DJ Neptune is shaping the future of Afrobeats, one GREATNESS at a time

In the sprawling, kinetic bosom of Lagos, wherever the city's pulse beats successful tandem with the thunderous basslines of Afrobeats, DJ Neptune has spent implicit a decennary perfecting an creation signifier that transcends specified curation. As the mastermind down the Greatness series, a quadrilogy that, alongside galore different landmark Afrobeats albums, has served arsenic a taste barometer for the genre’s meteoric rise, DJ Neptune has positioned himself not conscionable arsenic a DJ oregon grounds producer, but arsenic a custodian of sound, a span betwixt generations, and a prophet of what's next.

With the merchandise of Greatness IV, the high-profile turntablist, grounds producer, and sonic designer delivers his astir ambitious task yet: a sprawling, 14-track exploration of Afrobeats duality, its rootedness successful African ungraded and its inexorable march toward planetary domination. Eleven tracks connected the medium were recorded successful Lagos, portion one, Taliban, emerged from the beauteous metropolis of Accra, Ghana. Together, they signifier a mosaic that captures a movement, gathering connected DJ Neptune’s bequest of consistently delivering era-defining hits specified arsenic Nobody featuring Joeboy and Mr Eazi, Abeg featuring Omah Lay and Joeboy, Bienvenue featuring Ruger, Wait featuring Kizz Daniel, and So Nice featuring Davido, among others.

Seated successful a Lagos workplace connected a sweltering afternoon, Neptune exudes the calm assurance of idiosyncratic who has seen the blueprint unfold precisely arsenic helium envisioned. His dependable is measured, contemplative, yet animated erstwhile discussing the minutiae of dependable plan oregon the hunger helium sees successful emerging artists. This is simply a antheral who has turned signifier designation into an creation form, and Greatness IV is the latest proof.

The Genesis of Greatness

The Greatness bid began arsenic a gamble, a DJ betting connected his quality to curate not conscionable hits, but taste moments. Each instalment has served arsenic a sonic clip capsule, capturing the zeitgeist of Afrobeats astatine antithetic inflection points successful its evolution. Where Greatness introduced Neptune's vision, and Greatness II and III solidified his estimation arsenic a tastemaker, the 4th section arrives with the value of bequest and the lightness of liberation.

"Greatness IV is astir growth, legacy, and the planetary dependable of Afrobeats," DJ Neptune tells Peter Okhide. "Each medium successful the bid reflects wherever the civilization is astatine that moment, and this 1 shows however acold we've come, planetary yet profoundly rooted. I built it by bringing unneurotic artists whose sounds archer today's communicative and tomorrow's promise."

It's a delicate balance, honouring the contented portion pushing boundaries, and Neptune has mastered it done what helium describes arsenic a cardinal displacement successful his originative process. Unlike the meticulous, astir obsessive power that characterized earlier projects, Greatness IV was calved from surrender.

"This time, I worked with much freedom," helium admits. "I allowed collaborations to breathe, gave younger voices country to shine, and trusted the process. That openness gave the medium a caller pulse portion keeping the Greatness DNA intact."

This improvement successful attack is audible. Where erstwhile instalments felt similar cautiously constructed projects designed for maximum impact, Greatness IV possesses an integrated quality, songs that consciousness discovered alternatively than manufactured, collaborations that spark with genuine chemistry alternatively than calculated prima power.

Perhaps nary constituent of Greatness IV is much striking than its formed of characters. DJ Neptune has assembled a roster that reads similar a who's who of Afrobeats' contiguous and future, established titans sharing abstraction with artists whose names are conscionable opening to reverberate successful Africa's borders. It's a strategy that speaks to Neptune's unsocial presumption successful the ecosystem: he's some insider and outsider, established capable to bid respect, bare capable to enactment up of the curve.

"I pursuit authenticity," Neptune says erstwhile asked astir his enactment process. "The legends bring experience, but emerging artists bring earthy hunger and energy. When you merge the two, you make euphony that feels timeless and future-forward astatine the aforesaid time."

It is this instinct for authenticity that has made Neptune thing of an oracle successful Afrobeats circles. When I pressed him to azygous retired artists who merit much recognition, helium remained diplomatic, "they're each incredible," helium insists. Those adjacent to the task susurration astir Neptune's uncanny quality to spot endowment earlier it breaks. His way grounds speaks for itself.

But what precisely does Neptune look for? What qualities awesome that an creator possesses what helium calls "Greatness potential"?

"Originality, consistency, pas...