As Asake Proves That The Global Dominance of Music of Yoruba Origin Is Not a Fluke

Asake's new album, Lungu Boy, vindicates what I wrote about music of Yoruba origin last year. Listening to a song like Fuji Vibe makes you want to move as if you understand what the singer is saying. And that is what the musicology of the Yoruba language does to the human spirit. If you cannot translate it through words, you will nevertheless translate it via dance. I am not sure Afrobeats can thrive without using the Yoruba language as its basic foundation.

Asake is the latest musical vessel winning the world over to the cause of Afrobeats, using the instrumentality of the deep native tongue of the Omoluabi Lukumi people.

Nigeria will have a tough time competing with the West and East in science and technology. And even in physical endeavours, like athletics, our poor outing at the Paris Olympics indicates that we cannot rely on that route for our redemption as a people.

However, music and the arts are two areas where we have a comparative advantage and can be used to attain global dominance.

That is why I have previously said music of Yoruba origin should be studied as a course in Nigeria’s ivory towers, because it has the capacity to not only rapidly change Nigeria’s negative international image, but also to take our economy out of the doldrums by attracting music loving tourists to our nation, the way Rihanna has done in Barbados, and even in death, Bob Marley is doing for Jamaica.

For every decade of Nigeria’s existence as an independent nation, music of Yoruba origin has dominated our country, and now it is dominating the world.

•Bobby Benson dominated the 60s
•Abami Fela Kuti over dominated the 70s
•King Sunny Ade and Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey dominated the 80s with Fela
•Sir Shina Peters and King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall dominated the 90s.
•Paul Play Dario shared dominance with the Remedies, Plantashun Boiz, and Tuface Idibia in the 2000s
•D’Banj, the Koko Master, shared dominance with PSquare in the 2010s
•Davido, Wizkid, and Burna Boy (party Yoruba) dominate the here and now.

And now comes Asake, who, along with Rema, is taking the arena on a thriller ride.

And Yoruba music transcends race and language. It resonates beyond those whose first language is not Yoruba. And, again, it is no coincidence that ALL Nigeria's Grammy Award winners are either wholly or partly of Yoruba origin, including:

Sade Adu (1986), Babatunde Olatunji (1991), Sikiru Adepoju (1991) and Seal (1996), Burna Boy (2021), Wizkid (2021), Temilade Openiyi AKA Tems (2023).

And then Burna Boy (2021) is partly Yoruba.

Christy Essien Igbokwe was quoted as saying she would not have made a breakthrough in the music industry without her anthem, Seun rere, which was performed entirely in Yoruba.

Throughout the Black world, no other ethnic group has been able to CONSISTENTLY break into the music industry internationally while singing wholly or partially in their native tongue. I am not saying that some others do not sing in their native tongues. I am saying that they have been unable to crossover internationally while singing in their native language. They do so by speaking English or some other colonial language.

Caribbean reggae artistes sing in English or patois. African American R’nB, Jazz, Soul and rap artistes sing in English. Black Brazilians crossover with Portuguese. Francophone artistes (with the exception of Manu Dibango) crossed over with French.

Even the world’s top Francophone female artiste (Angelique Kidjo) did not crossover internationally until she sang in Yoruba.

Reno Omokri

Slytiger:
And this was posted even before Asake broke a record today. I remember first listening to that song he featured burna boy in. I did not even know when I started dancing. It was fuji mixed with afrobeat.

LagosPrince:
Reno the content creator, always creating contents to his gullible followers because of Elon musk handout

The more topics and contents he creates and get views and "likes" the more money Elon musk give him stipend

We sabi he dey hustle , but make he dey hustle with sense .

Armaggedon:
Half truths from a jobless rabble rouser. Many Igbos abroad have won Grammys two but many people don't know for the simple reason that Igbos don't believe that Grammy or Brits award is a ticket to heaven. Below are such Igbo winners.

Guestlander:


Ne-yo does not have a Nigerian parent.

Armaggedon:
His mother is Igbo. That where he got the name

Guestlander:


Donald Adeosun Faison, Yetunde Williams are some famous Americans with Yoruba names, this doesn't translate to them being Yoruba. Same goes for Ne-yo.

Armaggedon:
what you do with your people is upto you and should not go for Igbos.

LagosPrince:
Reno the content creator, always creating contents to his gullible followers because of Elon musk handout

The more topics and contents he creates and get views and "likes" the more money Elon musk give him stipend

We sabi he dey hustle , but make he dey hustle with sense .