Emmanuel Daraloye: The Prolific Music Critic Spotlighting Afrobeats

Emmanuel Daraloye’s attempt at documenting stories and moments has never been in question. The lanky Ipele-born music critics continue to shape the culture in different ways. It never started with music, it was a different thing entirely.

From founding a group on Facebook in 2013 to co-founding an online newspaper while studying for his first degree and now to the recent Afrobeats documentation via his Afro-Review account on Substack. He continues to put to good use his years of voracious work ethic.

Born in Ipele to a chartered accountant dad and an entrepreneur mum, Emmanuel spent the large chunk of his childhood split between times with his grandparents and his parents. This afforded him an opportunity to be introduced to the early Yoruba tradition of storytelling and also learn from two generations. The evening at his grandparents’s house was spent telling stories. Either his grandparents lead the way or the teeming children take turns to tell stories that are marinated in moral values. His early introduction to Yoruba storytelling served as a catalyst to his love for reading and writing.

By the time he left Ipele for his guardian ’s house in Akure (Ondo State) in 2003, Emmanuel was already brimming with ideas, waiting for the much-needed catalyst for the experiment. The change of environment allowed him to leverage new school material for the betterment of his life. Newspapers became his best friend, and radio stations like Positive FM 102.5 and the defunct OSRC radio served as his early guide in presentation, his guardians were on hand to school in journalism and the way of life.

The six years spent at St. Dominic’s High, Akure laid the foundation for his journalistic pursuit. He wrote his early articles and conducted some interviews while in the school. His leadership skill was also tested as he was selected as Library Prefect Boy and Health Prefect Boy by the school management.

The two-year break he had between 2012 and 2014 was spent making waves on Facebook. As this was the period he became more active on the social media platform, he built a group “Lovers Group,” which currently has more than 30,000 members. It was a formidable medium of exchange between people in love.

Less than six months into his fresh year at Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo. Emmanuel Daraloye already noticed the information lacuna in his school, alongside his coursemate, Ayomide Oguntimehin, they jointly founded Arbico Parrot. The online newspaper revolutionized information dissemination in college. While championing the revolution in the print media. Emmanuel was also on hand to lead his hand in the electronic media. From April 2015 to the latter part of 2017, Emmanuel was a staff member of the college’s campus radio, Arbico FM.

From June 2017 to April 2019, Emmanuel Daraloyed worked in two radio stations, Eki 100.9 FM and the defunct Music & Culture radio, both in Ondo as a freelance presenter. This became another stepping stone in his media career. Also between 2018 and 2019, he served as a media aide to a politician.

By the start of the 2020s, Emmanuel Daraloye made a full return to print media as he started writing album reviews. It began with WhatsApp, then later to Facebook, and as the last count, his reviews have appeared on more than fifteen platforms within Africa.

While a large chunk of the media is devoted to the showbiz side of music, Emmanuel solely writes about the state of the art. The writing largely emanated from his disillusionment with the over-concentration of the Nigerian media on showbiz rather than art.

From his review appearing on Cable News, Vanguard Newspaper, Guardian Newspaper, Modern Ghana, Legit News, Tribune Newspaper, Not Just Ok, Afrocritik, Leadership Newspaper, Daily Independent, and so on, Emmanuel continues to document the Afrobeats journey via his thought-provoking reviews and expertly crafted views on music.

Just like when he was in Adeyemi College of Education, Emmanuel Daraloye continues to write articles to educate the people. This time around, he has devoted his time to writing reviews for albums, EPs, and singles. At the last count, he has written close to one thousand reviews. This in a way has formed a part of the culture shaper of the movement.

His review rating has generated comments and concerns from fans alike. Undeterred by snide comments from the fans, Emmanuel continues to critique projects by African artistes.

Beyond writing, he has also featured in entertainment programs across selected radio and television in Nigeria.

While the Afrobeats movement continues to take a pedal step in global music, Emmanuel Daraloye continues to shape the culture via his masterly critique, and critical interventions.