By The Voice
Fuse ODG: The Fresh Prince Of Afrobeats
The Azonto star on helping put the genre on the map, working with Wyclef and MOBO love
AZONTO. THE Ghanaian dance craze that has swept through every corner of the UK, reaching as far as Australia.
Regardless of age, race or religion or whether you’re at a wedding, wake or living it up on a wild weekend, the energetic routine will, at some point, make an appearance on the dance floor.
And Fuse ODG, the man credited with ‘single-handedly bringing Azonto to the world’ – with his track of the same name – says even he’s shocked by the response.
“It’s crazy to be known as someone who is taking Ghanaian music to different territories,” says the London-born, Ghana-raised, musician.
“I had a show in Suriname recently – a country next to Guyana – and when I arrived at the airport, Azonto was playing. I had never heard of the country before I was booked there, yet everyone knew who I was. I’m overwhelmed.
“But what makes me really happy though,” he continues, “is how perceptions of Africa are changing through music. It’s cool to be called an African nowadays. It wasn’t always that way.”
He explains: “I was born in London, but was schooled in Ghana. When I came back to England for secondary school, I came back with an accent and had loads of fights in school because of it.”
As a result, the 25-year-old developed This Is New Africa (TINA), a movement he hopes will showcase the Africa he knows and loves – a vibrant and self-sufficient continent.
“I want TINA to be a platform that we can use to showcase the other side of Africa the media doesn’t show. When I was younger, all they showed were children with flies around their mouth. I feel like as the children of Africa, we are starting to move the focus away from the negative. For me, I’m doing it through music, but for someone else it might be by running their own business. Africa is a successful and vibrant place. It inspires me.”
And it was his Ghanaian hometown, which inspired Fuse’s follow-up single Antenna.
Equally as catchy and addictive as its predecessor, Antenna shot straight to No.5 in the UK charts, selling over 200,000 copies and also caught the attention of former Fugees star Wyclef who asked to ‘jump on’ a remix of the hit.
“That’s a funny story actually,” Fuse, real name Nana Richard Abiona, starts.
“A promoter in the Ivory Coast had booked myself and Wyclef. When Wyclef got there, he saw the billboards of me and he was wondering who I was. We were touring across the continent and I was letting him know about what I was trying to do with TINA and he said, ‘that’s exactly how I felt about Haiti [his hometown]’. Later at dinner, the DJ played Atenna and everyone went crazy. Wyclef was going mad, he didn’t even know it was me! He was asking, ‘who’s that?’ He kept asking the DJ to play it again. The DJ played it a total of 50 times. Wyclef was dancing, sweating and took off his shirt… it was crazy! And then he got on the mic and said, ‘I want to do the official remix to this.’ It’s Wyclef, so I was like, ‘ok, cool’.
The following day, Fuse explained how Wyclef arrived at his hotel room ready to record his addition to the track in the mobile studio they had set up.
“When I opened the door, Wyclef was standing there barefoot, wearing an African outfit and ready to go,” he laughs.
“I had given him a TINA hat and he was wearing that too. I couldn’t believe Wyclef was in my hotel room! We shot the music video the next day. It was a crazy experience.”
Antenna has also earned the star three Music Of Black Origin (MOBO) Award nominations in the ‘Best Newcomer’, ‘Best Video’ and ‘Best African Act’ categories at the upcoming ceremony on October 19.
“It’s crazy isn’t it?” He says simply.
“Even though we’ve put in a lot of work this year, it still hasn’t sunk in. And the fact they didn’t try and box me solely into the African category, but actually recognised me as someone in the running for ‘Best Newcomer’ and ‘Best Video’, means so much. It’s an honour and pleasure to be nominated.”
The recognition at one of the UK’s most prominent music events tops off a successful year for Fuse and his camp, while also providing much-needed confirmation to his parents that his decision to forgo a degree in business studies in favour of music, was worthwhile.
“Yeah, my parents are happy now,” Fuse says.
“[When I made the decision] it was crazy. They didn’t want me to take on music full-time, but I knew this was something I wanted to do. Plus, I knew my end goal was to run a business. I was doing it before and I’m doing it now with TINA.”
So what does the future hold for the rising star?
“My album is an outro away from completion and is testament of all the hard work we have put in. There are a lot of bangers and good music on there, I can’t wait for people to hear it.
He adds: “I’m in this for the long run. We’re here to change lives. We’re here to push the continent. We’re here with a message. We’re here to push good music. I haven’t even got started yet!”
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