The Nigerian style of music known as Afrobeats has quietly entranced a large swathe of the worlds population. Pretty much every song on pop radio [in the U.K. now] is sort of a Mr. Eazi-style, chill, afrobeats [track], the producer Riton told Rolling Stone last year. But Nigerian singers have not yet established a foothold Stateside, despite well-received, afrobeats-dusted singles from established stars like Drake and Janet Jackson.
So its unusual that Fall, a springy, 19-month-old track from the Nigerian singer DaVido, is currently gaining traction on the airwaves. 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.
Those are admittedly not huge numbers for comparisons sake, Post Malones new single Wow grew by 1,700 plays last week alone. But listeners who hear Fall are scrambling to find their phones: It was one of the Top 100 most Shazamd singles in America this week. In New York City, Fall was a Top 10 record on Shazam. And in Atlanta, another crucial market, only two tracks were getting more Shazam activity than DaVidos.
Eliciting that level of interest in America is no small feat for an African singer. Columbia signed Pana, a 2016 single from Tekno, but wasnt able to transform it into a U.S. hit. RCA signed Wizkid, the guest on Drakes One Dance, but hasnt been able to get a hit either. (RCA is also working with DaVido now.) Burna Boy, another Nigerian singer with impressive talent, is now affiliated with Atlantic, but his Rock Your Bodydidnt reach a wide audience in America.
That has nothing to do with the music Pana and Rock Your Body are both indelible polyrhythmic pop songs, wonderfully weightless next to the lead-footed trap that currently dominates both rap and pop radio in America. But the machinery that creates hits in the U.S. remains conservative, even in the supposedly new era brought on by streaming.
Nowhere is this more true than at radio, which throws its still-considerable weight behind only a tiny number of tracks A Top 40 radio station is playing five songs 120 times a week every week, according to one radio insider and rarely takes risks on music that doesnt align with seemingly-ancient-if-not-totally-incomprehensible norms.
Mainstream urban radio usually wont play Latin trap next to American trap, even if the same producers worked on both tracks, or pivot from hard hip-hop into soft R&B. Meanwhile, pop radio tries hard to ignore viral rap records, which programmers characterize as pretty extreme, in favor of bizarre but ostensibly more palatable concoctions by Panic! at the Disco or Marshmello. Even some Top 40 programmers are confused by this tendency: I dont know when everybodys gonna get it through their heads that we cant just keep forcing these pop songs that nobody likes down everybodys throat, Nathan Graham told Rolling Stonelast year.
Radio also depends on a favor system of sorts: Artists play station concerts, stop by for interviews and record drops to help get their music onto the air. This is costly for artists without American passports. 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, the Nigerian star Mr. Eazi explained toRolling Stone last year. Thats another reason why, at the end of the day, nobody has properly broken an African act in the U.S.
Its too early to tell if DaVido can establish a new path from Nigeria to the American airwaves his team only recently started attacking US radio properly, according to an email from the singers manager, Asa Asika. But theres no denying that when listeners hear DaVidos music, they are immediately compelled to figure out who sings it. And thats not just the case with Fall. This week New Yorkers were also trying to determine who steals the show on local rapper Casanovas new single 2am (Shazaming Top 25). Surprise its DaVido. He is also the artist behind the 2017 track If, which is Shazaming Top 50 in New York.
DaVidos success appears to be a boon for other Nigerian artists as well. Afro Bs Drogba (Joanna) was even higher than Fall on New York Shazam this week. If more radio programmers are willing to give these artists a chance, they may be pleasantly surprised by the results.