Afrobeats to the world: A student Introduction into the genre
I had the great privilege of attending the 2022 Nigerian Society Meet and Greet event to ask students about their opinions on afrobeats music. As someone with an eclectic music taste and a soft spot for African artists, I thoroughly enjoyed my time collecting student opinions on certain artists and hot topics within the genre.
For those of you who aren’t avid listeners of Afrobeats, I hope this article inspires you to broaden your taste and support rising artists! With all that being said, let’s jump straight into student perceptions of the Afrobeats genre gaining popularity!
The Rise of Afrobeats
Most students viewed the increasing popularity of afrobeats music as a positive change in global music trends. This increase creates good exposure for Nigeria improving the image of the country and serving as a cultural export. This exposure means that Nigerian culture is shared on a bigger platform.
The retention of originality in sound means that there is an exciting direction for this style in music production. However, students mentioned concerns about the westernisation of Afrobeats, particularly in relation to covers and remixes by western artists who may take away from the song’s essence. There was also some student critique on the lack of local support in Nigeria for artists compared to the support they show international artists. Moreover, the past of music history wherein black genres were co-opted and black artists were pushed out, there was a genuine concern that perhaps afrobeats should be preserved more in order to prevent the appropriation of the genre.
Top Artists Amongst Students
Wizkid, Davido, and Burnaboy took the lead in being the most popular artists, to no surprise! All three artists have had major hits in the past with careers spanning over seven years and breaking the charts with songs like Essence, Fall, and Last Last. There was a clear bias towards male artists with mentions of Fireboy DNL, Kizz Daniel, P-Square, and Adekunle Gold. However, female artists like Tiwa Savage, Tems, Ayra Starr, Simi, and Yemi Alade were passionate mentions.
Collaborating with non-african artists
Some popular collaborations brought up were Wizkid with Drake on ‘Come Closer’, Davido with Nicki Minaj on ‘Holy Ground’ and Ed Sheeran with Fuse ODG and Mugeez on ‘Boa Me’. Students enjoyed the blends of different genres to form Afrofusion and celebrated collaborations as long as credit is given. However, some students expressed a dislike for collaborations as the remixed songs don’t sound well when combined. Other students expressed that collaborations did not add anything necessarily to benefit a song.
Dream Concert Headliners
What did all of them have in common? Students commented on excellent stage presence and charisma- the ability to get everyone in the crowd singing and just as hyped as the singer!
Students suggested some of their favourite songs that they’d recommend to people listening to afrobeats for the first time!
Have a listen to the public playlist I created and feel free to add your own songs to it by scanning the QR code.
Thank you so much to the Nigerian Society and all the people who let me interview them- be sure to follow them on their instagram: @nigeriansociety_uos
Edited by Lucy Wilcox
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