The Nigerian entertainment industry is an admirably thriving space fashioned with incredible talents across sections including the music and film industries, dubbed Afrobeats and Nollywood respectively. In a country with little to boast about, our music and movies have propelled us to global entertainment powerhouses.
The Nollywood industry itself has witnessed a notable upsurge in terms of production, storytelling, direction, and distribution. From the early days of ‘Glamour Girls’, ‘Blood Money’, ‘Issakaba,’ ‘Living in Bondage’, and ‘Osuofia in London,’ amongst others. Actors like Patience Ozokwor ‘Mama G’, Kenneth Okonwo, Nkem Owoh, Kanayo O. Kanayo, Eucharia-Anunobi Ekwu, Ngozi Ezeonu, and Stella Damasus contributed immensely to the industry in the last few decades.
Nollywood has grown from giving us classic home-videos marketed and distributed from the hub of Alaba, to more top-par quality stories and production spanned across cinemas and streaming platforms stretching beyond the corners of Africa, releasing record-breaking films.
Afrobeats, on the other hand, has grown in leaps and bounds, arguably surpassing Nollywood as our most renowned entertainment export in recent times. The evolution of this industry has seen a meteoric ascent to global success.
Both have individually maintained their stance in promoting Nigerian culture, telling stories, and being our best cultural exports. They have also collaboratively made projects that have stood the test of time. A symbiotic relationship currently exists between Afrobeats and Nollywood.
Sampling, Nostalgia, and Acting Performances: Afrobeats’ Homage to Nollywood
Afrobeats–an evolving sound– is known to host a diverse form of creativity and versatility ranging from various genres. Through the fine arts of sampling and interpolation, we have occasionally seen Afrobeats artists remind us of Nollywood classics through their music.
For instance, Lady Donli in her ‘Suffer Suffer’ song samples Patience Ozokwor’s ‘National Moi-moi’ which reflects Mama G’s pursuit of a luxurious lifestyle. Lady Donli who embraced the ‘Cash Mummy’ attitude at the time, unearthed a nostalgic feeling by infusing the infamous Old Nollywood.
Another artiste who infused Old Nollywood into a song is former YBNL artiste and serial hitmaker, Lil Kesh. ‘Skibi Dat’ by Viktoh ft Lil Kesh, sampled Charles Okocha’s Igwe 2pac film released in 2013. The song had Lil Kesh singing lines from Igwe 2pac’s famous scene.
Credit: @theafrovision
Another artist who infused Old Nollywood in his songs is Olamide who recreated a marquee moment from ‘Agunbaniro’ in ‘Apa ti Jabo’ and paid tribute to popular Nollywood actor ‘Yemi My Lover’ in a track of the same name.
We have also seen Afrobeats stars making acting appearances in more recent Nollywood flicks. Top examples include Reminisce and Illbliss starring in the Netflix series ‘King of Boys’ and Falz portraying a resilient policeman in the crime thriller ‘Brotherhood.’ Similarly, Yemi Alade appeared in ‘Omo Ghetto: The Saga,’ Phyno in ‘Lionheart’ and Simi in ‘Mokalik.’
Soundtracking with Afrobeats Records: Nollywood’s Nod to the Music Scene
We can also see Nollywood employing Afrobeats songs as Original Soundtracks for their movies. However, this culture wasn’t so evident from the inception. Old Nollywood film soundtracks were heavily composed by the likes of Stanley Okorie (who produced a substantial amount of Nollywood soundtracks), Sammie Okposo, and Tope Alabi.
But with the evolution of the film industry, music has become an integral part, influencing and aiding its success. We have now witnessed “New Nollywood” featuring songs composed by Nigerian artistes.
Kemi Adetiba’s ‘The Wedding Party’ used hit songs like ‘Ginger’ by LAX ft Wizkid, ‘Bullion Van’ by M.I, ‘Wash’ by Tekno, and ‘Made For You’ by Banky W. ‘King of Boys’ also used Afrobeats songs like ‘Gangster’ by Sess The Prblm Kid and ‘Jawon Laya’ by Reekado Banks. 1da Banton’s ‘No Wahala’ was also used in the popular Netflix series “Far From Home,
Opportunities for even more collaborations
With both industries on the rise, this is the best time to solidify the relationship between Afrobeats and Nollywood
In the examples above, one may argue that the appearance of the popular music makers played legitimate roles in the success of the films. Thus, the strategy of signing artists up for acting roles is one that will do Nollywood a world of good. Imagine what the presence of Wizkid, Davido, Burna Boy, Olamide, or Rema in a movie could do for its box office performance!
But even more urgent is the need for Afrobeats and Nollywood to partner up to create original soundtrack albums. Original soundtracks are scores that are composed specifically for the film. The songs accompany different scenes and convey emotions from the motions. This is a common practice in Hollywood. However, we are yet to see enough of Afrobeats songs filling this vacuum in our movies. It certainly isn’t for a lack of talent. Wizkid, Burna Boy, Omah Lay, Arya Starr, and others have lent their voices to soundtrack albums of Hollywood blockbuster movies.
Tiwa Savage recently took it upon herself to not just produce a film but also, original scores. Her recently released “Water and Garri” contains soundtracks originally composed for it.
The motion picture’s accompanying album features superstars like Olamide, Young Jonn, Black Sherif, Asa, Ayra Starr, and Tiwa Savage herself. Although the songs may not have garnered wide acclaim, it remains a notable effort on the artist’s part. If nothing else, it certainly showcases the awesome possibilities of intertwining Afrobeats and Nollywood through original soundtrack albums.
The onus of sustaining the symbiosis is not on Nollywood alone. As seen in this TikTok video, merely linking Olamide’s song to a classic movie sparked profound interest in the film. Hence, adapting more film moments into music through sampling, interpolation, and any other type of referencing can help the new generation discover some of the old Nollywood gems and get more people talking about our movies.
Final Thoughts
As the film and music industry continues to thrive respectively, and the symbiotic relationship extends, we can only look out for more quality projects and a propulsion of both industries.