Lagos, Nigeria – In 2019, a catchy, melodic instrumental hit social media platforms in Nigeria. A year later, it emerged as a groovy soundtrack during lockdowns induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, and afterwards on dancefloors, across parts of Africa and the African diaspora.
Simply titled Dance, the beat had no vocals. It indisputably bore the marks of Nigeria’s blossoming Afrobeats music genre but an overwhelming majority of those who liked it had no idea who its producer was – until November 2019 when its creator, Lagos-based Olayinka “DJ YK” Lawal, uploaded a street dance video for it on YouTube.
