Davido, Tiwa Savage & Mr Eazi – A Look at Three of Africa’s Biggest Music Stars through the Eyes of Billboard
The African music industry is simply very diverse, therefore making
it one of the biggest in the world. Over the past couple of years,
Africa has exploded as a major player on the global music scene, making
the stage set for a promising new future for African music.
Musicians such as Davido, Tiwa Savage, and Mr Eazi are now established mainstream stars around the world, and global interest in African music has never been higher. In 2019, Beyoncé hand-picked some of Africa’s biggest stars to appear on her Lion King-inspired album, while Eazi and Burna Boy performing at the annual Coachella music festival in California.
During a late afternoon in early May, Davido, Tiwa, and Eazi joined
Billboard for a video conference to speak candidly about the
opportunities African artists now have, the stereotypes they still face
and how they’re staying true to their culture
How have you been adjusting creatively and personally to life during the pandemic?
Davido: Man, it’s been crazy because my fiancée
actually tested positive [for COVID-19 but has since recovered]. I was
on tour in America, with six shows done and 19 sold-out shows left. We
were in Denver sitting in my hotel room listening to the news. We looked
at each other and said, “Yo, let’s just tell ourselves the truth: It’s
about to be a wrap.” New York had put a cap on shows at 500 [people],
then 200 the next day and down again the next. So we all came back home
and did the test. My fiancée was in London with the baby. She’s the only
one that came out positive. She had to isolate; I had to isolate. I did
two tests after that, and they came out negative. I just got back home
[to Lagos] a week ago. Since then I’ve been recording.
Savage: At first it was kind of difficult for me to
get my head around. I had a tour planned, a bunch of festivals lined up.
When it finally dawned on me that those weren’t going to happen this
year, it made me wake up and realize how fragile life is and how we take
it for granted. So I’ve been spending time with my son and speaking on
the phone more with my family. More importantly, I’ve been giving out
food to people around my neighborhood. I can quarantine for a month or a
couple of months, but some of these people don’t even have food for
tomorrow.
Eazi: I’m 19 minutes out of London, living in a
small community and finally getting back to jogging. But musically, it’s
been an eye-opener for me. During this lockdown, I’ve not recorded any
new music. But I’m on Zoom calls almost the whole day working on my
business or [talking] with one of my new artists, listening to records
and setting up release plans. I thought I would have been frustrated by
not being able to go out of the farm. But I’ve always been an
entrepreneur, so this has been a next-level step for me in terms of
investing more of my time and resources toward my business.
Do you still encounter stereotypes about Africa abroad?
Davido: Some people are still not fully educated
about how life is here. I did an interview in Los Angeles a couple of
months back and the dude was just so ignorant, basically asking if
Afrobeats is a phase. The only way to understand is to come and see for
yourself. When most people come down here, they’re both surprised and
disappointed because for their whole lives they’ve had a different idea
of what it’s like. Like everywhere else, there are good parts and bad
parts in Africa. There are places even in America that look worse.
Savage: It was a lot worse before when people
literally thought we lived in trees. That was a big misconception. But
it’s changing as people see pictures via social media when people visit
places like Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Nothing beats
that experience when somebody actually lands in Africa. And it depends
where in Africa because it’s a continent and not a country.
Others think that maybe Africans don’t speak English or it’s not our
first language. So they’re surprised when they hear us singing along
to J. Cole, Future or whoever. They’re also surprised at how up to date
we are with the rest of the world — in music, fashion, everything. When
you come to Nigeria, you’ll experience the beauty of Africa, but you’ll
still feel like you’re somewhere in New York. We’re still maintaining
our identity and culture.
Eazi: The misperception I always run into is one of
general ignorance: people classifying all music coming out of Africa as
Afrobeats. To drive from Lagos to Accra is a nine-hour drive. In that
journey, you pass through Benin and Togo. Even within those two
countries there are a lot of different tribes — the language and culture
are as different as the rhythms and BPMs of the music. You can have a
hit song in Nigeria, but it won’t be a hit in Ghana.
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