Music consumption has been at an all-time high since becoming a ridiculously lucrative business thanks to digital streaming. But the impact of streaming platforms has proven to be a gift and a curse. Today, the competition for our attention is proving more difficult than ever before, and so artists are having to put in more work as far as the promotion of their craft is concerned. From turning to Tiktok challenges to paying influencers, all for a viral appeal, music stakeholders have become a lot more strategic with the propagation of their gospel. Recently, we have seen big names in the industry own the masters to the biggest songs in the country without singing a note of music. These people have positioned themselves as powerful names to work with as they have the power to singlehandedly influence the charts by featuring both mainstream big names and relatively unknown acts in the industry. These are three of the biggest middleman in Afrobeats.

1. Iwe “Poco Lee” Pascal

Professional dancer and Master of Ceremony, Poco Lee, came to the limelight after his dance video—where he flexed his legwork dance moves to the hit song, Zanku, in a school event—went viral, gaining the attention of Zlatan, who contacted him to feature in the music video. Since then, he has gone on to feature in several top-profile music videos, working closely with the likes of Davido, Burna Boy, Naira Marley, and so on. The influential dancer has so far used his digital reach to exert his direct (and indirect) influence in the music industry as he was responsible for bringing artists such as Portable and Ghanaian’s Black Sheriff to the attention of Olamide and Burna Boy respectively, whose joint efforts resulted in two of the biggest songs in the country at the time of release.

2. Larry “Larry Gaaga” Ndianefo

The music producer and record label executive gained fame with the success of Gaaga Shuffle, a song he performed alongside 2Baba. Ever since he has continued influencing the charts with hit songs and collaborations without saying a word. Having begun his career in the entertainment industry a decade ago as the General Manager of YSG Entertainment, managing the career of the label’s rapper, Vector, Larry Gaaga’s transition to constantly creating music he can call his own has been quite meteoric. In 2018, the don-like music figure released five hit singles, including Wonderful featuring Wande Coal and Sarkodie, and Doe featuring Davido, whilst also collaborating with artists such as Burna Boy, D’banj, DJ Neptune and so on. The following year, Larry Gaaga worked extensively on the soundtrack album for the sequel of one of Nigeria’s premiere film productions, Living in Bondage, with the album featuring Davido, Flavour, Peruzzi, Patoranking and 2Baba. He has since secured a record deal with Universal Music Group Nigeria, signed a record deal with Def Jam Africa, a flagship of Def Jam Recordings, and just last year announced as the Vice President of Def Jam Africa and the head of the A&R division across the English-speaking markets in Africa.

3. Oderhohwo “Carter Efe” Joseph Efe

Carter Efe began as a social media skitmaker and brand influencer in 2018, and his career has since witnessed steady growth. But Carter wanted more. After being a part of multiple comedy videos alongside prominent comedians, influencers and content creators such as Don Jazzy, Gentuu, Sidney Talker and so on, Carter, who had built his brand’s reputation on his obsession for Afrobeats icon, Wizkid, decided to make his foray into the music industry. Last year, he made his music debut as he joined forces with an up-and-coming artist, Berri Tega, to record what was the biggest single across the country at the time of release, Machala, an ode to his idol, Wizkid, whose adopted stage name is Machala. Carter would go on to have a fallout with Berri Tega due to their differences over the revenue split on the hit song. But that wouldn’t stop him as he made another song, Ololade Mi Carter, with another relatively unknown artist, Funny Muller, again charting on the Apple music charts across the country.

Kehindé Fagbule
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Self-identifies as a middle child between millennials and the gen Z, began writing as a 14 year-old. Born and raised in Lagos where he would go on to obtain a degree in the University of Lagos, he mainly draws inspiration from societal issues and the ills within. His "live and let live" mantra shapes his thought process as he writes about lifestyle from a place of empathy and emotional intelligence. When he is not writing, he is very invested in football and sociopolitical commentary on social media.