Joeboy is a Nigerian singer and songwriter who was discovered by Mr Eazi and signed in 2017. After four projects and a world of hit records, he finally has his career in his hands. Here he tells Joey Akan about his entire deal and his plans for the future ..read more

“You’re just gassing me up,” Steve Stoute says, throwing his head to the side. Sitting across a small table in a meeting room I hired for an hour in his hotel, a member of his staff checks in to ensure “Is everything ok?”  Of course, everything is okay on this hot December afternoon in Lagos. It’s just the sort of place to find Stoute. The year-end festivities turn Lagos Island into a wonderland filled with buzzing concerts, endless raves, and drunk, overstimulated revellers exploring the city’s carousel of fun. Steve, sitting here in trainers at the swanky George Hotel in Ikoyi, has h ..read more

Steve Stoute is an American businessman and record executive. The founder and CEO of the Translation, a marketing agency, and the author of The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy. In 2017, Stoute received $70 million from investors such as Alphabet Inc. and Andreessen Horowitz to launch United Masters, a music venture for independent artist. In 2023, United Masters launched in Africa, via Lagos, Nigeria ..read more

Burna Boy performed at the main stage of the Grammy show, making him the first African to achieve the feat. (Getty) It hurts, doesn’t it? To see your friends and colleagues walk down the prestigious aisle, climb onstage and breathlessly mumble out an often pre-crafted speech, in acceptance of a trophy that could have been yours. The world tells you to suppress that cocktail of emotions that well deep within your chest, as you clap in fair play. Show support for Africa. Clap until it is your turn. Even though — knowing the Grammy, and the myriad variables that go into winning one trophy — you ..read more

Everything happening to Nigerian music today has happened before. This aspirational flight of our music from local studios to international audiences via global music corporations and their local operators is in its second coming. ‘Afrobeats to the world, as love to call it, isn’t new. It’s history repeating itself — a collective deja vu for our creative class and the ecosystem that supports it.  We have seen this before. Our ancestors — your parents and their parents — have been here before. The influx of new cash from global music corporations. The growth of the industry stimulated b ..read more

Burna Boy is a poster boy for Afrobeats to the world. (GQ) Afrobeats to the world has hit a new conundrum. The entire movement has achieved saturation and needs to rethink how it has approached this market. There’s enough capital to fund three small countries and an Island nation. But not enough local stars exist to deploy this capital. And so the labels are stuck.  The distribution houses are at an impasse with the culture, and sitting on money that needs to get working. The labels have thrown cash and contracts to every singer and producer who has a bit of leverage — sometimes that le ..read more

Timi Dakolo is Nigeria’s wedding whisperer (Beloved Robinson Arts) “Big Man, how are you?" Timi Dakolo stands under the blazing afternoon sun, squinting to shield his eyes. Dressed in a black native print outfit, he walks toward me graciously, after I lost my way in his Lekki estate. Sporting his signature wide smile, he brightens up the scene, infusing his work, art, and world with warmth. As we pass a security guard, a wave of greetings comes his way, met with another smile, accompanied by friendly banter. I cherish this wholesome moment as he leads me into his home. Afrobeats Intelligenc ..read more

Tempoe is a Nigerian record producer, DJ, singer and songwriter. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Tempoe is popularly known for the tag "MÄD!,"in all of his music productions. His production of Ckay's breakout hit, "Love Nwantiti" received global recognition. Tempoe's client list is chocked full of hits for superstars including Omah Lay, Joeboy, CKay, Jason Derulo, Victony amongst others ..read more

Finding space. Finding connection. Finding openings for originality to thrive. For new ideas to try. And by seeking to create, we just might have found a new approach to life, a new vista of things that we love. A shot in the arm, a flash in the dark, that fresh taste of novelty sliding from our efforts and generating all the good chemicals in our brain. That’s what the Nigerian culture means to us. An all-embracing ecosystem of thinkers and innovators synthesizing our existing mores, values and elemental characteristics to create art, influence the present and impact the future. Afrobeats ..read more

Sarkodie is a Ghanaian rapper, songwriter, and entrepreneur from Tema. Buoyed by a lifetime of groundbreaking success, he is also considered one of the major proponents of the Azonto genre and dance and one of the most successful African rappers of all time. In this episode, he seats with music journalist, Joey Akan. Sarkodie talks about working post-humously with Bob Marley, the weight of responsibility and how he engages legacy. Check it out. Subscribe now ..read more