Make sure to get down to London’s Southbank tomorrow for Afrobeats Utopia, part of the Africa Utopia Festival.
The one night only event celebrates Afrobeats –the well-known sound of Fela Kuti transformed into a modern new style that nods towards hip-hop, funky house, dancehall and pop. The genre is more popular than ever in the UK, with Nigerian artist D’Banj storming the UK Top 10 with his smash hit ‘Oliver Twist’. Be prepared for the hottest in Naija Pop, Azonto Rhythms, Kuduro and Kizomba!
To get you hyped for the event we caught up with three of the scene’s well known names: BBC Radio 1/1Xtra’s DJ Edu, award-winning DJ Neptizzle and Nigeria’s superstar Ice Prince to get the lo-down on the rise of Afrobeats…
DJ Edu
You currently present BBC 1Xtra’s Destination Africa. How did you get involved in that? Did you come up with the concept for the show?
I pitched to do the African show when 1Xtra started 10 years ago but someone got the slot. He had too many commitments outside of radio so he left and 1Xtra had no African show for a while. With the rise and focus on Africa in 2005 via the Africa Lives On programme, then came the inception of Destination Africa. Since then I’ve grown and so has the show –it’s been a big team effort.
With the mainstream success of D’Banj’s ‘Oliver Twist’ how do you think the exposure will benefit the Afrobeats movement?
The D’Banj story is one I’m proud to be a part of. I was the first person to play Oliver Twist on national radio in the UK. The light is now on Afrobeats, which can only mean progress in terms of quality, production and collaborations with other artists. African music has always been in the mainstream but was never given the credit it deserves.
Name your top 3 Afrobeats tunes of the moment?
D’Banj’s ‘Oliver Twist’, DJ Sbu feat. ‘Zahara-Lengoma’ and Atumpan ‘The Thing’
Who’s next? Who are the next crop of stars we should keep our ears out for?
Davido Nigeria, Jeraw Kenya and Ahmed Sultan Morocco
DJ Neptizzle
You’re originally from Vietnam. How did you get involved in the Afrobeats scene?
A good friend of mine is from Ghana and he forced me to play Hiplife whne I was DJing his sister’s party! From there I saw the reaction of the crowd to the music and after a lot of research and listening over time, I have grown to love it.
You’ve got a pretty interesting DJ name…what’s the story behind it?
Growing up I loved The Neptunes. I was doing a lot of music production before I got behind the decks, so I just remixed the name and called myself DJ Neptizzle.
So you’re at a party and it’s a bit dead. Tell us five tracks you’d spin to liven things up?
Davido ‘Dami Duro’, P-Square ‘Chop My Money’, Buk Bak ‘Kolom’, D’banj ‘Oliver Twist’ and Magic System ‘Premier Gaou’. Of course all crowds are different, but if these tracks don’t work… then I’m in trouble!
What have you got planned for the rest of the summer?
I’ve just come back from playing in Washington DC and there are alot of parties with the Olympics so catch me everywhere! Also come down to my next Afrobeats residency ‘Hotter Than You’ on 17th Aug in Dalston, Hysteria. It has such a cool party vibe, listening to Afrobeats in the heart of East London. I’ll be playing alongside DJ Edu and Sef Kombo this Saturday and Ice Prince, Jesse Jagz and Brymo will be making a special appearance… it’s going to be nuts! Follow me on twitter @djneptizzle.
One more thing…can you Azonto?
Lol! I can do a small, basic azonto. I’m not crazy good like some of the people I’ve seen doing it in Ghana.
Ice Prince
What has been your highlight of 2012 so far?
There have been a lot of highlights for me: winning Best African Artist at the Ghana Music Awards, being nominated as Best African Act at the BET Awards and also performing at the BBC Radio 1 Hackney weekend.
We managed to catch you at BBC Radio 1’s Hackney Weekend! How do UK live crowds compare to others?
I feel like it’s pretty much the same because the reaction at Hackney Weekend wasn’t far off from how it is back home in Nigeria. Our music is universal and it’ll always move the crowd even if they’re not too familiar with the songs or the words. It was all in all an awesome experience for me.
You’ve been recording a lot recently is there an album in the works? What can we expect to hear?
Yes, I’ve been killing myself in the studio recording brand new music and brand new ideas…I’m working on a lot of projects at the moment and by God’s grace, I’ll suprise the world this year!
Any UK/US artists you’d love to collaborate with?
I’m the type of artist that is very open to new and fresh ideas. The list of people I’d like to work with is endless. I think that an Ice Prince/Labrinth song would be bonkers!
Lastly, we’ve heard you’re a big fan of both but if you had to pick…Jollof Rice or Nandos?
Haha! Jollof Rice all day!
Afrobeats Utopia takes place this Saturday 21 July 2012 at 9pm (Doors open 8:30pm)
The Clore Ballroom of the Royal Festival Hall
Tickets: £10
www.southbankcentre.co.uk / 0844 847 9910
