On Saturday, August 30th, Lagos witnessed a cultural ignition. Little Lagos Kollective (LLK), the forward-facing cultural engine redefining the continent’s soundscape, marked its Lagos debut in collaboration with Oontz Lagos. What unfolded was more than just another night out. It was a declaration that African Dance Music (ADM) is no longer an emerging idea, but an active movement with roots, rhythm, and undeniable global reach.
Born from the desire to carve space for African rhythm in contemporary electronic culture, LLK’s vision was on full display. Their take on ADM, where Fuji drums, Highlife melodies, and Yoruba folk cadences seamlessly met House, Amapiano, EDM, and experimental textures, proved both radical and inevitable. In real time, heritage became kinetic; memory became a rave language.
The Kollective’s sonic mission had already been signaled through its reinterpretations of icons like Ayinla Kollington, Salawa Abeni, and Rex Lawson. On the eve of the event, they doubled down with the release of “Ogun Ja” featuring KunNiraN KNN. Translating as “there is war,” the track pulsed through the crowd, Yoruba call-and-response layered over electronic drops. It was at once meditative and urgent, a battle cry for what ADM represents.
The collaboration with Oontz Lagos proved the perfect catalyst. Lagos, ever restless and brimming with rave energy, became ground zero for a new architecture of sound where heritage, experimentation, and nightlife collided without apology. The night brought together a cross-section of Afro-house and Amapiano’s restless vanguard including BEDSHED, OBEE fka AYE, SIGAG LAUREN, SOUNDS OF ACE, JOSH MARS, and NASTY MANE. These artists collectively embodied the future-facing ethos of ADM.
For us at Upper Entertainment, the night was a watershed. It affirmed that African Dance Music is not waiting to be folded into global conversations. It is staking its claim, with Lagos as both pulse and proof. The Kollective did not just host an event. They made a case for a movement.
