In a world where power dynamics can limit the reach of people in the pursuit of their careers, there is a need to build a system where everyone can get some amount of support to boost their chances. As such, collaborations and partnerships have always helped balance things out for individuals who require some push and assistance. Like every other institution, the creative space has relied on numbers to expand and build. As such, people strive to collaborate and partner with others to build up numbers in the pursuit of their goals. The greater the numbers, the greater the amplification.
La Meme Gang.
It is this understanding that has aided in the need to create communities. While communities serve as a means to maximize reach and audience,. It has also been a tool to create opportunities and safe spaces for like-minded people. The creation of communities often begins with collaborations and partnerships, and in some cases, the creation of collectives.
What are Collectives……
Collectives in general can be described as a group of individuals with shared goals who join their resources together in the spirit of collaboration to create and curate. People who form them understand the strength in numbers and shared creative identity. Artists who have seen success in collaborating amongst like-minded ones are more open to joining collectives or creating one. Unlike their other variations, like boybands and groups, collectives have a more flexible approach where members work together but can still maintain their careers outside that of the collective. Like DRB LasGidi, Apex Village, and 44db in Nigeria; TDE WuTangClan, The 11th District and OddFuture in the United States, Ghana, have always had their collectives at one point or another.
The 11th District (Cozy Beats, Flikiethesavage, Contrast, Zoriiann & Soul Priest), photo courtesy of the artists.
The likes of Native Funk Lords (NFL) and Nakorex down to the exploits of Cue, Skillions, and much later La Meme Gang, whose success as a collective has led to the birth of a lot more collectives from 2017 to date. Although LaMeme is not at the level it used to be, it presented a younger generation with a blueprint for the perks of being part of a collective. Today, there are collectives like Superjazz Club, who returned from a European tour earlier this year; 99PHACES, who, despite being just a year into their career, have graced countless big stages in the last year; The Village, Asquared, and Rebo Tribe. Oasis Collective, a gospel collective, and Team Eternity Ghana (another gospel collective).
The why and insights of collectives…….
The collective efforts of the members of these collectives bring together their individual admirers, followers, and fans to form the collective community. The community, just like the collective, is made up of like-minded people who identify with the music or art produced by these collectives. They stream their music, attend their shows, and buy their merchandise. As artists who are competing with others for consumer attention, it is important to note that, you will not always get the reception you require. While some artists move with little, others have a proper structure and machinery behind them that quickens the process for them. As such, anyone with a community is more likely to enjoy the rewards of the craft, even if it is smaller in comparison to others. But, as the saying goes, half a loaf is better than none. People who have the luxury of a community are always finding ways to exploit their craft based on the number of people they have in their community.
While some individuals have been able to build communities for themselves, it is more difficult to build a community on your own than with other like-minded creatives. It is not enough to just be like-minded people in what you create; you also share a common goal and have structure in what you are building. Without structure and personality, it will still be difficult to build the community even with your shared numbers. While it is great to create collectives, it is also important to understand the dynamics that come with being in one. Egos need to be checked and members need to understand and embrace their roles in said collectives. It is worth mentioning that, collectives are not limited to just artists but also other art forms. However, regardless of the art form, the principles of accountability, shared responsibility, and the need for structure still apply.
Opinions……
To provide further insights into the dealings of collectives, we reach out to some collectives who share their experience of what it takes to create a collective and some of the perks of being one.
99PHACES. Photo courtesy of the artists.
99PHACES was first formed with Moffy, Cozy, Freddie Gambini, and Insvne Auggie through the shared experience of making music together. The chemistry of working together was strong, but also the idea of having a shared goal of making an impact with music. Being an independent artist in Accra is not an easy experience so the collective was created as a way to have an immediate support system and community in our music journey. We’ve slowly been building this collective with the later additions of Mēl , Anabel Rose, KiKi Celine, Tikki Waja, KQ The Artist, Zara Grainie, Vynyl Sky and Maya Masashi.
Collaboration is an interesting experience. We definitely have our ups and downs when it comes to working together, but we make sure we stay on the same page through open communication, check-ins and just knowing how to balance our individual goals with those of the larger collective.
We always say that being in the collective means that you’re opening yourself up to the pool of supporters, fans, friends, and loved ones of each person in the collective. It’s been beautiful to see things coming together and people rallying around us both as a collective and as individuals
SuperJazzClub. Photo courtesy of the artists.
We felt the need to create a safe haven for us where we could dive into different forms of art while at the same time creating a community where artists are free to create what they feel and collaborate on projects. It’s been a rollercoaster. Just like every relationship you nurture and grow together so that’s the goal that through conversations everyone is aligned on the goal.
Art needs community to thrive and we’ve had a lot of support from our growing community. Friends would come and support us at our shows and projects. That builds a certain support system that encourages growth and that’s been very crucial to our growth as artists.
Channel Media Photo courtesy of the artists.
Channel Media, as a collective, was founded on the Biblical principle of “test all spirits”; it began with a group of young curious individuals who questioned certain set standards in the faith – asking the whys and whats about doctrines, dogmas, and laws. As a generation, we were tired of “this is how it has always been” and wanted to know why it could not be done differently. We wanted to know whether new truths were available to supplant older ones. We were eager to learn what the Christian life looks like today, aside from what was constantly presented to us without reason. The journey allowed us to tackle the good, the bad, and the uncomfortable in Christianity while using fellowship as a medium to navigate through it all.
It’s been exciting and challenging. We have learned a lot about each other and how to bring out the best in each other to ensure we achieve our goals. Part of this has played a role in helping us understand different facets of Christianity; alluding to God’s love for us despite our shortcomings. Fortunately for us, we are all single-minded to the same goal which is creating impact to God’s glory. We, therefore, consistently circle back to these regardless of how different we are in personality, and that fuels the fellowship a great deal.
The community, which we call the CLAN, is growing. It’s humbling to receive such overwhelming support from the CLAN. There have been several times we thought to throw in the towel but CLAN members like Jonas Ahedor would reach out and say “You better not stop because it keeps us going.” The CLAN consistently reaching the vision makes it an integral part of our growth. Our CLAN pushes us to achieve milestones we never thought possible, and it is beautiful to see the CLAN rally behind us every step of the way. Frankly speaking, their commitment to us does scare us a little bit because we are forced to keep being faithful and biblically aligned in all our actions and messages lest we lead them astray.
Written Nana Kojo Mula