Mike on Nigerian Hip-hop, fake American accents & more
Last week, an especially insightful comment left by a recording studio executive from Northern Nigeria appeared on “Thoughts on the Nigerian Hip-hop Scene (part 1)â€. Mike shares real-life studio experiences and provides insight into the future of Hip-hop for Nigerians.
Mike writes:
I run a recording studio in the North and have to say that a large number of clients come in a try to sound like American rappers. They insist on swearing, rapping about guns etc. etc. and do it all in this weird ‘choppy’ fake American accent. At the end of any recording we have to go back and bleep out the swearing so it becomes playable on the radio stations.
Having said that we have a number of artists who we are working with who have international appeal and on that basis we have established a record label. Having played samples for many people in Nigeria of the two female singers they almost all think that the artists are from UK or USA. They have relatively neutral accents. I took the music of the 4 artists to the UK where I played it for some industry professionals there and they said that what we had produced was as good as anything in the UK charts. The music was played for someone from BBC Radio 1 last week and we got the same feedback.
Nigerian HipHop and R&B artists can make it internationally but like it or not it will be difficult in anything other than english. And that english has to be neutral or a natural and understandable english accent. Small phrases in broken english or a non-English language can pass through but more that that will be hard. I am not trying to say you cannot make it but…After all of that we are putting our efforts into breaking the artists locally whilst we prepare ourselves for the international market. Success in Nigeria will open doors elsewhere and the live show experience here is invaluable – its a tough and unforgiving scene!
The talent is here but it needs guidance. The industry is failing itself in that regard.
Eugene
March 2nd, 2006 at 12:58 pm
really i don’t see anything wrong with rapping in a kind of american accent. i see it instead as the globalisation thingy. many of these guys (ajebotas) grew up with mtv and alot of foreign films and foreign cultural influences. so it’s kind of normal that their accents could take a foreign tone. it’s only bad when you do so knowing fully well you haven’t learnt the ropes, that’s when you come out with wack songs and thats the angle a lot of people use to criticise nigerian hip hop.
when you take the american accent (the blowing phonetics way) and you do it well well you get joints like those of modenine, trybesmen, Pheroswuz etc. it’s a free world, follow your heart and make sure what you pump out is tight. one!
March 3rd, 2006 at 7:22 am
If our talent is to go beyond our shores, then we have to be unique and standout from amongst the crowd. If we continue trying to be american then we won’t get recognised, our voices will be lost amongst the many hopefuls trying to gain recognition in America and the UK. Those who know recognise and appreciate good music. The language of a song is irrelevant if what is heard is good music.
You can enjoy latin music without understanding a single word of Latin. Nigerian artists can standout without trying to sound or look american.
March 8th, 2006 at 3:23 pm
I agree with this article and Ade’s comment. From listening to a lot of Nigerian music, it is mostly the Hip-Hop artists trying to imitate American vocals and production. Nigerian native music has international appeal, but it wouldn’t if it was a weak rip-off of the music of another nation. I live in England, and UK Hip-Hop has it’s own identity. Admittedly, we are all jumping on an American genre, but identify it with your own nation’s music wherever you are, and it will gain the respect of national and international listeners.
March 10th, 2006 at 6:19 am
I am a R&B music producer in the the U.K. Fake American accents by wanna be’s puts me off a great deal. Hip hop most especially is about reality and who you are. Get real !!
March 11th, 2006 at 8:45 am
I agree with Ade and Uche, lets do this Hip Hop thing our own way and still keep it tight. been tight. Most rappers wouldnt be wack when rappping/repping in their native tongue be it pidgeon or Igbo. It all boils down to comunication, how many people gets the message you are passing (if any) If you’ve got a Foreing Record deal Ok do Your thing! but if not how do you think you can Mainstream in America or Uk from Nigeria without having a Cult Folllowing at Home? Modenine cant be more American than Jadakiss, Em or Dre. You cannot be you are not at most you will end up being Second best. Why you think Akon got that Mass apppeal? Because most Africans could connect with His voice here is a man that Talks like an American but Sings Like an African. Ok look at Asa..i dont understand Youruba but her music connects to me. Ask urself why 2face went far than Stylplus? If not Farer. We needed People that represents Africa. See The only rappers I respect in Nigeria are 1.2hotz, he sold more than any rapper In Nigeria why? He used the Street Talk the common everyday language you hear on the street. Street connected with is Music, that Music how can I waste My 150 naira in this Hard life Niaja to Buy a CD that has nothing to say to me.. Only that the Guy wants to show off his rapping ‘Skills’ You must put a marketing angle to your work That makes you an entertainer. they go about copying American cats that rep and rap in their own Englis Language and they think its cool repping another man’s hood. Infact these guys are Anti African! When do we laern from South Africans, Senegalese, Ghananians.2. Ruggedman without those ‘Local’ songs like Ehen and barage hw would have been in his room slapping himself everytime he ses Eedris on his Telly. Lets face the Facts we are not Ready and will never be ready to accept American Hiphop Culture in its Entirety lai lai Lets say no to this NEO COLONIZATION American culture/valuse is better than Ours..NO NO NO Na Lie EMANCIPATE YOURSELF FROM MENTAL SLAVERY NONE BUT OURSELVES CAN FREE OUR MINDS. Infact put this in me Mode9 and the rest of them unless they learnt to shun Inferiority complex Will not sell Up to 100, 000 Copies with alll the Hype and MTV rotation
I feel like giong on and on but I will be back
PS: I’ve no Beef with Modey or anybody for that Matter but I gat beef for anybody that say that AFROHIPHOP Is wack. Coz I am African and represent The Mohter Land to The fulllest And Anti Afrohiphopers are Making Decide to drop an Album and I will Show them How an African should be. I am Not Inferior to anybody. I rep where I come from No Idea is original but not when you use the same words, voice, style it no longer becomes an idea it becomes Copi Copi.
March 13th, 2006 at 11:13 am
look at da latin spanish folk no-one understandst theirmusic apart from them but everyone [ includin me] loves it coz they hav they’re own style n rythym
Look at da Jamaicans dey hav their own style n dont try 2 be american n everyone[ includin me ] loves it coz dey their own vibe
Nigeria artists shud do da same n keep it reel n nigerian n give a naija vibe so da people kno where they’re from
If people in nigerian dont like naija music theres no way americans n british will like it n put us on da map so lets be proud of country n music
n take this seriously we are da most talented country in africa . Da whole world wud kno dat if we started takin our talent more seriously
da only reason why jamaican is more popular than nigerian music coz they’re more established
We’re ready all we need is a international- collaberation wiv a famous artist
lets shine like candles instead of being american jus look at da jamaicans n latin spanish folk
March 20th, 2006 at 9:53 am
I’m a young Nigerian lady who lives in Apopka, Florida of the United States of America and I strongly believe that artists, where ever they come from, should be true to themselves. I am a big fan of Hip-Hop/R&B and living here in America I’ve seen day in and day out the artists that flood through MTV, BET and VH1. They are all doing THEM…when I turn on AIT via globalcast satelite, its nice to see artists repping thier hood/country…no one else’s Thousands of miles away from my homeland I can smile and be proud of those who are being true to thier experiences and the beautiful country Nigeria. There is alot of potential in Nigeria…I’ve seen some of the talent and I’m blown away by it and sometimes I think ya’ll could blow some of these American kats out of the water! 50 cent already exists…Jay-Z already exists…rep where you’re from! Keep up the good work.
March 20th, 2006 at 2:35 pm
Well, Princess B. Why dont you start by practicing what you preach. Quoting you…”I think ya’ll could blow some of these American kats out of the water! ” what’s with the “y’all” is that a naija phrase? eh eh eh. Anyway, I dont see anything wrong in any artist that is spicing his lyrics with some foreign accent. It’s all about what the fans want to hear.
March 21st, 2006 at 1:33 am
Honestly, I’m very tired of hearing all these Naija artists rapping/singing with an american accents. Honestly, the only people that can get fooled with these fake accents are people that NEVER heard an american speak, well maybe except people back home.
What ever happened with “being yourself”. Who said, it’s necessary to rap with an american accent inorder to sell records. I can also guarantee, non of these wanna-bes would ever sale more than 100 copies in American with that fake sh*t. Why do you think Jamacian/West indies artists consistently sell millions of record worldwide? It’s because they rep where they come fully without any intervention. I mean, look at Sean Paul, this man’s accent is off the chain but he sells millions of record and people enjoy his music despite his jamaican accent. Look at Akon, this is a guys who is actually an American but you hear african intonation all over his music and people loves him for it.
The bottomline is, if these cats want to any records oversea, they better do what comes naturally and that’s singing and rapping with some naija flavor.
April 4th, 2006 at 11:24 am
I am a Nigerian folk rapper seeking a producing studio that is willing to produce indigenous rhyme-over song. All my beats and lyris are original. Is there anyone out there who can give me a lead? Thanks.
April 28th, 2006 at 5:22 am
pls would like to get information of some of the studios in lagos, setting up a studio in lagos soon, need assistant engineers that know how stuff works and noot some amateur guy.
May 7th, 2006 at 4:59 pm
the reason why ruggedman remain the best nigeria and africa rap artist for most people is because he raps in broken english and everyone like this
May 27th, 2006 at 11:59 am
the african phsyche is so battered that its easy to look outside instead of inwards for insipration. but we are gaining confidence and i predict our music going to be an wolrdwide avalanche. whether we sing in english or not. how many people can understand jamaican patois?
I agree with sentiment that if youre not comfortable in your skin you will not exude that x appeal thats crucial to crossing over. but hey why dont we target nigerians first? do we even comprehend the number of nigerians spread worlwide? that as far as im concerned is the key to a sustainable industry that can grow without constantly looking for some generic one size fits all template of american hip hop 101.Think of naija hip hop genre as a highly infectious virus leapfrogging from the tens of millions of nigerians to the rest of the world. the same way the tiny island of jamaica defined and spread its own infectious genre.
May 28th, 2006 at 8:45 am
I’m not sure that I can listen to someone who uses ‘an’ before a word that starts with a consonant and doesn’t use proper punctuation or capitlaization. This entry, while made with good intentions, illustrates Africa’s biggest problem We seem to be unable to express ourselves in a grammatically correct fashion, and that is the reason the rest of the world does not read what we write or listen to what we have to say.
May 29th, 2006 at 9:43 pm
A good article but i think Nigerian should sing in any kind of English they like ,music is out experience ,your cultural background,you dont acquire it ,but its inborn ,if your music comes in pigdin dont tranlate to English for commercial purpose or else that artise is fooling himself and it wont last .you showcase nig culture in your music and not a culture you are alien to.Any music will do well internationally with the rigt exposure and marketing.Jamaicans sing in patois (jamaicas english)they sold it to the world and are winning awards worldwide, we didnt understand that makossa song”le pa gau”but it rocked Nigeria -so what are you talking about?
July 20th, 2006 at 1:42 pm
well, my problem now is that i don’t get all of your points. What is strong with a person singing with america accent? Before giving a comment , you must first think appropiately like an educated person. you are all saying his trying to use Ameria accent so what? What if he’s planning to sell some of the CD abroad, how are they going to understand what he’s talking about. atleast if you don’t understand the accent you won’t say he’s trying to use it .Actually, i did not understand What point J5 was trying to make. One thing we all need to understand is that nigeria musician are trying. though i live in America but we still hear all the good jobs people are doing in nigeria. All we have to do is to give them some credit, support them and advice them. atleast they are not robbers, whore or whoring.And for J5, you really need to listen to some America music , did you say you heard AN before a word that start with a consonant? You will hear worst in america music .And you will get scarced if an american musician speak english.Even there president Bush. We all are privilege to sing but let give some credit to the few people that stood up among us and make things happen. and for the person that ask a question about Y “ALL”‘ that’s the simple word for combining two or more people together in stead of saying ALL OF YOU . And i will like to recomend sociology to every one of y all.
July 22nd, 2006 at 2:02 pm
let me jist you guys something you need to know,not everyone in naija must follow da naija flow,if we all keep singing with pitgin,who’s gonna rep when we need guys who got da vibe in english.Anyways,you can drop any comment that suites your mind,is either you hate the artist or you love him.
Different rappers got different fans,feel me.
Make I shine your eyes like fine girl wey no dey wild
No dey criticise something wey you no fit write
If you sabi say you better ,abeg make we feel your vibe
Alright…?
But don’t be suprise ,
you might just be the last out of the whole naija rappers world wide.
July 24th, 2006 at 11:29 am
i dey feel you ja re baba, are you also in America bcos i no say people at home no dey appreciate waten dey have
July 24th, 2006 at 11:31 am
i dey feel you ja re baba
July 24th, 2006 at 11:31 am
i dey feel you ja re baba
August 27th, 2006 at 11:43 am
hey whatz up dere music is a riddle it has so many channels, each channels has it own properties it way,music can also be seen as a culture a way to espress ur self ur way our way alot of nigerians dot know artist like nas and outcast hold fella as one of dere role model i dot beef people who rap or sing de foreign way but i believe it is better to give people what u have than giving them what they have
August 28th, 2006 at 9:28 am
hey don mind people the will alwayz say one thing or the other just be ur self and suit ur self always remember this,THE CAN ONLY TAKE UR DREAM BUT THE CANT BREAK YOUR SPIRIT.one luv broda!
August 28th, 2006 at 7:38 pm
Well i just have to say the nigerian music is growing wide every day and am comming out with my own thing…am a rapper and same time a rnb artist and i just got back from florida and i got the real thang for the nigerians
Cheers Nigga’s
ISAIAH JOHNSON AKA (SLIM-J)
08026588160
August 28th, 2006 at 7:41 pm
i got the real accent for the peeps and niggas and i think am gonna make music big because i belive music can heal the world
Slim J
August 28th, 2006 at 7:45 pm
HEY SLIM COME OUT WITH YOU THING I KNOW YOU WILL MAKE YOU GOT IT RIGHT YOU CAN HEAL THE WORLD WITH YOUR RAPP
August 28th, 2006 at 11:38 pm
Guys(up-coming artistes), learn from this wack and pleazee be yourselves!!! those accents truly makes me go gaga. PLeaze be yourselves.
Many thanks Mike.
August 29th, 2006 at 5:26 am
well,u guyz all acted well,but i beleive u people have not seen gino (no be God) dey guy represented naija to the bone.
November 24th, 2006 at 3:59 am
abj based producer joints for styl plus , naydo, od, and lots more. there are artists in naija that can hang with the americans they can limit themselves because some people cant do it, i agree that they should try n blend it but you cant tell them not to rap or sing in english cuz they grew up on that, please listen to the radio in naija its 90 percent american even in the uk nobody respects nathan, fundamental and alot of british acts which language should they sing in bristish pidgin pls be real you feed people beyonce all day on radio but you want your kids to sing like evi edna you must be mad when they start speaking pidgin on nta news then we will accept it as the norm for now if u r tight come get a hot beat
November 24th, 2006 at 4:02 am
i agree jamix that always on my mind na fire forget these people pidgin is nice in the mouths of ajegunle artists but not kids in abj
November 27th, 2006 at 12:19 pm
hi jaaamix i love ur production
pls how can i get l dots wots dat sound i am in ibadan
pls send me a mail
November 28th, 2006 at 3:50 am
i love the song is actually good,when i first had it , i was like, that is a tune but thinkin niger people does nt have dis accent, so i realise he is american based.i love u.
December 5th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
I guess it depends on what market you want to reach in the choice of what language you use. Keep up the good arguments. Peace from Los Angeles. Click to my site to hear good Hip-Hop. 1luv
March 12th, 2007 at 9:49 am
mainstream interest = commercial accent (Americanized)
localized interest = village dialect and language
the accent in which a artist chooses to adopt can be dependent upon on his/her aspirations, when an artist makes it into the mainstream they can always localise ther material…one can say this is an effective strategy as the other way around can be could also be limiting and subject to cultural / language barriers.
Leon McPherson
UAL, London
April 9th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
Well said fellow africans.. i think all of you have great thought in your words; however, i think i’d be on the side of those who go for commerical appeal (i’d explain myself).
Success in my business lies in trademarking/tradmarketing simply because there are too many good people at the business. To stand out, one must be exceptional in many ways. I dont know about you all, but most of us come from very poor backgrounds and music is our savior, an art we love, but more so a way of life… So word of advice, so first thing, be yourself, push yourself and make good music. With luck and persistence, it should pay off.
I’d wrap if up, by saying i have a friend (One of my A and R’s) who was born and raised in Nigeria and through him i’ve lived to love Nigerian music in my musical career.. infact it goes further than that when my father used to listed to Fella with the “Er body run run run, er body scatter scatter” which i think is great music, from solid nigerian accent and culture.. I’m from a french speaking country and that music make sense no matter what language it was because we were going through the same thing..
I’d leave now men.. but this is really a great forum… love you all.. Zion 4life.. West Africa, my heart.
June 29th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
in shot 2 round eve’up, rap get qualities, i no b dat type wey de comdem our rap/hiphop artist… but d major tin is dat u must b real wit words. soon our industry will b more dan nuyork.. believe me.
August 10th, 2007 at 4:56 am
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Thank you till i hear from you.
November 20th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
I ve been all the around the world and one thing I hear from various countries that emulate hip hop is: Their country is the next thing, or the new BLACK. Everyone once change the face of Hip Hop for some reason and put their own stamp on something thats already labeled. Hip Hop is not universal, a lot of people think it is, but its not.
If Nigerians, or any other nation wants international appeal they have to reach deep inside of their own music and press for its success. Anyone ouside the U. S. that comes into the Hip Hop arena will only be seen as emulators and not originators.
On the contrary to what im saying in here Hip Hop is music for people of African disporia, but I dont see Nigeria putting a stamp on it. Ive seen and observed the Hip Hop scene from Africa and the U. K and both countries are light years behind the U. S.
Recently, ive been listening to a lot of African music that I never heard before and im curious why no one is trying to push it to higher level, its beautiful music.
I dont think I would ever try to play it because im a Black American whose roots are 400 years removed from Africa, but I enjoy the authentic, African music. Why does the world want to listen to Non-Americans imitate an American art form. The succes lies witihin you own music, not Americas
VICTOR, WHERE YOU AT?
November 21st, 2007 at 3:36 am
BE NIGERIAN TO DA BONE .BE PROUD OF WHERE U COME 4RM.THAT THE ONLY WAY OUT
November 24th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Im with you on that
November 27th, 2007 at 3:11 am
hi,wierd mc,that your “ijoya” na wa o! hey,let’s do something now…All biz;ha ,ha,ha.You are doing greeeeaaaaat pal,keep it up sola.here’s your yankee fan forever.
November 27th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
it’s very sickning to read all the baseless remarks against these upcoming talented nigerian hip hop or reggae artists.being able to sing is a talent few people have.so if dont have it shut….. and enjoy it or make yours. no one wants to be anyone but themseves and if their music sounds good to the listner anywhere on this earth thats what counts. give thanks that these artists are globalizing their versatile godgiven talents
don’t hate. una big ‘em up.
January 19th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
what is the fuss about trying to sound american?i read the friday edition of the guardian an article criticising the way our hip hop artistes sound and dress,must we be reminded that these same progenitors of hip hop in america are black folks which shows a natural connection between us and besides who on earth has the right to decide how an artiste can sound on either an original piece or an imitation..the beauty of music is the fact that it suits the listener when it is been listened too,,,no idea is original ..
big ups to gino,sauce kid,banky w,the whole mobb artistes..sosick,ghetto p and all that ..we coming out
February 20th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
If anyone needs a music producer, holler at me.
shawleeinc@yahoo.com
September 24th, 2008 at 8:23 am
we are independent in name only.I one way or the other, we are still dependent in all aspects of our daily activities we still look up to this foreigners to run our stuffs for us.We don’t appreciate our own stuffs.At 48 we cannot produce quality goods for ourselves not to talk of exporting.We don’t appreciate consumables even our culture have been thrown into the dungeon.What we do now is to imitate the westerners and imitation cannot bring forth good fruit but limitation.We are suffering and smilling like what late Fela Anikulapo said.We have to examing ourselves-right from our leaders down to we followers.We should stop imitating or else we would not be appreciated.