Having worked with Afrobeats stars like Reminisce and Krizbeatz, Music video director and talent manager, Oyindamola Ameen in this interview, shared with Segun Adebayo how the industry transitioned from analogue to digital, leading to the global acceptance of African music.
Reflecting on your journey so far, how did your experience as a talent and artiste manager for over a decade influence your perspective on the music industry, particularly in shaping the careers of Afrobeats stars like Reminisce & Krizbeatz?
My decade experience is quite interesting because, it interpolate an era of analogue to digital, the era of first musicians to use social media, the first artists to sell music digitally and the generation that finally cracked the international acceptance of African music.
I have to learn on my feet, so many opportunity lost because of lack of information and so many milestone achieved because of daring adventurous and inquisition.
Afrobeat has a blueprint now and success is a lot easier and faster for people joining the industry now, because they can learn and follow the ropes of the blueprint. There are still a lot of work to be done, but there’s a roadmap.
Managing top acts in a competitive industry like Afrobeats can be challenging. What key lessons or strategies did you develop during this phase of your career?
The industry lead by creativity, we just learn from what’s working at every different era, we pay attention to the industry to crack the strategy that works and try to be ahead and outsmart the industry to predict the next trend.
What inspired you to make the shift from talent management to becoming a music video director with Hunter Films? Was this transition something you always envisioned or a new passion you discovered?
Visuals and videos are a major part of marketing and branding a talent and we have come to the age where the directors are aware of their value, an average music video is about 35 million Naira.
I have being in the industry for about 12 years and commissioned, produced and managed about 25 music videos across Africa, so I decided to take up a course in New York film school and the rest is history.
As a music video director, how do you leverage your experience from managing music talent to create visuals that resonate with artists and audiences alike?
I understand artiste better, I can read the room with an artiste and even on set, I know how to treat an artiste, these are few things that people don’t pay attention to.
I understand artists branding and visual representation, how they want to appear and market their image.
Can you share some of the standout projects Hunter Films has worked on so far and what makes them unique in the Afrobeats space?
This is a like father trying to pick a favourite child, all my works are special to me, there are few milestones, B-young featuring Bnxn, I like it because B-Young is an international act; I love the visuals with Krizbeatz, Joshua Baraka and Fave, I love the projects with Diamond Platnumz, Harmonize, Rayvanny and my East African friends. Every project is unique in its own ways, I love when I work with international artists, because all I want to do is to sell my African stories beyond borders.
What motivated your decision to pursue formal training at the New York Film Academy, and how has this experience shaped your approach to directing and storytelling?
How did your time in New York broaden your perspective on global trends in filmmaking and music videos, and how are you incorporating those insights into your work?
International exposure, global best practices and I understand the global audience better. I can tell what they want to see and how I can balance selling a good image of Africa and entertaining the rest of the world at the same time.
Having played a role in the growth of Afrobeats globally, how do you see your work as a director contributing to the evolution of the genre’s visual storytelling?
I am playing my role, I am mentoring few future directors and I am happy that I am part of the Afrobeat players of this generation and I am contributing my quota. I hope my works will make African and Nigerians proud soon.
What challenges have you encountered while establishing yourself in this new role as a director, and how have you overcome them?
Challenge at the beginning what acceptance and how to convince clients to invest in your dream to handle big budget to shoot a music video.
I invested in myself, I shot about 3 music videos with my own resources and showed my client and they were convinced to work with me.
What are your long-term goals for Hunter Films, and how do you envision the company impacting the African music and film industries?
We are going to continue to tell good African stories and we hope to talk African story telling and stories to the world.
Do you have aspirations to expand beyond music videos and explore other forms of visual storytelling, such as feature films, documentaries, or TV series?
Most definitely, my big bro who I used to manage, Reminisce is now a blockbuster actor, he featured in one of the biggest nollywood movie franchise “king of boys” which is one of the best selling movie from this part of world.
I am working with Reminisce to create something iconic and we talking to partners locally and internationally, when everything aligns, we will hot the screen.
Looking ahead, what legacy do you hope to leave in both the music and film industries, and what advice would you give to others looking to make similar transformative career shifts?
I am not thinking about legacy yet, there’s still a lot I can give to the industry. I want to continue to develop myself, I want to work with new fresh talents and I want to conquer the world. There is still so much to do with acrobat, we are barely scratching the surface, I want to make my own marks too in the acrobat to the world narrative.
What are you working on with Krizbeatz these days?
We’ve been releasing records since last year, collaborating with amazing artists like Fave, Bella Shmurda, BOJ, and Skales. We’re gearing up to release his third album this January.
The album is packed with incredible tracks, and I thoroughly enjoyed working on it. One of the most exciting parts of the project was collaborating with artists from four different generations and countries. Keep an eye out for the album Daddy Daycare—it’s something special!
What new ventures are you embarking on?
I recently launched my new music distribution company, Hunter Digital. Our mission is to discover and nurture new talents, provide them with funding, and offer top-notch digital distribution services alongside global marketing infrastructure.
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