As a child growing up in Lagos, Akorede Asunni was intrigued by music and all the possibilities it offered. As part of a large family, he was exposed to a variety of musical options. “One of my brothers put me on to reggae, then Lucky Dube, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, the whole guys,” he remembers. “Another brother put me on to people like Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and the like. Obviously, when you go to secondary school in Magodo now, everybody is listening to Lil Wayne. We were trying to rap during break time.” In addition to all this, he spent some time learning how to play a number of musical instruments, facilitating a lifelong association with music that continues to be at the core of the work he does.

 

These days, he is at the forefront of a new generation of music enthusiasts and entrepreneurs who are helping to facilitate African music’s rise across the globe. As the Chief Executive Officer of Azuri Music, a Lagos-based music distribution service, Korede has helped break acts like Baby Boy AV, Spy Shitta, and Spyro. The journey to his present position has taken him through a number of roles and positions in the Nigerian music industry.

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“I used to run campaigns for artists,” he says. “We used to run trends and do things on Twitter and Instagram for various artists. A lot of my friends were like PRs to other artists, and then different things. I was handling social media for Industry Night, so I had access to a plethora of artists. Somewhere along that line, I picked up photography a bit, but I flunked. I didn’t have a camera. That wasn’t working. So, I was just like maybe only social media.”

A decision in 2019 to focus on music distribution eventually helped him find his calling in the music industry space even though his first song barely cut through. In 2021, he founded Azuri Music to put structure around his creed of supporting rising acts. “I just basically believe in young guys,” he explains. “The underdogs fascinate me. People who you conventionally would not give a chance. Obviously, like every Nigerian, I’m a sucker for a grass to grace story. I love stories that go, ‘Nobody expected this person to do this thing or this thing to happen like this, but then, it just happened.’ I think that basically was the crux of my decision.”

In less than two years, Korede and Azuri Music have grown exponentially and he believes that there is more to come from the business despite some of the successes that have been recorded so far. From a young boy who used to dream of music’s power for connection, he now has his hands firmly on the pulse of culture and it is propelling him to move further. “The vision for Azuri Music is to be the first-stop distribution platform for independent and signed artists in Africa and over time, the world,” he admits. “The success we’ve had over the last two years is a testament to the great team we have and our commitment to precise marketing of the records.”