Ifedayo Osinowo: Have We Finally Retired Video Vixens in Afrobeats?

The year is 2012, and you’ve just switched on the TV to listen to music. You navigate through channels like Trace Urban, HipTV or MTVBase, depending on whatever you’re in the mood for, and settle into the music videos of some of your favourite Afrobeat songs. In most of them, half-naked women are dancing around the artist, their bodies performing for the camera, dollar notes flying in the air at a crowded house party setting with red cups scattered across the room. The lyrics could be about love or money.

However, not all music videos in the early 2010s era followed this pattern. Some standouts like Wizkid’s Ojuelegba, Olamide’s Melo Melo, or Tiwa Savage’s heart-wrenching My Darling remained resonant with many Nigerians for years amidst the pool of dispassionate visuals. It was clear the Nigerian audience craved for deeper storytelling within music videos; unfortunately, the Nigerian music industry didn’t seem to get the memo.

Between 2016 and 2018, something I like to call video vixen fatigue began to plague many of our screens. Afrobeats was entering a new era within the digital world, slowly encroaching into the global sphere with iconic collaborations like Wizkid and Drake’s One Dance or Come Closer. At the same time, newer artists like YCee, Maleek Berry, Mr Eazi and many others were emerging on the scene. Although they produced absolute hits, one couldn’t help but notice the running theme of oversexualised women in similar costumes of ripped tights, biker shorts, cropped tops, lingerie, or other revealing clothes, much less framed in a club setting like times before.

A great shift did happen in 2019. Music video directors like Clarence Peters, Unlimited LA, and Patrick Elis were starting to be replaced by new talents like TG Omori, Meji Alabi, Director K, Director Pink and many more. Artists like Burna Boy, along with the rise of alternative music, saw a transition in how Afro music could be translated into culturally relevant and emotional stories that take viewers deeper into the meaning of a song.

Music videos also became more fashion-forward. Nigeria’s creative industry is one that is very interconnected, where one sector influences the other, and in this case, it was fashion. Earlier music videos often leaned toward more casual ensembles, with a preference to flaunt gold chains, expensive sneakers or Timberland boots, shades, and hats. Unless you were a female artist or Flavour, you were far less likely to see culture visually represented. Of course, there were exceptions like Davido’s Aye. There were theatrical videos like Yemi Alade‘s Johnny and Falz and Simi‘s Soldier. Today, music videos have become landmarks for spotlighting Nigerian designers, and style is now just as important as the song itself.

Beyond fashion, music videos have also become more political, as Afrobeats always has been. Visuals like Falz’s This is Nigeria pioneered a bold new age for digital and creative activism, followed by Burna Boy’s Monsters You Made, touching on issues like police brutality, colonialism and social injustice. Visually, our music videos have almost become cinema. Complex cinematography and camera techniques bring these songs to life in more intentional ways, like Tems’ visually stunning Me & U, set against an ocean backdrop directed by Tems herself.

So, is the era of video vixens really over? Not entirely. While some videos still include them and their familiar template, others take a more appreciative, textured depiction of women’s bodies as opposed to decorative objects of sexual desire. Videos like Simi’s Woman, Tiwa Savage’s 49-99, Burna Boy’s Onyeka, or Ayra Starr’s All The Love offer a refreshing alternative to the dominant, male gaze-centred visual themes of earlier years.

As the years progressed, viewers craved visuals with passion and a real story, the kind that kept us glued to our screens, rather than the ones that made us cover our eyes or scramble to change the channel when our parents walked in.

The post Ifedayo Osinowo: Have We Finally Retired Video Vixens in Afrobeats? appeared first on BellaNaija - Showcasing Africa to the world. Read today!.