Afrobeats has displaced dancehall reggae in global fame — Asha Gangali

Singer, rapper, and talent hunt coach, Asha Gangali says the fame that Afrobeats currently enjoys globally is at the expense of other genres like dancehall.

While appraising the evolution of Afrobeats, Asha noted that more efforts would be needed to sustain the moment.

“Everybody is shouting that Afrobeats getting Grammy recognitions but if you don’t manage it from home; if you don’t get a platform to continue to project the right vibes to the global audience, it’s going to wade off as dance hall genre did.

“We got there on the billboard at the expense of dance hall reggae. Do you think the reggae dance hall people are happy? We’ve dominated all their airwaves. Afrobeats has dominated but if you don’t manage it, we may lose the fame in the long run. That’s while we have to keep discovering new talents like we are seeing in this Naija Star Search.”

The Naija Star Search reality show, powered by affordable pay-TV platform, StarTimes, and Kennis Music, is set to hit television screens in September. Winners will win ten million naira and other consolation prizes. Judges of the show include Keke Ogungbe, Asha Gangali, and ID Cabasa, while VJ Adams is the host.

Asha Gangali is not a greenhorn in the Nigerian music industry after impacting the industry as the founder of Roc Da Mic Africa, a music talent hunt show that discovered Wande Coal, Timaya, and a host of current music stars.

He stands tall as a talent discovery machine.

In a media chat with journalists over the weekend, the talent coach spoke on why Nigerians should see the Naija Star Search reality show as leverage to take Afrobeats to a greater height.

“You will agree with me that our music has evolved over the years. We have fused so many genres from hip hop to R&B and reggae. We’ve always evolved. We took over hip hop just like we’ve taken over Amapiano. It has always been our thing. We took these foreign rhythms and beats and then interpreted them.

“Look at when African Queen was released and held the entire industry spellbound and it changed the trajectory until 9ice came with Gongo Aso which also changed the entire setting. Then Nigga Raw and Flavour added vibes from the East. Then the hip-hop dispensation when MI came.  Naija rap hadn’t gained wide popularity but MI entered the scene and brought it up. Afrobeats has been evolving over the years.

Asha has played an active role in the development of Afrobeats over the years. Aside from his musical releases and discovery of notable talents, he co-founded a music recognition technology that gathers, monitors and records music data like music airplay to track what is being played, and where it is being played.

Thus, he prides himself on being in a business that fuses music with technology.

“This intelligence gathering gave me a lot of data about the consumption of Afrobeats from grassroots to the global level,” Asha who is among the judges of the forthcoming Naija Star Search Reality show said.

“This Naija Star Search platform is very important because it zeroes in on Afrobeats. There has never been any reality TV show that focuses mainly on Afrobeats and that is what we need on the global stage.

“I will be looking out for the raw stars, the ones that have the marketing edge. They need to have talents and character. Without these three components, a lot of them go wrong. It’s too expensive to promote an upcoming artiste. And you need to have a lot of releases in a year to remain competitive.

“Nobody is going to invest in you if you don’t have the right character. It is a risky business and capital intensive. You must look for a good artist who has all the balance-character, talents, and marketability. And that’s what we are poised to instill in these budding talents on the Naija Star Search show,” he concluded.