African music needs no external validation – Jeffrey Daniel
By Joshua Olomu
Jeffrey Daniel, American multi-talented music legend, says African music does not need external validation for significance.
According to him, “it already has strong appeal and acceptance on the global stage”.
The singer-songwriter, dancer and choreographer, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.
Daniel, a founding member of the renowned R&B vocal group ‘Shalamar,’ stated this amidst growing agitations by African music artistes for international awards and recognition, especially the Grammys in recent times.
According to him, it is high time Africa learnt from the intrigues that trailed the recently concluded 66th Grammy Award, with the creation of an African category and look inward to celebrate itself.
“I don’t think African music artistes need to seek validation from America to know how great they are because they are already great and they are taking over the world.
“You don’t need validation from America and other places because in reality, when P-Square, D’banj, MI, and all those people were popular, they were basically still within the continent.
“They were making more money than some American artistes and getting accolades more than them, but they wanted that validation from America because they looked up to the American music industry.
“Today, Burna Boy, Wizkid, Davido and others are selling out stadiums and arenas around the world, so why do they need the Grammys to say, okay, we accept you when they are already accepted.
“I would like to see Africa get behind all the stress and create its own platform and support its own, besides the Headies.
“Over there in America is about 350 million people, while the African continent is about 1.4 billion, so this is even a bigger market than America.
“I think this market will better validate the African success barometer,” he said.
The “A Night to Remember” crooner particularly lauded the remarkable progress the Nigerian entertainment industry has made, especially Nollywood films that are now known across the globe.
He commended both Nigerian music and motion picture artistes, adding that they only need more support from within for them to stop the rush for greener pasture and validation abroad..
“The Nigerian movie industry, which is the second largest in the world, has really told African story to the world, and that is commendable.
“They might not make as much money as American stars when they make a movie, but you guys have your own industry, and I think that means a lot,” he said.
NAN recall that after the 66th Grammy Award was held earlier in the year, Afrobeat fans and industry players accused the Recording Academy of using Nigerian artistes to market the show for viewership purposes.
They argued that despite having five Nigerian artistes nominated in 10 combined different categories, none won. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Ekemini Ladejobi
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