The Native Celebrates 5 Anniversary With Surprise Show

HARRISON IYOHA

Nigerian-based music, art and style media company, The NATIVE announces its fifth-anniversary celebration. Founded in December 2016 the magazine has featured various Nigerian artists — including Wizkid, Burna Boy, Naira Marley, Fashion Designers, as well as many other prominent personalities. 

In commemorating its achievements and growth in its five incredible years of existence, The NATIVE promises a ”Detty December” on Wednesday, December 22, 2021, at Harbour Point Marquee, VI., with a lineup of sensational artistes including REMA, AMAARAE, STYL-PLUS, LOJAY, SGAWD, TEEZEE and other outstanding guest artistes. 

Over the years, The NATIVE has created a constant dialogue between the underground and the mainstream, reshaping the face of popular culture and building a cross-platform brand to bridge the ever-widening cultural gap between locals and the diaspora.

Speaking on the anniversary, Seni Saraki, the company’s CEO says ‘5 years ago, we had this little idea of starting a print magazine and music festival, centred around what we saw starting to take shape around us: The Next Great African Art Renaissance.

This time in 2016, we were prepping for a little 600-person event in a forgotten Lagos park. This event – NATIVELAND – would go on to set the tone for everything that makes up this world we’ve built with you in the last five years. From bringing back the actual fun into live shows in Lagos to providing a platform for acts who typically didn’t get booked during the December Concert Season, the festival became something far bigger than we could have ever imagined. It was never about lineups or attractions, but about us, as a community, having something and somewhere that felt like home.

We had been planning to celebrate with our Lagos Trybe in the biggest way possible this year, by bringing back NATIVELAND after a year away, taking stock and making necessary adjustments to the festival experience. We know what NATIVELAND means to you, and especially taking learnings from previous years, we want to come back in the right way, prioritising your health, safety and enjoyment. Unfortunately, with the COVID-19 situation at the moment in Lagos, this just isn’t realistic this year. Although we are disappointed that we have had to make this decision, NATIVELAND will be back next year, like you’ve never seen before, I promise you that. 

This year is about giving back, to you. To celebrate our 5th birthday, we will be hosting NATIV5: an intimate show in Lagos on December 22nd – exactly five years on from our first ever festival. 

Over the weekend, to thank our subscribers for riding with us, we gave them gained first access to  #NATIV5. Now, you too can join us on Wednesday using the link below. The last few tickets are available for purchase on Tix. Africa.