Wale Davies Wants The Nigerian Creative Industry to Think Long Term

Wale Davies can do it all. He is one half of the famous rap duo Show Dem Camp, where he performs as Tec. He has written films, one of which received a nomination at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and another that won a BAFTA and went on to become the most awarded film at the 2026 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards. He also runs Palmwine Festival, built off the creative community Show Dem Camp has nurtured over the years. In addition to all of this, Davies is also a record label exec, a brilliant essayist and a perceptive artist who is thinking beyond himself.

In the latest episode of Afrobeats Intelligence hosted by Joey Akan in partnership with Martell, Davies took a trip down memory lane to his entry into the Nigerian creative industry, which began with a 2Baba tour that he helped produce. 

“I didn’t even move back to Nigeria to be an artist,” he admits. Davies says the tour was sprawling, featuring other artists like Naeto C, Nneka, 9ice and others. “It was good because I’d just moved back to Nigeria and it was like a crash course into all of the people that were doing great things.”

That enmeshment in the industry, Davies says, made it easy for Show Dem Camp to gain industry recognition, yet they still remained largely unknown, until 2013 when “Feel Alright” featuring Boj and Ladipoe (then known as Poe) was released. The song “completely pivoted our career from where we were heading,” Davies says.

“‘Feel Alright’ was the first song that got us shows, bookings even outside Nigeria.”

The song encouraged them to shift away from a conformist sound to a more eclectic sound which Davies says is Africanist with hip-hop elements, leading the way to their most important music series yet, Palmwine Music. In this episode, it is clear to see, from his early start in the industry, to the studio he owned where other artists friends would come to record, to crowd funding for Show Dem Camp’s first music video and working with friends, that Davies’ practice is solidly built around community.

It is the defining element in much of his work, even outside music. With Palmwine Festival, a show dedicated to alternative and underground talents, Davies says the goal was to initially introduce a way to promote their album while also introducing a performance culture where artists are given enough time to run through their sets and be discovered by new audiences.

“It was just a real group effort,” is how he puts it.

Building for Longevity

Beyond creating communally and growing with friends, foresight is a tool Davies has applied throughout his creative practice. As he explains, the goal is to build work that pays off later instead of pursuing instant gratification.

“It’s a long game and I think that’s why many of these industries don’t work in Nigeria,” he says when responding to labels and investors leaving Nigeria after only a short stint. “In a place where there is no structure, there’ll be a lack of vision.” He buttressed his point by sharing that although My Father’s Shadow has been immensely successful, the goal has been to create something that opens the doors for bigger and more impactful projects in the future. 

Davies’ philosophy on longevity could serve as a helpful pointer as Afrobeats stabilizes itself after experiencing a boom and burst. With labels leaving, investors growing uneasy and the overall creative sector experiencing a slump, it makes sense to start thinking of systems that protect the industry, systems that capture emerging talents and encourage them to build lasting impact that will sustain them and continue to prop up the culture. And while Davies is coming up as a bridge in the industry, constantly championing emerging talents and supporting local creative communities, he is also a strong voice of reason we should be listening to.

Watch the episode below:

Listen on Spotify:

Listen on Apple Music: