The Pickers

𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎: 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐁𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐟 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐨, 𝐖𝐢𝐳𝐤𝐢𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 — 𝐀𝐬𝐚 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐤𝐚 Music executive and talent manager, Asa Asika, has said that Afrobeats could have achieved even greater global success if Nigerian stars like Davido, Wizkid and their peers had embraced more collaborations from the start of their careers. Speaking on the Afropolitan podcast which has been trending since Tuesday, Asika argued that only a few artistes have truly carried the Afrobeats sound to the international stage, stressing that more unity among early stars would have pushed the genre further. He drew comparisons with Latin music, crediting its global popularity to strategic collaborations among stars like Bad Bunny, J Balvin, and Nicky Jam. “My biggest piece of advice is always things like, ‘do not make the mistakes we made.' A perfect example of not making mistakes we made was our collective knowledge of Latin music. “For example, Latin music is very popular due to the collaboration of artistes like Bad Bunny, J Balvin, and Nicky Jam. That’s a mistake we made. “If Davido, Wizkid, and everybody at that point were all collaborating. The probability of our genre being bigger and more successful, even little things like ticket value at shows being stronger, would be a thing. Social media creates a lot of problems," he said. He also urged young artistes to remain grounded, stay hungry for knowledge, and not lose touch with reality. “So, for me, it’s a matter of advice: don’t get sucked into a world where you’re no longer realistic about what’s real and what’s fake. “Obviously, ask questions, like one thing I’m very, obviously ask questions. One thing I’m very proud of is that they will tell you, 'You can call me right now, you can call Sam Frank now, Anthony, how did you do this? ‘ Where did you get this? I have no shame in doing that," he added. Asika added that he has always been open to learning from others, no matter how experienced he becomes. “For me, acquiring knowledge never stops. So, for me, it’s just that, like educating people and just advising them based on the experience that I have attained over the years and also finding a way to still maintain the young boy. I’m not that old,” he said.