With the release of “UY Scuti,” the realization that there is a major shift ongoing in the music industry, is just hitting so many people.
Not me, though. I’ve always known. This paradigm shift is inevitable, and has begun for more than half a decade now.
The first invasion of mid-tempo music started around the time Wizkid‘s “Ojuelegba” became a hit. Actually, it was a sleeper. Every other song on the album have had their moments, and then out of nowhere, “Ojuelegba” became an anthem.
The remix with Drake and Skepta, and the Lagos-themed music video came later and by the end of 2015, it had become WizKid‘s most important song.
Also by the end of 2015, it had become a wave. Songs like “Ojuelegba” had become a thing. Well, not exactly songs like it. But songs with mid to low tempos. That was the era the Tekno’s and the Runtown’s came.
In 2016, alkayida had crept upon the music industry and it birthed the ‘pon pon’ sound. This was around the time Wizkid made “Final” and started making Sounds From The Other Side moves.
When SFTOS came in 2017, not a lot of people in the industry accepted it. They wanted groove, something they can dance to, ‘tungba’ music. There were other artists from the streets like Olamide who were willing to do that, but not people like WizKid.
WizKid had already evolved and his music was now characterized by calm, smooth vibes all round. But that was then.
Now, even Olamide, who was once the hottest on the streets, has now evolved. On “UY Scuti,” he has no song with a street-hop beat, for example. All of his tracks are Afrobeats, pop and dancehall.
From “Carpe Diem,” Olamide started introducing soft melodies, low tempos and absolutely no noise. His vocals have improved greatly to match, I must say.
But the one thing that is clear is that the Nigerian music scene is slowly shifting away from fast-paced party bangers to calm and mid-tempo kind of music.
What will happen to artists like Zlatan now? Will they have to switch up completely to fit the industry or will they risk being irrelevant in an industry that will leave them behind if they can’t catch up?
Or is this the end of the road for them?
What Are Your Thoughts?
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