Toronto’s booming African diaspora and multicultural music scene make it a natural home for the Japa generation’s creative energy. But according to Doregos, the infrastructure has never been fully set up to support them. That’s why Hi-Way 89 Entertainment aims to provide the behind-the-scenes system that develops artists, releases music, and turns creativity into a business
By Lauren Lee
Lead Photo: Toronto-based Nigerian singers Ṣẹwà and Nezsa record at The Orange Lounge recording studio as part of a growing wave of Japa generation artists reshaping Canada’s music scene. CNN
WHEN Nigerians talk about “Japa” — Yoruba slang for escape — they’re referring to the growing wave of young people seeking opportunities abroad. In Canada, especially in Toronto, that movement is fueling a vibrant music scene linking Lagos, Nigeria, with Toronto.
Leading this change are Nigerian-born executives Ikenna Nwagboso and Camillo Doregos. In 2025, they founded Hi-Way 89 Entertainment, a record label with the goal of becoming a corridor connecting African artists to North America’s music industry.
The Lagos to Toronto pipeline
Camillo Doregos (left) and Ikenna Nwagboso (right), co-founders of Hi-Way 89 Entertainment are trying to building a bridge between the North American and African music scenes. CNN
Toronto’s booming African diaspora and multicultural music scene make it a natural home for the Japa generation’s creative energy. But according to Doregos, the infrastructure has never been fully set up to support them. That’s why Hi-Way 89 Entertainment aims to provide the behind-the-scenes system that develops artists, releases music, and turns creativity into a business.
“What we noticed in Canada,” he says, “is that we have a lot of Africans moving … so much talent, but no opportunity and not enough knowledge for them to connect to. So, we built the bridge.”
That bridge runs in both directions.
“We shuttle between Nigeria and Canada,” he adds. “I just got back from Lagos three days ago. The business happens on both sides
How Nigerian music executives are turning Canada into Africa’s next global gateway
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This ongoing exchange is turning Toronto into a creative hub, where African artists reach new fans and Canadian-born Black artists find new partners to work with.
That exchange is increasingly digital. For many in the Japa generation, migration begins online, not at the airport. Streaming platforms, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram act as a parallel infrastructure, allowing Nigerian artists in Canada to build audiences across continents without relying on traditional gatekeepers in either market.
A music track recorded in Toronto can find listeners in Lagos overnight, while fanbases built back home can fuel Canadian streams that attract local industry attention. Online communities — fan pages, group chats, and creator networks — have become informal street teams, sustaining momentum across borders.
Why African music is surging in Canada
Nigerian musician Pheelz dances with a fan during a listening party held at The Libertine, a historic bar in Toronto, Canada, October 29, 2025. CNN
Recently, Nigerian songs have quickly risen on Canadian charts. Tracks by Davido, Burna Boy, and especially Pheelz’s “Finesse” have gone platinum in Canada. Doregos says this shows there’s a “ready market” for African music.
A study by ADVANCE — Canada’s Black Music Business Collective — and Toronto Metropolitan University’s (TMU) Diversity Institute showed Black music generated over 65% of Canadian streams on Apple Music and Spotify between 2019 and 2022 — worth an estimated 339 million Canadian dollars in 2022.
The rise of African music in Canada is also deeply emotional. Japa may mean escape, but it carries a contradiction — opportunity mixed with loss, ambition shaped by absence. Many artists are navigating gratitude for new beginnings alongside frustration over why leaving felt necessary in the first place.
Those tensions surface in the sound itself. Afrobeats blended with R&B, hip-hop, and pop mirrors lives lived between cultures — Nigerian at the core, reshaped by Canadian realities. Lyrics often reflect nostalgia, sacrifice, and resilience, turning personal migration stories into music with global resonance.
“Black music is doing a lot here,” Nwagboso says. “But there’s still underrepresentation. That’s the gap we want to fill.”
“Calm Down”: A blueprint for global breakout
Breaking into a new music market often hinges on one strategic moment. The executives of Hi-Way 89 point to a now-classic example of global expansion — “Calm Down,” by Nigerian star Rema.
“‘Calm Down’ was already a huge success (in Nigeria and Europe), but when Selena Gomez jumped on it? That’s when it became massive in places like Canada,” explains Nwagboso.
“A lot of people heard of Rema because of the Selena Gomez collab, even though he was already big.”
For Hi-Way 89, the message is clear: teaming up across continents can open whole new markets.
Building a new creative infrastructure
Nigerian musician Pheelz in studio with Canadian artist Chrissy Spratt. CNN
Hi-Way 89 combines artist training, strategy, and analytics.
Nwagboso puts it bluntly, “To be successful in this business, you need a sense of delusion. You have to push yourself. People see the finished product, but not the work, the anxiety, the stress.”
“It’s not about going viral anymore. It’s about community. Virality doesn’t sustain a career, community does,” Doregos added.
Building audiences across borders through digital engagement — direct, consistent and global — has become central to career longevity.
For Hi-Way 89, this approach aligns with a generation that already exists in multiple worlds at once: creatively rooted in Nigeria, professionally developing in Canada, and globally visible from the start.
Their strategy includes cross-border writing camps which foster collaborations between new song writers and established artists, thoughtful artist pairings, and targeted market research. Hi-Way 89 directly pitches to streaming platforms for its artists to be included on playlists. It also focuses on building loyal fan bases rather than following short-term trends.
“Behind one album launch,” Doregos explains, “you’ve got sleepless nights, contracts, marketing, PR, radio, distribution, pitching. It’s a lot.”
Nwagboso sums it up, “You’re competing with millions. You need a competent team that understands the vision.”
A studio session that shows the future
One of the clearest examples of the Lagos–Toronto fusion was a recent session at The Orange Lounge recording studios, where Grammy-winning Nigerian producer Pheelz worked with Hi-Way 89’s rising Canadian artist Chrissy Spratt on a forthcoming song.
This session wasn’t just a one-time event. It showed the label’s goal of matching Toronto singers like Spratt, Sewa, and Nezsa with experienced African hitmakers.
Nwagboso uses a simple method: “I tell my artists, send me a wish list. Who do you actually want to work with?”
For many, Japa is no longer slang — it’s a cultural movement. What’s taking shape in Canada is a generation of Nigerian artists using music and technology to rewrite the industry’s rules. They didn’t leave their culture behind; they carried it with them, remixed it and sent it back into the world.
- https://edition.cnn.com/world/nigeria-japa-generation-music-canada-spc