The Nigerian social media space was taken over in the early hours of Saturday, January 23, 2016 by Sir Shina Peters’ performance at the Afropolitan Vibes. Nigerian-German artiste, Adegoke Odukoya, popularly known as Ade Bantu, is the creator of the project. He spoke to Bisola Bello about the joy and challenges of putting the concert together.
What inspired Afropolitan Vibes?
When I got back to Nigeria a couple of years ago I discovered that there was not much happening in terms of live music. A lot of miming was being sold as live music and only few venues actually offered artistes the opportunity to own their craft. So I decided I wanted to start a concert that can give voices to these people. Afropolitan Vibes is about creating a platform that gives artistes the opportunity to display their arts whether you are established or a new one. It is just about celebrating music in Africa; be it highlife, Afro, rap, juju, fuji, whatever. Lagos has always been this bubbling place, so how come we don’t have live music? In the 70s, 80s and 90s, we had several spots where people could go and watch excellent performances. That has died and we want to revive that.
How did you manage to put this together?
I spoke to the management of Freedom Park. I though it was the appropriate venue. It is next to Campos Square in the middle of Lagos. It had the specific energy I wanted to capture within that space and also use it for a venue for our experiment. We call it Afropolitan Vibes because we wanted a twist to Afropolitan. The word in particular is used by privilege people who can move around the globe, who are very cutting edge, chick and diversified. So, we thought how about we use this word and bring it back home like localising it by saying it is not just for the privilege but for everybody.
What sets the show apart from others?
We started Afropolitan Vibes literally with a hundred friends and we have built it over the years by being consistent. We have been able to create the right mix and right blend of people. We have a three-hour performance that engages you. Our band Bantu starts with about five songs, the next act comes on stage, we back the act and so on. There is a kind of exponential enjoyment that you notice with the performances. We don’t have one top act who everybody is revolving around. When you are at Afropolitan Vibes everybody is a star, there is no barrier between audiences. We don’t have VIP tables; people stand. You are feeling the artiste on stage; he gets you intoxicated, feel free to jump on the stage and dance with him. That is what Afropolitan is about.
How did you manage to bring veteran acts like Shina Peters and Salawa Abeni to perform at the show?
It is because we are consistent and we know what we are doing. First of all, the artistes perform for free. We don’t have dedicated sponsorship and the show is free. People pay N500 to enter Freedom Park on that day. The money is what Freedom Park uses to pay the cleaners and security. We don’t want to put a price on something that is our musical culture and heritage. I do not believe in charging 10k, 20k, a million just to have people see performances. It is counterproductive and it is only an elitist group that will have access to culture. But in Afropolitan Vibes you have expatriates next to returnees, next to students, next to locals and so on. And there is a friendly coexistent because it is all about the good vibes. This is something the artistes appreciate and it makes it easy for them to come on board and trust us with their sounds and songs. On top of that we have been consistent. We have done 33 shows. We are having our third anniversary in March. I think we have done well considering the fact that we have no sponsors. We have had over 130 artistes perform so far. Different people – Yemi Alade, M.I Simi and so on – have performed on our stage. And the thing is when you do live performance it tends to rub off on you. You might feel, ok I don’t want to go with the DJ anymore, I want to perform live music. We want to up the game and hope we can be some sort of inspiration.
Have you sent a proposal to the Lagos State Government for partnership?
Nigeria defies all logic. Things here are extremely slow. You would expect that by now, when we are having close to 5500 people on attendance, you would expect something. A lot of people don’t get it. We have written countless proposals. The co-producer of the show is a marketing executive so we know what we are doing. We have reached out to the Lagos State Government but the feedback has not been what we anticipated. That has not dampened our spirit. What is important is to keep on going and I’m not just going to sit and wait for manna from heaven, I just make it happen. It is frustrating yes I agree that we are not getting the support we feel we deserve but that is not stopping us from putting together good live music and pushing the Afropolitan Vibes. No matter what, Lagos State Government, everybody who is not a part of it is missing out. It is a moving train and we are not going to compromise quality just because we want quantity or we want to make some kind of money. Yes, money is important but what is more important is the integrity and spirit of the show. Once you kill that spirit, then you are in serious trouble. That is what has also been able to lure the artistes to trust us with their music and sound. People outside the county are noticing this, from BBC to UK Guardian. We are creating a movement and what is important is that we try to balance popular music with alternative music. I don’t have anything against the Wizkids and Davidos; I am very happy for them, but what is important is that popular culture is not the only thing we have. We have to be diverse. Variety is the spice of life.
Has there been moves made toward partnering with private organisations or are they ignoring the show as well?
I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt. I’m sure most private companies know about Afropolitan Vibes. Their team knows about it, so I’m just patient and hoping that they will get it. The more it grows, the more things will be expected of them. We have grown. You are talking about a show with 5000 guests with no single radio advert. We don’t have a radio or TV partner. We only have a dedicated following that see themselves as part of the movement that actually tell people about it. Even if a sponsor is coming, they can’t hijack it. This show has many mothers and fathers that are very protective of it. Afropolitan Vibes is not a brand. It is a philosophy, a movement. So, you have to engage it on that level. We are open, we are not saying we are dictatorial we can dialogue if it presents itself.
Is there a chance we will see the likes of Davido, Wizkid and Olamide perform on Afropolitan stage?
I don’t have a problem with proving myself even in the pop circuit. I am very open. We have been talking to all these acts and I know at some point they will come over to the show. That is because we have built certain credibility based on the quality we are putting out there. I know they will come on board as performers on the show. It is just a matter of time. These people will become the ambassadors. There is not a single person that has performed at Afropolitan Vibes who left to say “oh why did I do this? I have jeopardised my career”.
Away from music, you are also into producing films. What projects are you working on now?
I’m involved as a producer in a documentary film called Elders Corner -the history of Nigeria told through its musical icons. There is a trailer online right now. It is going to be released later this year. We have been working on it for about five to six years. I have also been writing short films and producing them. I just wear many hats. I am also into a project where we go to communities and train kids for free. We are currently at Bariga. We have done at Ajegunle and stuff. We just train these kids and feed them for free. It is an ongoing project. The kids meet every Friday. Basically, we are just engaging them in the art. There is not much happening there so we are just trying to stimulate the kids. It is not really work to me because when I recount what I do I say it is fun because I get to learn a lot. I am an apprentice of life.
