According to Wikipedia, Afrobeats, created largely by Fela Anikulapo Kuti, is “a complex fusion of jazz, funk, Ghanaian/Nigerian highlife, psychedelic rock and traditional West African chants and rhythms.” Fela also credited a large part of the development of Afrobeat to Tony Allen, of who he said, “Without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat.”
African music in all its forms is enchanting; from the massive energy, the sound, and the way it flows through the body, it really is a thing of magic. It’s no wonder that in an expected turn of events, it has attracted a host of top international artists to Nigeria, and Africa at large, with Kanye West, recently visiting Africa to sample some African music for his upcoming album.
Its gotten so huge that top American music duo, Major Lazer made an album full of features from African artistes. Burna boy, Kiss Daniel, and Mr Eazi, are among the Nigerians who made the list along with Babes Wodumo of South Africa, among some other musicians.
But, wait a minute, aren’t you curious about how this all started in the first place? Who started the revolution and brought the awareness to Africa. No, it wasn’t Wizkid.
The growth of African music
The mere mention of an artiste’s name alongside some International ones is enough to make many Nigerians salivate. We rush to our phones, set to open up our ears and to check if this is it, the one that will throw our artistes into the international limelight. For some singers, it has done the trick and for others, it was a hit and miss.
Some people would have you believe that internationally, we were nowhere until the emergence of the Tiwa Savages and the Wizkids. How would you react if I told you that as far back as the 1980s, we were rocking the international music scene? Some of our musicians then even scored some pretty big nominations. Yes, even the Grammys.
Singers like King Sunny Ade and Fela Kuti were as big as they were thought to be, even bigger. At the height of Fela’s career, he was known as one of Africa’s most charismatic and challenging music performers. Every millennial today knows something about Fela, has heard at least one of his songs. We know about Lady, Water, Shuffering and Shmiling, Zombie, and so many of his songs, many of which existed to challenge the government and the status quo at that time.
It shouldn’t be a surprise – but it is to some – that Fela had quite a score of international collaborations. Heavyweights of that time, musicians like Tony Allen, who was rumoured to be like a spider due to the fact that he could play music with his elbows, feet and his hands, and who was a part of Fela’s band until he left due to personal issues. Fela also scored collaborations with such artists like Macy Gray and Roy Ayers.
Another artist who pioneered international collaborations in the early days is the great King Sunny Ade himself. If I told you that KSA has a song with Stevie wonder titled Ase, would your jaw drop? In addition to that, he is also the first Nigerian artist to receive nominations for a Grammy award not once, but twice. KSA even dabbled into Hollywood at the height of his career but that’s not what we’re discussing today.
There isn’t only Afrobeats. There are several genres of African music: Afro-soul, Funk, Apala, Fuji, Blues, Gospel, among many others. Nigerian singers like Johnny Drille, Ric Hassani, Nikki Laoye, Efe Oraka, have come out of the shadows to show us that there is more than one enjoyable genre to vibe to. They seem to be succeeding too as their songs are enjoying impressive airplay.
How we stepped out of our shores
For the top musicians of this age, the way is not exactly clear yet. For most some of them, it’s payment before any kind of music recording. But even though the case may be like that for some – Olamide has insisted that he would never pay an international artist for a collaboration – it’s not the case for some others. Burna Boy, Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, Tekno, have enjoyed an equal partnership with some of the biggest names in the international music space.
Some examples are Tekno and Ciara’s Freak Me, which sampled one of Tiwa Savage’s songs and caused a huge controversy. Drake’s One Dance in which he featured Wizkid, and Burna Boy, who revealed that he has worked with Drake on some songs for his most recent album. Whatever it is, it seems the influence of Afrobeats is spreading far and wide.
Although the trend of international collaborations didn’t start with the new age artists, they can be credited with making it as wildly popular as it is now.
The question then is how exactly did it start? Who pioneered this new age of international collaborations?
Some industry watchers have credited D’Banj as starting the new wave of international music collaboration with his enlistment of Snoop Dogg for the remix to his hit song Endowed back in 2012. Such as the case may be, the musician who truly took ‘Africa to the world’ so to speak is Wizkid. He did a remix of his wildly popular song Ojuelegba with Drake and Skepta and that helped to launch him into the international space. He has since gone on to score features on both artists’ songs, even winning several awards for ‘One Dance’, his song with Drake.
Top international collaborations of all time
While there have been several Nigerian-International collaborations, it would be remiss of me to not include a list so as to provide a rough image of what the industry has looked and currently looks like. Have a look at my compilation of the most impactful collaborations that have ever been recorded.
1. Skepta feat. Wizkid – Bad Energy (Stay Far Away)
The world imploded (and is still imploding) when Skepta and Wizkid came together for this song. Skepta (real name Joseph Junior Adenuga) is a Nigerian-British grime artist. He and Wizkid became friends following which he facilitated Wizkid’s entry into the space of international music. Skepta has famously worn his love for Nigeria on his sleeve.
2. Drake feat. Wizkid & Kyla – One Dance
It may interest you to know that Skepta was instrumental in introducing Wizkid and Drake. From there, their relationship only grew to a professional one as they have worked on lots of songs together, with Wizkid also scooping some awards as a result of his efforts.
The video for One Dance is currently not available due to copyright reasons (There are too many bad fakes online).
3. P Square feat. Dave Scott – Bring it On
The original version of this song is good but Dave Scott made this song even better. This makes this song one of the very few that was improved upon by the Nigerian-International sprinkle of ‘goodness’.
4. Wizkid feat. Drake & Skepta – Ojuelegba
Most people remember the original song as being spectacular. It is still being played on major channels today. I don’t know that many people have heard the equally amazing remix with Drake and Skepta. The story goes that Skepta, who was friends with Wizkid at the time, played the original for Drake who loved it and immediately wanted to be a part of the song.
5. Buckshot Lefonque ft Maya Angelou and Fela Kuti – I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou is one of the most celebrated writers of all time, winning three Grammy awards for her spoken word albums. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is the name of her autobiography, about her life until she turned 17. The song is not exactly a collaboration as Fela’s voice from his previous music projects were sampled for the song.
Nevertheless, the song enjoyed massive airplay in the nineties and early 2000s.
6. King Sunny Ade feat Stevie Wonder – Ase
Yes, the actual Stevie Wonder, for people who know him. King Sunny Ade’s popularity caught on like wildfire in the 1980s. His 1983 album, Syncro System was nominated for a Grammy award in the ‘ethnic/traditional folk recording’ category, making him the first Nigerian to be nominated for a Grammy award. His 1998 album, Odu was also nominated for a Grammy award, making him the first Nigerian to be nominated twice.
Ase is from his 1984 album Aura and Stevie Wonder featured on the song by playing a Harmonica solo.
7. Tiwa Savage feat. Omarion – Get it Now Remix
Tiwa Savage displayed her musical dexterity on the remix of Get It Now featuring Omarion. She released an equally impressive video and showed that she could definitely hold her own.
8. D’Banj feat Snoop Dog – Mr Endowed
One of the first new age artists to wander into international waters, D’Banj’s Mr Endowed was a huge hit in Nigeria before he decided to enlist Snoop Dogg for the remix.
An interesting thing to note is that D’Banj and Don Jazzy both reached out internationally but Don Jazzy pulled back after a while, while D’Banj went on to sign for Kanye West’s GOOD music which hasn’t yielded any obvious results till date.
9. The Pulse feat Busta Rhymes – So Te Remix
The Pulse won the 2009 edition of the Star Lager beer music competition. Nigerian Breweries, organizers of the competition, engineered a collaboration between Busta Rhymes (who was in the country for the annual Star Mega Jam concert) and The Pulse. This song became the birth child of that collaboration.
10. Davido feat Meek Mill – Fans Mi Remix
Davido has come a long way since his breakout hit Dami Duro in 2011. He has since featured several artists, both indigenous and international on his songs, some of which have become bigger hits than others. For the remix to his hit song Fans Mi, Davido became a drug lord.
What it could become
There’s currently a wave going on with American and Latino singers. For those guys, it’s easier to break into the international market because they have the added advantage of being just that close to their American counterparts. It’s not a secret that one hit song with those guys can do wonders for a musician’s career. A case to consider is a latino musician named Bad Bunny who only arrived into the music scene in 2017 and already has a song with Cardi B, Drake, Will Smith and other top-rated artists. He has several number one songs to his credit and has won several awards owing in part to the influence of these highly placed celebrities.
I imagine that the future of Nigerian-International collaborations could play out similarly but it’s a harder sell, let’s be honest but it is very much doable. With well-played cards, we can turn this sudden obsession with Afrobeats into a lasting relationship. I imagine that artists who achieve fame in Nigeria could potentially become global superstars. It could happen, sooner than later, I wager.
Conclusion
International collaborations could prove to be a double-edged sword. While they can do wonders for worldwide recognition and propel Africa to the World in the true sense of the word, they can also prove to be toxic over time.
Lots of up and coming Nigerian musicians are craving these international collaborations like a thirsty man in the desert, thinking it will help propel them to the stages they want to be, but is that really the case? International collaborations could do wonders for their careers, really. If done well, it could propel them to the top of the charts, ensuring that their talents are noticed by all and sundry, provided the effort is put in by the artist they have teamed up with. It could also earn them ambassadorship positions from many multinationals and high album sales, which is basically what success means in the industry. The keyword though, is ‘if’ it is done well.
Many of these international collaborations are basically tired lines in an otherwise great song by artists whose careers are dead or dying. Shelling out big bucks for these adulterated attempts at a hit song is not worth it, in my opinion. Such artists should focus on their own careers at home and work on building them to respectable heights; the crowds will flock home.
There’s also the risk of corrupting the sound. Many of the elements that help Africans relate to the songs by our artists are at risk of being edited out all in a bid to sound ‘modern’, which could lead to an erasure of the very sound that made them stand out in the first place.
Conclusively, collaborations are an important contribution to the progress of African music. When done well, they are a soothing balm both for listeners and the artists. When done badly, they can go as far as to destroy the artists’ career.
Either way, I can’t wait to see what other collaborations are on the way for Nigerian artists and their global counterparts.
I love this, nice work our African artists are doing great. I hope Fela sees this in the afterlife he’ll be so proud
We are just different from the rest
Afro juju is simply amazing
Beautiful piece
They actually do not have any choice but to love our music