Showmax’s ability to tell important stories shines through in the ten-episode docuseries titled JOURNEY OF THE BEATS.
Produced by renowned music executive Obi Asika, the series follows the genesis of the Afrobeats and Nigerian hip-hop sound that has, in recent years, become a global phenomenon. We see the different eras or epochs via stories told by those who witnessed the early days and pioneered the foundational blocks that the sound stands on today. It’s truly a story of music, mythos and those who bled for it.
From the spirit of the ever-green Bobby Benson to the hedonistic yet revolutionary sound of Fela and the urban legends around entertainment melting pots like Ajegunle and Alaba market, Journey of the Beat does not falter in the quest to keep you engaged and by extension, demands that one pays attention to the footprints of legends and eyewitnesses of Nigerian pop culture and its many evolutions.
The documentary focuses on our sound and the stories that shaped these sounds. It does not aim to tell you that we were the arbiters of originality, it only tells you that this sound is important, and it goes beyond the artistes we see on covers and stages.
As much as it is titled the Journey of the Beats, it does not imply a finality to the journey. Things are still in motion as they were always in, even in the most avant-garde way possible. Stories of musical disruptors like Charly Boy, Daddy Showkey, African China, Mighty Mouse, promoters/DJs and producers like Kenny Ogungbe, Jimmy Jatt and Nelson Brown put things in perspective about how ahead of our time we really were in terms of the DIY-esque method of creating music and music marketing.
We thrived in a time of radio dubs and Sony Walkman, and this documentary captured the zeitgeist of our music scene and music consumption which is something you rarely see in music documentaries. We are shown the beauty of our hip-hop scene – Eedris Abdulkareem tells a humorous tale of his come-up story. Although the show focuses on the Lagos scene, we get an insight into rap groups and rappers like SWAT ROOT, Plantashiun Boiz, The Remedies and Da Trybe – Weird MC, Ruggedman, Nomoreloss, and others.
We are transported into the immediate past and the present, and it’s all interconnected to the ethos of hustle and culture that influenced the diversity of our sound beyond the confine of the genre. We speak of rock n roll, punk, and rap music beyond our borders. We often forget to show proper appreciation for the music that occupied our airplay and local parties because we have deemed it as lacking in quality, but there was always a certain ingenuity lying there, and that is what Showmax’s Journey of the Beats accentuates here.
The beauty of our music right from its conception, from Ajegunle to the BET, from Bariga to the streets of New York, you can hear the sound and glory of all that was before, all there is now, and all that is to come.