebere Aramiro on April 25, following allegations of physical assault by said agents. 

Understandably, many Nigerians felt that hosting these South African acts in the middle of unrelenting xenophobia from their citizens showed a lack of solidarity for our endangered compatriots. To make matters worse, unlike in 2019, when the late South African rapper AKA derided attacks against Nigerians, neither the invited acts, nor their counterparts from Nigeria had said a single word in defence of other Africans. No attempts to posture. Not a lick of pretence that they cared, or were worried about the optics. There was nothing to signify interest in the cause. 

And if that wasn’t bad enough, the caption framed PURPLE Lagos as a ‘takeover of the city’ by ‘the most South-African star-studded line up Nigeria has ever seen.’ One need not be a self-styled empath to recognise how this came off to citizens hurt by news of attacks both at home and in a country where home was now a matchstick away from oblivion, where years of entrepreneurship could be diminished with the wave of a baton. It was tone-deaf. And to some, proof that solidarity would always be unattainable among middle-class Nigerians.

The Block Party did not respond to these comments, either through official channels or comments from founder Oluwatobi Mohammed (AKA Alhaji Popping). As a few X users pointed out, the situation was largely a matter of timing. Block Party began publicising the event on March 30, 2026, and had likely been planning months earlier. The xenophobic attacks in South Africa did not gain wider attention until the second week of April, mostly driven by anti-immigration group, Operation Dudula. These users argued—mainly through independent posts—that PURPLE’s organisers could not have foreseen the violent turn of events. They questioned the feasibility of canceling the event on such short notice, citing logistical costs and efforts taken to put the event together. 

While that was going on, there were also comments about attending PURPLE, after all, the Lagos scene doesn’t experience shows of this magnitude so frequently. The very next day, it was like nothing had happened. Pages documenting Nigeria’s rave scene posted promotional flyers. Ravers re-emerged from the shadows to discuss outfits and expectations from the Lagos show. Complaints about why the event is still promoted died down almost immediately. As with many previous instances, folks had fed fat on denouncing others and went along with their days. It wouldn’t be a surprise if some of the people who cursed at attendees were themselves front and center at Landmark Centre, dancing along to sets by the continent’s in-demand DJs. 

In the days since, there’s barely been any reference to the call-outs on 13 May. PURPLE Abuja was successful. PURPLE Accra was a blast. Preparations are underway for PURPLE Houston on June 11 and New York on June 13, 2026, respectively. Almost two weeks later, the backlash on X now comes across as a flash-in-the-pan moment worth ignoring for all intents and purposes. 

But there’s much harm in ignoring those reactions. 

While it is true that The Block Party was in a tight spot and would likely have incurred losses by cancelling the event, it’s also concerning that there was no official acknowledgement, or at least, a statement expressing solidarity with Nigerians in South Africa. Organisers instead remained quiet. Like the time honoured tradition of the Nigerian Government, time and memory were left to be the arbiters, in hopes that no one would remember, and that even if they did, no one would deem the cause important enough to sustain across multiple days. 

And true to form, no one did. The complaints proved to be mere posturing from a bored internet populace. No one backed their rhetoric with action by boycotting the event. And if the anger was genuine at all, there should have been call-outs. It wouldn’t be the first time X users attack each other via veiled subs that sometimes extend to Instagram and elsewhere. But there was no groundswell. Maybe deep down, because folks knew that accountability wasn’t the function of attendees and the Mainland Block Party, but of the Federal Government that showed lethargy in acquiescing to the requests of stranded citizens in South Africa. Celebrities hardly even consider our problems theirs to begin with, so it’s no surprise that none have spoken up against the fresh wave of xenophobic attacks. For now, everyone’s attention is on the 2027 elections. Profiteering by performing at campaigns and national conventions. Making vague references to poor roads and power supply in incoherent 3-minute tracks that somehow still include epithets for sex. That’s the current play. 

The tone shift between 11 and 13 May was not due to new information. According to Google Trends Nigeria data from the past 30 days, interest in the attacks attained peak popularity on 4 May (100), dropping and then increasing almost halfway by 8 May (46). Interest on 11 and 13 differed by 4 units and were also considerably low. So, changing reactions weren’t about news reports galvanising patriotism. 

When another South African act, Black Coffee, headlined a sold-out show on April 5, 2026, comments were rife about the presence of the President’s son, Seyi Tinubu, and how his role as an arts patron over the years is responsible for certain entertainers’ apolitical stances. These comments indicated that attendees at the show should have boycotted as a matter of principle. Idealistic, but not pragmatic, especially for the entertainers in a music industry struggling to keep afloat. It’s rather ironic that some of the persons who made the call for the boycott then, attended PURPLE Lagos. In better economic conditions, some might even have attended the other showings in Abuja and Accra. 

Principles are a wobbly, wobbly thing in Nigeria. When we pontificate about not attending an event because of its tone-deaf nature, but fail to speak up afterwards about these xenophobic attacks—which, mind you, are still ongoing—we are not helping anyone but ourselves. And this is not making Falz’s “Everybody is a hypocrite” argument, it’s just an appraisal of the ideals we aspire to in entertainment. Holding room for nuance is simply the rational approach in situations of this kind. Netizens risk becoming walking contradictions when we aspire to absolutes of ethical consumption. And if we must, then it’s important to do so more efficiently. To outline targets and results, then follow through. To be reactionary but also methodical. There’s only so much “I didn’t even want to say anything before” that one can do before it becomes disgraceful. 

236 quotes on a promotional video. Curses and alarming vituperations. In the end, all was for nought.