Top 11 Alté Music Videos of all Time

The alternative youth subculture in Nigeria called out to many young people in the late part of the last decade. I was one of them, scrolling social media discovering quirky but interesting people daily, and attending esoteric youthful events. Alté videos sometimes represent these.

People at the 90’s Baby shows and Lemon Curds et al. yearned for a Nigeria that wasn’t the same old shit. Being around young like-minded people was liberating and inspiring to create for a community that appreciated the unorthodox.

These days, the alternative youth are much more visible, alté music has played a big part in that. So big that many people think alté is all about music, but I’m really not complaining.

Alté videos are the way most people come in contact with alté youth, Nigerians calling them cultists after seeing any Santi video easily comes to mind. The comments and hot takes about every video have spurred conversations about the culture whch help it grow.

I’ve done the liberty of creating my top 11 Alté videos of all time (in no particular order) based on views, relevance, and representation. I also tried to not make Santi appear too much because let’s face it, he has the best videos. If your faves didn’t make the list, sorry is all I can say.

Rapid Fire – Santi (Directed by Santi)

The relevance of this song cannot be understated, the moshpits that have gone down to this song playing have been incredible. It exhibits how much it means to people, and it was one of the videos that elevated Santi’s visual game to the next level + it was shot in different countries so how can this not be here.

Fluid – Amaarae (Directed by Fotombo)

When this dropped it blew everyone’s minds how good it was, the quality of this video was well invested in, this is something Amaarae doesn’t sleep on. This video has an elaborate simplicity, with one setting but constantly changing backgrounds that keep you engaged. You could see the signs from here that Amaarae was gonna go full sexy on us.

Try Me – Tems (Directed by Ademola Falomo)

This song first of all is a jam, Tems could’ve half-assed a video and I’d have still been happy to listen to it again. I’m glad she didn’t though. The video was well produced with nice characters and a calm storyline. This video also does good work in representing people with albinism and Vitiligo in popular media. I really like the passion Tems showed in the video, my highlight is her shades falling down at 2:07.

Alté Cruise – Odunsi feat Zamir & Santi (Directed by Santi)

If you want to introduce anyone to the alté subculture, you play them this video. Anybody who was anybody at that time in the culture was in this video, it showed alternative Nigerian youth in their natural habitat, going the places they went and doing the things they did from the POV of none other than Santi. This is one for the ages.

Sparky – Santi (Directed by Santi)

I had to stop myself lest this would’ve become a ‘best Santi videos’ list, but this dude undeniably makes Fuego videos, so it’s only right he dominates this list. The video starts out with my g, Nkem, decking someone which sets it up nicely. I admire the acting in this video and how the narrative unfolded, it’s like Santi made a silent film and put his music on top.

Star signs – Odunsi feat. Runtown (Directed by Candles & Odunsi)

In my opinion, this is Odunsi’s best-produced video, a bunch of cool kids clad in colourful traditional wear, with a disco owambe vibe, it’s the party I’m still salty I didn’t get invited to. Daniel Obasi killed the styling, it just has to be said.

Raw Dinner – Santi feat. Kida Kudz (Directed by Santi)

What can I say, every part of this video is top-notch, costumes, makeup, set design, plot, and cinematography. Everyone who worked on this, they finish work. In my opinion, this is Santi’s best visual project to date. The peak of Alté videos.

Hate – Zamir feat. Esojay (Directed by Seun Opabisi)

This video has a conceptual Kubrick meets Lynch level of absurdity to it. It’s one of those videos that perfectly makes you want to play the song over and over. Zamir took the video by its horns, leading us into the jarring narrative of retrieving funds, and then The elusive Esojay came through with a smooth as silk performance. ‘You hear say we broke na rumor, You hear say we rich na gist.’

Tonight – Nonso Amadi (Directed by UA Images)

Nonso Amadi blew my mind and a lot of others’ when he came out with his signature silky sound. When this video dropped I know people who just put in on endless replay, it’s no surprise it has over 8 million views now. I saw people in the comments say it was a soundtrack of The Royal Hibiscus Hotel on Netflix so I might check that out.

Freaky – Fasina feat. Minz (Directed by MarQ, Joshua Gukas and Fasina)

This song is one of those jams that fueled the Alté scene with hope and ginger (yeah I had to) when we saw a video of Swizzbeats listening to it on his jet. My niggas and I played this song so much in 2017 and when it came on in a house party we threw, the reaction was priceless. In hindsight, the video was pretty mid, but that can be excused because it did what it was supposed to at the time.

Pull up – Prettyboy D-O feat. Santi (Directed by Ademola Falomo)

This video is peak Culté vibes, and no one better to embody it than Prettyboy D-O. This video is characterized by endless running (you’d think they were in Temple Run), Machetes, and broken bottles in sketchy settings. The bonfire with crucifixes in the night setting is the reason why Nigerians will keep calling Alté artists cultists.

Honourable Mentions

Corner – Lady Donli. The production of this video was thoughtful and visually pleasing.
Gangsta Fear – Santi. 2016 Alté vibes, unforgettable year.
Paris – Aylo. A dreamy video, perfect Aylo vibes in my opinion
Shaku – Wavythecreator. Remember when Vogue said she created Shaku Shaku lol.
Like it – Amaarae. From the queer representation to the Beyoncé Jesus, this video was well thought through and sexy as fuck.
Wasteman – GMK. Pardon me, Grammy-nominated GMK, what more do I have to say?