00:00 The only thing I could remember is I tried to do,
00:03 you know the dance they do in Nigeria
00:05 where everybody do like this.
00:06 The whole thing just.
00:07 (laughing)
00:10 Hi, what's up everybody?
00:11 It's your boy, Ashake,
00:12 aka Mr. Money with a vibe right now.
00:15 And you are watching Billboard News.
00:17 - Dino!
00:18 - It's Tetris with Billboard News.
00:26 Today we got Mr. Afrobeat himself, Ashake.
00:29 (upbeat music)
00:31 Thanks for coming and hanging out with us.
00:43 Let's talk about the genre itself, okay?
00:45 So Afrobeat is obviously having
00:47 this huge explosion globally.
00:49 So how's it feel from the artist standpoint
00:51 seeing your genre blow up like that?
00:53 - I think it's a good thing, you know?
00:55 It's like you having a baby
00:58 and your baby's growing, you know?
01:00 You feel good when you have something around you
01:02 and the thing is going.
01:03 And I feel like in a couple of years
01:06 or in years to come, it will be bigger.
01:09 - Well, speaking of it getting bigger,
01:10 I mean, next year will be the first year
01:12 the Grammy's ever have a category.
01:14 - Yeah.
01:15 - Best African musical performance.
01:16 So that's huge.
01:17 Do you think that's gonna affect the genre?
01:19 Like, are you even thinking like,
01:20 I wanna be Grammy nominated now?
01:22 - No, it's how?
01:23 It's never going to affect anything.
01:25 Like, everybody wants to be big.
01:27 So if the whole genre is bigger,
01:30 that means it's the happiness of the whole country,
01:32 you know?
01:33 It's the happiness of everybody.
01:34 - I see you a lot on TikTok, man.
01:36 You have some fun at your shows.
01:38 Like, the one where you were like diving off stage.
01:41 Like, I feel like everything's going crazy at shows right now.
01:43 People throwing stuff at people, all the mess.
01:45 So how do you approach live performances?
01:47 What makes you go so hard when you're up on stage?
01:49 - I put, first of all, I put myself in like their shoes.
01:52 Like, okay, what if I'm somebody
01:56 that likes an artist and they tell me
01:58 my favorite artist wants to come perform here
02:00 and I paid to come in and watch you?
02:03 Like, I put myself in what they will be thinking about.
02:06 Like, their expectation.
02:07 So when I go on stage, I want you to, first of all,
02:11 like me and see I'm putting everything I have to for you.
02:14 So you won't feel like, I just paid to come and watch you
02:16 and this man is just moving.
02:18 You get?
02:19 So like, when I'm going to any show like that,
02:21 I know that I'm going there to give them all my energy
02:24 and make them like me more.
02:26 Give people experience.
02:28 That's what me and like.
02:28 So sometimes when I'm performing on stage,
02:31 the stage is not enough for me because they can't see me.
02:34 You get?
02:35 So I would like to still go close to them, man.
02:37 - Well, you gave people a little extra experience.
02:39 Like one show I saw, you did that jump kick
02:41 and your pants ripped.
02:42 (audience cheering)
02:46 Dude, that was wild.
02:47 I was cracking up.
02:48 So tell me what went through your head.
02:49 Like, did you just go change, throw another pair of pants on
02:52 and come out back in the middle of the song?
02:53 - Yeah, I want like that day, I didn't even know.
02:56 I can't even explain what happened.
02:57 Like I can't explain what happened to you.
02:59 The only thing I could remember is I tried to do,
03:03 you know the dance they do in Nigeria
03:04 where they go, they do like this.
03:05 - Oh, that's like a Nigerian move.
03:07 Okay, cool.
03:08 - So I tried to move my neck like that.
03:10 Then the whole thing just.
03:11 (laughing)
03:14 The only thing in my head is,
03:16 are you going to stop this show now?
03:18 Like, are you going to make it obvious?
03:19 Or I just have to like improvise and keep jumping.
03:21 - You just dance, yeah.
03:22 - It's like changing trousers, but at the end of the day,
03:25 videos, cameras still put me out there.
03:28 - Yeah, the cameras are always going to be there now.
03:31 You had the highest charting debut Nigerian album ever.
03:35 So tell me, have you been back home to Nigeria?
03:37 How does it feel to kind of carry that honor
03:39 from where you're from?
03:40 - Me seeing myself here, you know,
03:42 shows me that I can be somewhere bigger than this.
03:45 You know, so like at home, I'm so sure everybody
03:49 will be so proud of me, you know, seeing me here.
03:51 Because at the end of the day, they want to see me happy.
03:53 You know, they want to see me succeed.
03:55 So I think for the people at home, everybody's happy
03:58 seeing me trying to push the culture
04:00 and you know, trying to be the best in what I'm doing.
04:03 - And what was your journey like from that album
04:05 to your new album, Work of Art, number one in 42 countries.
04:08 So tell me how you grew and evolved
04:11 from album one to album two.
04:13 - The first one is a bit, you know, easy, you know,
04:17 'cause it's the first one.
04:19 But the second one, you know, I need to like put in
04:22 more work, you know, like how to outgrown myself, you know.
04:26 Do something I've not done before,
04:28 trying to create more new things.
04:30 To me, I won't lie to you, both albums are good for me.
04:34 Like, you know, they both have their time.
04:37 I was going through something when I did the first one.
04:39 At the end of the day, it came out good.
04:41 The second one too, you know, came out good, so.
04:43 - And let's talk about your collaborations as well.
04:45 You work with David O, Russ, DaBaby.
04:48 So how do you approach collaborations when creating music?
04:51 - The thing is, for me, I need to like the person
04:53 before I can make music with you.
04:56 I need to have, I need to be comfortable with you,
04:59 not even because of the music alone.
05:01 Like, I'm not saying I can't make music with other people,
05:04 but I like real energy.
05:06 If you like me beyond the music, it's good.
05:09 You know, but like, I need to connect to your music,
05:11 I need to like the person I want to work with first.
05:14 So it won't be a problem for me, you know,
05:16 there must be synergy.
05:18 - And then, okay, so now you gotta tell me this,
05:19 has there been somebody whose energy you've been like,
05:21 I need to get on a track with them?
05:24 - I've been saying this thing since,
05:25 and I don't know if, let's see, maybe God will do it.
05:29 Let's see, it can work, He's kind.
05:32 - Oh. - Yeah.
05:34 - Dude, that would be amazing.
05:35 - Yeah, actually.
05:37 - No, we gotta make sure that happens for you.
05:38 We're gonna put that good energy into the universe.
05:40 You got some support here at Billboard.
05:42 Thanks for coming back.
05:43 - Thank you.
05:44 - Of course.
05:45 (upbeat music)
05:48 (thudding)
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