Nigerian drill scene report – “The arts is our strong point here, whether our elders realise it or not.”

Our reporter Ava Yusuf checks in with the leading lights of Nigeria’s blossoming drill scene

Lagos, Nigeria at the heart of the West African coast is one of those cities that never sleep. With temperatures reaching forty degrees daily, it’s always full of people caught in the hustle and bustle of each stay finding a way to survive. Although it’s not a capital city, Lagos operates like one, with its similarities to New York, something is always happening and it’s extremely loud at all times.

Loud is also how Nigerians also like their music, and take every opportunity to play music – even in traffic. Combine all of this, Nigeria is not for the faint of heart. Within the last few years Drill has been making waves in the city, thanks to many UK based Nigerian artists, allowing the music scene to thrive and introduce new talent. However there are many within Nigerian society who feel music is a waste of time, and only education is the right way for success.as

Dapo (20), who is a keen listener of Drill tells me “A society where education is a necessity is treated as the biggest step to be a great person. But there isn’t sufficient musical education here. And recognition only comes with being educated”. He goes on to say “The road to success we are taught, comes with renowned certificates, where a responsible child goes to school. But is this where success lies for everyone?”

Notably, because of UK artists such as Skepta, Naira Marley, NSG and Dave, drill is now starting to trickle down into Nigerian society and African mainstream music and culture. Burna Boy is one of those artists, who having spent his teenage years within the UK and was largely exposed to drill, has used his influence to expose underground artists in the country to the music and producers alike.

With the rise of Afrobeats, many have found a foothold to initiate a way forward for themselves in the music industry, and use this to their advantage, as knowing that they are part of the diaspora is almost guaranteed support back home. Both Dapo (20) and Remy Baggins support this notion, as they now go out of their way to search for and listen to what the music scene has to offer, especially within the Nigerian communities abroad. With this knowledge, artists on the continent attempted to use this to push forth their own music back to the diaspora, but now using drill and the knowledge they have gained.

Speaking to Nigerian artist and producer, Remy Baggins, he explained to us how deeply the diaspora are now influencing music in the country and on the continent. With the unexpected rise of the late rapper Pop Smoke and his use of drill beats, as well as collaborating with a number of UK producers such as 808Melo and AXL Beats, the influence of drill music within Nigeria grew expeditiously among the young generation and those seeking to break within the Western music scene.

Baggins himself, a fan of drill and hip-hop, although never having left Nigeria, explains “Majority of the music from the West used to come solely from America. It’s never hard to find fans of Drake, Lil Baby or DJ Khaled. So now that music is coming from the UK, it’s refreshing as it’s something a bit different”.

And he’s not wrong at all. Since Afrobeats became the norm and the most mainstream, it should only be a natural progression to see underground artists like Remy and PsychoYP break into the mould while using and making drill beats. However, like Remy says “without funding and industry backing, it’s currently hard to break into Nigeria’s mainstream. The radio stations only currently play what they feel is popping and blowing up due to the love of Afrobeats at home and abroad. Especially here in Lagos”.

With Lagos being the cultural capital of Nigeria, he makes a fair point. No matter where you are, whether it be in a local supermarket like The Palm’s Shoprite or social hotspots such as Landmark Beach located in one of the most affluent areas in the city, Victoria Island, Afrobeats music can be heard coming from all areas. Even tuning into radio stations the most played music will be Afrobeats and Western secular music. Hearing songs, however, by Central Cee is a big deal on this scale in Nigeria, as it gathers the attention needed to help break Nigeria’s own homegrown talent.

Of late, it’s been becoming increasingly hard for radio stations to play underground music from native artists without some kind of kickbacks involved. “Unless you have capital, and are ready to pay just to have your music played, you can pretty much forget having a career in music in Nigeria”, Remy reiterates during our conversations. Which is largely a shame, as it’s not hard to hear the UK’s drill artists being thrown into the mix.

In the last couple of weeks, Russ and Tion Wayne’s hit song, Body can be heard everywhere you go, even in luxury restaurants and lounges like Medusa Lagos. Since the remix dropped a month ago, rappers such as Ardee and Aitch have also seen a rise in airplay and recognition within the city due to collaborations with Nigerian and African artists in the UK. When discussing his own drill track ‘Gboju’, which follows the usual formula of drill, Baggins explains that he originally heard the beat for the record at a studio session with Burna Boy and his producers. “I was literally just chilling with Burna in the studio, when one of the guys put the beat on. The moment I heard it, I was like wow. I need to jump on this. And that’s how I got the beat and started writing straight away”.

With this simple introduction into the world of the UK drill scene, it hasn’t taken long for other artists to slowly break barriers.

PsychoYP (pictured, top of article) is starting to break through and be included within playlists such as Naija Hits, Naija Bars, Naija Heats among others on Apple Music and Spotify, and it’s clear the diaspora is having an influence on the current face of music than ever discussed or thought of before. To a greater extent, the Nigerian diaspora are becoming the faces of music culturally worldwide, and it’s showing steadily every day here in the UK.

While discussing the future of drill in Nigeria with Remy, he goes on to say “As long as more people are taking notice of what’s happening abroad, the more likely it’ll become for underground artists to succeed in Nigeria, especially with Drill. The arts is our strong point here, whether our elders realise it or not. And this is where the young generation can prove them wrong (with regards to following their dreams)”. Although the reach is slow, it is happening and artists are experimenting everyday with different sounds.

As for the future of Drill in Nigeria, Remy among many others believe it won’t be too long before more drill is made and becomes the mainstream in Nigeria. When asked how long he thinks it could take, he goes on to say “Maybe within the next year or so. Less people are looking to America for influences now and more to the UK. Maybe if a big artist like WizKid or Davido does a collaboration with someone, it could blow in Nigeria. But a year tops, before we have a drill scene that blows from here”. And he honestly could be right.

Ava Yusuf

Photo credits Mad Visuals, Deolu Photography.