The fan meets Scottyolorin before the wider market does.
Side A · Intro@hilsagain
AkemotuboBulouboereHilary
I work on the business side of music, with artistes and their stories, and I write about it too.
- A&R
- Never Enough, Coalescence, Better
- Management
- Rhagetti, OracleShaun, OraeTheGreat
- Partnerships
- Brand & partner strategy
- Co-founder
- The Underground (TUG)
- Writing
- The DIY Collective, Big Spang, TUG
Side A5 tracks
The workprojects with my artistes · tap to open
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I managed the rollout of his EP. It crossed 24K streams in its first 48 hours, and his media presence grew by more than 20%.
24Kstreams in 48 hours -
A blend of Afrobeats and R&B about self-love. I plugged the single into key platforms and wrote the press release that framed her story, which District picked up as a feature.
+30%media presence -
I secured radio features and blog coverage across social media, building industry recognition around the project.
Radio+ blog coverage -
A&R on the EP.
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Promotion for the EP release.
Side A · BonusArtist development
Results from my roster
24KOracleShaun
Streams in the first 48 hours of For Cool Kids.
30%+OraeTheGreat
Growth in media presence after I plugged her music into key platforms.
20%+OracleShaun
Growth in media presence across the release campaign.
Side B3 tracks
Case studiesstrategy, pitches and rollout breakdowns
B1 · Partnership conceptCoral sleeve
Scottyolorin × Spotify
A brand partnership I built around discovery, early fandom and belonging.
In session · '26Spotify can make you feel like you were there when it was becoming next.
The brief
Spotify already helps young Nigerian listeners find what's next. I asked whether finding and backing an emerging artiste could make a listener feel like part of that artiste's journey.
The audience
Young listeners who dig for new music, share it and want to be around people who get it. For them, being early means being able to say "I was there before everyone else."
Why Scottyolorin
He is an emerging artiste with a fan community already growing alongside him. His appeal is connection, collaboration and community, which makes him a natural fit for an idea about being there early.
The strategic idea
Discover→Belong→Participate
Every touchpoint answers one question
Swipe →How does this make the fan feel like part of the story?
Early supporters get a visible way to show they were there first.
An intimate show built around Scottyolorin, discovery and other emerging talent.
Era-specific collectibles that mark each fan's place in the journey.
How I'd measure it
For the audience
- Participation
- Engagement
- Social conversation
- UGC
For Spotify
- New listeners
- Artiste streams
- Playlist engagement
- Repeat listening
For Scottyolorin
- Listener growth
- Fan engagement
- Attendance
- New audiences
B2 · Rollout breakdownDec '25 – Jan '26
The Akonuche Playbook
My breakdown of how Priesst took a single from a December tease to his first top-ten entry in Nigeria.
Priesst2.1Mviews on the tease
Visuals on the single
Don JazzyShodayAdekunle GoldSpyroBroda ShaggiFalzLayi WasabiShankCarterefeKoluMiwa
B3 · Rollout breakdownTikTok → X → Blogs
Ikeja (No Go Thief)
How Danpapa GTA turned one line into a city-wide joke, and the joke into his first chart entry.
via The UndergroundThe timeline, tweet by tweet
Swipe →24 Dec
OOnion Cider @abbietayo
No go thief for Ikeja, dem go put you for center.
25 Dec
S$UPER$TAR$TRAFF @STRAFFITTI
NO GO THIEF FOR IKEJA
28 Dec
Tthrill Maximus.@thrillxMax
My brain every 2 seconds: who dey check am no go thief for Ikeja 😭😭
09 Jan
Ffeline@duumebiii
i loveee the production of ikeja (no go thief). it's too brazyyy. how do you even come up w that 😭
10 Jan · First chart
SSienTable Charts@sien_wtf
@danpapagta earns his first chart entry on Spotify's 'Viral 50 - Nigeria' with "Suffering & Smiling". The artiste's discography continues to rise following release of anticipated track, "IKEJA"
#16Suffering & Smiling
Viral 50 – Nigeria
Viral 50 – Nigeria
11 Jan
Ggenio-creativo★@justabdulmuqsit
you wanna know the lore behind the "no go thief for ikeja" buzz? danpapa gta played to the key things behind every local hit, whether it was deliberate or not it works; lamba, relatability, and an addictive hook.
12 Jan
TSoft Boy Tochi@Tochi_jr
Wake up! It's another day to cry for me jor No go thief for ikeja
What I saw happen
- 1Tease it where the sound lives
More than 20 videos on his own TikTok, with other creators using the sound before release. It gained traction there first.
- 2Move the conversation to X
They moved the conversation from TikTok to X on purpose, and "no go thief for Ikeja" became a running joke. I bet you didn't notice.
- 3Co-signs, then blogs
Industry voices posted it. @TUGHQ_ (The Underground, which I co-founded) announced it the night it dropped and @AlbumTalksHQ followed. Then it was everywhere.
- 4The manager's page becomes a fan page
His manager turned their own X account into a Danpapa fan page. I bet yours never has. His back catalogue rose with the new single.
Side CCo-founder
A music media platform spotlighting emerging African artistes. A home for undiscovered African music.
I co-founded TUG. I write for it, create its content and run its social media.
Things I made for TUG
Swipe →
Side C · EssaysWriting
The wordsI write about the music too
Essays on music, fashion, and how they meet culture and belief.
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The DIY Collective10 Sep 2025
Tay Iwar: Where R&B, Soul, and Afrofusion Collide
On Tay Iwar as the quiet architect behind Nigerian R&B's turn toward a softer, more inward sound, as a singer, producer and songwriter.
Read the essay5 min ↗ -
The DIY Collective07 Oct 2025
Is Underground Music Alté?
Underground and alté get used as if they mean the same thing. They don't, and the new wave of Nigerian artists shows why.
Read the essay5 min ↗ -
The DIY Collective13 May 2026
Have Childhood Afrobeats Popstars Really Disappeared?
The stars didn't vanish. The audience that grew up with them moved on, and kids now find their idols in scattered corners like TikTok.
Read the essay5 min ↗ -
Big Spang · MediumEssay
Echoes of Faith: How Childhood Religion Shapes Music
How the faith artists grow up in keeps sounding through the music they go on to make.
Read on Medium3 min ↗ - Big Spang · MediumEssay
Reinventing African Street Style
On how African street style is being remade by the people wearing it.
Published on Big Spang2 min
Side D · Liner notesAbout me
I've spent five years on the business side of music, in talent management, A&R and marketing. I work closely with artistes on their story and the campaigns that help them grow an audience that stays.
I co-founded The Underground, a platform for emerging African artistes, where I write, create content and run social media. I also write about music, fashion, and how they meet culture and belief. That habit of storytelling is how I approach artiste development: find what is true about the artist, then make it impossible to miss.
- Artiste development & relations
- Skill Understanding an artist's vision and building systems for their growth.
- Storytelling
- Skill Narratives for artiste branding, campaigns and pop-culture conversation.
- Content & strategy
- Skill Press releases, social content and marketing copy.
- Social media management
- Skill Content and community for The Underground.
- Project management
- Skill Timelines, teams and rollouts that land on schedule.
- Music Business Academy for Africa
- 2021, 2023 Music business
- LinkedIn Learning
- 2024 Project Management Foundations
Run-out grooveContact
Let's work together.
Akemotubo Bulouboere HilaryA&R · Management · TUG · Writing