First Listen: Willy Roy – Don’t Give It Up

Feel the heat..! Soundway Records have announced another compilation of Nigerian disco and boogie, this time focusing on the switch in sound that saw 80s Nigeria moving away from the conscious anger of afrobeat, to embrace the funk, boogie and pop sounds coming out of America. Fuelled by the huge economic boost of the oil boom, clubs sprung up around the country dedicated to sounds that were more concerned with dancing and flossing than tearing down babylon – as Soundway put it, 

"The dashikis, 1970s flares and cuban heels began to disappear, in their place came sleek suits, rolled-up sleeves, bow-ties, jumpsuits, leather jackets, greased hair and a firm nod in the stylistic direction of Michael Jackson."

Soundway have given us a taster from the compilation, the bass slapping, good time funk of Willy Roy's Don't Give It Up  – a track that has all the shimmer and pop of an American funk bomb, combined with a typically Nigerian rhythm section that laces the groove with bursts of percussive syncopation. Listen below and find out more about the whole compilation – released December 9th- over here