One Africa Music Fest shuts down Coney Island

Last Friday on Oct. 1st, Afro-beats enthusiasts from all over the tri-state area came to the Interswitch One Africa Music FEST Concert at Brooklyn’s Coney Island Amphitheater. The fifth annual concert was hosted by Netflix Actress Osas Ighodaro. Music fans came from all over the nation, and in fact Nigeria, to enjoy the great performances by some of the top Afrobeat artists. Along with Tiwa Savage, Olamide, Busiswa, Wurld, Flavour, Rema, Oxlade, Kwaw Kese, Bella Shmurda, Tome, DJ Buka, DJ Big Skipp, DJ Young Kofi, and many more performed at the concert. 

Kranium brought that reggae and dancehall flavor.

“My friends and I truly enjoyed ourselves at the concert,” said concert-goer Folake. “Especially, since the concert was held on Nigeria Independence Day. I definitely felt like we were at a celebration from the performers and the crowd. 

Also known as Afro-pop and Afro-fusion, Afro-beats has been one of biggest musical genres to originate from West Africa since the 1960s, really from Felafels Kuti. Presently, from well-known songs like Essence from Wizkid and Tems and Fall by Davido, Afro-beats is becoming worldwide phenomenon.

“African talents and art are making headlines on a global level, and everyone is noticing the paradigm shift,” said Paulo Okoye, CEO of One Africa FEST. “There is no better time than now to continuously export Africa’s substantial blend of quality Afrocentric music to the world while leveraging on the fast-growing African Entertainment industry.”

Overall, concert-goers were pleased by the performers and the vibe of the crowd. The crowd was made up of people all over the African and Caribbean Diaspora. 

If you weren’t able to make it to the concert, or just want to continue to celebrate Nigeria’s 61st Independence. There will be a Nigerian Independence Day Carnival held on East 47th Street between 1st and 2nd Ave., Manhattanb, NY on Oct. 9th from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.