Julie Adenuga: Here is how Beats 1 presenter captured the homecoming festival in Nigeria

The Homecoming weekend is a major cultural exchange between Nigeria and the UK featuring a celebration of fashion, football, music and pop culture.

Nigeria celebrated its 58th year as an independent nation on Monday, October 1st and Beats 1/Apple Music on-air host, Julie Adenuga captures the evolution of the music and pop culture scene, highlighting the cultural exchange between Nigeria and the rest of the world.

In commemorating the nation's Independence Day, Julie journeys to her parents' homeland of Nigeria to experience ‘Homecoming,’ which held on April 2, 2018, a collaborative cultural exchange of music, fashion and football, hosted by UK grime rapper of Nigerian origin, Skepta, his manager Grace Ladoja, and Greatness Dex, featuring live performances from Skepta himself, Not3s, Davido, J Hus, Tiwa Savage and Wizkid.

 

Julie also meets the new generation of Nigerian creatives shaking things up. This three-part series offers an intimate insight into Lagos life, a city that is fast becoming one of the world's key creative hubs.

Part 1: Homecoming in Nigeria preview

In the first part of the video, Julie speaks to Skepta, Grace Ladoja and fast rising talent, Wavy The Creator ahead of the event.

Part 2: Next Generation Nigeria

The second part shows Julie meeting with three of the most exciting new Nigerian artists on the scene in Santi, Wavy the Creator and Odunsi The Engine as they shake things up with their performances at the second edition of the festival.

Part 3: Fashion, Football and Homecoming

While the concluding part explores the links between fashion and football at a pop-up shop in Lagos.

Speaking on how much Homecoming means, Skepta says, ''I never like to say Homecoming is just about a concert because even though that’s what drives it, the music, it’s so much bigger than that.

Everyone who didn’t want to say where they were from, everyone who didn’t want to acknowledge anyone, everyone that used to laugh at African actors are now listening to Afrobeats, Wizkid, Davido, Tekno, everything.'' 

 

Grace shares more on the idea behind Homecoming, ''For me personally, Homecoming where it clicked was I was in London listening to music on the radio and there were all these Afrobeat-inspired songs and all of these guys that to me maybe had never been to Nigeria and I said to myself, how amazing that would be if there was an exchange there?

The idea of the concert was that it felt like a playlist. The whole show was dictated by sound. Wiz and Skepta in the middle, J Hus at the end, Wavy opened it, and it was so beautiful to see and embrace that, we’re just trying to help bring those dots together.'' she stated.

The Homecoming is not just aimed at musicians. The project serves as a way of showcasing and empowering the full spectrum of Nigeria’s creative talent.