THE GLOBAL RISE OF AFROBEATS

By Otomewo Oritsejolomi Joshua.

We are at a unique point in history where music has become a connector of some sort, and intercontinental music collaborations are easier to achieve. From Justin Bieber feat. Burna Boy on his Justice album, to Ed Sheeran jumping on the remix of Fireboy’s sensational Peru. This development has led to a rise in global recognition for Afrobeats and the unique music style it embodies, with more societies infusing African sounds and rhythms into their music and lifestyle. Genres such as, Afro-pop, and Afro-fusion, Banku music, African music has brought the continent and its culture to the limelight.

At the dawn of the 2000s, the way in which we consumed music changed  from hard copy CDs to digital streaming platforms. It gave distribution platforms like Apple Music, Spotify, Youtube Music, Boomplay and Audiomack the ability to identify nascent markets in Africa and grow their listener base rapidly. These platforms have also created playlists to showcase top-performing and undiscovered but promising acts from across the continent and to export their music and talent to the global music community. 

In the last decade, the Nigerian music industry in particular and African music at large experienced exponential growth from the emergence of independent music agencies like Mavin and international record labels like Universal Music Group opening regional offices in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa. It presents the opportunity to showcase African music to the international market and for African acts to gain new fans across the world.

2021 was a landmark year for the Nigerian music industry and Afrobeats as a whole. Two Nigerian artists won  Grammys, Burna Boy for his album Twice As Tall, and Wizkid for his collaboration with Beyonce on Brown Skin Girl. Wizkid and Tems’ smash hit Essence was the global soundtrack of the summer and we were still recovering from the euphoria of watching celebrities all over the world vibe to the soulful tune when Ckay’s Love Nwantiti took over tik tok. 

Davido signed a deal to become Puma’s global ambassador, Nasty C signed with Def Jam Recordings, and Wizkid sold out the O2 arena in 2 minutes. He had a sold-out concert for three nights in a row becoming the first African artist to do so. But he was not the only act to perform there, Burnaboy had earlier sold out the O2 and Davido has a show scheduled for April 2022, also in 2022 Burnaboy is billed to perform at the famous Madison Square Gardens in New York. These are just a few of the international achievements by African acts in 2021 

It is exciting to see the growth of the ‘Afrobeats to the world’ campaign being championed by African superstars – Wizkid, Focalistic, Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Ckay and other young African acts. However, we must acknowledge and appreciate the contribution of music legends who paved the way for them such as Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Miriam Makeba, Angelique Kidjo, Youssou N’dour, King Sunny Ade, Majek Fashek, and a host of others. 

Every achievement no matter how small by an African music artist paves the way for other creatives from music, dance, fashion, film, and media to share their creativity with the world and reach a wider audience. The impact of music on other aspects of entertainment like sports and film is evident, providing a rapidly growing ecosystem for African acts to thrive and for black excellence to flourish.

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