As I consider artists of today, I think about Naeto C and what he meant for a generation of creatives looking to build a brand, introduce suave, swagged up representations of art, and impact the future. That’s a legacy I respect. One that’s still cashing out today.
Naeto C was the full package on arrival. Swagged up, double-cheeked all day every day, endless quotables (when the world still valued them…), and a sublime skill-set. He was electrifying, moving beyond rap to pop culture, and now a piece of our sound history. For the rapper who hit the ground running with “Kini Big Deal,” suits and big tunes, he gave us a slang — “Yes Boss” — that’s so ingrained in our pop culture that it’s become a part of everyday lingo. Only OGs remember today that his ad-libs made that a thing for everyone.
The award-winning artist first came to Nigeria in 2006 from the US, producing records and stacking up his hard drive. Signed to Storm 360, he threw some of that skill behind a few group projects. In 2008, ‘Kini Big Deal,’ one of the last songs made for his debut album, caught fire. Armed with that suave branding and lifestyle communication, he was an aspirational hit. Everyone who considered themselves cool had Naeto as their patron saint.
Today, while we sell a diverse set of stories, our central uniqueness is still the ability to be cool, regardless. ‘Kini Big Deal’ bagged its awards, sweeping through Channel O and the MTV Africa Music Awards. By 2010, he had gone pop, throwing up the hall-of-fame, “10 over 10,” and then “5 and 6.”
I respected that move to go commercial for “Super C Season,” which gave us some of the best highlights from the decade when experimentation was in abundance but rarely performed as that. Also, don’t forget that crazy fashion thing where everyone wanted to wear that hat. I was a part of that rave way back. I can’t share pictures (for shame, of course), but that was a nationwide movement. Everyone wanted that hat and threw it on everything, on their way out to everywhere. It was the cool thing to do. Naeto was swag.
Think of the elements of today. Caps are gone, but there’s the incandescent hair colours, the headgears, masks, and even blind patches now. Anything to add a unique visual identifier to your brand. It’s the evolution from before. The more things change, the more they stay the same and today, Naeto’s body of work continues to be exploited for this generation. It’s happening, but we aren’t picking it up.
Earlier this year, he got two records remixed for the branded Confluence EP, collaborating with new guests to reinterpret classics. Then, the Jumia Black Friday sales campaign just launched, and guess who’s in it, pushing a record from over a decade ago to communicate to a mass audience.
It just highlights what longevity means and how impactful content can live forever, and in multiple forms, as long as you create for the future. Naeto C held his time down, and those actions still benefit us and him too.
This post originally appeared on Twitter. Read the full thread by @JoeyAkan here.
