Why it is important that artists are now taking shows into their hands, one indie concert at a time
These artists are about to burn a hole in your wallet.
For many Nigerians born in the late 80’s to the mid 90’s, music became synonymous with two cigarette brands; Rothmans and Benson & Hedges. Rothmans used to sponsor a global pop music video chart on NTA in the 90’s that was widely watched and introduced a preteen me to the Macarena, Natalie Imbruglia and Nigerian fronted band Lighthouse Family. It expanded my musical palates and showed me there was a more diverse world out there and artists who were pushing boundaries in their music and their search for relevance in the sea of music upstarts. For my elder sisters, the revolution was a little closer to home.
The Benson and Hedges concerts had started in 1993 and by 1997, they were the biggest and most anticipated concert series in the country. Plantashun Boiz and the Remedies, Daddy Showkey and Baba Fryo, Edna Eva Ogoli and King Sunny Ade; they all found a home on the Golden Tones stage, before the 2000’s and the federal government sanctions on tobacco companies saw the British American Tobacco company (the parent company of Rothmans and Benson & Hedges) fall out of favour.
By then however, B.A.T had made an important statement; there was good money in bringing local artists to a live audience and anyone who could capitalize on that would remain in good stead with Nigeria’s music-loving community. Kennis Music, then the biggest Nigerian label of the 2000’s stepped up with its much loved annual Easter Fiesta and Christmas concerts. Nigerian Breweries wanted in, after running a handful of talent competitions that launched the careers of KCPresh and Marvellous Benjy, established its inaugural Star Mega Jam in 2000, a concert series that morphed some in the intervening years, but is still going strong 17 years later.
But insiders and music lovers know something happened between 2000 and now. for several reasons, including but not restricted to the violent conflicts that had flared up in the Niger Delta and North East and North Central, it became unsafe and economically unviable to invest in proper concert spaces outside of Lagos. By the mid-2000’s, the Nigerian music industry began to constrict, withdrawing its influence from across the country and centring it all in Lagos. The industry constricted so thoroughly that it simply became the Lagos music scene, and anyone who wanted to make a name for themselves in Nigeria had to pack up shop from where ever they started their careers. Who can forget Styl Plus who moved from Abuja after the success of “Olufunmi”, and M.I Abaga after “Crowd Mentality” became one of Naija’s first legitimate viral sensations. By 2010, the music migration cycle was normalized and all the ‘big’ artists from across the country began hustling for a spot in one of Lagos’s many end of year concerts.
The problem with this centralization was that there simply weren’t enough people in Lagos (with the economic liquidity) to truly support all the artists who came here looking to ‘blow’. It became a lottery of sorts, with artists gambling with singles looking for a big break. The handful who scored a hit, found themselves bumped to the top of list of desired acts and tossed back and forth between concerts, while everyone else scrounged for smaller venues. As the competition got tougher, more and more middling artists were squeezed out of rotation and emerging artists entirely crowded out. Concerts in Lagos have become such a farce that, there are currently two venues that matter, The Eko Hotel Convention Center and Hard Rock Cafe.
Monopolies have always inspired rebellion, and the Lagos Music Scene is no different. Empowered by the democratic nature of the internet and the access to formerly exclusive music making tools, dozens of artists are emerging who are cultivating audiences that span the globe and sounds that are influenced by everything from Irish Shetland rock to Australian Aboriginal chants. Their diverse audiences is bypassing our traditional music gatekeepers and giving them much needed economic bargaining power to create their own music experiences. Dusten Truce and Jamal Swiss organized the stellar five venue Young Kulture tour, the Tomisin Akinwumi led Lucid Lemons has its own annual concert, The Lemon Curd, and the Idris King led 90’s Baby has curated an entire concert/culture experience around its obsession with 90’s nostalgia. These independently organized concerts have found niche but loyal audiences and proven yet, that perhaps the age of the ensemble concert is done, and we are ready to return to intimate, artist-driven concert experiences.
This December, we will have what is arguably the most diverse offerings of concerts Lagos has ever seen. Simi is headlining her first independent Lagos concert, as is Mayorkun, Maleek Berry, Nonso Amadi, Eri Ife and Burna Boy. These concerts are a gamble that these artists have such a unique point of view, that an audience will immerse itself in that point of view and leave sated. It is a gamble we know will pay off for some of them and make a point for all emerging artists, that craft matters, as does the audience.
Edwin eats his rice and cabbages. Tweet at him@edgothboy
Here are the top-billed concerts to look forward to this December
Maya Amolo Is Committed To Giving You The Sweetest Time
There’s undoubtedly more to come from the talented singer as she looks to solidify herself as one of the...
“Sweetest Time,” Maya Amolo’s latest single, is a soothing, lovesick confessional that mixes intimate, heartfelt lyricism with wistful production courtesy of Ugandan musician and producer SOULCHYD aka MAUIMØON. Alongside fellow Kenyan singer Ywaya Tajiri, the self-acclaimed sweetest girl delivers a lustrous duet that sees her soft vocals, which perfectly complement Tajiri’s more robust voice, skip and flit across moody synths, intensifying the spotlight on her wholehearted delivery. “I can feel you rushing through my system / Every single day it’s my religion,” she sings passionately halfway into the record. The whole thing sounds like the aural equivalent of a warm blanket; a truly affectionate record that immerses and envelopes its listeners in its warmth. This is the brand of vulnerable, understated R&B music that has been helping Amolo gain significant attention since she debuted in the pandemic year.
Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, Amolo always had an affinity for music. The singer and producer, who took on piano and guitar lessons as a child, has previously credited acts like Brandy, Erykah Badu, Prince, and Kenyan musical icon Eric Wainaina as her early influences – and it’s easy to see how Amolo’s style draws from this strong lineage of musicians whose music is equally expansive, soothing and vulnerable. After years experimenting with different styles, recording covers to beats she ripped from YouTube and posting them on her Soundcloud page, Amolo released her debut project ‘Leave Me At The Pregame’ in 2020.
The EP, which quickly soared up the charts in Kenya, served as a brief but emphatic introduction to Amolo’s minimalistic take on R&B. Standouts like the emotive opener “Puddles,” “Lush Green”, and “Jokes” showcase her clever and poignant lyricism that reflects on themes of love, depression, and self-healing. Along with sparse, melancholic production and the icy sensuality of her voice, Amolo delivered a remarkable debut that made her one of the most promising figures in Nairobi’s alternative music scene. Two years after ‘Leave Me At The Pregame,’ the Kenyan rising star released her debut album, ‘Asali.’
‘Asali,’ which translates to “honey” in her native Kiswahili, showcased Amolo’s progression as both an artist and a human being, as she swapped out the sad-girl tunes that filled her debut EP for more vibrant and intricate records – thanks in part to Sir Bastien and Kenyan producer and rapper Lukorito – that explore themes of growth and the complexities and rich luster of love. The album’s lead singles, “Foundry” and the self-produced “Can’t Get Enough,” found relative success on streaming platforms, placing Amolo as one of the continent’s most exciting new R&B voices. About a year after the release of ‘Asali,’ Amolo updated the album with 8 new songs on a deluxe version that featured Kenyan stars like Bensoul, Xenia Manasseh and Zowie Kengocha.
In August 2024, a few months after she delivered a splendid Colors performance, Amolo released a new project titled ‘What a Feeling.’ The 5-track EP, which essentially serves as an ode to Amolo’s home city, Nairobi, sees her experimenting with an array of dance sub-genres without straying too far from her R&B roots. While the project still retains much of the melancholy and elegance that defined her earlier work, there’s a hypnotic and pulsating energy that courses through ‘What A Feeling,’ that highlights a shift in the singer’s sensibilities. Amolo’s honeyed vocals gently seep through subtle Dancehall, Electronic, R&B and House-inspired production and the accompanying visualizer, a mashup of camcorder footage of her and her friends in Nairobi, also adequately captures the charming and nocturnal vibe of the tape.
The project produced standout tracks like the sensual “Let It Flow,” the title track and “Take It,” which later got remixed by Ugandan singer Soundlykbb and rapper SGawD. With Amolo’s latest release, “Sweetest Girl,” the Kenyan rising star continues her intricate exploration of R&B music, merging it with varying styles to produce her own distinct and refreshing variant. There’s no telling what Amolo might do next, but with only a handful of releases to her name so far, there’s undoubtedly more to come from the talented singer as she looks to solidify herself as one of the genre’s most prominent faces across the continent.
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T.I Blaze Updates ‘Shakur’ EP With Deluxe Version
Following the success of “Trenches Luv,” the street-pop star is back with seven new songs on the deluxe...
Over the last few years, street-pop, a guttural version of afropop, has surged to mainstream popularity, birthing stars like Asake, Seyi Vibez, and Shallipopi. On the homefront, a generation of younger stars also put unique spins on the sound. Singer, T.I Blaze, has been a notable star in the sub-genre since his 2021 single, “Sometimes,” and a subsequent remix with icon, Olamide, launched him into a different stratosphere.
Since “Sometimes,” Blaze has established his profile as a reliable source for songs that reflect the pulse of the streets while archiving his come-up story across a debut album (‘El Major’) and three extended plays like ‘The Fresh Prince Of Lagos’ and ‘Dangerous Wavy Baby.’ His 2024 EP, ‘Shakur,’ further underscored his evolution as an artist, featuring slippery numbers about escapism, his thoughts on life in the fast lane, and brotherhood with features from rising stars like Tml Vibez and BhadBoi Oml.
In 2025, the singer has picked up where he left off last year, releasing “Trenches Luv,” a balmy February release that examines the dynamics of romance from his point of view as a young adult moulded by the hard realities of life on the street. The success of “Trenches Luv” has led to a deluxe version of ‘Shakur’ with the singer adding seven new songs to the original version of the project. Impressively, on the new version of the project, TI Blaze taps up Ayo Maff and Ghanaian star Arathejay on “My Brother” and “Mario Remix,” respectively.
Led by a galala-inflected opener, “Track 1,” ‘Shakur (Deluxe)’ is both raw and complex with the singer sounding refreshed on songs like “My Brother,” “Dodge,” and “Introduction.” In many ways, this project is an invitation for listeners to explore the many facets of T.I Blaze’s artistry as well as a portent to celebrate his roots and offer a glimpse at his evolution.
Listen to ‘Shakur (Deluxe)’ here.
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NATIVE PREMIERE: Rigo Kamp Runs Ahead Of The Pack With The Visuals For “Marathon”
Rigo Kamp’s Marathon video is an intimate Afro-juju revival that pays homage to Sir Shina Peters and stamps...
Last Friday, Rigo Kamp, a NATIVE uNder alum and one of the architects of an equal parts nostalgic and refreshing sound released his self-titled debut EP, delivering a propulsive fusion of Alte, R&B, Funk, and Soul-infused rhythms.
Featuring previously released singles “Morning Sun” and “Summer”, the six-track eponymous EP executively produced by Odunsi The Engine sees Rigo lean heavily into his element as a sonic alchemist, jumping from silky falsettos to gritty grooves without losing an ounce of cohesion, and ultimately stamping the Abuja-born, Lagos-based singer-songwriter as a mad scientist of sound.
Just last November, Apple Music named Rigo Kamp as its Up Next artist, an acknowledgment that underscored his potential and confirmed what the tastemakers and underground scene already knew. Weeks later, he delivered an exhilarating live set for Spotify Fresh Finds in Lagos, proving he’s just as compelling live as he is in the studio.
On “Marathon”, the refreshing opener to the Rigo Kamp EP, Rigo borrows the bounce and swagger of Afro-Juju legend, Sir Shina Peters’ golden-era, fusing nostalgia with re-imagination to birth a vintage performance that feels like a private party for two, where it’s just Rigo, and you.
Get an exclusive first look at the video for Marathon here:
Listen to the Rigo Kamp EP:
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