“We know Afrobeats from Ghana and Nigeria, so what is different about yours from Sierra Leone?” This question was asked to Drizilik in a recent interview with an urban radio station in Amsterdam, and his response was simple. “Sierra Leonean Afrobeats is a mix of contemporary African music and Sierra Leonean traditional sounds: bubu, gumbay, and milo jazz. But the language, Krio, makes Sierra Leonean Afrobeats different.”
I started working with Drizilik in 2022. I came in as his publicist, green as can be, with zero experience in the entertainment industry. But we are pushing his music to the Sierra Leonean diaspora and far beyond. He’s making killer Afrobeats, no doubt about it. But there’s a catch, a big one. If you’re not Nigerian, Ghanaian, South African, or based in the UK or the US, and you’re trying to break into Afrobeats? The doors are practically sealed shut. You just don’t get the same attention, the same access. Why? Because Nigerians have been centered, almost exclusively, in the Afrobeats narrative. And let’s be honest, it’s because of Nigerian cultural hegemony. Nigeria can take anything, mass-produce it, and then claim it as its own, regardless of where it started. Once Nigeria gets its hands on something, it becomes “Nigerian.” It’s just how it is. Now, yes, Fela Kuti is rightly hailed as the father of Afrobeat, and Afrobeats is a derivative. What Fela was doing in the ’60s and ’70s was a revolutionary fusion of African sounds, American jazz, funk, soul, high life, and Palm Wine music. But here’s the thing: Fela was deeply influenced by others like E. T. Mensah (Ghana) and Geraldo Pino (Sierra Leone). So, when Drizilik, a Sierra Leonean Afrobeats artist, is on a radio station talking about his music, and he’s asked to justify its existence? That right there highlights the struggle that so many face.
Sierra Leone is a small country. Small does not necessarily mean powerless, poor, or fringe. But in arts and entertainment, modern-day Sierra Leone is on the fringe of the global movement around contemporary African music or Afrobeats.
Breaking Through: How Sierra Leonean Artists Can Find A Seat At The Table
To break through internationally, Sierra Leonean artists face a choice. One option is to create music that mimics Nigerian sounds and language, hoping to be mistaken for Nigerian artists and gain that audience. Many local artists are doing this now, believing that “authentic” Afrobeats must be in pidgin English. They’re using the language of Nigerian artists, hoping it will help them cross over. But in doing so, they’re falling into a trap – a narrow view of what Afrobeats is.
Yes, Nigerian and Ghanaian artists have dominated the scene, but Afrobeats is, at its heart, the music of the entire West African region and the global black diaspora. It’s Palm Wine music, African drumming, rhythms, the language of the streets, the beats, the stories. If you’ve traveled across West Africa, especially the English-speaking parts, and listened to the music over the past decades, you know it all shares the same roots, musically and culturally. West Africa is a melting pot. Afrobeats is the music of the region. So, Sierra Leoneans don’t need to sound Nigerian to make Afrobeats. They can use their language and sounds and blend them with what’s current. But here’s another idea – let’s give contemporary Sierra Leonean music its name and brand. Let’s call it “Krio Fusion.” Then, when someone asks what makes our music different, we can say, “It’s Krio Fusion, Afrobeats from Sierra Leone.” Without a strong brand, it will be tough to export our music. We won’t be able to change the narrative that Afrobeats is only Nigerian because the biggest artists and industry players are saying it is. Even Nigerian artists believe they own it and that they invented it. But that’s just not true.
Afrobeats is a West African phenomenon.
Afrobeats, let’s be clear, is a West African phenomenon. Remember Bunny Mack‘s ‘Let Me Love You?’, the global smash hit from 1981? When that track blew up in London, Paris, New York, Lagos, and Accra, it wasn’t labeled ‘Nigerian’ or ‘Ghanaian.’ It was just African music, pure pop, and guess what? He was Sierra Leonean. Two big Nigerian artists, Wale and Flavour, have since done covers. It tells us Sierra Leonean musicians have what it takes; they just need to stand firm in their identity. Artists don’t need to chase the latest Nigerian slang or morph into something they’re not. Sierra Leone’s language is your superpower. Krio? It’s cool enough. It’s deep enough. It’s expressive enough to do exactly what pidgin, Yoruba, and Igbo are doing for Afrobeats. Don’t let anyone gaslight you into thinking Krio is ‘hard to understand.’ Anyone who speaks pidgin can pick up Krio, just like anyone who speaks Krio gets pidgin. It’s connected! If we want Sierra Leonean music to travel and hit those global stages, we must own ‘Krio Fusion.’ It’s simple: Afrobeats in Krio. And Krio is our umbrella, but it’s also Temne, Mende, and all of it. Artists like Incredible JJ singing in Krio and Mende? That’s Sierra Leonean Afrobeats. Apriil doing the same in Temne and Krio? That’s it. These are the artists who are going to break through and put Sierra Leone on the global music map. And the good news? Afrobeats isn’t going anywhere. It’s here, it’s strong, it’s growing. But the longer countries like Sierra Leone take to get their artists out there, the longer this ‘Afrobeats is Nigerian’ narrative sticks. Sierra Leone’s population is eight million, Nigeria’s 227 million, and the streaming numbers will always be skewed.
But music is universal. Language isn’t a real barrier. The Krio Fusion coming out of Sierra Leone is as good as any. There’s a music revival in Freetown– artists are embracing their language and identity and making killer music. Drizilik, Nashito Kulala, Incredible JJ, DJ Rampage, Samza, Krack Twist, Bakitenno, and Mello Seven are the producers and musicians leading the charge. All that’s needed is for one of them to break through and hit those global platforms, and the world will finally wake up to the talent in Sierra Leone. Drizilik is right there, on the edge. He just needs that capital to push him over.
What’s Holding Us Back? Discovery and Dollars
Misinterpretations of streaming numbers often lead to assumptions about the quality of Sierra Leonean music. People look at Sierra Leone’s streaming numbers, or lack thereof, and jump to conclusions. ‘Oh, Sierra Leonean music isn’t blowing up on Spotify? Must not be good enough.’ WRONG! The music? It’s fire! The problem isn’t the quality; it’s the cash. Again, Let me say LOUD and CLEAR: IT’S ABOUT THE CAPITAL.
The audience needs purchasing power, and the music needs investment.
The most popular music streaming platforms in Sierra Leone are Audiomack and Boomplay. Both platforms have a free model, allowing you to stream offline. They’re the most accessible. But the global music industry doesn’t care about your Audiomack streams; Spotify and Apple Music count. There’s only one problem: financial inclusion. Most Sierra Leoneans are unbanked; they stream music, but if you have to pay to stream, they can’t. Only 12% of the population can access a bank account; another 11% have mobile money. Last time I checked, you couldn’t MOMO a Spotify sub. On the other hand, to compete with Nigeria’s afrobeats hegemony, the continent’s biggest economy, you need to spend money.
An artist can have the most incredible song in the world, but that’s not enough in today’s music biz. It doesn’t magically climb to number one just because it’s good. You must put money into the machine. Artists need to be on those killer podcasts; those talk shows that matter. They need those afrobeats playlists that boost discovery. And you NEED to be playing at the right festivals to connect with the global black diaspora. It’s all connected.
Therefore, the argument that Sierra Leonean music is not “good enough” is inaccurate. It’s not that Krio Fusion doesn’t have exporters or that the music isn’t export-ready. It’s that it doesn’t have the investment! Look at ‘Nack.’ That song was HUGE. It wasn’t just luck. Sure, timing, genre, producer, artist with a TikTok following – all of that played a part. But you know what else? Sho Cole from Cribs International put in the WORK and the MONEY. He invested. He made the song in Lagos and then put it in play there. In Nigeria, there are established pathways for good music to find its audience. But without that capital, ‘Nack‘ would’ve stayed right here, unheard by the world. So, when we talk about exporting Sierra Leonean music, let’s be honest: the answer is clear.
First, Sierra Leoneans must internalize this: Sierra Leonean pop music is GOOD. It doesn’t need a Nigerian feature to validate it, and it doesn’t need to fake a Nigerian accent. It’s got its own identity, and that identity is Krio Fusion. What makes Krio Fusion unique? It’s the language of our ancestors, the language of resistance, of free people who came back to build a nation.
The bottom line? Krio Fusion needs investment and capital. We need to put our money where our mouth is to compete on the global stage and take our rightful place in the Afrobeats pantheon.
ARE YOU READY NOW? OK, LET’S GO!
Vickie Remoe is a business, entertainment, and travel writer. She is also a communications, digital marketing, and content strategist who helps brands connect with Africans at home and in the diaspora.