Steve Monite was heartbroken when his 1984 debut album failed, but now he’s Nigeria’s comeback king of boogie.
Growing up in 1970s Nigeria, Steve loved listening to artists like James Brown on his dad’s radio.
While working for a haulage company in the city of Lagos, he dreamed of being a star. He wanted to buy fast cars and entertain the world.
So, he asked his mum and dad for a plane ticket and flew to London, where he booked studio recording time.
Artists like Marvin Gaye, Kool & the Gang, and KC and the Sunshine Band were his heroes.
“These people, when they hold a microphone, can talk the milk off your coffee,” Steve says.
One of his first songs was about a girl he fell in love with. “You know, teenage love? Yeah, it’s so exciting. She blew me away.”
But despite Steve’s excitement, everyone turned his music down.
He returned to Nigeria with his confidence shattered – but his luck changed when a producer from EMI records in Lagos offered him a record deal.
His electronic funk album, Only You, broke new ground for a Nigerian artist. Steve knew it was risky – but he didn’t expect it to be a complete flop.
Distraught, he returned to the UK. He worked different jobs to get by, and more than thirty years later, he felt as if he was barely hanging on. He was overweight, and had been diagnosed with high blood pressure.
So when he visited his brother in 2018 in the British town of Reading, he was at the point of despair – until one of his nephews spoke to him.
“He looked at me and said, Uncle, Uncle, Uncle, I saw you on the internet. You are a big star!”
His nephew had seen a clip of R&B star Frank Ocean playing Only You, Steve’s record.
Steve couldn’t believe it – but his nephew insisted. “Uncle, I’m serious,” he told him. So Steve typed his name into his nephew’s laptop – and discovered his music was everywhere.
He found restaurants in Spain named after his album, and people learning his songs from Turkey to India.
“I was shedding tears of joy… I said, ‘Me? How come my pictures are all over the world and I don’t know?’”
It turns out a London label called Soundway Records had discovered Steve’s music while creating a compilation album of Nigeria’s 80s pop and disco – and had been searching for him ever since.
Now, Steve’s making music again, and he’s found a new generation of fans. They call him the King of Boogie – the man who became a star just when all hope was lost.
- BBC
