When we talk about the African music landscape, we tend to primarily focus on African artists who are based on the continent while forgetting about those in the diaspora. This comes without a surprise as the artists back home are making the biggest noise and have been instrumental in growing the African music industry. With that being said, the question that I want to explore in this article is why we haven't had an American-based African artist find the same level of success, fame, or notoriety as those on the continent.
People tend to bring up Wale when we talk about American based African artists, but he does not make African music and did not rise to fame from that category.
Wale is a hip hop artist. Yes, he's Nigerian American, but throughout his career, his African identity hasn't really been what he has leaned into, nor the musical traditions that are based out of the continent. That's not to say that he hasn't spoken about his Nigerian American identity in his music, but it hasn't been at the forefront of his artistic persona. Now, Wale has collaborated, worked, and promoted African artists throughout his career.
Outside of Wale, we have the likes of Aminé and The Weekend, both come from an Ethiopian background and are based in the states. Aminé is American while The Weekend is Canadian. Even these two artists are not known as African artists as their music success has been within the Hip-Hop, Pop and alternative RnB categories. For the longest time, I had no idea that The Weekend was even Ethiopian.
I often ask myself as to whether there is any possibility in which these three artists would have been able to reach their height of success had they leaned in into more of an African sound during their come up.
These artists reached their heights of success in the 2010s, a time when African music had not gone mainstream in America. And the category still has a lot more room to grow, but there is no argument with the fact that African music just wasn’t as well known in the states during these artists’ prime years.
During the 2010s, African music was still very much on the fringes of American pop culture. The category was relegated to the spaces of African immigrant communities.
Now we're at a point where African music is being embraced within western mainstream culture. And so that raises a question as to why American based African artists still find it difficult to become breakout stars.
African artists on the continent happen to exist and live in a place where their sound is understood, accepted, and easily embraced. Their music is played everywhere within the various spaces of their given country. In effect, they have a home-base advantage which is why they're going to be more successful than those who are based in the West. So, it will take a little bit more time for that level of success to matriculate to those American based African artists.
The United States is the music capital of the world. It is the one market that every single artist on this earth wishes to enter if they want to reach the pinnacle of global commercial success.
Within America itself, the level of competition from artistry, musicality, and sheer volume of musicians is extremely high. And the audience here is already steeped in their American genres of choice. American music genres are very popular in this country and around the world. So if you're not making music that is based within these already popular genres, you're going to have an uphill battle in terms of being able to penetrate this market.
You think of the biggest artists in the world, they are all based in America. From Beyoncé, Drake, Taylor Swift and more.
Unlike London, where Africans started moving there much earlier, the African migrant population in the U.S. is still within the one to two generations which is very different from that of the U.K.
Africans in the U. S. are still trying to get a grasp of the lay of the land. They are having to classify themselves under new identities and embrace cultures that are different from the ones back home. There is a need to navigate what it exactly means to be Black in this country for recent African migrants; having to juggle between Black American culture, traditions, history and that of their own.
They find themselves experiencing identity and cultural clash, and I don't mean clash in a negative way, rather as a way of illustrating having these two different identities and cultures that are similar yet so different at the same time.
There's already that component in terms of that identity question of what is an African in America. What is the identity of a recent African immigrant or an African person who is first or second generation? What is your culture? How do you define yourself? And how do you see yourself within the larger black American culture and identity?
Africans are still working to define themselves in this country, understand their role, space and contribution to American society. This delves right into the music scene, where we are still trying to figure out an African artist’s place in the larger American music context.
Growing up in the U.S. during the 2000s, you very much understood that this country had very little if not zero comprehension of African identities. They didn't understand the difference between a Nigerian, Kenyan or South African. Such lack of understanding brought with it a difficult social environment for those of us who came of age in this country which at times contributed to one’s rejection of their African background.
The goal was to assimilate and not integrate. Meaning, lose your African culture in embrace of a new one, e.i. Black American or the larger American culture.
African identity growing up was in conflict with what it meant to be American. So you needed to adapt to American mannerisms, thinking, and ways of seeing the world.
Not only that, every African kid in the U.S. feared being sent back home by their parents if they were misbehaved. Being sent back to Africa was a threat, it was a bad thing; it would translate to being sent to a place that's undesirable.
This constant threat from our parents of being sent back home if we were misbehaved played into the idea of not wanting to embrace your African identity. It furthered misconceptions and misgivings of the place that we should call home. Such a negative psychological indoctrination of viewing the continent also led to our low embrace of our African artforms, such as music.
So, now we get into the mid 2010s where Afrobeats started popping off in the U.S. with the likes of Davido and Wizkid. The curiosity around African music starts to grow and you get this real sense that it is the time for a sort of cultural renaissance in the West.
College parties in the late 2010s started blasting “Fall” and “If” by Davido any chance they got, then Burna Boy’s “Ye” took over the black college student partying scene. From there, Wizkid and Tems dropped one of the greatest African songs of the contemporary period “Essence.” Then African music began its mainstream encroachment into American pop culture.
But this growth did not outright translate into an increased spotlight on the American based African artists. Any African child who grows up in the states can tell you that their parents always gave them three options of careers to pursue: Lawyer, Doctor, or Engineer. Anything outside of those three made zero sense to them, and God forbid it is anything in the entertainment industry. The idea of pursuing a music career would be ridiculed, laughed at and disrespected from our parents and community. Beyond that, we grew up not having seen a lot of American based African artists become successful.
These are all societal and cultural barriers that up and coming African artists have had to deal with in this country. Before they can even get the chance to pursue a mainstream career, they must prove to their own family and community that the title of an artist is one that they deserve.
The current American music landscape is still trying to understand the nuances and needs of African music in this country. Record labels do not possess the staffing levels and expertise to truly support African artists. I would go as far as to make the point that these labels probably exhibit a favorable bias towards the African artists coming from the continent than those in the states.
Labeling every African music under Afrobeats is also another area that creates barriers in labels having an inclusive strategy when it comes to their approach of artists making these sounds. It was just this year that the Grammys decided to award an African-based category.
American based artists are in search of support mechanisms to get their talent heard.
So, where can these artists go to showcase their musical talents?
There are six markets that I think are uniquely positioned to be the base for the discovery and development of American based African talent. From LA to the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia area), you will find that these markets have large and diverse African populations.
LA is in the global music capital; the heart of the industry. The level of industry-people in this city alone makes it an enticing market for an up and coming artist. Now because it is also the music capital of the world, it means that the competition and access to executives might prove more difficult. Nonetheless, you are more likely to meet like-minded artists and a community that is developing independent artists.
Houston is often described as a mini Lagos, which means that you have a lot of young Africans who are always in search of moments to experience African music. That creates an opportunity space for you to infiltrate these entertainment scenes that are dedicated to African music. Atlanta is also another city that is not short of Africans and happens to be an important music city pushing out some of the most popular sounds in the country.
As you find your way up to the Midwest, you enter Chicago which is the largest city in that region but also has a sizable African population. This market will not have the same level of competition as you may find in other parts of the country, because the African entertainment scene still has some work to truly get a foothold in the city. Nonetheless it is an important city for curating and developing cultural equity within the larger American music market.
Then when you get to the DMV, you encounter a strong African population that embraces the various sounds coming from the continent. The DMV is home to the Fillmore, a stage that has been graced by so many African artists. This market also has a pretty good balance between West Africans, East Africans and even Francophone Africans showcasing its ability to develop talent that is embolic of the diverse musicality of the continent. This cultural makeup also makes the DMV one of the most effective markets for up and coming African artists in the states to test out their musical skills. If the DMV Africans co-sign you as an African artist, it is a pretty good indicator of your ability to translate across the rest of the markets.
New York City is obviously one of the best markets to truly put your feet to the fire and get yourself out there. This city never sleeps and has more spaces to showcase your talent than you have time to attend. That reason alone makes it a location that African artists can easily begin experiencing the live music scene. It is also very easy to meet with and engage with industry people in the city. So you get the chance to get yourself in front of people who can connect you to so many opportunities. This city is home to African-music centered curators like EverydayPPL, Ginja Life and the biggest African DJs in the country. Not only that, every single well-known African artist is always in the city touring or on a media run. Simply put, the opportunities in NYC are endless for African artists.
Beyond this, the big African music event-curators like AfroNation and promoters should find ways of creating more opportunities for the up and coming artists in this country to showcase their talent on their stages.
The American-based African artists who have started to make noise are Amaarae, Mannywellz, and Libianca who have all created their own paths through fusion African sounds that audiences across various markets can appreciate.
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