AfroBeatNights “The Independence Weekend Edition”

The third installment of AfroBeatNights once again provided an alluring evening of fun and excitement. The event featured live performances from two captivating artists, Tracee Atanda-Owo and Emmanuel Andrews Samini, whose styles differ drastically, but both draw their musical inspiration from classic AfroBeat sounds. 

The night started off with an eclectic assortment of songs from Nigerian-American artist OWO, who is the originator of a style that she describes as “Afro-Electro-R&B”. Her performance included a combination of African inspired dance and drumming that energized the crowd with up tempo beats and choreography to match. 

The transition between OWO and Samini caught the audience off guard as he introduced a completely different tone to the night. As Samini took the stage, he immediately gave off an old school reggae vibe that slowed the pace of the night down and had the audience stepping side to side with the iconic Jamaican bop. 

His music intricately combines contemporary AfroBeat rhythms with deep cut reggae lyrics in order to create a unique sound. Samini’s popularity was evident as audience members shouted out requests and sang along to the Ghanaian’s collection of hits. 

AfroBeatNights NYC continues to push the envelope as they give a platform to emerging and established artists to showcase their talent. 

As always, the night concluded with a flawless set by DJ Tunez, who somehow always seems to know the right combination of songs to get the crowd going. Tunez, who is in the middle of his “Global Wave” world tour, performed the night before alongside AfroBeat superstar Wizkid in Washington D.C. 

As soon as Tunez touched the stage in NYC, the energy in the room shifted.  Once again, the crowd erupted as he dropped his first song of the night “Iskaba,” his hit song with Nigerian recording artist Wande Coal. 

As usual, AfroBeatNights contained a mixture of live music and DJ sets that kept the crowd engaged and dancing all night long. The event brought together a noticeably diverse crowd, varying in age and ethnicity, which showcases the wide reach of AfroBeat music and it’s culture.  

Look out for the next installment of AfroBeatNights NYC.