“I don’t need no other body!” Tems belts out in ‘Essence’ but apparently the only other body Wizkid trusted on the remix of his hit was Justin Bieber.
The remix officially dropped Friday (Aug. 13) after a day’s notice, when Machala (as he’s fondly called by his fans) teased that “something special” was coming on his social media.
“Got something special for you guys tomorrow…,” he wrote before announcing the official remix featuring the pop star, who called it “the song of the summer” on his Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
The Biebs shared a graphic featuring all three artists’ names on top of the song’s title. “Thank u for letting me jump on the song of the summer,” he wrote in the caption.
“Essence” was an immediate hit with WizKid FC as Tems’ voice gave the song her signature sultry vibe. The record was released in October 2020 from Wiz’s album “Made in Lagos”. The Afrobeats/R&B club jam has been steadily climbing the charts over the past weeks.
“That song has become emblematic of being back outside,” Tunji Balogun, who was recently announced as the new CEO/chairman of Def Jam and signed WizKid to RCA Records in 2017, told Billboard. “Then, a narrative on the internet started about the song being the song of the summer — and we took that energy and ran with it.”
Not everyone met the news of Bieber’s remix with gusto. “IT DIDNT NEED NO OTHER BODY!!!” one person tweeted with 30,000 others and counting agreeing with the tweet.
Some fans and even critics remain hopeful that the remix will help bring the genre the global mainstream play and acclaim it warrants.
“This is not cultural appropriation,” tweeted music journalist Joey Akan. “The intention is clear. Credit was given. Everyone on the record is platformed, celebrated and will make their bread. Our industry continues our march to globalisation, and we win as a collective.”
Listen to the “Essence” remix below.
