How Lagos' HOMECOMING set the tone for ADE Pro 2025
words by Meike Jentjens
Creating pathways, not templates
HOMECOMING is more than a festival. It’s a movement, one that centres Nigerian creativity while opening its arms to the world. For ADE, being present there wasn’t about exporting ideas, but about listening, learning, and creating space for mutual exchange.
The first panel ADE hosted on the Summit, 'How to Get Booked (Internationally)', brought together DJ and organiser Coco Em (Pass Pass Initiative), Lévi Smulders (Melkweg), Vincent van de Waal (Patta), and Eben Badu (The New Originals) to share insights on navigating international music circuits while staying rooted at home.
'When you move internationally, the rules don’t always apply the same way,' says Vincent van de Waal looking back. 'You have to navigate new spaces while keeping your core intact.' This statement was the heart of the conversation: not how to follow trends, but how to stay true to your foundation, and how to translate that into new contexts with care.
Creating pathways, not templates
HOMECOMING is more than a festival. It’s a movement, one that centres Nigerian creativity while opening its arms to the world. For ADE, being present there wasn’t about exporting ideas, but about listening, learning, and creating space for mutual exchange.
The first panel ADE hosted on the Summit, 'How to Get Booked (Internationally)', brought together DJ and organiser Coco Em (Pass Pass Initiative), Lévi Smulders (Melkweg), Vincent van de Waal (Patta), and Eben Badu (The New Originals) to share insights on navigating international music circuits while staying rooted at home.
'When you move internationally, the rules don’t always apply the same way,' says Vincent van de Waal looking back. 'You have to navigate new spaces while keeping your core intact.' This statement was the heart of the conversation: not how to follow trends, but how to stay true to your foundation, and how to translate that into new contexts with care.
Shared values and rhythms
The second panel, 'When Commerce Meets Culture: How To Stay True to Your Roots', brought together Edson Sabajo (Patta), Sophie Kemperman (Skatecafé), Eben Badu, and Jomi Marcus-Bello, founder of WAFFLESNCREAM, Nigeria’s first skate shop and a community for youth culture in Lagos, who now works together with Patta's first store in Nigeria, too. 'First of all, I stay true to myself,' explains Marcus-Bello in a chat looking back at his panel at HOMECOMING. 'Whatever you ingest must come out. Being commercial, for me, only brings sustainability to what you do, not purpose.'
For Marcus-Bello, WAFFLESNCREAM wasn’t created to scale, but to sustain creative freedom and open doors for others: 'The goal was never to sell out. It was to make sure we could keep doing the next project, and the one after that.' He adds: 'Africa has a lot more to offer than what is shown. I’m not big on ‘Africa to the world,’ more on ‘the world to Africa.’ That sentiment echoed throughout the panel: a reminder that the power of cultural exchange lies not in importing scenes, but in spotlighting what already exists.
'We move with intention'
Vincent van de Waal explains how this long-term approach is foundational. 'Before we do anything at Patta, we spend time somewhere and we connect first. You can’t just arrive in a place and start. That doesn’t work, and it shouldn’t.' Patta’s decision to open a store in Lagos came after years of relationships, visits, and mutual respect. 'That’s how we move. Always with intention.'
Both Marcus-Bello and van de Waal also reflected on the limits of international platforms if they don’t make room for local leadership. 'These exchanges should never be one-way. There needs to be more space for local voices to lead.' There’s love in that approach, is what Marcus-Bello adds. 'With Patta, it’s never transactional; it’s a partnership. We’re like distant twins. Same energy, different corners of the world.' And now its time to look at what's next, especially connecting the dots at ADE.
Shared values and rhythms
The second panel, 'When Commerce Meets Culture: How To Stay True to Your Roots', brought together Edson Sabajo (Patta), Sophie Kemperman (Skatecafé), Eben Badu, and Jomi Marcus-Bello, founder of WAFFLESNCREAM, Nigeria’s first skate shop and a community for youth culture in Lagos, who now works together with Patta's first store in Nigeria, too. 'First of all, I stay true to myself,' explains Marcus-Bello in a chat looking back at his panel at HOMECOMING. 'Whatever you ingest must come out. Being commercial, for me, only brings sustainability to what you do, not purpose.'
For Marcus-Bello, WAFFLESNCREAM wasn’t created to scale, but to sustain creative freedom and open doors for others: 'The goal was never to sell out. It was to make sure we could keep doing the next project, and the one after that.' He adds: 'Africa has a lot more to offer than what is shown. I’m not big on ‘Africa to the world,’ more on ‘the world to Africa.’ That sentiment echoed throughout the panel: a reminder that the power of cultural exchange lies not in importing scenes, but in spotlighting what already exists.
'We move with intention'
Vincent van de Waal explains how this long-term approach is foundational. 'Before we do anything at Patta, we spend time somewhere and we connect first. You can’t just arrive in a place and start. That doesn’t work, and it shouldn’t.' Patta’s decision to open a store in Lagos came after years of relationships, visits, and mutual respect. 'That’s how we move. Always with intention.'
Both Marcus-Bello and van de Waal also reflected on the limits of international platforms if they don’t make room for local leadership. 'These exchanges should never be one-way. There needs to be more space for local voices to lead.' There’s love in that approach, is what Marcus-Bello adds. 'With Patta, it’s never transactional; it’s a partnership. We’re like distant twins. Same energy, different corners of the world.' And now its time to look at what's next, especially connecting the dots at ADE.
From conversation to continuation
'Music creates the environment for collaboration,' as Jomi Marcus-Bello puts it. 'It brings people together, even when everything else falls apart. It helps us sweat, heal, forgive. That’s bigger than any brand.'
That same spirit of connection and care takes centre stage at ADE this year. One of this year’s Official Opening Concerts will see South African artist DBN Gogo perform alongside the Metropole Orkest at Melkweg, conducted by Simon Dobson. Now in its ninth edition, the concert turns its focus to Afrobeats and Amapiano, introducing these genres to the orchestra’s repertoire.
The idea for this collaboration began at ADE Pro 2024, when DBN Gogo and HOMECOMING founder Grace Ladoja first shared the stage for the panel 'From Detroit to Durban: The Learnings of 30 Years of Dance Music'. What began as an onstage exchange, sparked by ADE’s collaboration with HOMECOMING last year, has since grown into one of ADE 2025’s key talking points: a celebration of grassroots initiatives and cross-continental collaboration. More on these ADE Pro developments will be revealed next week.
One thing becomes clear: global scenes don’t just happen. They’re built patiently and collectively by communities that stay grounded even as they grow. As Vincent van de Waal puts it: 'We’re not separate from the community; we are the community. That’s where it all starts.'
From conversation to continuation
'Music creates the environment for collaboration,' as Jomi Marcus-Bello puts it. 'It brings people together, even when everything else falls apart. It helps us sweat, heal, forgive. That’s bigger than any brand.'
That same spirit of connection and care takes centre stage at ADE this year. One of this year’s Official Opening Concerts will see South African artist DBN Gogo perform alongside the Metropole Orkest at Melkweg, conducted by Simon Dobson. Now in its ninth edition, the concert turns its focus to Afrobeats and Amapiano, introducing these genres to the orchestra’s repertoire.
The idea for this collaboration began at ADE Pro 2024, when DBN Gogo and HOMECOMING founder Grace Ladoja first shared the stage for the panel 'From Detroit to Durban: The Learnings of 30 Years of Dance Music'. What began as an onstage exchange, sparked by ADE’s collaboration with HOMECOMING last year, has since grown into one of ADE 2025’s key talking points: a celebration of grassroots initiatives and cross-continental collaboration. More on these ADE Pro developments will be revealed next week.
One thing becomes clear: global scenes don’t just happen. They’re built patiently and collectively by communities that stay grounded even as they grow. As Vincent van de Waal puts it: 'We’re not separate from the community; we are the community. That’s where it all starts.'