For a country that’s home to powerhouse musicians, Nigeria is short on rappers—and even shorter on successful ones.
Sitting down with Esther Oye on “The Esther Show” on YouTube, Lil Kesh, a rapper-turned-singer, candidly addressed the often-ignored reality behind Nigeria’s music landscape: the dominance of Afrobeats.
Signed to YBNL by Olamide after his viral freestyle hit “Lyrically,”Lil Kesh first caught attention as a rapper. But it wasn’t long before he pivoted to the mainstream, delivering back-to-back Afrobeats anthems like “Shoki,” “Gbese,” and “Is It Because I Love You?”—a move that may have confused purists but clearly resonated with the masses.
According to the 30-year-old, although he likes rapping, he doesn’t like to identify as a rapper because his focus is on where the money is: Afrobeats.
“My country likes to party, and I was going to be on the side where the money is. Most of the people who identify as rappers don’t stand the test of time. Olamide is the exception…People didn’t care. People don’t give a shit about the rap culture in Nigeria.”
He’s right on both counts. The Afrobeats wave has swept away most competing genres, and only artists like Tems have managed to resist. The few surviving veteran rappers such as M.I. Abaga and Vector aren’t remotely close to being the household names Afrobeats newbies like Seyi Vibes and Buju are.
It’s the bitter clash between passion and economic reality, and in this battle, Lil Kesh sided with the right choice: profitability.