Call them Soundcloud artistes, ‘new age’ or alte-sound, a tribe of young Nigerian musicians have successfully created a creative ecosystem for themselves with a community of people who care, listen and connect to the kind of music that they make. They also project a defiant lifestyle in contrast to what is generally acceptable, with by their music, their fashion statements or even the way they choose to circulate and perform their music.
The impact these bunch of young artistes have made in the industry today can no longer be ignored as they have held their own when it mattered when placed on the same pedestal as their other Nigerian pop music counterparts. The likes of Odunsi The Engine, Tomi Thomas, Nonso Amadi, Tay Iwar, Lady Donli, and many others lead the pack and are obviously more popular than they used to be a few years ago. There are also more like them spread around different parts of the country.
For the artistes mentioned above, clearly, They can be said to have conquered the niche market that they created by their networking skills and the sound of the music that they make together while leaning on the strengths of each other to push their craft. Their numbers on the popular SoundCloud platform are great but then there is a problem. These numbers are yet to transform into mainstream success as much as it should especially with the kind of content that they make.
No one can fault the quality of the music that they make and it begs the question, why aren’t these guys gaining attaining full mainstream recognition? From all indications, it may seem that these guys have deliberately isolated themselves from the larger demographic of Nigerian audience who may as well be the key to them reaching mainstream success.
Perhaps it is to preserve their ideology that makes these young millennial prefer not to ride with the norm. Opening up to mainstream appeal may adulterate the nature of their sound and that is the fear of most of these young ones. So they prefer to let it be within that community of people who can connect to what they offer.
But they can learn a lot from their senior colleagues like Simi, Adekunle Gold, Johnny Drille who are some of the very few that have been able to find a balance with making the kind of music that is true to them whilst striking a balance with the mainstream pop appeal.
But only time will tell before the future of the music industry in Nigeria will largely rest on their laps. What is referred to now as ‘Alternative’ will surely become what dictates mainstream appeal but for now, let us just enjoy their growth process.