Music Custodian

Twenty years after Big Brother Naija’s inaugural season, Nigerian music executive Obi Asika revisits the decisions, relationships and broadcast infrastructure that helped Nigerian artists reach audiences across the continent. Long before Afrobeats became a fixture on international charts and streaming playlists, Nigerian music was finding its way across Africa through television, radio, music videos and…

From Fireboy DML and Lojay to Blaqbonez, Cruel Santino, Victony, Gyakie, Sarkodie and KiDi, this week’s 15-track Afrobeats Heat Different follows African popular music through reinvention, collaboration, street expression and the expanding relationships between musical scenes. Fireboy DML returns to the centre of the African music conversation with ZUKO!, his fifth studio album and first…

Bien, The Kenyan singer-songwriter begins a new chapter through a joint venture between Quality Control and Courtesy Of, ahead of his forthcoming album, Alusa Continua, scheduled for November 20. Kenyan singer-songwriter Bien has entered a new phase of his solo career through a joint venture between American record label Quality Control Music and Courtesy Of,…

From FOLA and Davido’s late-night collaboration to Phyno’s romantic expression, Bien’s reflections on heartbreak, Vector’s meditation on fatherhood and new connections across African music, this week’s 13-track Afrobeats Heat Different explores what it means for an artist to deliver. In football, the number nine carries a particular responsibility. It belongs to the player expected to…