Dapper Live, the live events arm of Dapper Group, has secured a Guinness World Record for hosting the largest orchestra ever assembled at an Afrobeats concert.
The milestone was achieved on December 16, 2025, during Trench Symphony: The Dapper Live Experience, staged at the 3,000-capacity Balmoral Convention Centre in Lagos. Guinness World Records verified that 85 musicians performed together under a conductor, accompanied by a lead singer, choir, dancers, and synchronized orchestral arrangements.
The concert featured performances from Dapper Group artistes including T.I Blaze, Rybeena, Bhadboi OML, Kashcoming, and TML Vibez, with appearances from Lasmid, Cazulee, and DWillsHarmony. Fuji legends Saheed Osupa and KS1 Malaika also made special appearances, adding generational depth to the show.
Each artiste’s songs were reimagined as full orchestral arrangements, conducted by Perfect 4th Ensemble and Clintonic, with Bazzman Sam serving as musical director.
Damilola “Dapper” Akinwunmi, CEO of Dapper Group and executive producer of the event, said the concert was rooted in a vision for African music. “Trench Symphony was born from a simple but powerful belief: that African music, in its truest and most authentic form, belongs on the world’s biggest stages,” he said. “We didn’t just want to set a record; we wanted to create something iconic—something that shows the world what Africa is capable of when vision meets excellence.”
The organisers, announcing the record on Instagram, added: “We didn’t just stage a concert. We rewrote the record books. Culture. Precision. History.”
The previous record was held by US rapper Jeezy, who performed with 101 musicians at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas in November 2025.
Following its Lagos debut, Trench Symphony is set to tour ten Nigerian states later this year, with international shows planned in London, Birmingham, Dublin, Paris, and Canada. The concert demonstrated how Afrobeats can merge with orchestral arrangements to create large-scale, unified musical experiences.