‘If we don’t own Afrobeats, we’d later hear it started in UK’ — Baba Dee calls for local tourism

Baba Dee, the brother to the late singer Sound Sultan, says Afrobeats singers are making what he described as the same mistake the Caribbean did with Reggae.

The movie director and dancehall artiste spoke to TVC about the global expansion of Nigeria’s music industry.

He said creatives are failing to translate Nigeria’s music soft power into value creation within the tourism sector.

Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica, an island country situated in the Caribbean sea, in the late 60s.

Over the years, it spread to countries around the world, adopting local instruments and fusing with other genres.

Many pundits often argue 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.

The singer also 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 a few days 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.