by Kingseyi Wed Jul 25, 2018 7:33 pmIn global pop culture, Africa is the new cool, and
Nigeria happens to be the coolest kid in the
family tree – courtesy of our contemporary
music.
In the words of Nigerian rapper, Reminisce, “they
are coming for the rest of us”. The world is
coming for Nigerian music. Nigerian urban
music has ‘blown’ – this can be proven by the
numerous laudable feats that our musicians
have attained in the past years, as well as
growing interest from foreign record companies
who are now opening offices in Nigeria and
signing local acts. What has however, followed
the meteoric rise of our music is a biting case of
identity crisis.
The term ‘AFROBEATS’ is the label that has been
placed on contemporary African music by
international media. The term which is an
adaptation of the revered Afrobeat genre that
was created by late African music legend; Fela
Anikulapo Kuti was said to have been coined by
a UK-based Ghanaian media personality DJ
Abrantee, to serve as an umbrella identity for
contemporary African music.
This label has since grown wings of its own to
become the prime identity of contemporary
African music – so much that African rappers
have also been referred to as “Afrobeats
artistes”. Over the years, many have argued that
just like pop music, contemporary African music
is influenced by an array of global and local
sounds, therefore our popular music should be
referred to as simply ‘pop music’ just as is
done with Beyonce’s who is American, or One
Direction from the UK.
Considering that not all Nigerians have
welcomed the “Afrobeats” tag, regular debates
continue to rage about the merits and demerits
of accepting the label. What are the actual
downsides to the Afrobeats tag? Has it done
more good than harm? What threat does the
Afrobeats label pose? Does it by any means
preserve or damage the legacy of Fela Kuti?
These and many more are the questions that
MTV Base seeks to answer with the new episode
of the MTV Base Musicology.
Hosted by VJ Ehiz, the new episode gathers key
stakeholders and practitioners in the music
industry to share insight on the Afrobeat vs
Afrobeats debate, analysing the upside,
downside and how to fix the issues..
This episode’s panel is made up of singers; Ade
Bantu, Omawumi, Black Magic, veteran media
personality, Olisa Adibua and celebrated DJ
Xclusive.
Nigeria happens to be the coolest kid in the
family tree – courtesy of our contemporary
music.
In the words of Nigerian rapper, Reminisce, “they
are coming for the rest of us”. The world is
coming for Nigerian music. Nigerian urban
music has ‘blown’ – this can be proven by the
numerous laudable feats that our musicians
have attained in the past years, as well as
growing interest from foreign record companies
who are now opening offices in Nigeria and
signing local acts. What has however, followed
the meteoric rise of our music is a biting case of
identity crisis.
The term ‘AFROBEATS’ is the label that has been
placed on contemporary African music by
international media. The term which is an
adaptation of the revered Afrobeat genre that
was created by late African music legend; Fela
Anikulapo Kuti was said to have been coined by
a UK-based Ghanaian media personality DJ
Abrantee, to serve as an umbrella identity for
contemporary African music.
This label has since grown wings of its own to
become the prime identity of contemporary
African music – so much that African rappers
have also been referred to as “Afrobeats
artistes”. Over the years, many have argued that
just like pop music, contemporary African music
is influenced by an array of global and local
sounds, therefore our popular music should be
referred to as simply ‘pop music’ just as is
done with Beyonce’s who is American, or One
Direction from the UK.
Considering that not all Nigerians have
welcomed the “Afrobeats” tag, regular debates
continue to rage about the merits and demerits
of accepting the label. What are the actual
downsides to the Afrobeats tag? Has it done
more good than harm? What threat does the
Afrobeats label pose? Does it by any means
preserve or damage the legacy of Fela Kuti?
These and many more are the questions that
MTV Base seeks to answer with the new episode
of the MTV Base Musicology.
Hosted by VJ Ehiz, the new episode gathers key
stakeholders and practitioners in the music
industry to share insight on the Afrobeat vs
Afrobeats debate, analysing the upside,
downside and how to fix the issues..
This episode’s panel is made up of singers; Ade
Bantu, Omawumi, Black Magic, veteran media
personality, Olisa Adibua and celebrated DJ
Xclusive.
