A Guide to Africa’s Best Cities for Music and Nightlife, Courtesy of Afropop Star Mr Eazi

09.12.2024 - 18:21 / cntraveler.com

Urban Africa is a love letter to the bustling African metropolises south of the great desert—Dakar, Kigali, Lagos, Addis Ababa, and Johannesburg, to name a few—that are dynamic, diverse, and more traveler-ready than ever. Find more inspiration here.

Afropop luminary Oluwatosin Ajibade, better known as Mr Eazi, has brought the sounds of Africa to the world. With more than 4 billion streams of his own hits and collaborations with superstars like Beyoncé and Bad Bunny, the pioneer of Banku music—an Afrobeats subgenre that mixes Ghanaian highlife with Nigerian chord progressions—is setting the stage for something even bigger. The time has come, he says, for African music, unadulterated and on its own terms.

Mr Eazi, a pioneer of Banku music, set up Africa's first music incubator program.

Detty Rave, hosted by Mr Eazi, offers an EDM festival-level production at an Afrobeats festival.

The shift between artist and disruptor-entrepreneur has come naturally for Mr Eazi, who grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, and Accra, Ghana, twin poles of the Afrobeats landscape. Following his 2016 breakout success with singles “Skin Tight” and “Leg Over,” he founded EmPawa Africa, a talent incubator for bringing up artists from across the continent. Launching stars including Joeboy and Major League Djz, the company is now one of Africa’s largest independent music labels. Mr Eazi’s commitment to pan-Africanism is also echoed in his 2023 debut full-length album, The Evil Genius, which features guest appearances from Benin’s Angélique Kidjo, Ghana’s Efya, and South Africa’s Soweto Gospel Choir.

We caught up with the Afrobeats pioneer as he was nailing down the details for this year’s Detty Rave, his end-of-year festival in Accra, to hear his tips for “getting detty” in Accra and Lagos; ask him why he thinks Kampala, Uganda, and Cape Town are great music cities; and coax out a couple under-the-radar destinations that travelers should have on their list.

“Detty December” refers to Lagos and Accra’s infamously wild festive season—for those who aren't aware, what does “detty” mean?

When you’re a kid and you've been naughty, adults might say, “You're a very detty boy.” It’s like when you get yourself in the mud or when you lose yourself to enjoyment. When you're at events [like Detty Rave], there's a purity of fun where you can put your problems away. It's been a central theme for me—in my music, my art form, my energy—to take people away from all the craziness of the world.

Whether you celebrate it in Lagos or Accra, Detty December is filled with nonstop beach parties, street festivals, and concerts.

Detty Rave has become one of the most sought-after festivals in West Africa.

I know this will be controversial, but in terms of the music