Nigeria’s country music gets British spotlight

Titled Jim – We Love You Because… the radio show sees Popoola start off from his own family where his mother takes him to relations he hasn't seen in 30 years. One of them, his uncle, is a huge fan, telling the journalist about an affair he had as a young man. The soundtrack to that romance, he tells his nephew, was a song by Jim Reeves.

Popoola then heads out, speaking to Emeka Keazor and Oris Aigbokhaevbolo, both of whom are associated with Music In Africa, the latter having succeeding the former as West Africa editor. While Keazor provides a historical background about the popularity of the genre in Nigeria, Aigbokhaevbolo covered the subject of country music in Nigeria in a 2014 reportage republished by Music In Africa.

In Lagos, Popoola also visits Jazz Hole, a popular spot in Ikoyi that attracts the Lagos culture elite. Popoola interviews the owner of the place and stops by at Oti’s Place, a repurposed garage owned by Oti Bazunu, a jazz lover who explains that country music is “too sentimental” for today’s Lagos.

Realising country music in Lagos is bound up with nostalgia, the journalist heads to Port Harcourt where he meets Ogak Jay, a country music artist. Jay takes him to an event dedicated to country music hosted by the Country Music Club of Port Harcourt. He also heads to Jos in Plateau state where he’s invited to a country music radio show.

“You are making me sound much more important than I am, Steve,” he tells the presenter. A country music artist tells him: “We can’t say country music is white music even if it came from there,” adding that “Nashville is [his] Jerusalem”.

Jim – We Love You Because... comes at a time when some attention is being paid to country music as made around Africa. This attention has led to the release of the compilation album Like Nashville In Naija: Nigeria's Romance With Country Music, Yesterday and Today, to which Ogak Jay contributed music. And speaking to Music In Africa, Popoola said a longer version of the programme would be aired on the BBC in January.

Popoola’s journey ends with juju music great Ebenezer Obey, who sampled Jim Reeves, and whose music in turn has been sampled by contemporary act Simi and whose sound is employed in the new Kiss Daniel single ‘Yeba’.

Obey speaks about adding “more drums and more guitar” to Reeves’ music and explains the relationship between African music and music from the West: African acts may be influenced by country music and other genres around the world but it is an exchange, he says, as “music that was taken from Africa became music of the world”.

Listen to Jim – We Love You Because… here.