“So happy that African artists are getting the much-deserved looks abroad for the music they’ve created, but that it’s seen as some kind of “threat” to dancehall, and by extension, Jamaican music, is laughable. It’s apples and oranges.”
“no it is not apples and oranges…non-american black music gets one slot…and dancehall has been usurped from that slot by afrobeats…”
no it is not apples and oranges…non-american black music gets one slot…and dancehall has been usurped from that slot by afrobeats… https://t.co/1A7mB6LwXL
— Dream Gad (@TwiddersGad) February 20, 2023
Jamaican recording artist Bugle recently said that Afrobeats artists and music have a sales advantage over reggae and dancehall artists/music due to the population of the African continent vs that of Jamaica.
He told Zip 103 FM that, “It hard fi mek even da kinda comparison deh. Cause when yuh look pan di mount a people weh subscribe to Afrobeats music, is a continent yuh nuh.”
He continued that when compared to a country “with three million people”(Jamaica) there cannot be a legitimate comparison.
He said, “Dem automatically a guh drop a song weh a guh sell diamond and gold, an a go guh inna di Billboard and everything, based on di amount a people weh a subscribe to Afrobeat music, instantly.”
Reggae outpaces the relatively new genre ‘Afrobeats’ as the tenth most listened genre around the world according to IFPI’s Engaging With Music Report 2022. The music report from the globally respected music measurement organization is based on a survey of more than 33 thousand respondents from several countries.
The findings placed Reggae below genres like Country which comes in at No. 9 and Soundtracks which come in a No. 8.
Pop, Rock and Hip Hop took the top three positions respectively with Dance/Electronic , Latin, Classic/Opera , and R&B coming in at number 4, 5, 6 and 7 respectively.
Afrobeats did not make the global top ten most ‘listened list’ even as spin-off versions like Afro-fusion and Afro-pop genres gain popularity in the US with artist like Burna Boy, WIZKID and Tems making weekly appearances on the Billboard Afrobeats singles chart.
Over the same period MRC Data’s 2022 report on Africa shows that that even with the popularity of Burna Boy, Wizkid and Tems and others, the music coming from the continent makes up only 0.5% of global streaming consumption for 2021.
Artists from across the African continent are emerging at a rapid pace with pop collabs as well as solo projects.
“For starters reggae is pretty much in English and a lot of the African artists didn’t speak English,” Blackwell said.
That problem doesnt exist now for Afrobeats and the sub-genres from Africa have taken a full 180 degree flip with artists like Burna Boy, Rema, Wizkid and Tems who are leading the hybrid renaissance, turning Nigeria into a hub for global Afrobeats and other Afro-fusion stars, while the weekly released dancehall and reggae music continued to experiencing a lag in sales.
As talk of the globalization of music continues, several international music labels have sent their A&R to the African continent to find talent amidst the success of acts like Burna Boy, Wizkid and Tems.
Statista projects that Nigeria’s music market grew from 26 million U.S. dollars in 2014 to 34 million U.S. dollars in 2018, and that by 2023 the revenue is expected to reach 44 million U.S. dollars.
Even beyond music alone, PwC had forecasted that Nigeria will be among the fastest-growing Entertainment and Media industry globally. In their report they said the country will earn $14.8bn by 2025, up from its current revenue of $7.7bn, riding on an 85% growth of its internet access segment.
Nigeria and the wider music industry
As far back as 2014, Complex magazine reported that JAY-Z sent his cousin, Briant Biggs on the hunt for talent in the motherland after meeting with Nigerian rapper, Ice Prince at ROC Nation’s office in 2014.
Burna Boy’s 2022 album Love, Damini debuted at No. 2 on the U.K. Charts and debuted at No. 14 on the Billboard 200 chart after selling 25,000 units in the United States in its first week. It is now Certified Silver and Last Last is Certified Platinum in the U.S. He has the distinction of having the highest charting album of all time by a Nigerian in the U.K.
His other singles For My Hand feat. Ed Sheeran peaked at No. 2 and Toni Ann Singh featuring dancehall deejay Popcaan peaked at No. 14 on the U.S. Afrobeats chart.
Tems made history as the first from her 200 million strong country to debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart with a feature on Future’s ‘Wait For U” which also features Drake.
“Wait For U” samples Tem’s “Higher” which was released July 2022.
She is also recently featured on Beyonce’s Renaissance album on the track Move but at the same time covered the Marley classic “No Woman No Cry” for the Black Panther Soundtrack. Her writing for Rihanna’s Lift Me Up scored her an Oscar nomination.
Wizkid’s album Made In Lagos was certified gold last week by the RIAA for surpassing 500,000 units in the US.
The lead track for the album Essence featuring Tems is also the first African song to be certified 2x Platinum (2,000,000) by the RIAA giving the 32 year old the record of having both the best selling African album and best selling African song in the U.S.
Pioneers of the Afrobeat movement like music legends King Sunny Ade, Fela Kuti, and Onyeka Onwenu all had deals with international record labels in the 80s with Island Records, Polygram, Arista Records and EMI. Those have since either been acquired by or folded into Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, or Warner Music Group conglomerates.
Fela’s album “Afrodisiac” released on the Nigerian EMI label in 1973 spawned the local hit “Jeun Ko Ku,” which sold over 200,000 copies.
Perhaps a better way to look at it is to see that Afrobeats’ present highlight and success is not without the inspiration and support of reggae and dancehall and therefore shouldn’t be seen as a replacement in the U.S. or anywhere else, but as a complimentary genre to what dancehall and Reggae music have and continue to achieve.
