Afrobeats is one of the music world’s most exciting and fastest-growing genres. One of its main architects is Andre Vibez, who is dominating playlists, charts and airwaves with his work.
Having worked on Ayra Starr’s 2022 hit Rush and last year’s Rema and Selena Gomez collaboration Calm Down, a track with more than 1.35bn streams and counting, the numbers being registered by Andre Vibez’s music are impressive. The accolades have started to mount up, too: most notably, the Nigerian songwriter was nominated for the inaugural Best African Music Performance award at the 2024 GRAMMYs.
His early songwriting ambitions were inspired by a plethora of hip hop and R&B artists: Eminem, Sisqó, Usher, Dr. Dre, Timbaland and Darkchild all featured prominently in his record collection. Andre’s father, the legendary Nigerian musician Victor Uwaifo, also held great sway over his burgeoning musical tastes.
‘I come from a very musical family: my dad was a very popular musician in Nigeria and across Africa,’ Andre tells us. ‘I grew up surrounded by jazz, classical, R&B and soul. It always felt natural for me to blend genres together. That’s what people know and like about the music I make, this ability to mix up different styles.’
Joining Mavin Records as a producer and sound engineer, Andre got the chance to work with the likes of Omah Lay, Crayon, LADIPOE and Bnxn. The latter two’s collaboration Feeling was a hit in Nigeria in 2021 and reached the top three of the UK’s own Afrobeats chart.
‘When you meet people who have different approaches, it really helps push you forward,’ Andre explains. ‘Music-making is a never-ending process of learning and growing. You must keep an open mind as there’s always a new way for you to create and innovate.’
Despite his groundbreaking work in the studio, Andre is modest about his success and professes to not having had too many initial expectations for some of his biggest tracks.
‘Calm Down came out of a day of making different beats,’ he reveals. ‘At the time, I was making two or three every day in the studio. I liked the track when Rema came to record it, but I had no idea it would become one of the biggest Afrobeats songs of all time.’
If you ask Andre for his recipe for musical success, he stresses the need for originality: ‘Try to be different. You tend to get lost in the crowd if you try to make what everyone else is making. You need some special sauce to put into your music.’
Rush, his hit collaboration with Ayra Starr, was the end result of a similar process, though Andre felt more assured of its eventual popularity once it was crafted.
‘There has to be a connection or some kind of synergy where the other collaborator understands you,’ he says. ‘Working out how to create something that fits can take you a long way.’
His father’s experience as a PRS member make Andre’s decision to join easy.
‘I was aware of my father’s royalty slips when he’d get a letter and statement,’ he recalls. ‘When it was time to choose a performing rights organisation to join, it was an easy decision to go with PRS and I’m very glad I did. It’s changed my life and those of the people around me.’
A keen advocate for protecting intellectual property rights, Andre recognises the importance of ensuring his music is only used with his permission, particularly when it comes to sustaining his own career.
‘It’s so essential to protect your copyright: there are so many benefits,’ he says. ‘I feel it encourages creativity, too. Once you’ve copyrighted something, any artist who likes your work and wants to use it must come through you. It’s very important for everyone to take copyright seriously.’
When it comes to maintaining a successful career in music, he cites the importance of staying curious.
‘Keep learning, watching videos and reading about music. Open your mind to the process and how to apply whatever you’ve learned to your own music,’ he advises. ‘Creatives need to be different too: if you can maintain this, I’m sure you will see great results.’
This article features in a special edition of M Magazine celebrating 110 years of PRS. You can read the magazine here.
