Long-time music executive and Davido’s manager, Asa Asika, has said Afrobeats missed a chance to grow bigger globally because leading artistes failed to unite during the genre’s early rise, choosing solo paths over collaboration.
Asika shared lessons drawn from over a decade in the music industry, contrasting Afrobeats’ fragmented rise with the more collaborative approach taken by the Latin music scene.
“We all know for a fact — Latin music is very big because Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Nicky Jam… they’re all collaborating. That’s a mistake we made.
“If Davido, Wizkid, and everybody who was popping at that point were all collaborating, we might have been even bigger and more successful. Even ticket value, shows — everything would have been stronger,” he said on the Afropolitan podcast.
Since the rise of ‘Afrobeat’ pioneered by Fela Kuti, its subgenre ‘Afrobeats’ has grown to a global sound championed by stars like D’banj, Timaya, Wizkid, Davido, and Tiwa Savage.
In recent years, newer acts like Tems, Burna Boy, Rema, Asake, and Ayra Starr have pushed the genre further under the “Afrobeats to the World” banner, even breaking into top international music awards.
But while its global presence is growing, some still question whether it matches the dominance of genres like pop, rap, or Latin music.
One recurring concern is the lack of unity among top Nigerian artists. Unlike Latin stars, who often collaborate, leading Afrobeats acts have mostly worked in isolation with fewer expected collaborations.
Davido and Wizkid, for instance, have never done a joint project, and rivalries among big names still surface today.
It’s unarguable that Afrobeats has gained global attention and many Nigerian artists have built their personalised, strong international fanbases.
To maintain that image and standard, some now charge high-performance fees even at home—sometimes matching international rates in currency like dollars—leading to criticism from local promoters and fans.
One of the key points Asika raised was a warning about the growing disconnect between Nigerian artistes and their core audience at home.
He criticised the tendency among rising stars to prioritise shows in international cities over building sustainable local fan bases.
“Someone becomes a superstar in Nigeria, and the most important thing for them is doing a show in America. I’m like, dude — you’re running away from the fanbase that made you a superstar,” Asika said.
The music executive warned that some artists may be pricing themselves out of the Nigerian market entirely.
He described a scenario where artists charge international fees locally, disregarding the economic realities of homegrown promoters.
“We should never be too big to perform at home. You can’t tell a Nigerian promoter to match what MTN is paying you in Togo. That just doesn’t sit right with me,” he added.
Reflecting on the career cycle of superstar artistes, Asika lamented that many music veterans fail to accept the natural arc of popularity and, by clinging to former levels of demand, end up harming their legacies.
“You go from being an artist with a big album every two years to releasing a song every two, three years. Not because you don’t have music — but because you’re no longer in demand.
“One of the mistakes people make is continuing to release music like they are the Ali status they were five years ago… and then you drop 20 songs and only one blows. That’s diminishing the story you’ve created for yourself,” he noted.
The Afrobeats star manager advised artistes to embrace “honest conversations” within their teams and make strategic pivots guided by both data and intuition.
While acknowledging the growing role of analytics in the music industry, Asika stated that one must not let numbers override real-world feedback and gut feeling.
“Any label I’ve worked with knows this — don’t just give me a sheet of paper. If a song is doing well in the UK, why haven’t I been sent a video? I spend 30–40% of my time in London. I know promoters, I know DJs — I’ll hear about it,” he said.
He explained that while platforms like YouTube and Spotify provide useful insights, they don’t always capture regional or cultural realities.
He added that an artist who trends on Audiomack in Nigeria may not be able to sell 1,000 tickets abroad — a discrepancy that raw data can’t explain.
In the Afrobeats industry, many upcoming artists have complained about gatekeeping, saying it limits their access to opportunities and exposure.
But Asika, who began managing artistes in his teens and has grown to co-found The Plug and help launch the likes of CKay, offered a larger warning for the next generation — urging them not to let ego, social media validation or gatekeeping stifle their growth.
“Don’t get sucked into this world where you’re no longer realistic about what’s real and what’s fake. That’s what social media does. We need to build together, support each other, and stop gatekeeping. It makes no sense,” the music executive stated.
He stressed that Afrobeats must move beyond personal wins to collective victories — or risk stagnating just as quickly as it rose.
“If we don’t take advantage of this moment, we’ll be here in five years saying, ‘Wow, remember when we played Madison Square Garden?’ We’ve got to build structures and multiply success stories — not hoard them,” he said.
