Wonu Osikoya’s Grime, Glory & Afropop will be released in three parts on YouTube.
By Hope Ibiale
Wonu Osikoya, a Nigerian Storyteller and the host of the music podcast, Osikoya Speaks, is set to release her debut documentary, Grime, Glory & Afropop, on August 12, 2024. The documentary tells the Afrobeats story through a uniquely intimate lens, employing almost vlog-style reporting to spotlight the stories behind Afro-Pop and the people who have done the heavy-duty groundwork of putting systems in place to support the genre.
Beyond the glitz and glam, this documentary offers a strong perspective about what makes Afro-Pop the people. The film will see Osikoya sit down with three leading figures in Afropop: Bizzle Osikoya, Osagie Osarenkhoe, and Asa Asika.
The film will officially premiere in person on August 11th at Alliance Francaise, Ikoyi, Lagos. During the premiere, there will be different conversations and live interviews between Osikoya and top Afrobeats executives Lanre Masha and Dafe Caleb Ukoli. This premiere will be held in partnership with Alliance Francaise and is proudly supported by Spotify, YouTube, TRACE, and Femme Africa. Subsequently, the film will be released in three parts on YouTube: the first part coming out on August 12th, the second on August 14th, and the final on August 16th.
While speaking about the documentary, Osikoya said, “Music has always been my safe space and I’ve always wanted to tell stories as well, so this documentary was a natural progression for me. I want people to realize that so much goes on behind the scenes in African music, to fully understand how far we’ve come”, she added.
“Bizzle Osikoya, Osagie, Asa Asika, these people have been doing this for over a decade and have dedicated a great part of their lives to it. What they’ve done is inspiring. It also highlights that there’s more groundwork to be done. I want people to see the music and appreciate the process and story. It’s not Afrobeats to the world, it’s the world to Afrobeats”. Grime, Glory & Afropop is also the first documentary from Osikoya’s production company, TWO Studios.
Wonu Osikoya is a multi-dimensional creative whose vista cuts across journalism, artiste management, podcasting, and visual content creation. She currently produces, and anchors her eponymous podcast, Osikoya Speaks, where she spotlights riveting culture stories, broaching nascent underground uprisings, pertinent mainstream conversations, and everything in between.
She serves as the executive producer of the soon-to-be-released documentary. She worked with other creatives like Ayapii (Director of Photography), Chidinma (Producer), Arike Abiola (Project Manager), Johnson IP of 44db Collective (Sound Design), and Mobolaji Oguntola to bring the documentary to life.