Dance and music go hand in hand; they are like that elite combination of party jollof and fried rice we all love. It’s almost impossible to imagine music without dance, and dance without music; they are integral things that work hand in hand.
Each society has its own unique and distinct type of music which is accompanied by dance steps. Just as how culture and tradition are ever evolving, a lot of dance steps have come and gone. Here are some of the dance steps that have popped up on the Nigerian music scene from the late 90s to the 20s.
- Makosa: With origins from the Central African country, Cameroon, Makosa has been a major type of dance that has cut across several borders and culture across Africa and the World at large. Makosa gained popularity in Nigeria thanks to the smash hit singles of Awilo Logomba, Coupé Bimamba and Gâté le coin which were the party starters in the late 90s and early 20s.
- Galala: Originating from the slums of Ajegunle, Galala was introduced by the local Reggae singers from Ajegunle. With the rise of Daddy Showkey, Blakie, Baba Fryo, Father U-turn, Daddy Fresh, Galala was poised to become a very popular dance step. Galala is one of the first few dance steps to represent the streets. The Galala dance is the foundation in which Konto was founded.
- Konto: An off-shoot of the Galala dance, Konto also has its origins in Ajegunle, with slight differences such as lingo and the pace of the beat; Galala singers use more of pidgin English while Konto has more of elements of Patois and more melodies. Konto was made popular with the rise of Mountain Black and Mad Melon, the dance was short lived with competition from Galala and the arrival of Swo.
- Swo: Introduced in 2005 by the Kennis Music signee, Marvelous Benjy, the industry was taken by storm by the dance, whose popularity was propelled by the accompanying song – “New Dance”. Swo overthrew Konto and Galala, in the words of Marvelous Benjy “Galala no dey do them again, Konto no dey do them again, Makosa no dey do them again, Swo na the new dance wey dey reign.”
- Yahooze: Introduced by Olu Maintain to accompany his smash 2007 single of the same name. Yahooze is often cited as one of the songs that encouraged the popularity of internet scam, its video featured the lavish and fast lifestyle. Either way more focus was placed on the dance and the sweet melodies of the song.
- Kukere: Winner of the maiden version of MTN Project Fame, Iyanaya introduced himself to the Nigeria music scene with the smash hit accompanied with a dance step of the same name, Kukere.
- Skelewu: Davido joined the long list of artistes to introduce a new dance step with a banger to accompany it. Released in 2013, Davido did major damage with his Skelewu song and dance step and had everyone on the street on their feet.
- Azonto : Just like Makosa invaded the Nigerian market, years later Azonto followed suit. With origins in Ghana, Azonto was the cool dance step everyone was doing, both in Africa and the World at large. Popularized by in Nigeria by Wizkid with his hit song Azonto, everyone soon jumped on the Azonto vibe. Fuse ODG also took the Azonto vibe global with his 2014 hit song, Azonto.
- Shoki : Shoki peaked between 2013 and 2016, with the origins from the streets of Lagos. Shoki is very easy to dance, thanks to the fast songs with catchy lines that just keeps the dance fresh. Lil Kesh’s rendition of Shoki became the pinnacle of the Shoki wave.
Fun fact: You can dance Shoki to almost any type of beat, either slow or fast. You’re thinking about it already, try it!
- Bobo: Following his fine run of form in 2015, the King of the Street dropped a heavy tune. The Bobo wave reigned from 2015 till 2017.
