Davido's Feature On Rollingstone Examines The Rise Of Afrobeats In U.S
Davido performing at BBC Radio 1Xtra Live at the O2 Arena in London. (Photo by Matt Crossick/PA Images via Getty Images)
On Monday, 21st of January, Davido was featured on one of the biggest music and pop culture magazines in America, Rollingstone, and this feature covers the gradual rise of Afrobeat with Davido as the ideal case study.
According to the writer, Elias Leight, Davido's Fall released in 2017 is gradually picking in the US as radio programmers are slotting it into their schedule for its great sound and of course demand from people with it presently airing in over 36 radio stations.
This article, Davido’s ‘Fall’ Is Finally Catching On in the U.S., But It Should Be Bigger points out to the fact that despite the international collaborations with top American artistes, Nigerian artistes have still not been able to successfully break into the American market with Afrobeats.
Citing examples of some tracks that have made it to the US but didn't make as much impact, Elias Leight mentioned that with Columbia on Tekno's Pana and RCA on Wizkid's One Dance with Drake and Atlantic Records on Burna Boy's Rock Your Body, none of them pulled the weight Davido's Fall is presently by being 100 most shazamed songs in America as everyone wants to know who sang the song once it comes up on radio. which has almost 500 airplay across 36 radio stations as at when the Rollingstone article was published. The article also revealed that “Fall” was as a Top 10 record on Shazam in New York City, And in Atlanta, another crucial market, only two tracks were getting more Shazam activity than Davido’s.
The growth has been gradual: 482 plays to date, spread across 36 stations, according to Nielsen BDS, which tracks radio activity. BDS reports that four new stations added “Fall” into rotation last week.
According to this article, Davido's "Fall" receiving massive airplay more than other Nigerian songs isn't because the song is better, but because there is machinery that creates hit in American that still remains conservative. According to Mr. Eazi;
“To work the U.S. is big money — even getting music onto radio in New York alone might cost you upwards of $100 or $200 grand,”
As difficult as Mr Eazi said it is, Davido seems to be getting his break and one might say Fall seems to be cracking the unnamed machinery that creates hit in America as his songs seem to be attracting the attention it has always done in Nigeria. His recent collaboration with American local rapper, Casanova on 2am is presently the top 25 Shazamed song in New York as people, out of curiosity want to know who the other guy on the record is and this is same with his "IF" which is also shazaming presently at top 50.
Although this doesn't mean Davido has figured out the "hit-trick" to stay longer in the American airwave, this article concludes that if Afrobeats is given a chance on American radios like some of Davido's songs are presently given, the people might just be pleasantly surprised.
