American superstar Chris Brown is known to have had an undying love for Afrobeats, even before the trending music genre became a global sensation.
The singer-songwriter and rapper had always loved the sounds from Africa. In a recent episode of the “Million Dollars Worth of Game” podcast, the 34-year-old revealed that he loved the fact that the Afrobeat genre was blossoming.
The Under The Influence singer also added that the genre deserved all the global accolades it was currently receiving.
Nigeria’s Wizkid had Chris Brown on the Sounds From The Other Side album from 2017 on the song ‘African Bad Gyal’.
In 2019, Grammy Award winner gave Davido one of the biggest songs in his A Good Time album on the song titled ‘Blow My Mind’,
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As Afrobeats songs creep into the pop space of the Western world, we are witnessing an increase in the number of collaborations between Afrobeats acts and hip-hop or pop artistes. The likes of 21 Savage, Skepta, Dave, Tion Wayne, Justin Bieber, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Jorja Smith, Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, and Selena Gomez, just to mention a few, have collaborated with Afrobeats-themed artistes.
However, with respect to collaborations and partnerships, Chris Brown has been most consistent.
The 2011 BET Award for Video of the Year winner has more collaborations with Afrobeats stars, and this is believed to be the time Nigerians gave the American artiste his Nigerian name and citizenship, as he has contributed to the popular Afrobeats culture.
Here is a list of his collaborations so far and we hope to see more.
WizKid ft. Chris Brown – Shabba
The first collaboration features Trey Songz and French Montana for the track Shabba, released in July 2016, which was Chris Brown’s first official collaboration with an Afrobeats act. After WizKid’s growing popularity in the USA following his guest appearance on Drake’s smash hit “One Dance”. And African Bad Gyal, off WizKid’s third studio album, “Sounds from the Other Side,” which was released on July 4, 2017. And also Call Me Every Day, a laid-back, Afrobeats-inspired song released as the third official single from Brown’s tenth studio album, Breezy, on June 17, 2022.
Ayo Jay Ft. Chris Brown, and Kid Ink – Your Number
London-born Nigerian musician Ayo Jay got what he deserved with his song Your Number remix. This Afrobeats track is often described as a one-hit wonder and was one of the first contemporary Afrobeats songs to penetrate the US scene, becoming a radio hit.
Davido Ft. Chris Brown – Blow My Mind, Lower Body, and Shopping Spree
Blow My Mind, a song by Nigerian Afrobeats superstar Davido was released on July 26, 2019, as the fourth single off his sophomore album, A Good Time. Lower Body, which marks the second official Chris Brown-Davido collaboration following the hugely successful “Blow My Mind”. Shopping Spree, is Davido and Chris Brown’s third collaboration, taken off Davido’s third studio album “A Better Time,” released on November 12, 2020.
Lojay x Sarz ft. Chris Brown – Monalisa
Chris Brown stood out from the list of international stars for the remix of “Monalisa”. Chris is an artiste who can sing in any genre and still be identified. His voice took the song to another level.
Rema ft. Chris Brown – Time & Affection
Mavin Records signee, Rema, collaborated with Chris Brown for “Time & Affection” off his 16-track album Rave & Roses, which was released on March 25, 2022.
Fireboy ft. Chris Brown and Shenseea – Diana
One of the fan favorites off Fireboy DML’s third studio album, “PlayBoy,” which was released on August 5, 2022. “Diana” is a star-studded collaboration that features Chris Brown and Jamaican dancehall diva, Shenseea.