Steve Monite

Steve Monite

Steve Monite is a Nigerian singer and songwriter best known for the 1984 Afro-boogie song, Only You and the album of the same name on which it appears. Hailed as the holy grail of 1980s Nigerian funk by contemporary critics and record collectors, Only You has received renewed attention after being covered live at the 2017 FYF Fest by R&B superstar Frank Ocean with backing instrumentation by Alex G. It was first discovered and reissued by Triassic Tusk Records: Screamers, Bangers & Cosmic Synths. Then picked up and released on Soundway Records 'Doing It in Lagos: Boogie, Pop & Disco, a compilation of Nigerian music from the 1980s. Monite's album of the same title was produced by prominent Nigerian music producer Tony Okoroji. Critics have noted the album's melodic darkness, space-age sound effects, and inventive instrumentation. The album also contains two versions of a track titled after Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe’s 1958 novel Things Fall Apart. Original pressings of the album have sold for over $1300 dollars. In 2017, Austrian label Presch Media GmbH bootlegged the album as part of a series of rereleases of rare Nigerian Afro-boogie recordings from the 1970s and 80s.

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