Mozambican music trio, DJ Tarico, Preck and Nelson Tivane better known in music circles as Yaba Buluku Boyz have taken time-out to highlight the love Nigerian musicians show to other African artistes.
The trio gave their insight on the backdrop of the scathing remarks by Ghanaian singer, Shatta Wale, which was targeted at Nigerian artistes.
Recall that in a post on his Instagram page, Shatta Wale stated that there were doubts in some quarters that he would not be able to attract enough fans to fill his concert set for Ghana’s biggest stadium.
According to him, he was told that he would not be able to fill the stadium for his concert if he did not include Nigerian artistes in his line-up of performers.
However, that didn’t turn out to be the case as the stadium was filled and Shatta Wale later said that he does not need Nigerian artistes to sell out his concert.
Shatta Wale was also supported by his compatriot, Stonebwoy, who said in a statement that Nigerian artistes have done well to mark many of the “biggest milestones in the entertainment scene and is putting Africa on the global map.”
According to him, with great power comes great responsibility and Nigerian artistes should carry the “responsibility of helping to forge a united African front by deliberately allowing music from other African nations, which pollinate Nigerian music, to flourish on Nigerian platforms on local and international levels.”
He said that Shatta Wale may not have approached the issue the right way but Shatta Wale’s concern is valid. While some may perceive Nigeria as unwelcoming terrain for foreign artistes and African collaborations, it appears the unguided narrative does not apply to the boys from Mozambique as they are enjoying the best of the music world in Nigeria.
From nowhere, the Yaba Buluku Boyz have breezed in to pitch tents on the Nigerian music landscape with their Amapiano themed style of music. At the close of the year, December 31, 2021, the trio sealed the year with a collaboration with Mama Africa, Yemi Alade titled “Tell Somebody” a song powered by Effyzzie Music and Geobek Records.
Highlighting the love Nigeria shows to African artists, Yaba Buluku Boys opened up on making the line-up of performers at Burna Boy’s Live Experience show.
They also revealed that they headlined 2RS Fest with Focalistic from South Africa and also, Phyno and Olamide featured them on their annual show, which had A-list artistes performing live.
They also informed that a handful of nightclubs in Nigeria have also hosted them and given them VIP treats. On their music collaboration with Burna Boy, they revealed that the Nigerian artiste supported them on the remix of their smash hit ‘Yaba Buluku’ which has given them global recognitions and awards for Best Song of the Year, Best Collaboration of the Year and top 100 Best songs of 2021 on Apple Music.
“We are making an impact in Nigeria and people are noticing us,” the group remarked recently.Their newly released collaboration with Yemi Alade is focused on African unity and the group is set on a Geobek Standard Pan-African mission to use music to unite the African nations.
“If Nigeria can accept the boys, and other African collaborations, then there shouldn’t be any feud between Ghana and Nigeria,” says George Beke aka Geobek, manager of the Yaba Buluku Boyz.
From available statistics from Spotify, Apple Music and other platforms, Nigeria tops other African countries in music penetration.
In a recent Spotify’s chart of top cities by monthly listeners, Lagos came first by a whopping 12.9 per cent, followed by Kano, Johannesburg, London, Accra and Pretoria.
In fact, the Yaba Buluku Boyz hit song had more listeners in Nigeria than anywhere in the world. Over five million streams in Nigeria alone with the United States of America coming second with over one million and South Africa third with a little over 500,000 streams.
The Yaba Buluku Boyz are signed to Geobek Records, a Nigerian-owned record label based in South Africa and Nigeria.
It is a Pan-African record label owned by a Nigerian named George Beke, better known in the entertainment space as Geobek.
According to the owner, the vision of the label is to get artistes across Africa and empower them through collaborations to build up their brands to become a powerhouse on the African music scene.
