One of Nigeria’s foremost music promoters, Biliamin Olabanji who is popularly known in the entertainment circuit as Billy Que has revealed how himself and other UK based showbiz music promoters like SMADE, Ayo Shonaiya, DJ Abass, Tim Westwood among others pushed Afrobeats music into the UK mainstream music industry by inviting and staging various promotional concerts for Nigerian artistes in the United Kingdom.
Speaking on its growing global influence, the fusion of West African and British urban sounds and the rising Afrobeats lifestyle and music in the UK, Billy Que stated:
“Before Afrobeats gained mainstream acceptance in the UK, what was popular then were Garage, Grime and Afroswing (UK rap) music, and of course, the Jamaican and Caribbean Dancehall music. Through our efforts by inviting talented and popular Nigerian artistes, especially the rising stars to the UK for shows, the genre gradually started gaining acceptance and popularity. It even got to a point that it caught the attention of the guys at BBC 1 Xtra and many of their DJs and AOAPs started throwing spotlights on the genre. During the formative days, Afroswing standardized the incorporation of African influences into the Black British music”, Billy Que revealed.
“Big accolades should be given to JJC, producer for the famed Black British Hip-Hop group Big Brovaz. He was one of the early pioneers of the sound in the UK and due to the lack of representation for African culture in the British music mainstream, he formed a group called the 419 Squad. The duo of Ayo Shonaiya and DJ Abass helped carve out distinctly African and Black diasporic music spaces through live events and media. The popular Nigeria’s corner at the yearly Nottting Hill Carnival becomes a big stage for Afrobeats artistes to perform in the UK.
“BEN TV owned by Alistair Soyode became a pioneering source of African music entertainment TV in the UK, and with DJ Abass as a major presenter on the channel’s Intro talk show, the pair of Ayo Shonaiya and DJ Abass featured Nigerian trending stars like Tony Tetuila, Jazzman Olofin, The Trybesmen, Ruggedman, and even Jamaica’s Chaka Demus & Pliers.”
It’s now a thing of joy to see many Nigerian artistes selling out huge arenas like the O2 Arena, Royal Albert Hall OVO Arena, Glastonbury Festival, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, The Co-op Live, etc in the United Kingdom showing that the early days’ hustle is paying off, he added.
With over a decade of experience in the music promotions business, the astute promoter has helped in nurturing and promoting many young talents and he has worked with many Nigerian A-list music stars and packaged many foreign tours for the likes of King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall, Davido, Small Doctor, Wasiu Alabi Pasuma, Q-dot, Sule Alao Malaika, Saheed Osupa, Portable, 9ice, Klever Jay, Vector, Slimcase, Lyta among many others.
