Forces Behind Music Collaboration In Nigeria

Timaya and Terry G

The global reach of Nigerian music brand is gradually being asserted with the collaborative efforts embarked upon by notable players in the industry with world super stars.
Hip hop star, Dapo ‘D’banj’ Oyebanjo’s Mr. Endowed Remix, featuring American rapper, Calvin Broadus Jr. popularly called Snoop Doggy Dogg, set the tone over a year ago. The musical exploits of the singing duo, Psquare, in Oyinye, with another American rapper, William Robert, otherwise called Rick Ross and the Senegalese American R&B artiste, Akon, in Chop My Money, thereafter stamped the conviction that Nigerian music has crossed boundaries.
The Ma Damiduro singer, David ‘Davido’ Adeleke, rekindled the international collabo fire when he featured Akon in Ma Damiduro Remix. Notwithstanding the growing international musical synergy, there are some Nigerian artistes who hold the ace in the industry in terms of featuring in their colleagues’ works.
The choice of a singer to feature in a song is often determined by many factors, including talent, acceptance, relevance and stagecraft. These attributes account for why musicians such as Innocent ‘Tuface’ Idibia, Wasiu ‘Pasuma’ Alabi, D’banj, Abolore’9ice’Akande, among others, have been courted by colleagues even outside their genres.
For instance, Tuface has featured in the song of a Fuji artiste, Muri Thunder, titled Kasakasa. Also, Pasuma has participated in songs by The Remedies and a gospel singer known as Omo Olope. These are just instances of the collabo the duo have done outside their music brands.
Perhaps, the current preference for D’banj, Wizkid, Terry G and Timaya in collabo is driven by some or all of the aforementioned elements. Rapper Naetochukwu Chikwe, popularly called Naeto C, featured D’banj in his Tony Montana Remix, while Iyanya also ensured he shows his amazing singing style in Kukere Remix.
It is the same for Terry G who could not help but ‘Ginger his Swagger’ in Timaya’s Malonogede. Besides featuring in other songs of fellow singers, Terry G is currently said to be cementing collaboration with Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh.
The two singles earlier released by the actress were trailed by criticism from those who felt she should rather concentrate on acting. Thus many think the involvement of the Akpako master in her new work, Crazically Fit, may be a way of repackaging or re-launching her singing career.
Terry G was also in Angelica Munonye’s Thank God. Even Timaya himself has had a fair share of collabo with his colleagues and still enjoying it. He sang in Kefee’s Kokoroko, 2shots’s Desire and Shuga V’s Change Hand, among many others. Timaya once sang that his fans wished he could do way with collabo and face his own brand of music so that people would know he is a profession.
He sang, ‘‘Dem say make I stop collabo, dem no know say collabo follow for promo.’’
Fast rising afro-reggae singer and Empire Mates Entertainment artiste, Ayodeji Balogun is not left out of the collabo fever having done a number, including featuring in Bracket’s Girl, R2bees’ Dance and Canadian rapper, Kardinal Offishall’s Reppin’ For My City.
A hip hop musician, Nansel Nimyel, also known as Z-Paporella, says two things can make an artiste to hunt another singer for a collabo: interest and fan base.
He says, ‘‘An artiste may believe that featuring a particular artiste in his song will attract the artiste’s fans. Thus, the artiste’s fans will love to be his fans too and vice versa.’’ The singer has also featured some of his colleagues in his songs while participating in theirs too.
Considering the direction of Nigerian music, one can continue to hope for the best as its players energetically expand their frontiers.