The impossible task of gatekeeping Afrobeats & possible lessons from Dancehall [Pulse Editor’s Opinion]

One of the issues becoming a bone of contention in Afrobeats' ascension is the desire for Nigerians and Africans to remain the primary and sole curator of the sound. 

This means that while foreign global artists like Chris Brown, Drake, Beyonce, and Justin Bieber have given Afrobeats a major lift, many argue that they and other foreign artists shouldn't, in fact, make Afrobeats without the input of Nigerian and African artists and creatives. 

Simply put, Nigerians have to gatekeep Afrobeats before it's consumed by foreigners who will then take over the driving seats currently occupied by Nigerian superstars. This, many argue, is important if Afrobeats is not to suffer a similar fate with Dancehall. 

This article aims to understand the motivation behind the desire to preserve the curation of Afrobeats solely for Nigerians, the likely consequences of letting foreign acts get in on the action, and the efforts needed to navigate this situation. 

The desire to gate keep Afrobeats

Music is an element of the culture and identity of a group of people, and it's human nature to want to preserve such culture from external domination.

Even amongst people who share vast cultural similarities, the fine details that distinguish each culture is jealousy and sometimes vehemently protected. 

This is the case with many of those who wish to gate keep Afrobeats which is part of Nigerian and, to a large extent, African culture. Afrobeats takes with it vital parts of Nigerian identity and an attempt by an artist who doesn't share Nigerian roots to deploy this sound and its attendant elements will invariably result in some sort of cultural appropriation. 

For many who wish to preserve the genre for the exclusive creative exploitation of Nigerian and Africans, it doesn't matter that the genre's global success comes off the back of invaluable foreign contributions. 

The argument is that Afrobeats is on a bullet train to global fame and most foreigners (labels, artists, and listeners) jumping onboard will thoroughly exploit the genre, only to quickly abandon it as soon as a new shiny genre pops up. 

However, others believe that Afrobeats is simply not at the level that foreign creative exploitation should be embraced.

The likely consequences of foreign acts making Afrobeats

On Monday, February 20, 2023, American famous indie sensation Russ released a teaser of his upcoming Afrobeats single, and this generated conversation about foreign acts jumping on the sound. 

One of the predicted consequences is that foreign acts will sooner dominate Afrobeats and quickly dislodge Nigerians as the main acts. This argument is not far-fetched as foreign acts who are signed to majors have access to unlimited resources and a bigger audience that will propel their music to the top. This will mean that foreign acts will begin dominating the Afrobeats chart and winning Afrobeats awards.

Glimpses of this can be seen from the recent revisionism in the western media that referred to Beyoncé as the Queen of Afrobeats.

Another predicted consequence of opening the door to foreign creative exploitation is that Afrobeats will soon be feverishly exploited with everyone trying to get a piece of the pie. This will lead to a gold rush that will inevitably culminate in a use and dump situation. The foreigners will grow their catalog, make good money, and jump off the trend once a new trending genre pops up. 

This situation will leave Nigerians with the task of rebranding and having to start competing to gain the attention of the world with a genre that has been thoroughly spent in the global marketplace.

To put it simply, once the big foreign acts upon whose shoulders the genre will come on to stand move on, the Nigerian music industry will have to start afresh. 

The impossible task of gatekeeping Afrobeats and lessons from Dancehall

While preparing this article, I came across a couple of pieces about the evolution of Dancehall and its breakthrough into the international market. 

One of the materials I read is the brilliant article written for Rolling Stone in 2018 by Elias Leight titled "Why isn't Jamaican Dancehall bigger in the US?" I will be borrowing some of the lessons in this article to provide some insight into how Afrobeats can stay competitive even with what's looking like an inevitable foreign creative exploitation. 

Firstly, I must state that while there are credible concerns over the foreign creative exploitation of Afrobeats, gatekeeping the genre is simply not possible, and it's, in fact, essentially pointless. 

Culture is fluid practice that borrows elements across the globe. Even Afrobeats is an amalgamation of different genres including Hip Hop, Dancehall, and Pop, amongst others. 

Artists will make music to the extent in which their talents and ambition can carry them, and this will sometimes involve the sounds of other cultures. Nothing precludes them from doing this and all fears resulting thereof must be addressed by those whom it affects. 

Now to the actions required to keep Nigerian music and Afrobeats relevant in the face of foreign creative exploitation:

Creativity

In Leight's article, he interviewed a number of Dancehall legends including producers Tyshane Thompson and Jaxx both of whom stated that a lack of creativity has hurt Dancehall's growth in the US. They credit this to the mid-2000s rise of Dancehall legend Vybz Kartel, who dominated the genre and had other artists sounding like him and riding on his popularity. This eventually led to a drop in quality. 

Creativity appears not to be a problem in Afrobeats as there are several acts that have kept churning out quality hits while also being driven by the eco-system to stay competitive. 

In an article by Dr. Dennis Howard, he argued that Dancehall was dead and in its stead came a new genre called “One Beat”. He contended that artists such as Mavado, Chino, Protege, and Vybez Kartel were "One Beat" artists. While his opinion was and is still highly contentious, it does show a demand for continuous innovation in Dancehall. 

At any rate, Afrobeats acts must continue to stay one step ahead of the curve and shape the sound so foreign acts will have to follow their lead. 

Branding

A piece written by Micheal Nattoo published on DancehallMag touches on Dancehall artists masquerading as Hip Hop acts in a bid to break into the American market thereby losing their originality. This misbranding quickly blurred the line on what constituted a Dancehall star and the remaining elements of patois, violence, and sensuality paled in comparison to the westernized versions. 

Afrobeats stars have had it better than their Dancehall counterparts as the music has remained distinctive and has allowed the artists to carry a locally driven brand that can be marketed to the international audience.

However, Nigerian artists must ensure that as Afrobeats is reaching a wider international audience and foreign acts are beginning to get in on it, the key elements and the place from which it originates are highlighted. 

This will ensure that the sound doesn't get misclassified thereby placing Nigerian artists in a competitive space with pop stars and rappers in a market where they can't compete. Simply put, the distinctive benefits Afrobeats enjoy must not be lost. 

Local structure

In Leight's piece, Jaxx the producer highlighted the lack of parallel structure in Jamaica that can propel Dancehall to the rest of the world. Hence, artists hoping to reach an International audience will have to sign with foreign labels. With these labels having the option to focus on foreign Dancehall artists, the Jamaicans who own the sound inevitably get little attention. 

Without building structures in Nigeria that can propel Afrobeats to an international audience, Nigerian artists will play second fiddle to foreign artists who will be benefiting from making Afrobeats while also being the focus of the majors

Conclusively, Afrobeats cannot be gatekept, but it can be built on a solid foundation with the right structures such that foreign creative exploitation won't lead to its untimely international diminution.

NOTE: Pulse Editor's Opinion is the viewpoint of an Editor at Pulse. It does not represent the opinion of the organisation, Pulse.