Aesthetic visuals, unconventional lyrics and distinct sonic sounds to gender fluid music and eccentric fashion sense, these are among the characteristics attributed the alte. The genre has been making big waves in Africa and the world. But what really is ‘alte’. To some, it’s a weird and absurd style of music, while others on the outside see it as a desperate attempt to stand out or to go away from the crowd. Either way it is a movement that has gone beyond just music.

Coined from the word alternative, the term alté has come to mean a unique blend of style, music and fashion especially in West Africa. Like BOJ said in his 2014 song Paper “say the ladies they like me cuz I’m an alté guy”. It’s a trend that’s here to stay and has gathered interest over time. Though it has gained wide acceptance through music, it is seen by most people in the genre as a concept. According to Teezee, it is “a way of being that champions individualistic and non-traditional modes of self-expression”. In essence it’s just another outlet of creative imagination that allows you to be who you really or what you wanna be.

Although it’s become more mainstream these days, they are still some that criticise the genre, calling it pretentious or just straight out absurd. Others have come out to call it music for the few that have been termed ”trust fund kids”. But it won’t be the first neither would it be the last time that a new movement has received undeserved and exaggerated hate.

The influence of alté has now spread beyond the horizons of just music, it’s now a common trend among teens and young adults especially in the city of Lagos. With the alté community expanding every day, we’re going to be listing some notable pioneers of the alté concepts.

1. BOJ

Bolaji Odojukan best known for his stage name BOJ. The singer, songwriter and record producer is known as the pioneer of alté along with his musical group DRB LasGidi consisting of himself, Fresh L and Teezee. BOJ having been raised in the UK and Nigeria, credits artist like Lagbaja, Fela Kuti, Wyclef Jean among others as his musical influences. He joined DRB LasGidi in 2007 with his friends from school, Fresh L and Teezee and has been active since then. In 2014, he released he’s first solo mixtape titled #BOTM, the mixtape included the single “Bolaji On The Microphone” which went on to win the headies award for the Best Alternative Song in the same year. Since then he’s had numerous studio projects including collaborative projects like “Make E No Cause Fight” in 2018 Ajebutter 22 and “Make E No Cause Fight 2” in 2019 with Ajebutter 22 and Falz. He has since gone to work with many international artists like Dave in the song “Lazaus” and other alté artists. He’s latest project was a studio album that he released in April 2022 titled Gbagada Express with features from artists like; Davido, Amaarae, Enny, Victony and et cetera.

2. Cruel Santino

You can’t get into the alté scene without mentioning Santi. Cruel Santino is a singer-songwriter, rapper, creative director, film maker, and music director. He is amongst the most prominent figures in the alté scene, known for his neo-afropop, genre bending and futuristic sounds. Not only that, fans are also drawn to his unique directorial style in his music videos as exemplified in the videos of “Tapenga” and “Sparky” both directed by him. He launched his music career in 2011 as a soundcloud artist with the stage name ozzy B, which was change to Santi in 2016 and then to Cruel Santino in 2020. He has worked on many projects, most prominently his first EP “Suzie’s Funeral” in 2016 and then later in 2019 he released his first studio album “Mandy & The Jungle” which contained the hit single “Rapid Fire” featuring Amaaree Shane and Tomi Agape. Cruel Santino has worked on many music videos most especially his own songs and the video to “U Say’’ by Gold Link featuring Tyler, the Creator and Jay Prince. He’s also the founder of the Subaru boys and the Subaru World, a world that draws ideas from animes, video games, music with extremely creative world building and plots which are testaments to his creatively absurd way of self-expression. His latest studio project dropped in March 2022 titles “Subaru Boys: FINAL HEAVEN”

3. Amaarae

With a distinct fashion sense, gender fluid style and ethereal vocals , Amaarae has become a central figure in the alté scene across West Africa and the World. Amaarae was born in New York but was raised between Atlanta, USA and Accra, Ghana. She had already started writing songs in her teenage year and had released her first mixtape in high school. She has worked with many artist in the alté scene and created a huge fanbase in Nigeria especially with her features with Cruel Santino, Odunsi, Show dem Camp and Blaqbonez. In 2017, she released her debut studio project “Passionfruit Summers’’ that really brought her into prominence. Her songs often stretch across sexuality and race and can be expressed from punk metal band style to much calmer, melancholic vibes. Her latest project was her studio album ‘The Angels You Don’t Know’, the album came out in November 202 donning a very unique and eccentric cover art. The album contained the hit song “Sad Girls Luv Money” featuring Moliy that became a global sensation and was later remixed with Kali Uchis as a feature.

4. Odunsi(the Engine)

Another major force in the alté scene, Odunsi is a producer, songwriter and singer. As a Lagos artsy youngster, Odunsi was exposed to a wide spectrum of music influences like; King Sunny Ade, Asa, and Donell Jones and many more. A producer from the start, he started by making beats using cracked fl studio software on his mum’s laptop and got a big break when he was recommended to Santi to produce alternative beats. He would later go on to have different features with Cruel Santino as both a producer and an artist like in “Gangsta Fear”. He combines a mix of R&B, Afropop, 80’s music and many more, like most alté artist he continues to experiment with many new sounds. In 2017, he and Nonso Amadi dropped a collaborative EP titled “WAR” since then he has gone on to release more studio projects like; “rare” in 2018 that conatained tracks like “star signs” featuring Runtown and “Everything You Heard is True” Odunsi has quickly become a fan favourite and he dropped a new EP of just four songs called “Denim”

5. Teezee

Along with BOJ and Fresh L, Teezee is recognized with being the pioneer of the alté culture. The Prince of LasGidi has helped shaped the alté scene and Nigeria music. His dad ran night clubs in Lagos so he was exposed to a variety of different sounds at a young age, so whether it was Fela Kuti or Usher he was aware of the trending songs. He met BOJ and Fresh L when he’s family relocated to London and they formed the music group that is LasGidi that went on release many hit songs and shape the alté scene. With the growth of afropop and the popularity of alté, Teezee continued to be a major influence and promoter of the arts by establishing NATIVE along with co-founder Seni Saraki. The NATIVE, established in 2016 is a music magazine that focuses mostly on music, style and art, championing the sounds and culture of tomorrow: today. His album “Arrested by Love” was released earlier this year in February.

The list could go on and on