{"id":110954,"date":"2022-09-01T10:39:33","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T08:39:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/?p=110954"},"modified":"2022-09-13T10:35:50","modified_gmt":"2022-09-13T08:35:50","slug":"nigerian-king-of-boogie-steve-monite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/nigerian-king-of-boogie-steve-monite\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve Monite: The return of Nigeria\u2019s King of Boogie"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It was a sunny Friday afternoon, in Lagos, and the atmosphere around town hung with a certain dryness. I had lazied all day, tucked between completing an article and a frantic search for new music. However, as soon as the veteran Nigerian disco singer, Steve Monite, hopped on a video chat with me, the energy that pulsated into my mind was exactly the same one could get if they played any of his records. I sat staring at his demeanour, with intrigue. With his newsboy cap, dark shades and effervescent smile, Monite\u2019s aura soaked up the atmosphere, even from over 4,000 miles away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hailed as the King of Boogie, Monite (pronounced Mon-ah-tay) is one of the most charismatic 61-year-olds anyone can ever meet. Born and bred in the South Western climes of Edo State, Nigeria, Monite rose to fame as one of the Nigerian pioneers of electro-funk; a legacy that has only begun to bloom, over thirty years after it was first planted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With his 1984 classic, \u201cOnly You,\u201d the four-tracker soundpiece recently reissued by the British Label, Soundway Records, there is a lot to say about Monite, especially about his iconic post-career popularity boom. However, the crown of the gist remains that the King of Boogie is back on the microphones again. And, this time, he\u2019s here to stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Once Upon A Legend<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Nigeria\u2019s popular music scene has gone through a litany of eras. However, the \u201880s was the stuff of legends. From the melodramatic Afrobeat of Fela Kuti, to the primordial Reggaeton of Ras Kimono, down to the uplifting Highlife of Osadebe, and the elegant Rhythm and Blues of Christy Essien Igbokwe, the Nigerian music scene was a cacophony of captivating genres. Yet, Steve Monite rose to the occasion as a radical, being among the first musicians to sojourn abroad in search of \u201cdifferent sounds.\u201d The result? A commercially risky melange of RnB, Synth-y Funk and Disco, or better yet what is called \u2018Boogie\u2019 or \u2018Electro-funk\u2019. It was a risk that would change his life, his career, and the face of the Nigerian music community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was the first guy to release an electro-funk record, because every other artist wouldn\u2019t dare to<\/em>,\u201d he explained. \u201cA lot of musicians then were experimenting with Calypso. So when I did electro-funk, we knew it was going to be a hit. But Micheal Jackson completely knocked my music off the shelf, then. He came out with Thriller, and the whole world was just ecstatic.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was always in and out of Europe and electronic funk just started. They had just introduced synthesisers. We hit the studio and I began working with Nkono Teles who was a very great producer even if people have been denying him his accolades. As far as I am concerned, Nkono Teles is one of the greatest keyboard players in Africa who contributed immensely to the Nigerian music industry, especially when it comes to disco, modern music.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe night we did that recording of \u201cOnly You\u201d at AMI records, Tony Okoroji (manager with EMI records) was getting married to his wife. So, we worked tirelessly that night to get lucky. And he was insisting, \u2018Steve you\u2019ve got to give us more fun music,\u2019 because I had been fusing reggae and r&b. However, we ended up creating \u2018Only You\u2019, and that was it. I also recorded the other songs, \u2018Welcome My Love\u2019, \u2018I Had A Dream\u2019, and \u2018Things Fall Apart\u2019.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The 80s was a golden era for Nigeria\u2019s creative scenery. With a spike in cultural importation, a chunk of art (music, film, fashion, etc) was mirrored after American and European concepts. It was a friendly arena for free-spirited creatives. And this was where Monite had hoped to thrive. His career did change, but not immediately. In fact, it didn\u2019t change until he had quit it totally, over 33 years since he first released the record. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou see, in those days, in the Nigerian music industry, they didn\u2019t know how to promote music well. If you are not popular, forget it; you stand a very slim chance. Record companies just felt it was enough to drop an album and expect the money to come from heaven. The music was in the market, but I didn\u2019t make money from it. EMI Records didn\u2019t even give me an account of what they made. I just know that I dropped an album and got no response.<\/em>\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With no digital streaming platforms, gaming consoles, cable television, or other conventional marketing channels, Monite blames his initial nosedive on the apathy of the industry gatekeepers at that time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had no international link to promote our music then. The Western world knew how to push their artists better, then. It was really a tough period for us who pioneered it. I was very young and I expected those who were popular in the industry to give me a helping hand. When American groups like Shalamar and Kool and the Gang came to perform, I was thinking they (show promoters) were going to call me and say, okay come and perform one or two songs just for publicity sake, you understand? But it never happened. I went to all the radio stations, personally, to do talk shows. I went to nearly all the newspapers and even the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), in Lagos. I was only able to secure a variety show, which I performed at. Till today, NTA has not even responded to my requests for that footage from their archive. But look at me now, all the publicity I was looking for over the years are now on my doorstep now. What a life!<\/em>\u201d he heaved a heavy sigh, before resuming his charming smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A New Phase<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

“Holy fuck. What record is this from? Who is this?<\/em>\u201d Phill Celeste groaned, in a conversation with the Recording Academy<\/a>. Like many others today, the Baltimore-based musician and Record Producer is among the new generation of listeners who are deeply awed by Monite\u2019s 1984 classic, so much that they have created their own covers of it. With the renaissance of electronic funk sweeping across the global music industry, now commonly branded as \u2018Alternative Music\u2019, Monite\u2019s \u201cOnly You\u201d has become a reference point and a source of inspiration for a lot of young musicians and music lovers today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the distorting vocals of Tyler the Creator\u2019s Earfquake, <\/em>to Chromeo\u2019s energetic Night By Night, <\/em>down to the hypnotising buzz from Daft Punk\u2019s Random Access Memories, <\/em>electronic funk has begun to wash over the creative scene once again. It\u2019s a comfortable distraction grooving on the sideline away from the fleeting euphoria of contemporary pop music. Even within Monite\u2019s hometown, another rising Edo-born legend, Rema, also recently experimented with the music style, in his song Addicted. <\/em>This new phase also brings its blessings for Monite. In 2017, he was shocked to see his name spluttered across the internet, and this was even before the popular American superstar, Frank Ocean, covered his song, Only You, <\/em>at the 2017 Fuck Yeah Fest (FYF), in Los Angeles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh boy, it was like a moon struck,<\/em>\u201d his eyes lit up like an excited child. \u201cI was completely out of show business over the years, due to the way that the Nigerian music industry was being run. I had moved on and I had raised my own family. All of a sudden I went to see my nephew and my brother at Redding, in England, and my nephew exclaimed, \u2018Uncle, Uncle, do you know that you are an internet sensation right now?\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI dismissed it. He was just an eight-year-old child, what could he possibly know? I said \u2018gerrarahere! (a pidgin tease for \u2018get out of here\u2019) what are you talking about?<\/em>\u2019 He said, \u2018Oh, seriously, your music is everywhere.\u2019 I told him that he wasn\u2019t born when I played music. I don\u2019t even remember being a musician. And something clicked in my head and I realised that these little kids are always on the internet and something might have been going on. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, I tried to find out for myself. I was on the internet for three hours. My pictures were all over the world; everybody was talking about \u201cOnly You.\u201d And this has been happening for more than five years. I will say thank God for the internet. SoundWay records went to Nigeria and they picked up my album and dusted it. When they heard the first track, they were blown away.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monite was talking about \u201cDoing It In Lagos,\u201d SoundWay\u2019s 2016 compilation LP that featured his classic, Only You. <\/em>That particular project changed his career, without his knowledge, although he claims that his former manager, Okoroji, attempted to play a fast one on him with it. Yet, fortune found him again, when SoundWay \u201ctracked\u201d him down and partnered with him on this first official reissue of the album. Remastered by Grammy-nominated sound engineer, Frank Merritt, at his Carvery studio, in London, \u201cOnly You\u201d re-issue is one of the most important milestones to happen to not just Nigerian music, but the entire disco, electronic-funk scene globally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With other covers from other global heavyweights such as Tame Impala\u2019s Kevin Parker and Theophilus London, among others, as well being included in legacy playlists from maestros such as Laurent Garnier, Disclosure and Swedish House Mafia, Monite\u2019s \u201cOnly You\u201d is only beginning to enjoy its well deserved fame. Like fine wine, it seems to only get better with time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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