With two Nigerian musicians selling out the busiest arena (Scotiabank) in Canada within the space of 6 months, the rise of Afrobeats and African music in the country couldn’t be more evident. The Nigerian music scene has come of age and grown beyond the community of Africans/Nigerians in the diaspora but has become more accepted by other Canadian residents.
The journey to Scotiabank arena didn’t begin in one day and was the cumulative efforts of key players of the Nigerian diaspora pushing the culture proudly on the streets of Toronto & Canada till it gradually became popular & appealing enough for everyone else to embrace it. One of those who has helped break through this cultural barrier and has been pivotal to the successful cultural export is the PR & Hype specialist; Azeez Fusigboye popularly known as Fusi Hype.
When Fusi arrived in Toronto, Canada to further his education just under a decade ago, he always wondered why he wasn’t hearing African music almost anywhere in the city even though he was assured that the music being played wasn’t superior to Afrobeats music. He sought to change this status quo and envisioned hearing African music wherever he went and made it his mission to get more people in Canada to listen to Afrobeats.
While actively helping to promote Nigerian shows & music on the streets in Canada, He soon realized that Canada had an active sports scene and one way to ease people into the Afrobeats culture was to fuse both. He started getting jerseys (The Toronto Raptors primarily which are one of the biggest sporting franchises in Canada) for some of the Afrobeats stars and getting fans on the streets to sign those jerseys while listening to the artistes’ music to build a connection with the artiste and fans on the streets while also ensuring that Afrobeats music started being played at sport stadiums/arenas as well as being promoted actively on social media.
Over the years, Fusi Hype has acquired sports jerseys for most top Nigerian artists including Burna Boy, Wizkid, Davido, Timaya, Rema, Asake, Mr. Eazi, Tiwa Savage, Falz, Mayorkun, Adekunle Gold, and many more who have all visited Canada. In what has now become a custom, after getting as many signatures for artists on the jerseys, Fusi Hype would then present the jersey to the artiste on stage whenever they came to Canada to perform. Helping to make their shows more memorable and building a strong connection with the fans.
Fusi also helped promote the local Afrobeats scene in Canada by promoting the indigenous Canadian Afrobeats artists and was pivotal in helping one of the standout Canadian Afrobeats artists Tome win the prestigious Juno Awards in 2022. In the same year, Fusi Hype also launched the AfroGene Talent Show which helps discover upcoming African Talents in Canada. The event takes place annually with the next one slated to take place on June 30th.
The journey for Fusi has been a long and interesting one, and that is rewarding and fulfilling to finally see all of his hard work bearing fruits as he has become an integral part of the tapestry of the fast-growing global Afrobeats culture.
As Burna Boy and Asake sold out the Scotia Bank Arena and made history this year, Fusi’s vision and legacy are now fully realized as both artists received their jerseys on stage to a sold-out crowd and Asake wore his through his performance at the arena and appreciated Fusi’s efforts. He was also appreciated by the mayor of Brampton who presented him with an award for his efforts in diversifying Canadian culture.
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