Nigerian music is gaining momentum in the world as everyone around the globe is paying attention to its sound and style.
Although ,there have been some mixed reviews on the kind of music been released in terms of contents particularly song writing. Another,the miseffect of Afro beats.
Afrobeats as a genre contained several elements of several genres of music blended into one.
Created by the late Fela Kuti to fight for the masses against the government in power at the time and as well to promote the Nigerian sound to the rest of the world .
Fela’s style was a type of sound that spoke to the conscience in respect of one’s belief as an individual.
In recent years,Afro beats have experienced series of upgrade due to some elements of music technology like sound production,sound mixing the list goes on. Unlike the pioneer of the genre who made the genre his way of telling the story of his people in music satire or blunt honesty, the Afro beats of now has expanded into sub-Afrobeats genre in this generation which is good for the culture. It shows progress.
However, the challenge presently is it is the only genre really enjoying more international recognition than other in the country which is quite scary because Nigeria music industry is wider blessed with different talents from other genre of music but the spotlight is not on those too causing some other artistes of these sub-genre to want to experiment with Afrobeats as well. Some of these artistes succeed in it and even go as far as mastering them both. A good example is Wandecoal( Man can sing good RnB at the same time make hit tunes that makes one dance non-stop).while some experiment and flopped at it cause it is not their true calling and it is not a bad thing ( everyone should make music they are comfortable making).
The point is, every other genre in the music industry needs to get more attention in general as Afrobeat is enjoying.
How can this be done?
To beginning with,media houses need to improve on their promotion of these genres. In this country,Radio is one of the strongest transmission of information and as well an avenue to discover new music.
Therefore, many presenters and Deejays still need to keep pushing these artistes as their own of promoting them.
Though, few of these outlets are promoting in their own way,but more buzz is still needed.
Secondly,Artiste and Relations(A&R)Management need to sign more of these artistes.
It is debatable that their return of investment is quite slow to generate quickly and it is a business at the end of the day but there is nothing stronger than taking an independent risk.
In addition,music lovers can become more spontaneous. For example, create a playlist.
Try and navigate your playlist in such a way that is filled with different varieties of music beyond the popular sounds.
I always recommend that one try at least every month to discover a new artiste and promote their music by supporting and encouraging others to buy their music.
Sometimes,attend open mic shows when you can.
Make the deliberate efforts to support other artistes outside the ones in Afrobeats.
Be more than a music consumer.
There are so many genres in this country that have not been tapped into.
The time is now to discover and support them to grow .