15 June 2017

How WizKid is redefining pop and uniting young people from Lagos to London

Afro-Pop is about to go global. And WizKid is the man to take it there.

[O]ne thing to get straight from the get-go: Afrobeat is not the same thing as afrobeats (with an s):

AfŸroŸbeat (ˈa-frō-bēt) n. 1. An urban popular music originating in Nigeria and Ghana in the early 1970s, popularized by bandleader Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. 2. A sinewy admixture of modal jazz, soul, Afro-Cuban rhythms and Yoruba harmony that revolutionized the texture of pop music in Africa and eventually inspired western music stars like Talking Heads, P-Funk, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Roots. 3. A musical style described in the early 1990s by Miles Davis (circa early 1990s) as “music of the future.”

AfŸroŸbeats (a-frō-bēts) n. 1. An urban popular music originating in Nigeria and Ghana in the mid-2000s. 2. A genre of music and dance blending elements of hip-hop, reggaeton, dancehall reggae and other Caribbean vibes, EDM, Top 40 and various pop idioms from across the African continent. 3. The voice of the modern African generation 4. The music of the future (circa 2017).

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“I don’t just make afrobeats… I make music. I draw inspiration from all over. From dancehall reggae, afrobeat, American music as well. Whatever I listen to, I draw inspiration from.”

The late King of Afrobeat, Fela Kuti, has been universally revered since his death in 1997. Today, twenty years after Fela’s passing, afrobeats stands poised to take over the world, and the man who just might steward its ascension is a 26-year-old Nigerian named Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun—better known as Wizkid.

A major luminary on the Nigerian scene since his aptly titled 2011 debut, Superstar, Wizkid has gradually delivered a trail of hits across the map, working with artists in South Africa (Dj Maphorisa, DJ Buckz), the UK (Skepta, Tinie Tempah), and the US (Kranium, Wale). However, it is his recent alliances with Drake that have ensconced him firmly on US playlists: his chartbusting collaboration with the Toronto-born MC, “One Dance” — the song of summer 2016 — recently scored three Billboard awards. Meanwhile, the Drake-featuring “Come Closer,” Wizkid’s first single from his upcoming mixtape Sounds from the Other Side is gathering heat. To fans back in Nigeria, it seems Wizkid is about to expand on what Fela did and take his sound into the mainstream.

“I just want to make good music for the world. It's really not in my mind to cross over to America. I have my own fan base, which is Africa."

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“The aim is not really to cross over,” Wizkid says, shrugging off the burden of such lofty expectations. “I just want to make good music for the world. It’s really not in my mind to cross over to America. I have my own fan base, which is Africa. And I just want to keep feeding that fan base and hope it grows.”

And growing it is. The influence of afrobeats continues to swell beyond the borders of its home continent, not just for Wizkid but for other afrobeats artists, with names like Davido, Maleek Berry (himself a Wizkid protégé), Timaya and Wande Coal showcasing a sound that is sunny, sensual and comfortably fitting in the mix alongside dancehall feelings from Popcaan, the soca of Swappi, Rae Sremmurd’s trap-hop, and electropop like the Chainsmokers. And established artists are joining the ranks of that fan base, with the likes of Alicia Keys, R. Kelly, Machel Montano, Anthony David and Pia Mia finding the blooming afrobeats movement as a source of creative rejuvenation.

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“I’d say we make afro-pop,” he says. “I don’t just make afrobeats… I make music.

“I’m not really seeing myself as the one champion of the movement,” Wizkid says. “I’m just contributing my own little part. Keep the movement moving, and take it there, you know?”

But even as the buzz for afrobeats as the new music of the future builds, Wizkid — the artist most recognized as the face of the genre — chafes at being defined by it, preferring to emphasize the catholic nature of his own unique musical mélange. “I’d say we make afro-pop,” he says. “I don’t just make afrobeats… I make music. I draw inspiration from all over. From dancehall reggae, afrobeat, American music as well. Whatever I listen to, I draw inspiration from.”

Lime Green Hoodie by LIAM HODGES// Coat by LIAM HODGES // Glasses by LINDA FARROW

Perhaps Wizkid’s unwillingness to wear the “afrobeats” tag could be related to casual observers’ tendency to conflate it with afrobeat, thus expecting it to deliver Fela Kuti’s legendary combo of big-band virtuosity and socially conscious themes.

But most afrobeats is built upon… well, beats. Modern, digitally-generated sonic tapestries foregrounded by lyrics extolling sex, love, dancing, being fly and having fun: basically, an unabashed celebration of what it feels like to be young. Critics have taken the scene to task for not embodying the noble, social-activist ideals of its predecessor. Wizkid feels no need to reinvent that wheel, however. Despite referencing Fela on tracks like “Expensive Shit” and even recording with heir to the afrobeat legacy, Femi Kuti, Wizkid maintains that he’s not looking to be another Fela. Wizkid is not out to solve the problems of an increasingly messy and depressing world; he just wants to give you a vehicle to escape them for a while, via an upbeat, global sound and rhythm, uniting young people from Lagos to London.

Orange Tracksuit BLOOD BROTHER // Glasses by LINDA FARROW

I’m not trying to live like Fela or do what he has done. I just appreciate everything he did when he was alive and I am here to create my own legacy"

“Every artist has that one person that inspired them, or a group of artists that inspired them,” he says. “Fela happens to be a very big inspiration to my music, Bob Marley as well. So I’m just here spreading good vibes. I’m not trying to live like Fela or do what he has done. I just appreciate everything he did when he was alive and I am here to create my own legacy.”

The next phase of the Wizkid legacy takes off in 2017 when Sounds from the Other Side hits the market. An ambitious project that meshes the homegrown afrobeats vibe with the sounds of US producers and artists such as Ty Dolla $ign and Chris Brown, it’s set to pull the new sound of West Africa out of the fringes of global pop, and put it right where it belongs –  in the spotlight. After all, as Fela himself declared “Africa is the centre of the world.”

Green Alien Jumper by BOBBY ABLEY // Trousers by TOPMAN // Glasses by LINDA FARROW

Wizkid’s Sounds from the Other Side is out on July 14th and he plays Wireless July 9th. Follow him on Instagram here. See behind the scenes from this shoot here, and hear the songs that inspired his new mixtape here.

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