Why BNXN Deserves More, and Why He Isn’t Getting It

BNXN’s newest single, No Spoil My Steeze was released as a “Christmas gift” to his fans. The snippet had trended for a few days prior, garnering retweets on Twitter and likes on IG. The track, when it arrived, was every bit what it had promised—BNXN is very much in zen mode, floating on an Amapiano-leaning production with the sugar-laced vocals and verve he’s known for. A month later, it does not seem to have been enough. No Spoil My Steeze is yet to make an appearance on Turntable’s top 100 songs, and that is a reflection of popular opinion on it, with the song barely mentioned on social media platforms. It won’t be the first time BNXN has had a release that didn’t get its worth in airplay and attention. The singer’s career progress is beginning to lag behind his talent, and in the last few years he has not garnered nearly as much traction as his peers in the industry. 

BNXN’s arrival was a breath of fresh air. Then known as Buju, the soprano-toned singer fit into a niche that was scarcely occupied in the industry, at least at that time—a male singer with honeyed vocals and a distinguished eye for lyricism, creating downbeat Pop music bordering the subject of love. When 2021 rolled around, he had a few releases under his belt including a collaboration with Zlatan which he had worked through Twitter, but everything was soon to change for him. His journey to the mainstream was aided greatly by a few collaborations with a selection of bigger acts in Timaya, Wizkid, Ladipoe and Burna Boy but ultimately earned by his distinct ability to deliver across a range of themes, genres and guest artists. When his EP arrived, it was titled Sorry I’m Late, in apology for taking too long to craft a debut project. 

Sorry I’m Late more than atoned for his delay. It showed BNXN’s enduring talent and his growing maturity, as the singer contended with more serious issues than were expected for a debut project: his place in life and the industry, his upcoming journey to the top, his identity. And he still made time for fun: tracks like Something Sweet and Ogechukwu displayed his whimsical nature. It took only a year to make a sequel, in Bad Since ‘97. Here, BNXN could call upon an enviable selection of guests he had acquired in his time in the industry—Wizkid, Olamide and Wande Coal. The EP meant to position him in their ranks, and for a while it seemed he would be next up. 2022, too, was the year he secured an intercontinental hit via Finesse, his collaboration with Pheelz. For his efforts that year, he was awarded the Next Rated award at the 15th Headies award ceremony.

Three years later, BNXN has not maintained the trajectory he set for himself with those early years. He featured on Wizkid’s landmark Made In Lagos, a platform that was a springboard for Tems but not quite for him. He is also yet to follow up Finesse with another similarly sized hit, and that hasn’t helped his reputation as a feature king who cannot perform on his own songs. In the meantime, he’s continued to release music of the highest quality. His debut album, Sincerely, Benson, was a scripting of his life, as BNXN grappled with regret and remorse in relationships, while delving into well-earned self-appreciation of his talents and status in the industry. The album made a strong showing and was warmly received by all who listened, but this was not a large enough crowd. 

Lately, he has seen anticipation before his releases and reviews after releases taper continuously until the most recent Don’t Spoil My Steeze, which you’d be hard-pressed to find evidence of beyond its presence on streaming platforms. On Twitter, he seemingly comes into focus more for mundane reasons like his derogatory comments directed at Davido and the subsequent mudsling of insults that he exchanges with his fan base. None of this attention ever converts into listenership for his music though, so perhaps not all publicity is good publicity. 

BNXN  and his team will probably be scratching their heads over the cause of the disconnect. A few opinions may point to his immature Twitter antics as a contributing factor, but if Nigeria’s music industry provides any evidence in this matter, it is that the artists who have bigger personalities tend to fare better. If anything, listeners want to connect to an artist with a personality. They crave an icon to emulate, sometimes even a god to worship. It is why people spend fortunes chasing Taylor Swift’s concerts around the globe and set up multiple accounts across various social media platforms in support of Wizkid. 

Fans look out for traits they either recognise in themselves or aspire to. Every great artist has a few deciding traits: Burna Boy is brash and outlandish; Davido is the life of the party and the supplier of good vibes, Ayra Starr is an It-girl and Pop princess, Omah Lay is a risqué artist and troubled writer who speaks his pain in music. True or not, these images presented to the audience have bought for each artist a fan base. BNXN’s branding as yet, is not definite. He doesn’t embody the rebellious, dangerously charismatic image that fuels male admiration and female desire, a feature that most Nigerian Pop stars have in some measure. He’s not particularly taken advantage of the image-branding ability of social media or music videos, either, like artists like Asake or Rema have done in every phase of their evolutions so far. 

Rema
Source: X/heisrema

In fairness, not all the responsibility for publicity and branding falls under the artist’s purview. A lot of it requires intentional effort from specialised members of a team, which is usually the artist’s record label. For. BNXN,  the situation is not so clear. He is signed to EMPIRE, The American independent label that also houses the YBNL clan. Locally, BNXN operates independently via To Your Ears Entertainment, the label he owns and operates. It would leave BNXN at a disadvantage if his label does not have the expertise of talent to engage local publicity platforms and formulate a brand strategy for its star act. 

Some factors, however, lie a little deeper and will prove harder to address. It cannot be ignored that in sound and style, BNXN is a little removed from what Nigerians expect a male Pop artist to be. The elements that set him apart, like his high-pitched honeyed voice or more mellow tempo, are turnoffs for some listeners. Some find his music hard to get into, others label his music repetitive and monotonous because of his consistent style.

Music, at its core, is about more than just skill; it’s about translating it into a persona the audience can appreciate and connect to. BNXN, for all his talent, is yet to excel at this, and that, along with the relatively niche appeal of his music, might be holding him back. Any changes to his sound or style, however, will come with attendant problems to his authenticity, and he might be better off patiently waiting for a chance to progress in his own way, with all of his uniqueness intact. BNXN may need to make adjustments to achieve better and more consistent results, but would it be worth the cost?