The Dark Side Of Being A Female Afrobeats Artist Nobody Talks About - Fave
AfropolitanPlay episode
Show notes
A major label signed her, handed her enough money to go buy a car, and then let her music sit. So she asked to leave. Less than a month after she got out, "Intentions" took off and it hasn't slowed down since. Fave doesn't dance around why she walked. "What I want as an artist from my label is the money to market my music," she says. "I don't think they truly understand how things work here in Africa." Two years into a deal with Atlantic, she decided she would rather bet on herself than keep fighting to be somebody's priority. She started as a law student posting one-minute freestyles to Twitter. Within 24 hours the internet couldn't look away. Since then she's been named Rookie of the Year, tapped as an Apple Music Africa Rising act and a Spotify EQUAL Africa ambassador, and pulled onto tracks by some of the biggest names in the game. This is the artist behind Baby Riddim, Kante and Intentions. In this episode we get into the double standard female artists face across Africa, the "Afrobeats Queen" label and why crowning one woman for 200 million people makes no sense, rebelling against a strict Pentecostal home to chase music, getting stranded at a Kenyan airport by a promoter who cancelled the flights home, why she left Atlantic, and how Kante with Davido actually came together. Become a Member of The Room (Afropolitan Private Membership) Join our private community for deeper insights and exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast EPISODE SPONSORS Zobo Money — Zobo is a money transfer app built for Africans in the diaspora. It lets you send money from the US, UK, and Europe to countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, and more. https://www.zobo.money/afropolitan BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get a $10 bonus when you sign up, complete your KYC, and send $50 or more to Africa. Hisa — Hisa is an all-investments platform that lets you invest in Nigerian stocks, US stocks and ETFs from one app. https://invite.hisa.co/7fkf/AFROPOLITAN BONUS OFFER: Use code AFROPOLITAN and get your first two trades commission-free. CONVO BY AFROPOLITAN Book 1:1 calls with Africa's boldest thinkers: https://convo.vip/ WHERE TO FIND FAVE Music: https://onerpm.link/RNBling Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faveszn TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@favesavage X/Twitter: https://x.com/faveszn AFROPOLITAN Twitter/X: https://x.com/afropolitan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afropolitanpodcast Newsletter: https://www.afropolitan.io/newsletter Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/Afropolitanpodcast TIMESTAMPS 0:00 "It's hard to manage a female artist" 0:23 The law student who went viral in 24 hours 2:08 Subscribe to the Afropolitan family 2:36 The difficulty of a male-dominated industry 3:00 "We're held to very different standards" 3:45 Judged by everything but the music 4:16 Why female artists give more on stage 5:06 Sexual advances just to get in the room 5:21 The labels that won't sign women 6:33 Wanting to put other women on 7:18 How streaming changed who gets to blow 7:47 Grouped together, never seen as individuals 8:31 Tiwa Savage vs Ayra Starr makes no sense 9:00 Too scared to headline a show at home 9:52 "Afrobeats Queen? One woman for 200 million?" 10:57 Why the comments still keep her up 12:24 A strict home and the case for rebellion 13:42 The talent her parents wouldn't let her nurture 15:31 The viral video before the song existed 16:40 A text from Olamide and a run to Lagos 17:43 Follow Chika and Eche on Snapchat 18:23 The Room: join the Afropolitan Patreon 19:14 Sponsor: Zobo Money 20:02 Sponsor: Hissa 21:06 "Wage war against your parents" 22:01 Studying law and why she couldn't be a lawyer 22:48 Baby Riddim was too big to ignore 23:31 Building a team you can actually trust 25:32 "It's a jungle, especially in Lagos" 27:00 Did law school help the business of music 30:43 Where "Dutchie girl" came from 32:00 Rebelling against the stylist template 33:49 Why she keeps getting compared to Tems 36:15 Men, women, and thumbnails that perform 37:45 Leaving Atlantic Records 38:24 "Money to ball vs money to market" 39:53 What Don Jazzy spent on Calm Down 40:52 Independent, then Intentions exploded 41:10 Is independence actually worth it 43:00 The Kenyan promoter who stranded her team 46:26 The artist's side of leaving a label 48:00 "I was very depressed at my label" 50:08 Kante with Davido: how it came together 52:55 The European tour and reaching the diaspora 54:00 Does music travel organically 56:03 Rapid fire begins 56:33 Studio at 2am, the night crawler 57:02 Dating apps or meeting organically 58:45 Why she's building on Snapchat 1:00:08 Favorite Nigerian food and city 1:01:49 Why artists are leaving Nigeria 1:03:11 The first time she hit the stage 1:05:10 Who should be in this chair next
