A singer and entrepreneur, Darey Art-Alade, is of the opinion that Nigerian afrobeats is currently enjoying prominence around the world, practitioners should be careful against being used and dumped.
The ‘Not the Girl’ singer said, “The growth of afrobeats right now is incredible. It is a fantastic time to be alive. I am really happy and proud, but I am also concerned, because if we are not careful, they will use and dump us. We have to come back home, and invest in our people and infrastructure. We have to use the attention we are enjoying right now to attract foreign investments, and build things that will outlive this current generation. It is not just about the hype we are getting right now; we can build a pipeline where creatives can be churned out and equipped with the right resources. For this hype not be a flash in the pan, we have to sustain it and keep feeding the world with our infectious energy.”
On why his production company, Livespot360 is hosting the second edition of ‘Entertainment Week Lagos’, he said, “We need it. We need to continue coming together. Things change every year. We have to keep upgrading. We have to keep finding new versions of ourselves. More people should come and support the initiative, and put their money where their mouth is. A lot of these things cost money. Creative business is serious business.”
