Breaking Records : Afrobeats need and a case for its own Billboard Charts.

Since it’s inception in mid 1958, the US Billboard Charts has been known to be most anticipated chart in world music. It’s what they call “the world stage” where the biggest of the biggest hits in the US and across the world battle it out for dominance and supremacy on top of the official charts irrespective of genres. It’s what the world has come to see today as the supreme judge and stand records of the biggest hits across the US industry based on digital streaming as well as radio airplay’s and as a result hosting annually award ceremonies to duly reward and appreciate the biggest songs and artistes deemed to have outstanding successes on the music charts each year.

It is the standard record record charts that has highlighted the major mainstream successes of some the biggest music supertars in the US with the likes of Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Jay Z , Justin Bieber, Rihanna and more recently Ed Sheeran, Billie Ellish, The Weeknd ;as well as countless others who have received global recognition each year for their outstanding performance on the “chart of charts”.

But admist all this, the essence of the world music genres is sometimes downplayed with mixed conceptions and conspiracies as to why the Lord and Master of the global music charts would sometimes pay little or no attention to the Afro Space and what it has to offer hence questioning the entire Afrobeats and its industry on how much of an influence it poses on the global stage and what exactly sets it apart the rest of the continental genres so much so as to make it to the main event of the world stage charts .

Afrobeats as a matter of fact was never an emerging genre even though it gained prominence as far as the 2000’s pioneered by the legendary Father of Afrobeat Lt. Fela Anikulapo Kuti. It has gone beyond borders and is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in pop culture today with the likes of Afrobeats superstars; Dbanj, 2baba, Wizkid , Davido, Burna boy, Diamond Plantinumz, Shatta Wale, Mr Eazi among the modern day front runners of the genre. Afrobeats for all of its splendor has over the last decade constantly been fused with the even more popular genres in the US and UK; creating sub genres such as Afro-Swing, Afro trap as well as other fused elements similarly attached to it with Grammy award winners like Drake, Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, Chris Brown amongst a host of others apparently tapping into the genre and fusing with the foreign culture. There is a popular view that Afrobeats began a significant master stroke when the record breaking collaboration“One Dance” by Drake ft Wizkid and Kaylah dropped; and useless to disagree because it was an exceptional record that went on to win multiple awards internationally and for many Afrobeats recorded a major success in the music industry globally. That collaboration would then inspire yet another success in the AfroSpace with Wizkid ft Drake’s “Come Closer” off his EP SFTOS dominating the airwaves and music markets of the AfroSpace and even foreign music markets. Even though there had been a history of collaborations like this in the past with the likes of Akon , Snoop Dogg,Wyclef Jean, Tpain, Big Sean, French Montana, Jidenna, Kanye West amongst many other international superstars having records with African superstars and exploring the rich Afrobeats culture; none had quite made a mark as much as Drake’s One Dance which infact re - announced Afrobeat to the world.

Maybe the gravity of Afrobeats comes into question but that can be quickly answered by the number of international collaborations the Afro Space has had over the past decade, a testimony that the genre is big enough to even be in a league if it’s own. So broad, So diverse, So dynamic ; Afrobeats significance in the music world globally cannot be underrated; infact it is so large that other genres gladly embrace the need to fuse with it and create something of a harmonic convergence and diversify music as an art in all forms. Hence, the urgent need for a standard charting system arises at once. Not until the last 5 - 6 years; digital streaming as well as market numbers had not been a big deal in the Afro Space. The only records that were taken were based on collations done by the international music market and how it fared over there, there was unfortunately neither a definite nor standard system to calculate streaming numbers in the Afro Space; shocking to say the least considering how gargantuan the music market is continentally. So if a song is put by the biggest superstars in the continent. It’s most times measured by how much airplay it gets and local popularity not necessarily digital numbers and streams.

Not ignoring, the fact that there was mostly local airplay charts to determine what song was topping the markets as at the time thanks to the likes of MTV Base Africa, SoundCity, Trace Africa and the local music radio stations across the continent. There was serious need for a central body to keep records of the numbers and statistics so that the artistes are fully aware of just how far their records can go, will go and even have gone.

Only slowly, did digital music platforms like Apple Music , Spotify, Audiomack, Boomplay amongst others get a grip of these records and solidly began tracking down streaming numbers in the Afro Space. Then it became vividly obvious that Afrobeats had lost massive numbers all those times records weren’t kept. The global music industry became digital and Africa had to move and so it did, maybe not as fast the international community but it did move.

The Billboard awards over the years have seen the biggest superstars internationally swim in mainstream success also due its broad categories of sub genres that would eventually see these artistes swoop home multiple awards in one night at the BBMA’s as seen with the likes of Drake, Khalid, Post Malone, The Weeknd among a host of other superstars in this exceptional category.

Imagine, imagine the numbers that could have been realized from the biggest superstars in Africa had the records began counting early enough. It would have been by far a ludicrous career wise for each of these icons in their own right. So many certifications would and should’ve have been issued more than the ones even being received now by the headliners of the Afro Space such as Davido, Wizkid and Burna Boy and even Olamide. Most notably, Burna Boy’s exceptional 2019 album African Giant that conquered the digital streaming markets in Africa with over 500million streams on all platforms.

He could’ve easily walked away with multiple Billboard awards in one night if ever there was a system like that in the Afro Space. These Charting successes need to be celebrated in the Afro Space more than it is; which justifies the need for a standard African Billboard Chart since Afrobeats is an already established genre, dynamic and broad enough to stand on its own as the core roots of pop culture in Africa so why not ? If the African Music Industry is as big as we rightly claim;why don’t we have our own Billboard too ? It’s not like we don’t have already established awards to reward successful artistes on the continent over the years; but on the grounds of what transparent charting system? Central enough to set the standards of a proper records chart in terms of digital streams and continental airplays ?

Much as we might want to overlook it; It is infact necessary. Gone are the days when Afrobeats was an emerging sound that needed to be constantly pushed into the global space. It has grown so big and so vast it even deserves more recognition than it’s current state.

If Africa’s biggest exports musically cannot boast of a standard record charting system on the continent to headline their digital streaming numbers espcially considering on how heavy their records are year after year; then we cannot truly appreciate the gravity Afrobeats as a major force in global music. The respect Afrobeats so deserves would have till wait much later to come. We need a Billboard Chart in the Afro Space and that is sacrosanct in reality.

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