For United Kingdom-based Nigerian music producer, Alexander The Great, famously known as ATG, producing music, writing songs and performing are some of the ways he expresses his talent. ATG, who has been nominated for this year’s Grammy Award for his contributions to Burna Boy’s ‘Vanilla’ track, speaks with SEGUN ADEBAYO about his rising career.
Creating a sound is one thing, getting the artiste to bring it to life is another part of the job for music producers. How do you feel anytime an artiste isn’t raising the bar for you?
Personally, due to my versatile nature and experience in creating records, if a vibe isn’t right, I won’t hesitate to switch it up and place the artiste within a sound they feel comfortable with delivering. Not every beat is particularly suited to every artiste even if they may like the vibe of it. If they genuinely can’t deliver, then it’s no hard feelings; Rome wasn’t built in a day. We can work through it, though it may just take a bit more time to perfect to a standard we both agree on.
The Afrobeats industry is fast becoming a phenomenon that even international acts now want to jump on it or work with its proponents. How does this make you feel as a music producer?
Being Nigerian of descent and British born, I’ve always felt connected to Afrobeats music after being introduced from a young age to acts like Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Lagbaja, Wasiu Ayinde, among others, from the music library of my father. Seeing the rise while being one of the earlier pioneers in the Afro sound from the UK, it excites me to see that the possibilities of how far it can go are endless. The sound of Africa is becoming a global shift in the influence of cultures.
You have worked with a lot of music acts over the years, particularly in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe but it seems there is still a missing link between African acts and international artistes. What do you think is responsible for the gap?
I wouldn’t say there’s so much of a gap. It takes a few records to cross over to raise awareness. If you take Oxlade’s ‘Ku lo sa’ or Burna Boy’s ‘Last Last’ a big song will always be a big song despite language barriers. I feel like for a long time, the world has been looking at America but there are other global markets that are huge whether French or Spanish markets. Afrobeats is growing at such a pace that personally, I believe it’s hard to deny its part in culture right now.
As a Grammy-award nominee, what is your perception about the limited categories of the award open to African artistes?
Personally I believe the Grammys can only do so much but it’s up to us as African people to unify and strengthen the other genres within our culture, so that they too can have global recognition. A lot of industries work together for the success of Afrobeats and there’s a lot of internal structures and funding available. Even without structures, a lot of work had been done without any promises but only the belief that it will grow. If the music is undeniable, it will cross over and award shows like the Grammys will have to take account.
With the way your career has thrived over the years, how close do you think you are to that dream you had when you started out?
For me, I’ve been living my dream for a long time. A lot of the time when you’re working through, you don’t realise your accomplishments because there’s always a new castle to conquer. Even billionaires seek to be more financially stable, so regardless of wanting more to be nominated for Grammy after eight years of production, there are people that have done double the time and not seen one ounce of recognition. There are people that have done half the time and seen more. Now as a team, we have bigger goals and aspirations but from when I started out, my key thing was to see progression and never to falter so I’m grateful to be able to say we’re still rising.
You are a producer, an artiste and writer. Which of these crafts has contributed largely to the man you are today?
Surprisingly I don’t distinguish any of my talents as I believe God gifted it all to me under the umbrella of music. I’m mostly known for my production but internally, my writing and my artistry play a big role in how I create my music. One thing about production is if you can’t picture someone singing on it or even mumble your own melodies on it, it’s largely possible that another artiste might not be able to either. Songwriting and artistry allowed me to see both ends of the spectrum and even augment my process to even create beats. My production has opened the most doors for me but only because I started with production and spent a lot of time and years perfecting my sound and skills before moving into artistry or songwriting.
You have been nominated for Grammy Award 2023 for production credits to Burna Boy’s ‘Vanilla’, how would you describe the experience working on the song?
I first met Burna Boy in 2017 before he was the African giant we now know and respect. So the second time of linking up with him many years later was when we created ‘Vanilla’. Working with Burna on this record was an amazing experience. His energy and style are unmatched with vibes literally from the jump. The song took nearly two years to perfect before it was in fact released and included on the album Love Damini. The process was really the best part.
You have crafted songs for top International acts like Burna Boy, Kelly Rowland, Dave East, Kizz Daniel, among others. What keeps you motivated?
God comes first in everything. Having faith in myself and in a higher plan for the talents I’ve been given keeps me grounded. Knowing I’ve got a good team behind me prepared to grind it out with me and look into different ventures also makes the process more enjoyable. My motivation comes from having the right support and just aiming to use my talents to spread good energy and to inspire future generations through the legacy I’m leaving behind.
Tell us about your plans for the New Year and the heights you hope to attain this year should you win the Grammy?
More wins and more music. Once the Grammy comes home, we are taking the sound way more international and I aim to really shake the continent with hits and fresh sounds. I plan to work with new artistes and connect with more artistes in the African, English, French and even Spanish speaking markets. Every step is a building block for greater achievements and success.
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