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From Paris to
Lagos: How French–
Mnigeria
Collaboration Is
Shaping the Next
Era of Afrobeats.
For more than half a century, musical ideas have travelled back and forth between France and West Africa—through vinyl records, migration, radio waves, nightclubs, and now streaming algorithms. In 2026, that long conversation entered a new phase in Lagos, where French and Nigerian artists gathered not to revisit the past, but to design the future of global pop.
Nine French rap, pop and urban music composers recently teamed up with Nigerian Afrobeats artists to produce 60 tracks in under a week at the headquarters of Mavin Records, one of Africa’s most influential labels. The result was not just a prolific songwriting camp, but a snapshot of how Afrobeats—already a global force—is evolving into a fully international creative ecosystem.
A long history of exchange.
France’s musical relationship with West Africa predates Afrobeats by decades. In the post-independence era of the 1960s and 1970s, Paris became a hub for African musicians, from Manu Dibango kwa Salif Keita, who found studios, audiences and artistic freedom in the French capital. At the same time, African rhythms reshaped French jazz, funk and later hip-hop, particularly in immigrant neighbourhoods around Paris and Marseille.
By the 1990s and 2000s, French rap and Afro-diasporic sounds had become deeply intertwined, laying cultural groundwork for today’s collaborations. What has changed in the 2020s is scale and symmetry. Afrobeats is no longer a niche influence or “world music” category—it is a dominant global sound, streamed billions of times and capable of launching artists from Lagos to stadiums worldwide.
Lagos as a global creative hub.
That shift was palpable inside Mavin Records’ Lagos offices, a building adorned with gold and diamond plaques from stars such as Rema, Ayra Starr, Ladipoe na Magixx. Over the course of the camp, French, English, Nigerian Pidgin and Creole flowed seamlessly across studio sessions, mirroring the linguistic and cultural hybridity of modern pop.
“If one or two songs hit like Ayra Starr’s Rush or Rema’s Calm Down, then we would have achieved it all,” said Akotchaye Okio, director of the international artists’ rights organisation Sacem, which organised the camp alongside the French embassy and Mavin Records. Sacem has previously hosted similar initiatives in the United States, South Korea na Uholanzi, but the Lagos edition carried particular symbolic weight.
Afrobeats, born in the 1970s through the political funk of Fela Kuti, has always been outward-looking—absorbing jazz, funk, highlife and later hip-hop. Its contemporary form, propelled by Nigeria’s diaspora and digital platforms, has made Lagos one of the world’s most influential music capitals.
Different processes, shared instincts.
For many of the French participants, the camp was a first encounter with Africa. French producer PSK, real name Maxime Pasquier, known for his work with Ninho na Jok’Air, described a creative culture that felt both unfamiliar and liberating.
“What struck me was how people let songs carry them away,” he said. “They explore ideas much further. The process is more instinctive, but also very precise emotionally.”
Working alongside Nigerian producer Dunnie Alexandra Lawal, PSK helped craft tracks that balanced piano-led introspection with the rhythmic warmth that defines Afrobeats. Mavin Records singer-songwriter Elestee (Treasure Apiafi Banigo) fine-tuned the compositions, listening not just for hooks, but for atmosphere.
“This song puts you in a good mood while making you thoughtful,” she said. “It feels like early-morning driving music. People will connect with that.”
Afrobeats, but international.
For Lawal, the logic of collaboration is straightforward. “Afrobeats might have originated in West Africa, but the future of Afrobeats is international,” he said.
That future is already visible in France, where Afro-influenced tracks regularly dominate streaming charts. Recent collaborations — such as Tiakola na Asake’s Badman Gangsta or Joe Dwet File na Burna Boy’s 4 Kampe II — demonstrate how naturally Nigerian rhythms integrate into French pop and rap.
“In every release cycle, there’s always a track influenced by Afro sounds,” said French producer Nassim Diane, known as Voluptyk. “And Nigeria is at the centre of that energy.”
He points to the omnipresence of music in Nigerian daily life as a key factor. “It’s everywhere—on buses, in hotels, in the streets. It’s a country that breathes music.”
Beyond borders and genres.
The camp also opened space for less obvious pairings. For Shannon, a singer-songwriter from Martinique, the highlight was blending Afrobeats with Shatta — a Caribbean fusion of dancehall, trap and electronic music.
“These are styles that don’t often meet in the same room,” she said. “But when they do, they blend beautifully. You can hear new pathways opening.”
A glimpse of what’s next Whether any of the 60 tracks produced in Lagos becomes a global hit remains to be seen. But the significance of the project lies less in individual songs than in what it represents: a music industry no longer organised around one cultural centre, but around networks of collaboration. In that sense, the question is no longer whether Nigerian hits will carry a French accent, but how many accents Afrobeats will absorb next — without losing the pulse that made it global in the first place.
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