One might not expect a mix of Afrobeats and "sexy drill" to work out, but BNXN may see something that the rest of us don’t.
The Nigerian musician's single "Cutesy" takes heavy influence from the burgeoning New York-centered hip-hop subgenre, and managed to turn heads all the way across the Atlantic. "After dropping ‘Cutesy,’ Cash Cobain texted me," he says. "It made me realize I’m doing something right, because he’s one of the originators of that sound."
For BNXN (pronounced "Benson," after the artist’s last name), one of a number of rising Afrobeats and Afro-fusion artists gaining attention outside of the continent, using international sounds and collaborators is nothing new. He’s featured on songs by UK rappers such as Jae5 and Dave, and Jamaican dancehall legend Popcaan appeared on his debut record Sincerely, Benson.
"The concept of Afro-fusion itself is kind of fusing the African style and melody and flow with what's general, what's global, what's already out there. And that is what we were trying to chase with the genre," BNXN tells GRAMMY.com.
That’s certainly a facet of his upcoming album Captain. The record brings together a bevy of recent musical trends and high-profile stars, with Rema featuring on the amapiano-influenced "Fi Kan We Kan." Inspired by a childhood nickname, the record’s title also signals BNXN’s ambitions to be a leader in the African music industry and inspire more cooperation between artists. As any captain knows, a rising tide lifts all boats.
Ahead of Captain’s release on July 3, GRAMMY.com spoke with BNXN about the record, bringing more hip-hop into Afro-fusion, and where he wants the African music industry to go.
The following has been lightly edited for clarity.
What’s the overall concept of Captain? What are you trying to convey to listeners?
"Captain" was a name that my friends used to call me to differentiate me and give me this position of leadership, in some sense. But I saw a deeper meaning into what it was, especially pertaining to my music. I just see myself as this pirate, this captain on the ship; I was watching Pirates of the Caribbean the entire summer when I was working on this album. So I just see myself as this person of importance in this ocean of this industry and in Nigeria. To get to this kind of level I've been able to amass, it takes some certain level of skill. You gotta know what you're doing. So in my position, I'm saying I don't care how many boats are on this ocean. This is my boat, and I'm the captain, and I rock this.
I've been doing Afro-fusion for a while right now, and that's the kind of dicey thing with the Afrobeats thing, right? I don't want to be put in a simple box whereby it is a little definitive. The reason why I started this was basically to explore sounds and give it my own style of finish. These sounds that are on [Captain], I've never tried them before, and there were sounds I was really excited to try. I think this is the waviest project that I have right now, mainly because I just enjoy it so much. The flows, the songs, the stories, it just makes me feel a certain type of way, you know?
The sounds I'm bringing right now, especially on this album, are challenging in some sense. I just put out a record called "Cutesy," right? It’s like sexy drill, and that's something that was rocking crazy in America and in New York. We had the likes of Cash Cobain and Jordan Adetunji really doing amazing songs last summer. And I was like, I want to try it. It's just sexy, it's a very, very nice combination of melodies and beats and basses.
I'm just excited to share this project. It feels very, very personal. I was even skeptical about dropping a single, mainly because the album was already very cohesive. It felt like taking a block out of a building, in some sense.
The drill influence on "Cutsey" feels like it hasn’t been heard yet in Afro-fusion.
Hip-hop is definitely something that we can’t deny, it used to be very core in Nigeria. We used to have a lot of rappers. It just kind of swung the other way, because Afrobeats just took over again, as it should have.
I love Burna Boy so much. I've been a student of his work for a very long time. And the period where he was trying to make more hip-hop-influenced records — especially on the I Told Them album — I was like, whoa. Songs like "City Boy" came with so much energy. It just gave me this feeling like, damn, I want to try this for myself.
The concept of Afro-fusion itself is kind of fusing the African style and melody and flow with what's general, what's global, what's already out there. And that is what we were trying to chase with the genre. So hip-hop is one of those things.
How do you think Afro-fusion and Afrobeats, and African pop music in general, should develop in the future?
Afrobeats has been doing super amazing, man. A lot of people have been carrying it so well over the years, shout out to Burna, Rema, Tems, ASAKE. And this is the thing, for me, it’s about letting people know that there’s more. So for example, Tems is really a great export from Nigeria, mainly because she’s found a way to be like a bridge and fuse R&B with a bit of Nigerian beats. Take a song like "Love Me JeJe," right? That was a proper fusion. That’s just to show that there’s people that know how to do this really well.
How would you use your influence to make it go in a certain direction?
There’s still so much for us to achieve. We’re still so separated, in some sense. I feel like we need to come together a little bit more than we have. You see how the American industry is OK with bringing their fellow people on stage. And it opens doors for everybody. My fans see your fans, your fans see my fans; it creates opportunity at another level. I feel like if I ever had the opportunity to break down those doors internationally, playing all those big shows, I would want to make it an opportunity to put on a lot of Nigerian artists, and African artists in general. Because I feel like it’s lacking.
I remember when Burna brought me out at his stadium show in London. A lot of people might not do that (for a smaller artist), mainly because they’re afraid that their music isn’t big enough for a stadium. But he didn’t really care. He just wanted to showcase talent coming out of Nigeria, and that’s why he puts some of us on those stages. I feel like if we get that a lot more from others, it will make so much sense and we can propagate better. The future is very bright, I can tell you that for sure. It’s just a thing of timing.
What are your ambitions for this record and for your career in general, particularly with reference to breaking into North America and the U.S.?
I try not to be too expectant when it comes to what I want; I like to keep things to fit and just let it be open. But I’ve worked so hard on this project. If there’s anything I want it to achieve, it’s a global listening, a global ear. It’s Nigerian music, I want it to be global music. I want it to be music that’s heard almost everywhere.
There’s a whole lot of things aside from just making the music and putting it out, like marketing and all that’s involved with that. But musically, I want to stand out as one of the best artists out of Africa. I feel like I am one of the best artists out of Africa, it’s just like, I don’t know how to blow that trumpet. I’m just going with the flow.
My manager told me recently that we hit like 1.2 billion streams on Spotify. And it’s crazy, because stuff like that don’t really be happening for a lot of people here. And when it happens, you have to take that in a little bit. But for me, it’s still nothing. I want so much more for myself. So I see this project opening a lot of doors for me: writing, performances.
I’ve taken performances to a whole different level over the years, and now I want to do some more. I was in New York last year at the Gramercy Theatre, and I also played Toronto last year. But I want to play more shows in America as well. Hopefully my collaboration game will be insane, because after dropping "Cutesy," Cash Cobain texted me. And I’m like rah, if I didn’t drop that song he probably wouldn’t have reached out. It made me realize I’m doing something right, because he’s one of the originators of that sound, and for him to acknowledge me directly, it's a great point.