The Senegalese-American singer Akon has discussed his role in the development of the Afrobeats genre.
He stated that his collaborations and connections with Nigerian artists and music industry professionals in the late 2000s to 2010s helped lay the foundation for the genre we know today as Afrobeats.
As the head of Konvict Muzik, Akon reminisced about working with Wizkid, Banky W, P-Square, D’banj, and other Nigerian musicians long before the ‘Afrobeats to the World’ movement took off.
Speaking in a recent interview with Sherri, Akon said, “2008 was my last official album, which was the ‘Freedom’ album. And then I was producing the music for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. From there, I went to Nigeria. What we created in Nigeria was what you see now and hear now as Afrobeats.
“Wizkid was the first [Nigerian] artiste that we signed back in 2008. We went to work with him and Banky W in Nigeria. From there, we just started developing artists like PSquare, Dbanj and others.”
On his role as one of the pioneering modern pop stars from Africa who brought the continent’s music to the global stage, the Senegalese singer said, “It [opening the global door for African music] is the role God put me in. I just feel like I am a beacon to somebody’s success. I don’t know who it is going to be but everything we have touched so far has been really successful. And I’m appreciative for that.”
