Nigerian Music Quotes

I've always been a fan of Nigerian artist D'banj. He's now signed to Kanye West's Good Music label.

I'd always been interested in Nigeria's past.

Well, I heard of Sunny Ade, and looks as if his music is gonna be big on a global level, because I was in London the other day and some people asked me to review the album.

Because the Internet's there, I have access to a lot of the legends, like Fela Kuti. I used to watch a lot of Fela Kuti videos, just to see how he performed. He inspired me a lot, actually, because he was a man of many words, many good words.

Even if the production doesn't feel African, the vocal delivery - singing through your nose. Specifically, Highlife music from Nigeria. That was the first music I ever heard as a child. So singing through my nose is something I do often, and that's directly rooted in my heritage.

The UK has no input in Afrobeat. Let me make myself very clear. The UK has no influence in the creation or naming or anything that has to do with Afrobeat' roots or beginnings.

Listening to the type of music I grew up with, like King Sunny Ade, Fela Kuti and experiencing different things and conditions and hardship, as well as the good times in Nigeria, has definitely carved me into who I am.

Fela Kuti blew my mind. His playing is very unorthodox, but I learned how to appreciate that.

Without Tony Allen, there would have been no Afrobeat.

Umm... my favourite Wizkid tune of all time would be 'Don't Dull' 'cos I recorded the track in, like, 5 minutes. The beat was ready, we went into the studio and freestyled, and it was ready. The song became really, really big, so I think 'Don't Dull' is still my favourite.

The Fela Kuti Queens - the band members and wives of the late African musician Fela Anikulapo Kuti - are my fashion icons.

Brand New Wayo: Funk, Fast Times and Nigerian Boogie Badness 1979-1983' covers a short chunk of time in Nigeria's musical culture - one that might have lasted longer had the label spearheading the movement at the time, Phonodisk, not been so financially mismanaged.