How did Nigerian singer Steve Monite find out he had become famous as the King of Boogie?

Steve Monite told the BBC's Tommy Dixon that his experimental funk album Only You, released on EMI Records in Nigeria in 1984, flopped and he quit music. Around 2017 to 2018 a nephew in Reading told him Frank Ocean had played his music at a festival in Los Angeles. A web search showed fans worldwide, some with tattoos of the album title. London label Soundway Records had found his music while compiling 1980s Nigerian pop and disco, and reached him on New Year's Day 2019.

• After the album failed he worked in a bakery and duplicating video tapes for Technicolor.
• Kaytranada is also named among the artists who brought his music back.
• Monite now lives in Lagos and says he is back in the music industry.

▸In their words

“I'm able to do what I want now. I'm back in the music industry.” Steve Monite · at 10:50 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Global News Podcast (2026-10-31). Read the whole episode summary →

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