UK to host Fuse ODG tour

Tagged the TINA tour and scheduled to start 14 November, the tour will have the ‘Antenna’ singer play concerts in birthplace Newcastle Upon Tyne, Leeds, Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow.

During the concerts, Fuse ODG (real name Nana Richard Abiona) will guests, notably compatriot Sarkodie. The pair collaborated on 2013’s ‘Down on One’, released as a single before Sarkodie’s 2014 album Sarkology.

The 10-day tour comes after the singer’s nomination in the Best African category at the 2015 Music of Black Origin Awards (MOBO Awards). He won the category in 2013 and 2014. This year he is nominated alongside his countrymen Shatta Wale and Mista Silva. Davido, Patoranking, Yemi Alade from Nigeria are also in contention for the award. As are UK-based Silverstone and South African rapper AKA.

In October 2014 Fuse ODG released his debut album TINA (This Is New Africa), which had the hit songs ‘Antenna’ and ‘Azonto’.

Although known as an afrobeats purveyor, Fuse ODG has incorporated sounds outside the genre, featuring Jamaica’s dancehall singer Sean Paul on TINA. Notably, a remix with Haitian Wyclef Jean was a hit in 2012. Jean also provided backing vocals to a recent single.

Following complaints regarding plans to include an afrobeat float at the Notting Hill Carnival, Fuse ODG expressed disapproval at attempts at ‘segregating black music’, telling an interviewer, ‘In Barbados they play Afrobeats; in Jamaica they play Afrobeats; in Ghana they play dancehall; in Nigeria they play soca. All these countries— they’re already connected by music even though they’re physically separated.’

The Fuse ODG tour of the UK runs from 14 November to 24 November.