Nigerians must own Afrobeat — Baba Dee

Late Sound Sultan’s brother, Baba Dee in a recent interview on television said Afrobeats singers are making the same mistake the Caribbeans did with Reggae.

The movie director and dancehall artiste who spoke about the global expansion of Nigeria’s music industry said Nigerians are failing to translate Nigeria’s music soft power into value creation within the tourism sector.

Dee said Reggae music, a genre which originated in Jamaica, an island country situated in the Caribbean sea, in the late 60s over the years has spread around countries in the world.

He said, it has often been argued that the 70s style of Reggae is dead or declining because it became too commercial and lost its connection with Jamaican audiences.

Dee said Nigeria should work towards building the local tourism arm of its music culture.

Baba Dee warned that if Nigeria doesn’t make deliberate efforts to own Afrobeats or position it in the global space, “in the next two years, somebody would claim Afrobeats started in London.”

“Nigerian music scene is at its all-time highest. We’re at our peak right now. The only difference is we need to own the music. We’re making a huge mistake, the same mistake the Carribeans made with reggae,” he said.

“We have the best time right now. The world is looking at us. We’re filling up arenas all over the globe. People are screaming Nigerian music. But that doesn’t translate to and help the average person on the streets.

“Nigerian music is such that everyone wants to know what is going on in Nigeria. I have people who don’t know a thing about the country reaching out and asking such things as what ‘shayo’ in Yoruba means.

“There’s a huge interest in the culture, not just music. How do we profit from it? In tourism, there’s an incentive for anything that attracts people. If we fill up the 20,000-capacity arena overseas, why can’t we get 10,000 in Lagos?

“Visiting the home and the birthplace of Afrobeats. In the next two years, somebody would claim Afrobeats started in London. If we don’t position Afrobeats in the global space, someone will help us do that and change the narrative.”

Dee’s viewpoint on Afrobeats comes after Obi Asika called on music industry stakeholders to work towards building national tours.

A lot of music is created within the Afrobeats genre annually, with new artistes frequently joining the bandwagon.

Nigeria’s critically acclaimed hitmakers are clinching deals with major labels and bagging prestigious awards.