Afrobeats; Culture or Commodity

“On the beat is Davido, and I’m driving all the girls crazy oo.” Davido’s braggadocio heralds the announcement of a new evolution in Nigeria’s cultural sector. It is known on the streets of Lagos by many names, Lamba, Gbedu, Fuji Pop, Pon Pon. It is made for audiences to wine, dance and gyrate too. Millionaires spray bundles of cash in the air when the music comes on. Social dances emerge from the slums of Ajegunle and almost instantly become a tick-tock sensation. It has come to be known outside Nigeria as Afrobeats.

The genre fuses indeingious folk and contemporary melodies with the sounds of hip-hop, rhythms and blues. Folk rhythms are remade with electronic drums, kicks, synths, and bases. The more than 300 languages of Nigeria are interwoven with piding, patois, and english. The lyrics celebrate love, lust, money, and material success. This sound has defined a generation, and unlocked a billion dollar industry.

Afrobeats music consists of more than 70 percent of music on Nigerian airwaves compared to some 20 percent in 2010. Afrobeats concerts constantly sell out in Clubs, Arenas, and stadiums both locally and Internationally. Many commentators have opined over the role culture should play in the economics of a nation, debated its value, and philosophized about the degree in which culture should be commercialized.

As afrobeats continue to rise locally and globally, cultural policy makers have to balance between nurturing this promising genre while simultaneously nurturing non-popular and more folk and classical Nigerian musical and other cultural traditions.

To what degree should culture be commercialized ? Nigeria is not the first Jurisdiction to face this challenge, indeed this a policy challenge for cultural managers around the world. I spoke to Dr Hillary Brown of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) secretariat on the evolutions of Carnival, a cultural celebration indigenous to the Caribbean islands, another celebration that toggles between commerce and culture.

Dr. Hilary Brown is the Program Manager for Culture and Community Development at the CARICOM Secretariat. She is a steel pan player and enthusiast, a Carnival Queen, a mother of two and a specialist in regional development, communications and popular culture. We speak to her about CARICOM, and it’s role in the development of Caribbean and African peoples and regions. We use this as a data set to predict what the future of Afrobeats may be.

Can there be a harmonious exchange between cultural preservation and commodification?

This is the crux of many discussions on culture and carnival. There is the view of the cultural purists who want to see the tradition stay the same, where the meaning and connection to the origin are preserved. Then there are the entrepreneurs who say ‘yes, but it’s also business’. There is always this tension between the instrumental value and economic value of culture and the arts.

Economics is a natural driver, but what needs to be understood is that the economic value can only be sustained if the creative core is preserved and nurtured. It is through the commodification of culture that entrepreneurs make money and how cultural expressions and products are shared widely. However, this needs to be managed properly through progressive public policy making to ensure that culture policy preserves and nourishes cultural traditions and supports new and emerging artists. Through policy interventions, traditions and expressions are put on display so that all people have access.

 

When it comes to balancing Carnival’s cultural importance with its economic benefits, do you believe there is a Carnival that is going in the right direction with policy making?

Based on what I have seen, I would say it’s still carnival in Trinidad and Tobago especially because of the significant engagement of schools in activities during the carnival season and the involvement of young people in carnival competitions, kiddies mas’ and steel bands.

However, I know there is an awareness in many countries in the Caribbean region of the importance of keeping cultural traditions alive in carnival and other festivals, such as Crop Over in Barbados and Culturama in Nevis. Several countries have also developed or are in the process of developing or updating their national cultural policies, in which they commit at least at a policy level, to give more support to the cultural dimension.

We have to recognize that the arts represent multi-billion dollar creative industries, and we have to always try to strike that balance between creativity and commercialization. It is the government’s responsibility to ensure that culture is replicated, known, understood, and appreciated for generations to come. Policy can also mandate the private sector give their support through incentives such as tax write-offs. Such policy initiatives are crucial to striking that balance.

Carnival has become the world’s largest celebration, with months of preparation and organization. From a CARICOM Secretariat perspective, what does this mean to you?

Carnival is deeply important to the CARICOM region. We are not a region that produces technology, but we create cultural expressions that are renowned worldwide. In order to develop our region, we have to capitalize on something that the region does well. We have to leverage our creative and cultural products and services. Artists and other advocates have been advocating for governments to see and understand that carnival is more than a party, especially given all the benefits it brings to the region. I see carnival as part of a wider cultural enterprise and ecosystem that should be an important part of the overall strategy to advance the region.

 

 

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