American-Senegalese musician, Akon
American-Senegalese musician, Akon, has claimed that he played a foundational role in the rise of Afrobeats.
In an interview with American talk show host and actress Sherri Shepherd, Akon discussed his career and his impact on the early development of the Afrobeats genre.
According to him, much of the Afrobeats wave that has swept the world today can be traced back to the groundwork he laid in Nigeria over a decade ago.
“I was in Africa and time just flew past. 2008 was my last official album, which was the Freedom album. And then I produced the music for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. From there, I went to Nigeria. What we created in Nigeria was what you see and hear now as Afrobeats,” he said.
Akon, who rose to fame in the early 2000s with hits like Locked Up, Lonely, and Smack That, said his team’s early collaborations with Nigerian artistes helped define the modern sound of Afrobeats.
He specifically mentioned signing Wizkid in 2008 and working closely with Banky W.
Akon mentioned that he played a role in the development of some artistes, including D’banj and P-Square, among several others.
“Wizkid was the first Nigerian artiste that we signed back in 2008. We went to work with him and Banky W in Nigeria. From there, we just started developing artistes like PSquare, D’banj, and others,” Akon explained.
AK/EB