5 Reasons Why Fuji Music Might Just Be The Future Of Nigerian Music
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Before you come for me, take a chill pill and drink some water. Done?
Okay, now I know that this title will turn a lot of heads and a lot of people will wonder what science student is prescribing the pills for the person that would think Fuji music is the future of Naija music.
However, before you dismiss this music genre as outdated and for the “local” folks, listen to my argument, as I have 5 reasons Shanko Rasheed may be the new Wizkid. (err… not exactly but you catch the drift)
Money
Anybody who’s a keen observer in the music industry will tell you that even though these Musicians have a niche audience, there’s nothing niche about their money. Top Fuji artistes are known to earn so much money from shows and appearances that it borders on insanity.
The huge numbers they crunch easily surpass their mainstream counterparts as these guys perform at shows almost every day. This is partly due to the fact that Yoruba people (who are obviously the biggest audience for Fuji music) can party for Africa.
In a recent interview, veteran Fuji musician Saheed Osupa said he performs every single day and a top music head confirmed this, stating that on an average, Saheed makes over 200 million Naira a year from performances alone.
Not a lot of mainstream pop or alternative music acts in the industry can compete with such numbers.
Longevity
All good things come to an end they say, and with a typical Nigerian musician’s career, that end often comes sooner rather than later. With one hand, you can easily count how many mainstream Nigerian artistes that have had a 20-year career.
Such is the fate of talents in the industry. What we have now is mostly a “rave of the moment” industry where evergreen songs are all but a distant memory. Artistes come on the scene, have few good years and then fade into obscurity. Modern examples of this trend can be seen in the careers of musicians like Bigiano, Sauce Kid, Weird MC, Klever Jay, African China, Lil Kesh, Durella, and Sasha just to mention a few.
However, if you look downtown in the industry, you will see acts like King Sunny Ade, Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey, Sir Shina Peters, and K1 De Ultimate, whom each have had a career spanning at least 35 years. Now that’s impressive. Their longevity is largely due to the fact that their music is timeless, such that even in 2018 people still turn up when they hear “Ijo Shina Peters”. Very few “new school” artists can craft songs with lifespan more than a year at best. Hip-hop and afro-pop tracks live and die by radio airplay and the “club banger” treatment.
Once a new hit comes along, the song and by extension, the artist fades. Fuji music is not bounded by any of these considerations and sooner or later Naija pop stars will evaluate their current music model and they just may realise that Fuji music may be the way to remaining relevant in the Industry.
Evolution
Another year another sound. The music industry is constantly changing, from the azonto sound of 2012, to the pon pon sound of 2016, and now the shaku shaku of 2018, there is always a new music fusion that everybody is jumping on. It will not be so much of a surprise if the industry goes full circle and returns to the where it all started – Fuji. Yes, a lot of top Nigerian artists already draw inspiration from Fuji music – yes, I’m looking at you Mr Olamide Badoo – and once a Fuji tune can “blow”, you can bet on your favourite artist exploring the sound. Just imagine a Tiwa savage singing a Fuji hook.
Ariya Repete
A lot of people attribute the rise of new alternative acts to the Project Fame show. The show which promoted the singing craft has had a major influence on the music industry we have today. Big stars like Praiz, Chidinma, Iyanya have emerged from show and gone on to enjoy success in the industry. Now another talent hunt competition has been attempting something similar, albeit with a different target demographic. Ariya repete focuses on celebrating Yoruba culture and aims at promoting Fuji and Juju talents.
The recently concluded edition of the competition even featured performances from top acts like 9ice, Adekunle Gold and Kiss Daniel (artistes who aren’t typical Fuji stars but clearly draw inspiration from the genre). Similar to the Highlife fest ongoing in the East, Ariya Repete is putting Fuji back on the Map, and was even trending on Twitter all through the night last month when the semi finals was ongoing at the National Stadium, Lagos. More and more people are starting to enjoy Fuji music and the once considered “razz” music is slowly starting to shed the stereotype.
Africa To The World
Since 2016 pop musicians have been drawing influences from African and Caribbean sounds. The richness of the African culture which is reflected in the music has become a huge inspiration for artistes all over. With these new interest in African music, it is just a matter of time before some foreign acts uses a Fuji infused instrumental to make a hit.
Source: The Net
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