Erigga Blames Tech Gurus and Influencers for Decline in Nigerian Music

Rapper Erigga says the rise of tech gurus and social media influencers is hurting the Nigerian music industry.

He claims the quality of music started to decline when tech entrepreneurs replaced traditional A&R experts, who were skilled at discovering and nurturing talent.

Unlike A&R executives, tech gurus focus on numbers and trends rather than developing artistes.

Erigga added that these professionals chase momentum. When the hype around one artiste fades, they quickly move on, leaving genuine talent overlooked.

Everything begin spoil when the Tech Bros enter music come replace actual A&Rs wey know talents, wey know how to nurture and groom talents. Tech guys don’t care about the music, what they care about is numbers and the metric with which to get these numbers. They can’t actually scout talents. So, what they do is scout momentum. It’s not like they really care about the artist, they care about the momentum. So, when the momentum drops, they go to the next person. With the entrance of tech gurus, people no longer chase talents anymore, but numbers.

He also criticised social media influencers, saying their antics divide public attention and shorten the lifespan of hits.

Artistes now compete not only with each other but also with viral online drama.

Back then, an artiste’s competition used to be his fellow musicians. But right now, you fit just drop one hot track like this, next thing – GehGeh and VeryDarkMan don dey fight and the public attention will move from your song to their saga.

The rapper’s warning highlights an industry where metrics and hype often outweigh talent and creativity, raising concerns about the future of Nigerian music.