There was also the viral rise of Ghanaian American Afro-fusionist, whose Kali Uchis-assisted remix of her 2020 single “Sad Girlz Luv Money” became an anthem for independent women across the internet.
Back in the early 2000s, the Hottest Coalition found itself pushing for an audience many Western countries hadn’t yet recognized as a significant demographic. “The narrative has started changing,” says Neptune. “The acceptance we have now can’t be compared with that time. I fly into America and land in Atlanta, and as I am heading home I am hearing a Davido song playing on V103, or I am walking to the mall and I’m hearing a Mr. Eazi record playing.
Tunji Balogun was instrumental in signing Wizkid — as well as Davido and Tems — to Sony’s RCA Records, where he was executive vice president of A&R. He now serves as chairman and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, but he was once a Nigerian American kid navigating. “Previously, I’d only hear African music in strictly African spaces when I was in America, like at a wedding or a birthday party. I would never hear it in a public space,” he says.
“I always want to give props to producers,” Wale Oloworekende, a Nigerian journalist and the African music columnist atmagazine, says. “Without them, our music wouldn’t mutate as seamlessly as it does and then there’d be no variety.” Take the indomitable rise of “Essence,” first released in October 2020. For a subset of young, hip, mostly Black people, the song was an immediate standout. “Essence” got an extra marketing push in April 2021 with a vibrant music video, and in July, after it soundtracked a summer of fleeting freedom for people across the globe, it started scaling the Hot 100. Sure, a Justin Bieber feature on the remix didn’t hurt, but Wizkid mania had taken a firm hold of Afrobeats lovers stateside.
There are obvious and overtly capitalist reasons for the burgeoning interest in music from Africa, like Africa’s young and booming populace. Like some other artists, Burna Boy questions — and has personally rejected — the Afrobeats moniker. “It’s not fair to just join everybody. . . . It’s almost like joining hip-hop, R&B, and dancehall into one thing and call it ‘Ameribeats,’ ” Burna told New York hip-hop station Hot 97. “It doesn’t do justice to what’s really going on.” Burna refers to his music as Afro-fusion, with a base of Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat and layers of other diasporic sounds atop.
Have you ever seen this?
That’s good news. At least I hope so. I love Afrobeat. A little worried it’s going to be completely exploited.
ReggaetonXGata OkTuirer pepe_trueno
Clink on the link below to listen to my debut single, I know you haven’t listened to it yet ... all I ask is 3 mins of ur time to listen bro ... u can also share , comments and likes , I would appreciate any of ur contributions to this journey of mine 🙏🏿
thank you 🙏🏻 for giving amazing insight on our music culture Afrobeats
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