Duncan mighty born Duncan Wene Mighty Okechukwu in Port Harcourt, Nigeria is arguably one of the hottest topics presently in the Nigerian music space. This stat is made possible by his recent exploits of becoming the “Nigerian Akon of 2008”- the year Akon took over from Nate Dogg as the “hook master” of his generation. If you followed music in the last decade, you would know of a time everyone wanted Akon to deliver a hook on their records.
The fact that Duncan is the center of attention has also thrown him into controversies, culminating to the recent accusation of Wife battering – an accusation he has denied. His personal life is not one I’d like to discuss even though I’m disappointed at his naive attitude towards perceived negative press about him. My people say, He who fetches ants infected firewood invites lizards to his house. Duncan should know seeking wider fame comes with ripple effects, he should deal with it.
I’m only interested in the baseless debate the recent surge of the Port Harcourt first son has sparked. Is it a comeback case (as being taunted) or an advancement?
Before we venture into some analysis to enable us draw conclusion, first what does a comeback mean for an artiste? who should experience a comeback and on what circumstances.
An artiste is said to have successfully launched a comeback after returning to a point of relevance having lost it at a time. For an artiste to experience a comeback, they must have lost loyalty of their supporters. It is impossible to come back to a level you are yet to attain in life.
A review of Duncan Mighty’s discography would help put this into perspective certainly.
Koliwater (2008)
This was Wene Mighty’s debut album.The 22-track album yielded popular songs such as “Ijeoma“, “Scatter My Dada“, “Ako N’Uche” and was one of the most commercially successful Albums of its time. He captured the hearts of music lovers across the country. He did that without features and not necessarily depending on the Lagos market.
Ahamefuna (Legacy),( 2010)
A 15-track album that enjoyed similar, if not better reception than the first. Hit tracks “Obianuju” and “Port Harcourt son” earned him international recognition.
He went on to win NEA Awards for the Indigenous Artist of the Year the following year. The shows kept coming from far and wide the country.
Subsequently, Footprints (2012), Grace & Talent (2014), The Certificate (2016) completed his discography thus far. These subsequent works of his represented an evolution that never materialized. He had to start opening up to working with other artistes, most notably Shaggy, Timaya and Wande Coal in Footprints, phyno and Olamide in Grace & Talent.
There’s no telling everyone awaits another Album from him, possibly this year 2018. Quite rightly so the year has been a good one for Duncan. This year has seen him become the most sought after artistes in the country in terms of collaborations.
The wene mighty sound, which remains undiluted appears to have gained a wider trust amongst music lovers in the country. A Duncan Album this year would definitely sell.
It started with a “Fake love” with Wizkid and “AZAing” with Davido hasn’t ended his romance with the industry. Inbetween, Reekado Banks, DJ Xclusive, Tiwa savage to name a few have all had his signature in one year. Let’s all agree he’s come to stay.
To be fair to people who make a comeback case, most of them were born yesterday so I can understand but this is never a comeback.
In 2014 Phyno has gone from “man of the year” to “man of the years to come”. Duncan had him on “Jide Ofor”, why was there not a comeback then? Or in 2016 when Harrysong was the Harry Kane of Nigerian music and had Duncan on his “Aka Gum” what stopped our comeback then, people?
The truth is, the industry is constantly evolving and Duncan had not advanced latterly which makes his present surge appear like a comeback. He never retired so he did not comeback.
The industry evolved into the era of, you need to have huge social media following otherwise people will pretend you do not exist. Artistes also started breaking international grounds, the bar was raised and a lot of artistes could not keep up.
However some artistes are keeping up with the high standards but unable to muster a hit or two – these are the artistes that can experience a comeback – D’banj, Ice prince, Iyanya, you know the rest. Not Duncan.
If you know Duncan now, there’s a huge chance you knew him all along. His sound is still the same, he never left, people pretended like he did until their golden son decided to leverage on Duncan’s unique style to put out something new (he was clearly running out ideas) – a win win situation that was, I must admit.
Did wizkid help him, yes. No one can deny that (including Duncan himself) but that’s only to the advancement of his career and NOT a Comeback.