Tears welled, then passionately flowed from Amplify Africa co-founder/CEO Dami Kujembola’s eyes as he regarded out on the 400 individuals clad in conventional African garb at Los Angeles’ Majestic throughout final 12 months’s Afro Ball Gala, a proper, fashion-forward occasion that his media and leisure model hosts yearly to have fun African people excelling of their respective fields. Whereas sporting his Nigerian native in its regal purple glory, Kujembola buried his face in Amplify Africa co-founder/COO Timi Adeyeba’s chest and later marveled on the work of two boys from Lagos, Nigeria who’ve made it their mission to enlarge African tradition and unite the worldwide Black diaspora.
“We had been simply so emotional, hugging one another,” Adeyeba displays now whereas discussing the video Kujembola posted “to debunk the parable that Black males shouldn’t cry.” “To see one thing that we’ve talked about for a very long time come to actuality was simply surreal. Even speaking about it now, I’ve goosebumps.”
Since 2015, Kujembola and Adeyeba have developed Amplify Africa into an influential U.S.-based African media and leisure model “with a objective of teaching individuals concerning the continent, creating illustration for the diaspora and giving the diaspora group a pathway to attach again to the continent,” Kujembola says. Amplify Africa has hosted over 250 occasions in that point, together with Afro Ball Gala; AFRICON, a multi-day convention and celebration of African tradition, innovation and entrepreneurship that options panels and immersive experiences; and Afrolituation, which describes itself because the “greatest Afrobeats celebration in North America.”
And whereas they’ve labored tirelessly to acknowledge African excellence in others, Kujembola and Adeyeba have additionally been given their flowers: Two days after AFRICON 2023 concluded, Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass introduced them with certificates of recognition for his or her “devotion to offering service all through the better Los Angeles group whereas remaining linked to the miraculous continent of Africa.”
Working in leisure had lengthy been the objective for Kujembola and Adeyeba — however from a a lot totally different standpoint. The 2 attended regulation faculty collectively at Babcock College in Nigeria in 2007 and had been a part of the Legislation College students Affiliation of Nigeria, with Kujembola as legal professional normal and Adeyeba as social director. Upon graduating from Nigerian Legislation College, the 2 individually determined to maneuver to L.A. to pursue leisure regulation, with Kujembola attending USC in 2014 and Adeyeba attending UCLA the next 12 months. “After we moved right here, it turned clear to us that there was large ignorance about the place we got here from,” says Adeyeba. “We might hear a variety of ignorant questions on whether or not we had electrical energy [or] whether or not we knew what languages lions converse. We determined we wanted to alter that narrative.”
Within the mid-2010s, one may hear songs like Afro B’s “Drogba (Joanna)” or Drake’s “One Dance,” that includes Wizkid and Kyla — which mixes Afrobeats with dancehall, U.Ok. funky and extra — at a membership within the States. However there was no devoted area for African immigrants to listen to their very own music exterior of their properties. “Due to our backgrounds in leisure and leisure regulation, we constructed a variety of relationships on the continent with a variety of artists earlier than transferring out right here,” Kujembola beforehand instructed Billboard whereas discussing Afrolituation. The 2 hosted their first celebration in 2016, when Nigerian rapper Falz the Bahd Man and late South African rapper AKA had been in L.A. for the BET Awards as nominees. Since then, Afrolituation has traveled to 9 different U.S. cities (in addition to worldwide scorching spots like Accra, Ghana and Cairo, Egypt); hosted performances by Kizz Daniel, Maleek Berry, Main Lazer and Main League Djz; and attracted A-list company like Metro Boomin, Future and Brent Faiyaz.
By way of Kujembola and Adeyeba’s connections to Afrobeats artists and their groups, they’ve hosted extra curated occasions and labored on music in varied capacities. Amplify Africa hosted the official after events for Wizkid’s Made in Lagos L.A. tour cease in September 2021 and Burna Boy’s historic headlining live performance on the Hollywood Bowl the next month, 4 years after Amplify Africa (alongside BET) hosted Burna for the primary time on the BET Worldwide After Get together at The Belasco. Amplify Africa has additionally hosted showcases and live shows for ODUMODUBLVCK and Mr. Eazi; Kujembola and Adeyeba assisted the latter with the promotional launch for his Apple Music “Up Subsequent” Artist marketing campaign. They’ve additionally helped Davido with the advertising of his 2019 “Blow My Thoughts” collaboration with Chris Brown whereas internet hosting the music’s launch celebration “inside a day’s discover,” provides Kujembola. And so they helped A&R the “Mbilo Mbilo (Remix)” by Eddy Kenzo, that includes Niniola.
“Whereas we had been doing that, we began the media web page and began posting stunning photos of varied elements of Africa and optimistic information about varied issues occurring on the continent,” provides Adeyeba, who notes Amplify Africa has a month-to-month international attain of 15 million individuals throughout its social media accounts, web site and e-newsletter.
However when it got here to the corporate’s observe of highlighting Africans who’re excelling in varied industries, Kujembola and Adeyeba didn’t need to look additional than the individuals who had been attending their very own occasions. Their Afrolituation events had been additionally attracting leisure trade leaders, like Def Jam chairman/CEO Tunji Balogun, who might “assist us scale different elements of our firm,” Kujembola instructed Billboard final summer season. “We additionally need [Afrolituation] to really feel like a networking atmosphere the place individuals of African descent can come and really feel like they’re assembly different high quality individuals which might be doing wonderful issues of their occupation. You concentrate on [Afro Ball] Gala or AFRICON. We had over 100 audio system final 12 months, and these are folks that we’ve interacted with at a few of our events.” And whereas Afro Ball celebrates successes, AFRICON is a manner “for individuals to really sit down and share data, encourage, do enterprise collectively and actually construct generational wealth collectively as a individuals,” says Adeyeba, who provides that exterior of the panels, the convention additionally has a market stuffed with African-owned companies. (This 12 months’s AFRICON will happen from Sept. 27-29 at L.A.’s Magic Field on the Reef.)
However the Amplify Africa co-founders wished their mission of “giving the diaspora group a pathway to attach again to the continent” to grow to be much more of a actuality. Kujembola remembers the DNA take a look at craze between 2018 and 2020, when individuals had been making an attempt to find the place their households had been actually from in hopes of sooner or later visiting their residence international locations. And whereas African immigrants make up a core viewers for Amplify Africa, African People who had been forcibly faraway from their motherlands resulting from slavery is one other key demographic for the corporate. This impressed Kujembola and Adeyeba to launch Pathway, a one-stop store for individuals to find their African roots by a DNA take a look at; be taught extra concerning the meals, music, style, language, historical past and extra; e-book journey to the continent; and discover their motherland by the cellular and net platform, which can grow to be accessible on Sept. 27.
“The entire narrative of our firm is to showcase that reconnection to the continent,” Kujembola says.
SPOTLIGHT:
I knew I used to be dedicated to music when “we misplaced about $30,000 on one in all our first reveals that we did. This was again in 2017. And we nonetheless did one other present afterwards. At the moment, we didn’t even have that cash. It was an funding, and we misplaced the whole factor. I can always remember that one. That’s truly once I knew I used to be coming into this for actual.” — Adeyeba
The most effective recommendation I’ve acquired is “‘it’s not what you lack that limits you, it’s what you might have that you just don’t know methods to use.’ That has been my method to a variety of issues, even with us beginning Amplify Africa. It’s at all times been, ‘Hey, let’s look to the diaspora. Now we have what we should be nice.’ And we’ve lived by that because the inception.” — Kujembola
One thing most individuals don’t perceive is “how a lot work and the way a lot technique it takes to place collectively profitable occasions. Typically, individuals simply come and really feel like, ‘Oh yeah, it’s only a celebration. You’re not working.’ Individuals don’t perceive that it’s truly a variety of work, like how a lot sacrifice we’ve truly needed to make to proceed what we’re pushing for.” — Adeyeba
Highlight is a Billboard Professional collection that goals to spotlight these within the music enterprise making revolutionary or artistic strikes, or who’re succeeding in behind-the-scenes or under-the-radar roles. For submissions for the collection, please contact highlight@billboard.com.
