Aug. 6 (THEWILL) – Nigerian artists and their musical performances have captured global audiences.
From Lagos to Accra, Dubai, Johannesburg, London, Toronto, Houston and Atlanta, to name a few, Nigerian artists have created a new culture of entertainment, excitement in global music.
From nightclubs to sporting events, as seen recently at the Commonwealth Games and other international stages, music lovers spin to the rhythm of Nigeria.
Even though artists from other African countries might exert the same efforts or use the same tools, Nigerian artists have excelled globally more than their African counterparts.
The most renowned musical genres in the country are Native, Fuji, Afrobeat, Highlife, Afrobeats, Afro-juju, Dancehall, Igbo rap, Yoruba rap and Gospel.
Miracle Sabastin Aggrey, professionally known as DJ Kelblizz, explained the new hunger for Nigerian music by the world’s biggest artists and audiences.
Kelblizz is a Nigerian disc jockey, record producer, music publisher, music enthusiast and CEO of De Thrills Music.
1. Lyrics and language in which the artist’s song is performed
Kelblizz said that other big name musicians now want to collaborate with more Nigerian artists because they also need to make our audience love them.
He explained that the lyrics and language of the music are crucial because they allow the audience to connect more with the tracks. The language in which a song is performed increases its potential, in terms of popularity and longevity. Even when our artists perform in their local language, they make sure the chorus or hook is in English. By this deliberate choice, once the music enters the media, it has a chance of making audiences fall in love with the melody of the song by an estimated 1.75 billion English speakers, or a quarter of the world’s population.
2. Population and social media trends in Nigeria.
Nigeria has an estimated population of 213 million as of January 2022, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa.
DJ Kelblizz says the percentage of Nigerians with internet access empowers them to follow global trends on platforms like TikTok, Facebook and Twitter.
TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels have become the latest music discovery tool, making it easy for Nigerian music to taste in the global market.
3. Presence of major global labels in Nigeria.
In Nigeria, we have major artists such as Wizkid, Davido, Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade, Rema, Omah Lay and many more, all of whom have music deals with Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group or Warner Music Group. These labels will offer international management, they will increase their capital for production, branding, pitching and marketing, among other things, they will even organize big concerts/tours on behalf of the artist.
According to DJ Kelblizz, labels are promoting and nurturing Nigerian artists internationally, channeling their music into new marketing promotional strategies and connecting them to collaborate with major artists.
This also extends to building relationships and partnerships for our artists through international media and music streaming companies.
