Music of Port Harcourt
Port Harcourt, a city of Rivers State located to the south of Nigeria, has a thriving music scene encompassing both native African and foreign-influenced genres.
[2] Port Harcourt is the birth place of many locally and internationally admired musicians, including Duncan Mighty, S33D, iENO, SKILALAH, Thaa Realest, Muma Gee, Serllin, Ridm, Timaya, Burna Boy, Duncan Daniels, Omah Lay, Muna, M Trill, Lyrikal, Mr. 2Kay, Waconzy, Gthree Mayami, Mercy Chinwo, Rico Slim, Kutie, Nelly Jazz and Idahams.
Founded in 2004, Grafton Entertainment has contributed extensively towards the growth of the Port Harcourt music scene from discovering and exposing her best talents to organizing some of the city's groundbreaking concerts.
Aside Nigeria, the Carniriv has featured several famous artists from other countries abroad including the likes of Shaggy, Patra, Beenie Man, Busta Rhymes, Joe, Brick & Lace and Wyclef Jean.
During the first three editions which he produced and directed, the event saw a record number of people along with performances from Oliver Jones, Embryo, Dizzy Gillespie and Mike Mower's Itchy Fingers Jazz Saxophone Quartet.
These Port Harcourt Festivals were some of the last great gatherings of many other pioneering Nigerian musicians like Art Alade, Eddie Okonta, Zeal Onyia, Remi Kabaka, Steve Rhodes, Tony Benson, Geraldo Pino, Sonny Brown and many others who helped inspire a new generation of jazz aficionados.
Beginning in the twenty-first century, the impact of hip hop music on young Harcourtians in terms of lifestyle, fashion, attitudes and values has reached heights previously unseen.
This song would attract a diss record from Lyrikal of Tuck Tyght Allstars, who went on to criticize the Breed's use of Naija Pidgin and not proper English on the track.
This, however, prompted Tropical Breed to later release another single "Critics" – with visuals edited by Base One – as a response to the diss song stating how other rappers should mind their own problems and not the next man's.
Protagonist Henry Diete Spiff founded Tuck Tyght Records to focus on hardcore, street-oriented hip hop, at a time when there weren't many supporting or sponsoring it.
Not only did they sell out their headline gigs and perform at special venues around the globe, but they also broadened the appeal of Port Harcourt hip hop to a larger audience.
Starting out as a Specimen A affiliate, Munachi Abii was one of the early female rap acts to gain acceptance among the generality of music lovers.
His rise to fame in 2007 established the possibility that hip hop music produced in Port Harcourt could have strong marketing and nationwide distribution.
Since the turn of the decade into the mid-2010s, there has been a resurgence in Pidgin-English rap through the appearance of the likes of Danas, Dandizzy, Ajebo Hustlers, Abobi Eddieroll, KING STUNNA and Dr. Barz.
Many contemporary pop music figures have come out of the city since the mid-2000s, most notable is Muma Gee whose singing career spans over two decades and she's still active to date.
[21] The mid-to-late 2000s ushered in profound innovations in the Port Harcourt pop scene as local artists started gaining attention, blending indigenous influences with more popular musical forms, namely R&B, reggae, highlife, hip hop and afrobeat.
With the release of his first nationally-distributed album, Koliwater (Fully Loaded), Duncan Mighty quickly evolved into a household name, ascending into the upper echelon of multi-talented trailblazers.
Songs like "Dance For Me", "Ako Na Uche", "Ijeoma" and "Unu Ge Gbum Madu" showed how versatility can be reigned in for a cohesive LP.
Unlike most upstarts, he resided in Port Harcourt for a significant portion of his career and established himself as one of the most respected, influential and original musicians to penetrate the national and international markets.
Psycho consisted of 14 tracks, mostly original production, as well as features from the likes of Frank D'Nero, Blah, Lyrikal, Veteran and Double K. The album was succeeded by King of the Underground, which yielded the hit singles "Sugar Banana" and "Change".
Other seasoned pop singers from Port Harcourt are Lamili, Fortune Okwuenyia, Kessy Driz, Korkormikor, Maxi, Oba Omega, Ric Hassani, Mr Eazi, Onosz and Idahams.
The use of online social networking platforms to display and share artistic content continues its ascending trend into the 2020s, providing more opportunities for local unsigned talents.
In early 2020, he returned to the spotlight of fame through social media exposure during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, utilizing afrobeat-influenced beats and conscious lyrics to highlight the realities of political corruption and socioeconomic inequality.
[30] It was aired on Pararan Mock News, and accrued more than one million views on Facebook before debuting at number 62 on April 3–9 Global YouTube Music Videos Chart.
[34] The song, released on the Harbours Band 7-inch EP through Philips West African Records, gave rise to the metaphorical phrase "Easy Motion Tourist".
[39] Also worth noting is the critically acclaimed I'm on Fire by Slim Burna, considered as the most successful mixtape from a Port Harcourt-based recording artist.
The fifteen track project had some influences of dancehall mixed with pop, and revolved mostly around the themes of love, sex and city street life.
[43] Since making his debut, Burna Boy has rose to the forefront of a wave of internationally recognized reggae/hip-hop crossover music stars out of Africa and has worked with the likes of Damian Marley, Konshens, Serani, Dre Skull, Lily Allen and Stefflon Don.
[47] Subsequently, he was selected as Cool FM's "Coolest Port Harcourt Artist of 2019", ahead of top-performing rising acts Ajebo Hustlers, 1Da Banton and Bukwild.
The song topped the Zimbabwean iTunes charts for two weeks and appeared on the soundtrack of the reality competition TV series Big Brother Naija (season 3).
