Dear Afro-pop artist, your song must have a progression

First off, there are no rules to these things. Nobody has a rule book somewhere, but there is a recognized methodology.

In 2019, Nigerian superstar, Tiwa Savage released her first solo single of the year, ‘49-99.’ Upon release the song polarized, but the bulk of listeners criticized the lackluster nature of the song. While that might have been harsh, the song lends itself to evaluation. Produced by Pheelz and written by rap legend, Olamide, the song has its plus points. 

In the opening few seconds of ‘49-99,’ your interest is piqued and you get expectant. Around 00:25, you get excited and your mind naturally craves a zenith. But sadly, it never came for ‘49-99.’ The song gets caught in its own build-up and never breaks even like a bad start-up. As playlist curators,LISTEN! Gets loads of submissions everyday. 

Before we pick songs, we go through all the submissions our curators get. Whenever we are going through Afro-pop submissions, we notice that a few songs are like Tiwa Savage’s ‘49-99’ - they catch our attention enough for a listen, they build expectation, but they fail to retain our attention. 

How do you make a good Afro-pop song? 

First off, there are no rules to these things. Nobody has a rule book somewhere, but there is a recognized methodology. At the root of Afro-pop is a demand for resonance and that usually comes from a great beat and a great hook. 

The regular song is built on the format; intro-verse-hook-verse-hook-(maybe refrain)-hook-outro. A good beat follows

that progression and adds extra layers of melody as verses become hooks - ‘49-99’ for example, lacks that - its hook also has terrible delivery. 

A good songwriter crafts something catchy for a hook which is markedly different from the verse. A good singer then delivers it with gusto. Asides how the beat on ‘49-99,’ like many other songs was flat around the hook, Savage lacked the gusto to deliver that hook properly. 

Olamide is one of the greatest hook makers and deliverers in the history of Nigerian music. Any good Afro-pop artist would do well to study Olamide’s work ethic with hooks and Fireboy’s attitude to verses that effortlessly lead into hooks. The best progression on Afro-pop songs happens when the hook contains a beat switch and resonant changes in the lyrical structure of the song. 

The hook is the most material part of an Afro-pop song. Producers and songwriters must always get it right. It’s also important that verses on Afro-pop songs are never too long so listeners don’t get bored. 

How about songs with little to no hooks?

While songs like Kizz Daniel’s ‘Sin City’ or Wande Coal’s ‘Ghana Freestyle’ are amazing songs with little to no hook(s), they are the exception not the rule. It also takes exceptional artistry to pull such songs off. At the root of songs like that also lies rare, exceptional beats that can make listeners dance on their own - even with no vocals. 

How long should an Afro-pop song be? 

Around three minutes. Four minutes is too long.

Thank you for reading.

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