When it comes to the entertainment business, the music industry is constantly held up as the beautiful bride. The reasons are clear. Nollywood has remained mired in structural problems that have limited a genuine explosion and the theatre space has still been unable to move beyond the big cities and the University towns. The recording industry, on the other hand, has been on the ascendancy, since the days when Kennis music uncovered the possibilities lodged within the dormant space.
The industry has not just sustained high profile and thriving careers, it has also recorded a smooth enough transition from one generation to the other without necessarily rocking the boat. As the entire country looks forward to a new year, with all the expectations embedded within, it is important to take a look at the year 2017, its importance to music, and lessons to be drawn from what on the surface can be considered a great year for Nigerian music.
Singles vs Albums
It is hard to recall now but looking back, there was a time, not too long ago, when it was a struggle to curate a playlist of purely Nigerian music at parties. American pop and exotic sounds from guys like Awilo Longomba were all the rage. Those days have since given way to all Nigerian music parties. Across radio stations and nightclubs, the story is the same. Contemporary Nigerian pop music (Afrobeats) has come to stay and Rihanna and Beyonce would consider themselves lucky to get on a playlist curated in Lagos, especially when there is a surplus of Davido and Mr Eazi hits to keep crowds going for hours.
If there is one thing local acts have since figured out, it is how to make the perfect hit song. Back to back. Olamide and Young John have had the secret recipe for years and in 2017, one song, Wo! was enough to keep both of them relevant on playlists as well as on the concert circuit.
After years of establishing himself as a reliable hit factory, Davido hit that sweet spot between commercial and critical acclaim with the year’s biggest single If, itself an indirect rip off of Runtown’s Ghana influenced Mad over You.
Davido would go on to bury the ghosts of a not quite successful international record deal with the release of follow up monsters, Fall and FIA and to a lesser degree, Like Dat. Fall was quite influential in its own right, as Davido protégé, photocopied the entirety of the song’s structure for his own megahit Mama.
The formula for songs like Fall and Mad over You, as well as most of Mr Eazi’s discography, would spread across the continent. While Mr Eazi and Runtown bickered over who had legitimate claims to the sound, veteran South African duo Mafikizolo had adopted it for Love Potion, the lead single off their twentieth-anniversary album, Mafikizolo 20.
Tekno proved himself prolific with the hits, so did Kiss Daniel who coughed up one last hurrah in the form of the irresistible Yeba, before walking out of his recording contract with the Festus Ehimare owned G-Worldwide label, and straight into industry purgatory. Small Doctor set the streets and the dancefloors everywhere afire with the madcap hustle of Penalty and Wande Coal continued his comeback- although he never really left- with the delicious Iskaba.
The pop charts belonged to the younger generation but old soldiers also had their say. 9ice mined controversy to enjoy a brief return to prominence with Living Things while 2Baba concocted the Gaga Shuffle to demonstrate that he will probably always be around. Tiwa Savage gave a masterclass on how to come back from career-threatening marital upheavals with the gigantic rebound single All Over.
Hit singles have been lucrative enough to keep guys like Tekno in business but the studio album is still thriving. In 2017, major label releases from Simi, Olamide and Flavour got music lovers excited. Simisola, the easy listening first album songbird Simi recorded with X3M music was warmly received by both critics and audiences alike. Housing anthems like Smile for Me and Joromi, Simisola was going by the end of year best of lists, the best Nigerian album of the year.
That may well be true but folks privileged to listen to the excellent independent debut album by rapper Morell would beg to differ. Lacking a major label to promote his work, Morell and his debut Musa Jikan Musa ultimately failed to secure the listenership worthy of the record. YNaija.com named the cohesive Musa Jikan Musa the year’s best album.
Producer/recording artiste Cobhams Asuquo toed his own path and released a divinely produced album, For You containing fourteen gospel songs. Afro House sensation Niniola triumphantly broke through with her debut This is Me, a sexy confection of bubbly dance tunes. Bantu made live music great again with Agberos International and A-Q did the same for rap with Blessed Forever, his fourth studio record.
Yemi Alade put out an end of the year record, Black Magic that failed to cast a spell. D’banj suffered the same fate with an earlier release, King Don Come. Olamide continued his annual tradition of putting out hasty, poorly mixed records with Lagos na wa (Wobe sound) and Falz’s surprise 27 failed to live up to the excellence of his sophomore record, Stories That Touch.
New wave
The so-called big labels do not have the capacity to absorb the constant stream of wannabes looking to get into the music business. Understanding this stark reality, a new wave of artistes are working around this, making use of the internet to put out material and build up a dependable following.
Nonso Amadi and Odunsi the Engine put out War, a concise EP that was just enough to hint at a dazzling future for both artistes. Wavy the Creator was one of the most arresting performers of the year, a regular stand out, able to elevate the tone and mood of any given event with her gimmicky, electric sound and visually involving stage presence.
Efe Oraka, known for her John Bellion covers on SoundCloud managed to cut through the noise with Wonderland, an intelligent reclaiming of the Alice in Wonderland narrative. Singing about following a lover down the rabbit hole come what may, Oraka’s smoky, passionate drawl makes all the difference. Her delivery pours emotion in every note and pushes her ever so closer to the mainstream.
Year of the women?
When one considers the music industry, one imagines an all-boys club from the talent to management and publishing ends. One that allows room for the occasional female, usually to take up a ceremonial title like ‘’first lady’’ of some record label or squad. In 2017, it seemed like the ground was maybe, ready for a shift. Tiwa Savage signed a management and publishing deal with JAY-Z’s Roc Nation and her Sugarcane EP, housing megahits like All Over and Ma Lo (with Wizkid) was enthusiastically endorsed by Coldplay frontman, Chris Martin.
Big voiced Omawumi also secured a new management deal with the Obi Asika co-owned Cabal Entertainment and her third studio album, Timeless emerged as a complete divergence from her previous body of work.
On Timeless, Omawumi downplayed her considerable hit-making abilities and embraced a richer, fuller, jazzier sound. One that mixes Fela Kuti and the throbbing pull of Afrobeat with the vivacious scatting of jazz songstresses gone by. The disc paid the price for its foreignness and did not attain the popularity of its predecessors. However, Omawumi was the first headliner of the Trace TV live concert series held at the Terra Kulture arena. The Wonder woman was able to hold the audience spellbound performing old and new material in an event that also doubled as the Timeless album launch.
For the second year, Asa brought her concert to Lagos and delivered the kind of experience that only artistes of her calibre are capable of pulling off. Yemi Alade was on the road for most of the year as she kicked off her Mama Africa world tour. In March, her management reported, with pictures to prove, that she had sold out Paris’ Le Trianon venue.
2017 was the year Simi became a bonafide superstar, thanks to the wide acceptance of her X3M music debut smash, Simisola. She was able to headline her own concert in collaboration with the folks at Eclipse Live Africa. Niniola was also able to push through the crowd, thanks to hit sex-tinged singles like Maradona and Sicker.
But it remains a long journey to equality. The women remain outnumbered and even for the few opportunities are even less. At Wizkid’s much-heralded concert in December for instance, he brought out a long succession of guest artistes. Tiwa Savage was the only female to figure in his reckoning.
Live music rocks
There was a deliberate effort by artistes to put in the work during live appearances. This resulted in an explosion, especially in December, of live music concerts and gigs. Apart from live concerts headlined by Asa, Omawumi and Simi, veterans like 2face Idibia and MI battled with upstarts Mayorkun and Funbi for bragging rights as concert headliners.
Rapper Falz delivered what was undoubtedly the most dynamic experience with his 20, December 2017, The Falz Experience which featured aerial manoeuvrings and surprise guest appearances. Wizkid’s first Lagos headline concert in years was a major event that was bigger on spectacle- the Davido, Tekno, Samklef appearances- than it was on actual musical experiences.
Audiences looking for great live experiences had to look towards the debut One Night Stand With Adekunle Gold, backed by his terrific 79th Element band, the annual Bez Live and the terrific Brymo concert staged at the Terra Kulture Arena. Other high profile events that delivered the goods are Maleek Berry’s Last Daze of Summer Lagos event, Ric Hassani’s collaborative effort, Live and Wavy and the Palmwine Music Festival put together by Show Dem Camp.
Nonso Amadi’s debut event was bogged down by technical difficulties and all the splash in the world-even a surprise Mo’Hits reunion- could not save Davido’s well attended 30 Billion Concert from crumbling into a spectacular heap.
International exposure
Wizkid remained the mascot for the propagation of Afrobeats and a symbol of how far content manufactured in studios in Lagos and Port Harcourt can spread. Sounds from the Other Side, his first EP with new label, Sony Music/RCA was released to mixed responses at home, on account of his flirtation with newer Caribbean sounds that strayed beyond the confines of the familiar Afrobeats. Internationally, however, the reviews were more welcoming.
In September Wizkid cemented his iconic status on the world stage when he performed a sold out concert at London’s storied Royal Albert Hall as part of the venue’s prestigious Albert sessions. For headlining the very first Afrobeats sessions, Wizkid joined an exclusive group with members including Adele, Sade and Lady Smith Black Mambazo.
At this year’s Music of Black Origin (MOBO) awards, Wizkid was the giant killer, slaying heavyweights like JAY-Z, Drake and Kendrick Lamar on his way to picking up the ‘International Best Artist’ award. He had earlier won three trophies at the Billboard Music Awards and was named Artiste of the Year at the All Africa Music Awards.
Davido followed closely on Wizkid’s trail, earning the Best African Act at the MOBOs and overcoming personal tragedies to deliver music that travelled farther than the contemporary music pioneers thought possible. Pictures suggested Tekno was recording with Drake after the Canadian rapper had caught the Afrobeats buzz working with Wizkid.
It wasn’t always smooth sailing, these ventures into the world of international business though. Ycee scored a hit with Juice featuring Maleek Berry but instead of consolidating on that gain, he was embroiled in a battle of wills with the management of Sony Music West Africa. He accused the executives of milking artistes of their sweat and living like kings from the proceeds of these efforts.
Game Over
The biggest music breakups, however, happened back home.
Following months of rumours, Kiss Daniel, the lovable singer who started his career as the flagship artiste of the emerging label, G-Worldwide publicly announced his split from the label. G-Worldwide fought back and lawsuits and counter lawsuits were traded back and forth. The accusations were numerous and they were many, effectively threatening to derail a promising career.
Nigeria’s biggest music duo, Psquare finally called it quits after many previous attempts had fallen through and various reconciliation efforts yielded no positive results. Peter Okoye, who is now known as Mr P, demanded for a termination of the agreement as a group citing lack of cooperation and irreconcilable differences with both Paul and their elder brother Jude. They have listed some of their joint properties for sale and both brothers have kicked off solo careers.
Events like these have become commonplace in the industry and they point towards several structural problems. The lack of proper structures in place translates into everyone winging it as they go and just going along with what works for them, until it doesn’t.
The Psquare breakup put out some disturbing revelations. A group priding themselves as Africa’s biggest duo was basically a shell within, with no proper management, legal or creative structures.
The protracted crisis rocking the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) does not bode well for music makers who will at the end of the day be forced to perform non-stop in order to keep their income flow alive. Under this system, only the top tier artistes can manage to survive for as long as they are relevant. Others will be forced to claw for crumbs at the bottom of the food chain.
Sources of passive income obtained through royalty payments and streaming will remain negligible as long as COSON does not have its act together and artistes are forced to give away their hard work for free on the Internet.
Rap icon MI flirted with controversy when he sent a wakeup call to rappers, urging them to fix up their act or risk being put out of business by the South. The medium may be suspect- considering MI is guilty of many of the same accusations he levels at his colleagues- but the message is vital and timely.
The industry certainly needs to fix up.
The writer tweets from @drwill20.
