Shaboozey: Taking Country Music Back to Its African Roots

Shaboozey’s new album ‘Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going’ has me down one of my ADHD musical rabbit holes and I thought I’d share with my tribe. One of the singles on this album is ‘Last of my Kind.’ But let’s hope that’s not the case! Shaboozey, born Collins Obinna Chibueze, has found a way to blend traditional country sounds with and hip-hop’s infections energy, creating a unique sound that’s captivating fans worldwide. He was first introduced to a lot of listeners on Beyoncé's ‘Cowboy Carter’ album that was released this spring. I thought I, too, was introduced to on Shaboozey when I heard ‘Sweet ⭐️ Honey ⭐️ Buckin’ for the first time, but I’ve been an unknowing fan since I first heard of Miles Morales.

The boys (Team Turn Up) were so excited when previews came out for ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ and once I saw Miles’ brown skin a fluffy hair, I was excited too. Whenever I find an album I can play, start to finish, with Team Turn Up in the car, it’s a win. And, as their moniker suggests, ‘Start a Riot,’ by Metro Boomin featuring DUCKWRTH and Shaboozey, was right up their alley! We wore that soundtrack out as soon as it was dropped. Turns out, I’ve been up on Shaboozey since the start. Shaboozey’s career started in 2018 when he released his debut album ‘Lady Wrangler’ in October. Since then, he’s gained popularity from die-hard country fans and people who are drawn to his hip-hop feel. After seeing him live at the Roots Picnic, I was *gasp* a country fan. Or, as Beyoncé said, A Shaboozey fan.

Country music isn’t new to Black Americans. Most music lovers have heard of Charlie Pride and Beyoncé highlighted Linda Martell’s contributions on ‘Cowboy Carter.’ Shaboozey simply tapped into a genre that many forgot was ours from the start. Raised by Nigerian-American parents in Woodbridge, VA. Our country music roots actually reach back to Africa, making him the perfect love child for country music. The banjo was created by enslaved Africans, new to America and craving the music of home, and mimics the West African gourd instrument called an akonting.

he akonting could be called the banjo’s papaw and is still used in countries like Senegal, Guinea and Gambia today. I can only imagine that Chibueze grew up listening to the same “country” baselines with his parents that he heard when hanging out with friends in rural Virginia. In fact, you can still hear that baseline under a few layers of percussion in today’s Afrobeats songs. At the beginning of Asake’s song ‘Only Me’ that familiar ‘dun-kadun, dun-kahdun, dun-kadun, dun-kahdun’ bassline starts pulsating at the beginning of the song. Asake is also Nigerian. (You may need some good speakers or a set of Beats by Dre, like me, but it’s definitely there.)

Short story long, I really hope that Shaboozey is not the last of his kind. His success and popularity should inspire a slew other Black country musicians over time. Like he said on the new album, “Yeah it’s my time…You’ll never find another like me.” He’s is one-of-a-kind, doing country music his way and here to stay.

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