Ajimovoix Drums Is Pioneering The Sounds of Ikorodu
The “Focus Dance Beat” hit-maker is establishing himself as an artist to watch out for.
In conversation with many people, it’s easy to decipher that Ikorodu exists mostly in their minds as a voyeuristic backdrop to their cultural consumption. A rich and cultured concept that has provided some of the most essential pop acts redefining the scope of Nigerian music like Zlatan, Seyi Vibez and Mohbad, but still a mere concept nonetheless. The Ikorodu that exists in the world of Ajimovoix Drums is a very real place. So real that you can reach out and almost feel the pulse of the city in his music. For the little-known but influential record producer and recording artist, Ikorodu is a living, breathing organism that has shaped his ideologies, sharpened his resolve, and defined his conception of life.
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There’s ample proof of how much Ikorodu means to Ajimovoix Drums across his cavernous, free-wheeling discography. That love and appreciation somehow works its way into his everyday life, which in turn defines how he approaches music-making. When we finally get together via Zoom one sunny Saturday in April, he’s talking about occasionally returning to Ikorodu to decompress and finish the bulk of his records there, away from the daily hustle and bluster of metropolitan Lagos. “Ikorodu is my superpower,” he says, laughing from a dimly lit studio in Itumoja, Ikorodu. “There’s a vibe in Ikorodu that’s natural. It’s just a feeling that’s not artificial and cannot be replicated anywhere else. It’s undiluted and I love it.”
While many music listeners might not readily recall who Ajimovoix Drums is or pick him out in a crowd of people, he has carved a niche for himself since 2018 on the indie circuit thanks to his vivid, euphonious instrumentals that capture the pomp and grit of Ikorodu–as well as mainland Lagos–and soundtrack the revelry and hedonism of party-goers in Lagos’ influential archipelago of islands and beyond. In 2021, one of his instrumentals, “Focus Dance Beat,” went nuclear on social media, finding virality in the choreographed confines of TikTok before spreading to Instagram, WhatsApp and, predictably, the clubs. However, 2021 was not the first time Ajimovoix Drums had a hot instrumental on his hands. “Most people don’t know this but I’ve had a lot of success before that instrumental,” he clarifies. “I made the ‘Lagos Scatter Dance Beat’ which was as big as the ‘Focus Dance Beat’‘ but I didn’t understand the business side of things then.”
Among his credits are veritable viral instrumentals like “Ase Ni Client E,” “Yahoo Abi,” “Lagos Street Vibes Dance Beat” and “Eko O Jina.” Without an extensive budget to lean on or a label structure to call on, Ajimovoix Drums has had to fashion out a DIY distribution and marketing style that gets his music to the grassroots directly, thanks to an army of over 10,000 DJs and local promoters that he has access to. He first started collecting their details and sending them his music a decade ago on BlackBerry Messenger before migrating to WhatsApp. “People used to say that that was an old method of promotion but I stuck by it,” he says.
“I still do that and people are getting to understand the importance of those mediums. One thing I’ll say is that it’s not easy to get these people and build that network. Other people might know top DJs but you have to realise that these people have careers of their own but the DJs in the streets are the ones taking the sound everywhere because they are always on the move. They’re the ones taking it from Agbowa, to Epe and Ibadan.”
All these years of working in the underground might have left Ajimovoix Drums unprepared for navigating the serpentine corridors of the Nigerian music business for his earlier hit instrumental but when “Focus Dance Beat” came, he was more than prepared. “I stood with ‘Focus Dance Beat’ because I was determined not to be overlooked for my work ever again,” he explains. “A talent manager, Oba Sijuade, reached out to me and gave me insight into how to navigate that period. He told me that it was the right time to promote myself and contact everyone I could.
“I met a lot of people at that time and that allowed me to work with a lot of people. I learned to put myself out a lot at that time because I’m not Olamide or Don Jazzy and these people still go hard at their promotion. At one point, there was an issue between me, the dancers, and some local boys who felt like they promoted the song to get it to where it reached but I refused to allow them to upload my song without permission.”
The resilient streak and savant-like musical skills that have allowed Ajimovoix Drums—born Adewale Oguntade—to carve a position for himself in an industry always in flux have roots in his Ikorodu origins. His family was part of the second wave of migrants who moved to Ikorodu from other areas in the Lagos metropolis around the mid-90s. There he witnessed the rise of a town from scratch and got in his fair share of trouble as a child. Raised by a prophetess mother and father with an innate understanding of percussive instruments, music was in his blood. As a secondary school student at Yewa Grammar School in Ikorodu, he co-founded a band called Ajimohun Musical Group but that was short-lived. “I think we disbanded because of pride,” he says. “Nobody was willing to be submissive to each other and that affected us. There were also a lot of distractions that made it hard to continue the group. In my mind, I never looked down on that group because I foresaw that it would be a big thing and I also brought up the name.”
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After a brief spell at a theological church and the unfortunate passing of his mother, the musician found himself at a crossroads. “That was a dark period for me because I lost my support system and I didn’t know how to continue.” Keen to support himself and his family, Ajimovoix Drums turned to construction work and fish farming to keep himself above water but his zest for music never died. In 2012, a benefactor provided him with the funds to buy a laptop and he “never left home again,” instead concentrating on making music and improving his skills.
A spell working with non-responsive artists left him disheartened and birthed the strategy of releasing empty instrumentals with the hope of getting someone’s attention. It’s a punt that has worked magnificently for him. “I was initially surprised that people started listening to my beats and vibing to it but I love it because that’s what I spent several days hoping for,” he says. “I’ve also worked with a lot of people thanks to those instrumentals and that’s encouraged me to also put my own music out.”
Eager to make an impression post-”Focus Dance Beat,” Ajimovoix Drums started releasing songs with his vocals in 2022. ‘Border To Border,’ released in May 2022, was a pleasant introduction to his spiritual-infused interpretation of street-pop with highlights like “Don’t Bother” and “Omoolope” while ‘That Unserious Focus Boi (T.U.F.B),’ released as a compilation later in 2022, was an instructive look at the circumstance of his origin peppered with Islam-adjacent scores and mellow, introspective lyrics. “While I was making instrumentals for other artists, I kept rehearsing and preparing myself,” he says of his decision to return to releasing his songs. “I just think it’s time to tell my stories.”
Those stories are brought stunningly to life on his latest project, ‘Available For The Streets (AFTS),’ a concise four-track tape that has everything from heart-tugging stories about picking up survival skills in Ikorodu to a quirky-yet-chaotic house beat. Still, per Ajimovoix Drums, the sole purpose of AFTS was to pay homage to Ikorodu and finally put his thoughts about the town on wax.
“I wanted to make a project that shows how I feel about Ikorodu because I learned a lot and lost so much here,” he says. The opener, “ALL D WAY (Ikorodu Oga),” is an unmissable signpost for this message. On the song’s refrain, Ajimovoix Drums gets right to the heart of that contradiction, singing, “Ikorodu show me shege you know, won tun gbe mi soke,” roughly translating to “Ikorodu has shown me hard times but Ikorodu has also elevated me.”
“I was singing that ‘Ikorodu show me shege’ part and I was fucking crying inside of me because it’s not easy to make it out of the hood,” Ajimovoix Drums says. “But despite all that, it’s still my home and where I feel the most comfortable.” Ultimately, his goal is to serve as a connecting bridge between the mainstream and the deepest hearts of the trenches with his music. To make this point, he tells a story of inviting singer, Dice Ailes, to Ikorodu to record a verse for the remix of “Focus Dance Beat,” which was released two years ago.
“Dice came to Ikorodu to record the remix because he wanted to get that authentic feeling of working here,” he explains. “When he got here, he was overwhelmed but that feeling he wanted was just there and he connected to it. There were a lot of people on the street there to see him, singing his lyrics outside the studio. When he came to Ikorodu, he realised that this was another world entirely. The mood was fun and everything felt great, I was so excited and that’s the feeling I want to always have.”
Wale Oloworekende is a Lagos-based critic and writer covering African music and youth culture from Lagos.
ICYMI: TRILL XOE IS ALWAYS EXPANDING HIS ARTISTRY
Tems Partners With Hennessy For Leading Vibe Initiative
Launching in Lagos, Nigeria, this event pioneered by Tems marks the beginning of a continent-wide movement to...
In July, Tems announced the Leading Vibe Initiative (LVI) to support women in music and the creative space on their journey to make a mark in their fields and create space for other women in those industries. Born from Tems’ journey as a self-taught artist with a focus on driving change, the initiative offers training, mentorship, industry access, and community for women in music in Africa.
After a rigorous selection process for its inaugural cohort, Hennessy will join the two-time Grammy Award-winning star to celebrate the launch of the Leading Vibe (LVI) Initiative in Lagos, Nigeria. Held from August 8 to 9, 2025, the two-day event is the beginning of a bold new chapter in Hennessy’s long-standing commitment to music and culture in Africa.
“I’m excited to partner with Hennessy in bringing this initiative to life, supporting talented young women in music as they find their voices, embrace their power, and shape the future of the industry across Africa and beyond,” Tems said about the partnership.
The Leading Vibe Initiative aims to champion the next generation of female artists, producers, songwriters, and music professionals, increasing representation within all areas of music across the continent and beyond.
With Hennessy as lead partner, this ambitious program kicks off with an immersive event in Lagos featuring curated workshops, networking moments, and panel discussions led by top-tier talent from across the global and African music industries.
“Her vision, talent, and purpose align deeply with Hennessy’s legacy of championing those who push boundaries and redefine the world around them. We’re honored to support the Leading Vibe Initiative and to continue empowering African communities and cultures,” said Vincent Montalescot, Hennessy Global Chief Marketing Officer.
Hennessy’s partnership with Tems builds on the brand’s decades-long history of supporting music and artistic expression globally and on the continent. From Hip-Hop to Afrobeats, Hennessy continues to stand beside the artists and communities that shape culture.
In Africa, the Maison has deepened its commitment through meaningful initiatives like In the Paint and now, with the Leading Vibe Initiative, is taking a focused step toward amplifying women’s voices in music. With the Lagos launch as a powerful first step, the Leading Vibe Initiative will expand across Africa and globally, creating a cross-continental network of empowered women ready to shape the future of African music.
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True Clrs Want People To Dance
True Clrs, a travelling party series launched by Adeola Kofoworade and Menab Tesfu, aims to bring the dance...
One of the more pressing topics of discussion amongst party-goers today is the curious question of why people don’t dance at gatherings anymore. While partying, theoretically, includes other activities like talking to strangers, getting drinks, and conducting business, it is primarily geared towards dancing and living in the moment.
These days, however, there seems to be more emphasis on these other activities than actual partying. People are doom scrolling on the dancefloor or are more occupied with trying to take the perfect selfie. Enter: True Clrs, a travelling party series launched by Adeola Kofoworade and Menab Tesfu that aims to bring the dance back to the parties by centering on the richness of African sound and the communities that love it.
“We found that there were a lot of parties in Dallas that had cultures that didn’t encourage dancing or interaction between customers,” Kofoworade tells The NATIVE about the inspiration for True Clrs over a Google Meet conversation in July. “Seeing how parties were being thrown in L.A., New York and other places in Europe, we thought to bring that idea here to Texas.”
Since its inception in 2023, True Clrs has hosted over 15 editions of its travelling party series across cities in the United States. In addition to a dedicated real-life following that engages with their series, they have also cultivated a robust online presence thanks to their meticulous branding and active CRLS YouTube page that features various thrilling DJ sets.
Ahead of the latest Houston edition of True Clrs, which featured ODUMODUBLVCK and Sarz headlining the Global Sounds Stage and others like Native SOUND SYSTEM’s DJ Sholz, Lowkey Ade, and Khulumars on DJ duties, we caught up with Adeola Kofoworade to discuss how they’ve managed to position True Clrs as the go-to party series in Texas, what makes them unique, and what their long-term plans are.
What inspired True Clrs?
We originally started True Clrs about two years ago because we noticed that there was a space in Dallas that we could infiltrate. We found that there were a lot of parties in Dallas that had cultures that didn’t encourage dancing or interaction between customers. That’s something pretty notable down here in the South. In clubs, there are a lot of sections and no big dance floors, so people are stuck in their sections without really interacting with other people. Seeing how parties were being thrown in L.A., New York and other places in Europe, we thought to bring that idea here to Texas. At first, we started with Afrobeats and Amapiano-centred parties, but then we started branching out to other genres as well.
How have you been able to position True Clrs as one of the go-to diaspora-focused party series in the U.S, especially in Texas?
We try to be innovative. We always try to make every event better than the last one. So if you came to one of our events the previous month, we try to switch things up and make sure you have a better experience the next time you come. We do this by booking notable DJs from around the country and even around the world. We also started booking a lot more talents. Last year, we had Lancey Foux; we had Sholz, who brought ODUMODUBLVCK; and we also had Skyla Tyla. This year, we’re looking to do more of that so we can always give our audience a notable experience.
How do you balance catering to the African diaspora with appealing to a broader audience that might be unfamiliar with the music and experience?
There are a couple of ways we try to do this. First, since we have monthly events, we try to switch between different genres and vibes. So let’s say, one month we have an Afrobeats and Amapiano party, the next month we could switch to this concept that we call the R&B rave. In the R&B rave, we basically play all types of R&B music, whether it’s old, contemporary or alternative, and we curate a rave-like setting.
We also run this concept where we have like two or three stages playing different genres. We could have one stage playing Amapiano, the other R&B and the other more global sounds. I guess it just depends on the venue we use. But we’re able to offer different experiences even at the same party.
Are there any other unique elements that set the True Clrs experience apart from other nightlife events?
One of our main appeals is recording DJ content. I know DJ content has become saturated recently, but what separates us is that a lot of our content is very genuine. It’s not made up or staged. We get real-time reactions from people. A lot of the time, people don’t even know they’re being filmed. Our content makes us notable, and it’s helped push our brand forward.
Since you began True Clrs, how have you been able to cultivate a strong online presence as well as a thriving community in real life?
With our online presence, it’s really been our content that has helped put us out there. We’ve had a couple of reels or YouTube sets go viral, and that’s definitely helped our online presence. Also, just being the kind of people we are, we take our time when it comes to branding True Clrs. We get a lot of feedback from people regarding our content, and we take it into account moving forward. For our real-life community, my partner and I had already been heavily involved in the entertainment space and the African community here before we began True Clrs. So we got a lot of support when we first started, and we’ve just kept building from there.
What’s the long-term vision for True Clrs? Are there any plans to expand into other U.S. cities or even international markets?
Definitely. Last year, we had our first international event in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. My partner was up there for a holiday, and we decided to throw an event there. In the future, we do plan to expand to other countries, whether in Africa or Europe. With our connections with talents like Lancey Foux, Skyla Tyla, we’re also looking to see if we can put together festivals. That’s what’s on the horizon for True Colors.
What would you say to someone who’s never been to a True Clrs party? What should they expect, and why should they come?
Our goal is community curation through music. So what I would tell someone who’s never been to a True Clrs party is they should come with an open mind. They should trust our DJs because they might hear songs they’ve never heard before and still be able to have a good time. Also, while we don’t force people to interact, we encourage people to interact and dance while listening to good DJs.
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Best New Music: Tiwa Savage and Skepta Are Stuck In A Loop On “On The Low”
After over a decade helming some of the most romantic cuts in Afropop, Tiwa Savage’s dalliance with R&B is...
There are only a few artists in Afropop with the range, longevity, and lustre that Tiwa Savage has. Since she emerged on the Nigerian music scene in 2011, Ms. Savage has set an inimitable standard in terms of platforming the point of view of women at the pinnacle of Afropop, working to show that women are multi-dimensional and layered, capable of going through the motions of joy, angst, distress, and optimism just as much as the next person. By unapologetically leaning into the very minutiae of what makes her tick as a woman, she’s become a fan favourite and an undisputed legend of the genre.
Impressively, she’s done this while making great strides sonically. From the throbbing afropop of ‘Once Upon A Time’ to the swaggering house-inflected triumph of ‘R.E.D,’ and the dense polyrhythmic structure of ‘Celia,’ Tiwa Savage has continued to tincture her R&B-adjacent sound with influences from home and abroad. It is an accurate reflection of Tiwa Savage as a person: grounded by her Lagos heritage but shaped by global influences. For the last six months, she has been talking up her forthcoming fourth album, describing it as a full-throttle return to the R&B sound that was her stock in trade before she returned to Nigeria in 2011 to establish herself as an Afropop powerhouse.
In April, she released the emotive “You4Me,” clearly establishing the direction for her new album, ‘This One Is Personal.’ Produced by Mystro Sugar, “You4Me” put a fresh spin on Tamia’s ’90s classic “So Into You” with percussion work by Magicsticks adding a decidedly Afropop sheen to the song. Upping the ante, Tiwa Savage returned with “On The Low,” a delightful sung-rap bop featuring British-Nigerian rapper, Skepta. Like “You4Me” before it, “On The Low” is steeped in R&B tradition, finding Tiwa Savage pining after a love that feels like a taboo or forbidden pleasure. Produced by Rymez and Mystro, it is a surefire pointer that Tiwa Savage wasn’t joking when she said ‘This One Is Personal’ had overt R&B influences.
After over a decade helming some of the most romantic cuts in Afropop, Tiwa Savage’s dalliance with R&B is helping to propel her artistry to new heights. Just as the soundtrack for ‘Water & Garri,’ her debut as a filmmaker, pared down universal emotions like longing, desire, and anxiety into digestible bits on standouts like “I Need You,” “Lost Time,” “Love O,” her latest song chronicles the intangibles of a romance that’s quite not out in the open. “I know you want to link on the low / We have to stay discreet, you don’t know,” she sweetly intones on the song’s hook, clearly obfuscating the true status of the relationship but revealing just enough to let her listeners know that the dynamic of this relationship is not the usual.
It’s a premise that is established from the opening lines of the song when Skepta breezily starts with an offer to travel, presumably after being unavailable for a while. “Yeah, I’m off tour, we should celebrate / Dedicate some time for you, baby, it’s a date,” he says. It sets off a sequence where Tiwa Savage admits to being annoyed by the complexities of this relationship.
Still, there’s something about the thrills of these tenuous romances that keeps one tethered to them, and Tiwa Savage manages to capture the dilemma of the situation when she sings, “Boy, you make me stressed, you don’t know / Then you send me sweet texts on the low.” Her measured delivery and tonal inflections lend an air of believability to the story that would be inaccessible in lesser hands.
It helps that even as she revisits her R&B origins, the singer still maintains a strong connection to the sonic references that made her an Afropop juggernaut. There is seriously impressive percussion across “On The Low” with enough Yoruba ad-libs sprinkled across to remind any doubters that this is a Nigerian star paying homage to an elemental part of her evolution without losing touch with her roots. It sets the stage for This One Is Personal’ perfectly.
Listen to “On The Low” here.
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