Hey, what's going on everybody?
It's your boy Akon.
I'm here with Genius.
I guess I'm considered the international Genius today
and we’re going to see which one of these videos get my cosign.
Actually having the opportunity to have the experience to be on both sides, Senegalese
and American, I think it gave me an advantage.
Because, musically, the culture over there is a lot more vibrant.
And what gave me the advantage was the fact that I can merge all those cultures together.
Now we in the streaming world where it's on demand direct to consumer.
So I was like this is the perfect opportunity now to do every album I ever wanted to do.
The first single off the ‘Que Lo Que’ is me and Becky G called “Como No” and
we shot the video for it, just released it a couple days ago like this is Latin music,
you know what I'm saying?
The credit has to be where it was always due.
I actually like the posing with the blue men.
It’s almost like the Blue Man Group but the Blue Woman Group.
I think the choreography could've been a little more original, though.
It seems like that's the same choreographer for every Latin video.
She looks like she could have her little moves she just got to get some more courage to create
her own steps.
She got a great tone though.
I love her tone.
That was a good choice though to put Ozuna on this record with her because their tones
kind of compliment each other.
When you allow people from Spain or from outside of what they consider to be Latin America,
it only grows the genre.
It only makes it bigger.
It creates a bigger opportunity like, prime example: just imagine if hip-hop just stayed
in New York.
This is very interesting actually because, I was dipping and dabbing into the K-pop world
a couple years ago, and I ain't seen this in a minute.
The only thing about the K-pop side of it, they so creative with their videos and their
wardrobe and look, but the music has always been sounded kind of dated.
They make you want to watch these videos because they're just so creative.
And it’s so many members.
You've got nine members promoting one song.
That's like Wu-Tang.
Imagine if they had social media around that time, Wu-Tang would be huge as far as engagement.
The biggest challenge they have is the language barrier.
When they start getting more current musically and start doing more songs that people can
relate to without having to know what you're saying, like Psy for instance with “Gangnam Style.”
What made him so popular in America was that he was current.
This kid remind me of WizKid when I first found him, man.
And I love how he's adapting to his age bracket.
You can tell he's young.
He's surrounded by young.
You know what I mean?
Like, this whole wave is young.
His music is current, the production's amazing, the song is amazing.
He's going to do big.
And then he's coming out at the height of what Afrobeat is right now, too.
He's going to be a huge artist eventually.
Yeah, I kind of compare the Afrobeat market to the Latin market in so many ways.
The moment the social media opened up, it made people be able to now be able to explore
and really get to know what that was.
We got over a billion people in Africa, but the market was so big already musically, but
no one else knew.
These guys are going to the O2 stadium in the UK and sell out 4 or 5 nights and you're
like, who are these guys?
That was a nice Mercedes-Benz plug.
So you know who's paying for this video.
Like this song would work anywhere, first of all because it's just super silly.
Kids are going to fall all over this record.
I don't know what the hell he's saying but I'm already intrigued because his attitude,
his personality.
You can see it all in the video.
It remind me of a hip-hop version of Psy.
I think that's an actual great tool.
Like, once you become a YouTube personality and then you branch off into entertainment,
whether it be music or album skits or whatever the case may be, I think it's the perfect
tool because you've already created your audience.
Now you just got to entertain them.
This is one of my favorite records actually.
Mainly because you would've never expected him.
I had a whole other picture of who this guy was.
Like I saw it as this real handsome Latin dude with a nice chain, button down.
You know what I'm saying, like I ain't expect that.
Then I saw like, “oh shit, that's T-pain all over again.”
I think he deserves everything he's getting
right now.
This is a big record for him.
It's no reason a cultural dialect of people should ever experience racism.
Like I don't think racism should ever have even reached Latin America.
And that's why I came in naming myself El Negreeto.
It's to create that like, bro like we all the same at the end of the day, we bleed the
same red blood.
It's a thing that we got to eventually just slowly grow over and I think it's going to
be each generation to move forward and not see race as an issue.
I always liked videos from the Middle East and India and places like that.
They always have this real eclectic way of expressing its way too, you know what I'm saying?
Because it's always metaphorical.
Yeah this video's dope.
Obviously, M.I.A. is the most original one out there like that but this ain't that bad
of a replica.
I can live with it.
It's actually very similar.
Super, super similar with the cars, the robes, and the sound itself.
But M.I.A.'s been missing for a lot like she's been M.I.A.
We miss it.
Like, I don't mind this coming right now.
If I can't get M.I.A., I don't mind this.
Every artist I think had their own touch to them, but I feel like they all had a influence
on what's happening today and was really inspired by what's going on today.
The Rosalía and Ozuna, I think it matches what's happening right now in Latin America.
So I think she's playing it extremely safe with that one.
Twice, the South Korean group, they're doing what they do in South Korea.
The only thing is if they take it to the next level and make the music a lot more current,
they can take it a step further.
From Nigeria, I think he has a great future.
I think Sech is also in a very, very great place right now.
He's setting a whole new wave.
He's has an amazing record that's giant out there. Now with him, his only challenge
is to stay consistent.
After watching all these international videos I would probably say that I'm giving my co-sign
to Rema.
He's the youngest out of all of them, his video was probably the most original and probably
the most current.
And I think he has a big step ahead of him and I think he's going to be fine.
I would also like to give one to Sech too.
I just want to give 2 co-signs, I have to, sorry.
That boy's out of here and I got to represent for the El Negreetos.
I never let nothing stop me from being a part of great creativity or great songs.
So I think a lot of that helped me in a big way, but from a creative stand point, I think,
the culture difference and the knowledge of culture that my predecessors didn't have that
I was able to experience, to be blessed with, gave me the edge of being able to take the
music a little bit further.
I loved N.W.A.
That was the first group that I heard, that I actually said, “Okay, now I can listen
to this.”
But then on the other side, from New York, the first artist I ever heard that I really
liked and felt like that made me like hip-hop was Eric B & Rakim.