Why ‘collabos’ could be the future of African music
Coke Studio Africa is making it easier for artistes to unify at no fee. The show tasks each artiste every season to collaborate with another, and a house live band. PHOTO | FILE
Collaborations among artistes in Africa, as is the case world over, can be big business. Some will charge for collabos, as they are fondly referred to. But Coke Studio Africa is making it easier for artistes to unify at no fee.
The show tasks each artiste every season to collaborate with another, and a house live band. Kenyan acts on the upcoming show include Sauti Sol, Wangechi, Juacali, Elani and Avril.
Local and international producers have guided and produced music mash-ups between the artistes – a new format of the show that will present Africa with essentially new songs.
There is debate as to whether music is world’s biggest unifying factor. In Africa however, artistes remain clustered by regions: East, South or West. Musicians in regions such as West Africa have excelled in forming collaborations between artistes.
In Kenya, there is a sustained campaign for increased consumption of local music which is why time has come for industry players to stop the blame game and get new ideas on how musicians can be united, both in East Africa as well as in the wider African market. Some people have devised out-of-box ways to make this a reality. Some local artistes and TV shows are currently promoting collaborations between African singers.
