The superb 2016 anthology
Doing It in Lagos: Boogie, Pop & Disco in 1980s Nigeria combines tracks recorded by various R&B artists who burst onto the Lagos, Nigeria nightclub scene in the '70s and '80s. Inspired by the sophisticated dance-oriented sound of American acts like
Chic,
Shalamar, and
Cameo, Nigerian musicians started crafting their own brand of glamorous, club-ready, good-time jams colloquially referred to as "boogie." A giddy combination of funk, electro, R&B, and disco, "boogie" was a hugely popular style in Lagos clubs. Benefiting from a relatively stable economic climate, "boogie" labels began popping up around Lagos, releasing albums by such artists as
Hotline,
Willy Roy,
Danny Offia & the Friks,
Veno, and others. Many of these artists benefited from the deeply talented and creative well of Afro-beat musicians who came up in the wake of
Fela Kuti in the '60s and '70s. However, where the Afro-beat and later Afro-rock bands favored music with a more socially minded and psychedelic influence, "boogie" bands produced neon-hued, groove-oriented songs, with lyrics largely sung in English and crafted with an ear toward getting people to dance. Tracks like
Hotline's funky "Fellas Doing It in Lagos,"
Steve Monite's sparkling "Only You," and
Livy Ekemezie's roiling, falsetto-tinged hip-shaker "Holiday Action" are hooky, infectious numbers that wouldn't have sounded at all out of place in rotation on U.S. urban radio stations. Elsewhere, we get equally compelling cuts like the
Santana-esque sophistication of
Gboyega Adelaja's "Colourful Environment,"
Ofege's dance diva anthem "Burning Jungle," and the synthy electro-rap of
Lexy Mella's "On the Air." Unfortunately, with the downturn of the Nigerian economy throughout the '80s, "boogie" artists suffered with the closure of labels and the growing notion that it was at best a superficial style and at worst a mere imitation of American funk and R&B. Decades later, listening to
Doing It in Lagos, it's clear that Nigerian "boogie" was a vibrant and inspired movement of its own, as worthy of fandom as any of the American tracks it was influenced by. ~ Matt Collar
