As Nigerian population booms, so does the city’s Afrobeat scene
Ekpenyong Otu felt adrift in Orlando.
The Nigerian disc jockey, who’d spun for some of the biggest Afrobeat artists in his homeland, had moved to Florida in 2006 with the goal of developing a music sharing platform for DJs like himself. Just one thing was missing: his community. Otu, better known as Mixmaster Brown, began to look for a home elsewhere, and in 2010, his gaze settled west, across the Gulf of Mexico.
“The Nigerian community brought me to Houston. I loved Florida, don’t get me wrong,” Otu said. “But I missed the Nigerian community because of Afrobeat. You can’t promote Afrobeat without the right crowd.”
Afrobeat, an infectious, laid-back brand of contemporary West African dance music with vibrant rhythms, gentle melodies and singalong hooks, is one of the most popular subgenres of the moment and has turned the likes of Wizkid, Burna Boy, Tems, CKay and Fireboy DML into global stars. Wizkid headlines the Toyota Center on March 3, while the huge Afro Nation festival, featuring the biggest names in the style, now takes place on three continents: Miami (May 27-28); Portimao, Portugal (June 28-30) and Accra, Ghana in December. And it’s all over the soundtrack for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
(Also, it should be noted that the genre is sometimes called Afrobeats to distinguish it from the more bandoriented Nigerian Afrobeat scene of the ’70s, pioneered by the likes of the more political Fela Kuti.)
Otu is one of more than 40,000 Nigerian people who have moved to the Houston area in recent years, U.S. Census data shows, tripling the area’s Nigerian population. Between 2010 and 2021, the area’s Nigerian population grew from over 21,000 people to nearly 64,000 people, and with that growth has come an explosion in the community’s music scene. Fans of Afrobeat have more clubs from which to choose every weekend, and there’s no shortage of available gigs for the ever-growing roster of local DJs.
“It was the right move for me,” Otu said. “It was one of the best decisions of my life.”
Nigerian Americans in Houston offer a number of reasons for why the population has grown — low cost of living, a familiar climate and a strong network of fellow Nigerians. But while these days, Afrobeat superstars like Burna Boy and Wizkid fill up Toyota Center, local DJs and promoters remember a time not long ago when basically the only consistent option for Afrobeat was the nowclosed Zanzibar on Westheimer.
“Back then, Afrobeat wasn’t that big, it was only big in the African community. If you went to American clubs, even if Nigerian and African DJs played, they wouldn’t give them a chance to play Afrobeat. They’d wait until like 1:50 a.m. and give them 10 minutes of play time,” said Adewumi “Ben” Awoyode, cofounder of local Afrobeat promotional company Shekpe Knights.
Afrobeat’s global appeal has steadily expanded over the years, and artists like Drake have lined up to collaborate with the genre’s hottest names. That, combined with Houston’s growing Nigerian population, meant the city’s Afrobeat scene wasn’t likely to stay sequestered for long.
Awoyode recalls in
2010 having to convince his boss at Crystal Lounge, which has since closed, that hosting an Afrobeat night could be a profitable proposition. He’d just traveled home to London, where he grew up, and saw how the city’s sizable Nigerian population supported a thriving local music scene. He saw no reason that couldn’t be replicated here in Houston.
“I said, ‘Just give us a chance for one night, and if you’re not convinced just kick us out.’ The first night we sold out, and we never looked back,” Awoyode said.
Shekpe Knights has helped bring some of Afrobeat’s biggest artists to Houston in the years since, including Burna Boy. And no longer are local DJs relegated to 10-minute sets at the tail-end of a party; there are now a number of clubs with dedicated Afrobeat nights every weekend, mostly concentrated in west Houston.
Mr. X Bar and Lounge, on Richmond, hosts the AfroXperience every Friday, and O2 Lounge, a few miles west on Fondren, hosts SK Saturdays every weekend. The Domain Restaurant and Lounge on Westheimer also regularly hosts Afrobeat nights, as does Ebony Foods and Music on Westheimer. Afrobeat has embedded itself into the global pop landscape so much that other DJs in clubs across Houston will incorporate the music into their sets. Various after-hours parties, private events and pop-ups also happen on a regular basis.
Nor does the Afrobeat scene solely cater to Nigerians. The music has spread to other countries across Africa and influenced regional sounds across the diaspora. Kyle Lee-Young, a Trinidadian promoter better known as MC Fire Kyle, now hosts monthly Afrobeat and Caribbean fusion nights at Mr. X alongside the Shekpe Knights — a logical fit, given the West African origins of the two styles and Houston’s sizable communities from both regions, he says.
“Houston is one of the most diverse cities in America, especially now that more and more people are moving here. It’s the new New York, it’s what I’ve been saying,” Lee-Young said. “It’s definitely developed from the time I got here (in 2008) to now.”
Hundreds of people filed into Mr. X Bar and Lounge on a recent AfroCaribbean night, dancing in their red leather sections as bottle servers in shimmering blue leotards walk through toting sparkling bottles of champagne. Young and other promoters survey the landscape from the VIP section as local selector DJ Slayz spins seamlessly from Burna Boy to Rema, holding court over the dimly lit dance floor occasionally flushed with strobe lights.
“We got too much culture in this city to not give it to y’all, so we got Afrobeats, Caribbean and hip-hop tonight,” shouts an emcee.
Outside, a food vendor serves up suya, or Nigerian grilled beef, and jollof rice to hungry partygoers. For Nigerians who grew up in Houston, the thriving scene isn’t necessarily a revelation; it’s just a welcome manifestation of the culture they’ve celebrated their whole lives.
“It’s always been a part of my life, Afrobeat has always been my idea of fun,” said fan Roseine Itrechio, outside of Mr. X. “So now it’s just I have more access, I don’t always have to go to specific clubs, I can go anywhere and get the same vibes.”
“I’m proud!” her friend Liz Jidensky agrees.
Sums up Itrechio, “I’m glad (other people) can see the light.”