Why impact, innovation are no longer optional in Nigeria’s music business: Lessons from Dapper

Nigeria’s music industry is one of the fastest-growing cultural economies in the world, with PwC projecting revenues of over $44 million from recorded music alone in 2025. Yet the numbers only tell part of the story.

Beneath the streaming charts and sold-out shows lies a larger question: how do we ensure this growth becomes sustainable? The next chapter of Afropop cannot rely on virality or short-lived moments; it demands leadership that prioritizes impact and innovation as core strategies, not afterthoughts.

For years, one of the recurring issues has been the industry’s obsession with immediacy. Artists are often pressured into chasing quick hits that dominate TikTok for a month but leave little legacy beyond the algorithm.

This “hit factory” model has created visibility but not necessarily longevity. The result is a system that struggles to invest in the long-term development of artists, weakening the cultural foundation of Nigeria’s most valuable export. Without stronger frameworks, the industry risks burning bright but fading quickly.

Damilola Akinwunmi, better known as Dapper, has approached this challenge differently. Through Dapper Music & Entertainment, he has built a brand identity around resilience, experimentation, and responsibility. His work is less about running a factory of songs and more about building a house of voices.

By introducing Ghanaian artist Lasmid into his roster, Dapper signaled that the African music conversation must stretch beyond national borders. By experimenting with orchestral arrangements in street-rooted performances, he positioned the label as a test case for what it means to honor heritage while imagining new forms.

In a landscape often driven by speed, Dapper is asking harder questions about meaning. “For me, it’s never just about putting out songs,” says Dapper. “It’s about creating systems that outlive the moment, spaces where artists can grow, experiment, and still stay true to their roots. Impact and innovation aren’t extras; they are the foundation”.

Impact, for him, is not a buzzword. It is a deliberate strategy, one that centers the lived realities of Nigeria’s youth in the music itself. When artists like TML Vibez, Bhadboi OML, Rybeena, or Kashcoming sing about struggle, faith, and fleeting joys, the point isn’t just to entertain.

It is to hold a mirror up to a generation and remind them that their stories matter. This insistence on authenticity has helped the label connect with fans not as passive listeners, but as communities who see themselves in the music. In this sense, every release becomes both cultural documentation and cultural offering.

Innovation, meanwhile, is treated as a necessity rather than a luxury. Dapper’s willingness to reframe what a performance can look like, blending orchestra with street anthems, or rethinking how collaborations are staged speaks to a larger truth.

Nigerian music cannot keep recycling the same formulas if it wants to compete on a global stage that is hungry for originality. The artists under his watch are encouraged to take risks, and in doing so, they widen the definition of what Afropop can be. This is not disruption for its own sake, but an intentional way of building systems that last longer than a trending hashtag.

The lesson here is urgent. If Nigeria’s music industry is to move from moment to movement, impact and innovation must become its cornerstones. Dapper Music & Entertainment offers a working model of what this looks like: a label where leadership is layered, purpose is central, and creativity is not sacrificed to the algorithm.

As Afropop’s influence grows globally, the question is no longer whether Nigeria can lead, but how it will sustain that leadership. The answers may well come from those, like Dapper, who are already shaping tomorrow with clarity, courage, and care.