The Rise of Alté + 15 Alté African Artists Watch
Alté (which stands for alternative) is a fast-rising ‘genre’ that draws heavily on western and other African influences and creates something entirely new. It not only encourages but champions individuality, eccentricity and creativity, a type of revolution in Africa.
Like-minded mavericks of this nonconformist subculture have begun a movement free from rigid structures of any one genre, influenced by everything from 90’s music, to edgy fashion; there’s no formula, they’re redefining the Nigerian music scene one musical note at a time. ‘Alté is more than music, it’s also a mindset.’
Alté captures the sounds, style and mind of a young generation, the aim is simply to ‘be expressive’ and create magic that sweeps through West Africa and reaches far outside it, to kinfolk in the diaspora.
All the artists who make alternative music, some of who don’t like to be identified as ‘alté’ are known for fusing a variety of sounds, from R&B, soul, rock and rap to afrobeats and indie guitar music. The beauty of alté is that anything goes, you can blend folk and indie rock if you so desire, it’s an “evolution of expression”.
It’s hard to pinpoint any one person as the pioneer of alté music, but we’ve compiled a list of trailblazers at the forefront of this movement, these artists continue to push the growing genres for a space in Africa’s vibrant music scene. Keep an ear out.
SANTI
(Cruel Santino) who describes his own sound as “every genre of music with an alternative twist”, released a series of successful singles before dropping his album. Freaky is a slow and moody R&B song about a cheating woman; midtempo tracks Rapid Fire and Sparky both combine Santi’s ragga-infused flow with silky R&B vocals.
TEMS
Tems embodies a fusion of alternative RnB and Neo-soul genres, whilst she doesn’t necessarily consider herself an alté artist, she defines her music as ‘part of a healing force – To calm the noise made by all the external forces nagging at everyone. Already at the forefront of the movement with her singles, most notably ‘Try Me’, she became renowned after her collaboration on the song ‘Essence’ with Wizkid on the Made in Lagos album. She remains focused on tapping into and promoting the movement to advance the culture and conversations alike.
ODUNSI
OOdunsi (The Engine) is often influenced by EDM, R&B, Reggae, Soul and Afrobeats sound. Odunsi pulls inspiration from these genres as well as various cultures to define his sound which he categorizes as Afro-Fusion. His single “Situationship” ft. AYLØ peaked at number 5 on Spotify’s Viral 50 playlist. His highest streamed single Tipsy was a collaboration with UK pop success Raye.
LADY DONLI
Dubbed as ‘The Pan African rockstar’, Lady Donli is a melting pot of different cultural experiences; she grew up writing songs and poetry and spends most of her days on the road between Toronto, London and Lagos. Her music is just as vast as the roads she travels, from R&B to alternate jazz to hip hop to Afrobeat to highlife; her music crosses different genres. However, one thing remains the same – the music is undeniably African. She is also one half of a group called SAFI with the singer Ayüü.
BLAQBONEZ
Akumefule Chukwu-Emeka, stage name BlaqBonez is a versatile Nigerian rapper, although he’s been rapping since he was 13 years old, he came into the limelight in February 2012 after winning Terry tha Rapman’s zombie competition; 5 months later, he released his first single titled ‘Stronger’ off his ‘Hip Hop in Blaq Mixtape’. He has put out over 40 freestyles and is currently signed to 100 Crowns, a label imprint under Chocolate City Music. After signing, he released “Bad Boy Blaq” in 2018 which was part of the “L.A.M.B August” campaign to promote hip-hop culture in Nigeria and later released a re-up of the same title featuring artists like Boj, Oxlade, fellow label mate Ckay & Ycee. His newest single BBC remix features Tiwa Savage.
AYRA STARR
Ayra Starr is impossible to ignore, nicknamed the songbird and recently signed to Mavin music, the 18-year-old raised in both Lagos and Cotonou uses a mix of both cultures in her approach to music, art and life. Drawing inspiration from a range of sources (Angelique Kidjo, Rihanna, Aaliyah, 2face and Wande Coal), Ayra’s sound is unique and versatile; she also draws influences from classic Yoruba and Beninese music. Ayra’s self-titled EP effortlessly showcases her powerful, soulful vocals and her diverse musical influences, running through a myriad of sonic influences from Afro-Pop, to R&B, Trap and Alternative. She deftly weaves Yoruba and English into her lyrics, excelling at singing about romantic relationships’ intricacies, a feat she handles with a maturity far above her years.
AMAARAE
Ama Serwah Genfi better known as Amaarae (The Warrior Princess) is a Ghanaian musician that challenges the norms, she raises the banner of freedom of expression, love and non-conformism through her music. Having attended 7 different schools in 4 different cities across 2 continents between the ages of 4 and 22, the artist Amaarae expresses this kaleidoscope of experiences through her music, fashion, style and sensual lyricism that is rebellious to the straight-jacket societal demands of what an African woman should be.
Her lyrical dexterity, unique voice and style have marked her for the global spotlight, putting her ahead of the curve and making her an artist to look forward to in the coming years.
BOJ
Bolaji Odojukan, popularly known as Boj on the microphone, makes music that’s a mix of “several different pieces from different genres” by his own account. Boj is widely known as one of the Altè scene pioneers; he views music as art, stating originality as an important value to him. Popularly known for his distinct style, look and vocals, Boj is trying to bridge the gap with the cool kids and your average listener. Staying true to his craft, Boj is not interested in sacrificing his music for Afro-pop success. He’s been sonically compared to the likes of Lagbaja and 2face; the maturity and soul of Boj’s voice is a rare commodity in today’s scene.
JOHNNY DRILLE
John Ighodaro received acclaim after competing in the sixth season of Project Fame West Africa. In 2013, he recorded a cover of “Awww” by Mavin artiste, Di’Ja which caught the attention of producer and record label exec; Don Jazzy. In 2015, He released his debut single, the Headies-nominated “Wait For Me”. Since then he has won over a dozen awards and signed to Mavin Records. Having successfully built a career on singles alone (like his newest single Bad Dancer) his debut album is now on the way.
WAVY THE CREATOR
Wavy The Creator expresses music across a spectrum of genres, the genre-bender is constantly evolving as an artist, Honest, expressive, creative and boundary-breaking, Wavy The Creator likens herself to an alien standing out amidst mere mortals. She is best known for her song “H.I.G.H” (Her In Greater Heights) and was the official photographer of Nigerian hip-hop artist Olamide. She is currently signed to British rapper Tinie Tempah’s label, Disturbing London and has a new single titled Black Card.
AYLØ
Aylo, whose music straddles alternative R&B, neo-soul and hip hop, is committed to bypassing labels by focusing on what really matters, his craft. Sampling and live instrumentation take equal places of pride in the music AYLØ makes, but according to him the ‘the baseline for his creation is in the soulfulness of it.’ Honest conversations released in December 2016 is a snippet of his imagination’
Aylø’s soulful, warm and hazy sounds, as highlighted on his fan-favourite cult classics like ‘Island Girl’, ‘Gardens’ and ‘LITT’, have amassed over a million streams on Soundcloud and Spotify, alone. He released ‘clairsentience’ in 2020, his fourth project in four years.
AYÜÜ
AYÜÜ calls his type of music “world” because he ‘makes all kinds of music and enjoys a fusion of genres.” Known as a musical powerhouse, he began to write songs in secondary school; he released his first full project, H.E.R (His Emotions Recorded), in 2019 and a new single 4AMIN last week(14th Feb.2021). AYÜÜ is one half of SAFI, whose other member is Lady Donli. SAFI “means purity in Swahili, and that’s what they aim to represent with their sound and lifestyle.”
TAY IWAR
Tay Iwar is one of the most reclusive/ elusive artists of the genre, his is a brand steeped in mystery. Leading an incredibly private life, he avoids the public, but offers expressive music that “reflects everyone’s struggle with love, life and why the earth is so damn complicated.” His unique style attracted a partnership from L. A based indie label, Soulection, under which his album ‘Gemini’ was released globally in 2019. His newest single ‘1985’ released in December 2020 is a collaboration with producer and songwriter Juls and P-rallel.
SICHANGI
Sichangi is a Kenyan multi talented Producer, Engineer, Songwriter, singer, rapper, performer & Dj. He’s collaborated with Willow Smith, Petite Noir, Karun and several others. Sichangi’s productions are quickly making him a reference point in the industry despite his young age. His productions cut across genres and are described as full of detail and passion. His unique form of expression was singled out by the Redbull music academy, by selecting him from a pool of thousands for the 2018 RBMA program being held in Berlin, making him the second and last Kenyan alumni in Academy history. Sichangi is also 1/5th of the EA WAVE collective, a collective of Kenyan Dj producers actively shifting Kenyans soundscapes through their eclectic music.
OGRANYA & WONDAMAGIK
Ogranya is an eclectic musician whose music has tenets of afro soul, R&B and Jazz. He’s an independent artist who spends time as an architect by day and a performer by night. Ogranya has writing: performance credits in two Nollywood movies Lara and the Beat and Angels and Martyrs.
Usman Adams known in the music industry as WondaMagik is a Nigerian music and record producer, song-writer and sound engineer. He released Chronicles of Magik, Vol 1 in 2020 along with Ogranya.
CLAY
Clay is an alternative rock artist, the self-proclaimed rock goddess sings in her native language Igbo and Pidgin music, her musical style is heavily influenced by her Dad’s love for rock music. She began singing in the church choir, then moved on to bars and concerts, she released her first single Ogadisinma in 2011. She collaborated with another alté artist Johnny Drille in a song titled ‘The One’.
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The Rise of Alté + 15 Alté African Artists Watch
