With only thirty calendar days left till the end of the year, it’s impossible not to take stock of the leaps that Afropop has made this year. In the last eleven months, Africa to the world has become a popular rallying cry used to champion the continent’s artists, whose diverse work speaks in every mother tongue to the breadth and universality of Africa’s musical gifts. This year alone, Afropop has garnered new levels of recognition, taking the world by storm, thanks in no small part to streaming and direct-to-consumer apps such as TikTok and Thriller.
While many of its frontrunners currently enjoy mainstream success and ubiquity, this watershed moment for African music hasn’t skipped the continent’s newcomers who have spent most of the past year, edging out the competition and making a name for themselves rooted firmly in their genre-defying boundless music. Keeping up with our mission to champion those who are breaking boundaries and adding some value to the music ecosystem, our penultimate installment for the year is no different.
As usual, our selection of artists do not cater to any stringent sonic rules, emboldening the diversity of the music being made by young Africans on the continent and in the diaspora. From British-Nigerian classical act, Klein who is inverting genre norms to South Africa’s gospel-leaning SIPHO., here are the new artists you need to be paying attention to.
SIPHO.
Born and raised in Birmingham, music played a big role in SIPHO.’s life. While growing up with his family, he was introduced to a range of talented musicians as well as organised religions. But while seeking out his own understanding of God, SIPHO.’s view of religion grew darker due to the misplaced focus of modern religion that placed materialism on a pedestal. “Being in this church, you see how headstrong people could be about their beliefs,” SIPHO. told the Guardian earlier this year. “However, a part of a lot of religions is this idea that you should not be prideful or stubborn about things. I came to the conclusion that there might not be one single explanation to it. We all just know that we feel a presence, whatever it is, and we call it God.”
As he retreated from church, SIPHO. found comfort in music, making songs that blended elements of Soul and Electro-pop into a distorted, post-2010 conception of R&B. On 2016’s ‘C R U X,’the singer accescorised his music with parts rooted in Hip-Hop tradition, transforming songs like “Monument” and “The Sinner’s Interlude,” interpolating Kendrick Lamar’s “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe,” into earnest conversations on self and its intersection with the wider community. While studying songwriting at Birmingham’s BIMM Institute, SIPHO.’s music caught the attention of Dirty Hit – home to stars like Beabadoobee, Rina Sawayama and the 1975 – where he released 2017’s ‘I DON’T DESERVE HER.’
The most polished version of SIPHO.’s candid music can be found in 2021’s ‘AND GOD SAID’where the singer imbibes gospel influences on songs like “BODIES” and “WE AIN’T.” Right at the centre of the project is the powerful double track, ‘MOONLIGHT PT. 1+2’, where the singer displays his command of Rap and Soul with astute dexterity; but the real showcase comes later on “ALMOST LOST.” On the self-produced song, Sipho examines his relationship with religion and the divine over fleeting flourishes of piano keys that provide a base for his syrupy voice and display his promising future as a soul-pop star in the making.
Emo Grae
Making a splash in today’s hyper viral music industry is difficult for any artist. However, when you’ve got the backing of one of the biggest names in Afropop, namely one as ubiquitous as Naira Marley, success is pretty much foreseeable in one’s trajectory–all things considered. Officially activated last summer, the singer and songwriter Emo Grae, born Opeyemi Michael Edebie has been inching towards his breakthrough, following in the steady footsteps of labelmates Zinoleeksy and Mohbad who have enjoyed mainstream success.
Born and raised in the streets of Ojodu, Lagos State, Emo Grae nurtured his passion and love for music at a young age. Despite his lack of access to the resources he needed to kick start his career, the young singer would spend many years patiently fine-tuning his craft, awaiting his moment to step into the limelight and showcase his star power. He caught this big break in July, during the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic when he signed to Marlian Music, a pivotal moment in his career which consolidated his pop star potential.
So far, Emo Grae has released six official singles including his 2019 debut “Need You,” a romantic track that finds him pining for a lover, the Buju-assisted breakout track “0903”and recent releases such as “Mine,”“Gone”and the balmy new number “Suddenly.” The common denominator in all these tracks lies in Emo Grae’s ability to convey his deepest and most sincere emotions with bleeding sincerity, tracking how we fall in, out of, and back into love. Flaunting a unique tone of voice and positively catchy hooks, Emo Grae sings about romantic dalliances and savouring the genuine rush of a new crush, toeing a similar line to the sea of past heartthrobs, such as Korede Bello and CKay, that have come to permeate Afropop. With only a handful of singles and a debut project on the horizon, we can’t wait to hear what comes next.
Groovy Jo
About half of Groovy Jo’s Instagram feed is dedicated to the low-stakes act of freestyle covers. Beyond her appreciation for the songs, there’s no obvious method to what music she chooses to give this treatment, and that freedom allows her to meld the mellow Afropop of Omah Lay, the energetic Trap of Kahu$h, an Erykah Badu cut here, a Major League DJz cut there, throwback jams by Nicki Minaj and JAY-Z, and much more. While she often finds her way to stay on topic, these freestyle covers have proved to be conveyor belts for her entertaining lyricism and rap versatility.
Beginning her music career in 2018, the rapper’s earliest offerings were rough-hewn tracks that highlighted a talented rap artist finding her voice. By the end of 2019, she’d amassed enough goodwill on the back of her potential to be nominated for Best Female rapper at the Unkut Awards, and in 2020, she consolidated with multiple single releases, several of which made it to her debut mixtape from earlier this year. Even though it’s only her first project, ‘The Groovy Way’is a culmination of Groovy Jo’s early development as a rap artist, powered by an unflappable self-conviction and a widescreen musical approach.
“They say Groovy conceited, I agree sir/Me, myself and I is what I breathe for,” she raps on Shrap—the Kenyan new school variation of Trap—standout “Wykat,” one of the many infectious, aggrandising lyric lines that litter the entire tape. The boasts are complemented by a range of beats that include Reggaeton-infused turns and UK Drill-inspired thumpers. Wholly, ‘The Groovy Way’ is incredibly fun, defined by Groovy Jo’s ability to find a pocket and deliver the hardest, most self-reverential raps she can muster. In the near future, though, we might get more thematic range from Groovy Jo. Her latest single, “Clear Picture,” is a ruminative turn on what it means to be Black and ambitious in a world dominated by whiteness, and on a continent lorded over by inept leaders. Obviously, on her first attempt on wax to offer social commentary, Groovy Jo’s voice isn’t as sharp as when she’s issuing brags and caustic takedowns, but it shows a commitment to artistic growth, which will pay off in terms of longevity and a higher ceiling as she approaches rap stardom.
Klein
You might be wondering why a talented act such as British-Nigerian artist Klein features on our Fresh Meat roundup this month. With accomplishments that include sharing global stages with Björk, Wu Tsang, Mark Leckey and more, the genre-defying classical artist is one that’s far more advanced in her music career than many other Fresh Meat alums. However, as an artist we believe is sorely underestimated on the continent, and one that deserves all the attention for her unique brand of music, her appearance this month is well justified.
Although she grew up in London, Klein spent most of her formative years moving between her home city Lagos, Nigeria, and Los Angeles exposing her to an eclectic mix of sounds from these parts. Klein’s music veers from piano-laden solos to punk-pop guitars and bass drops, to persistent rhythmic displacement, as she seamlessly melds a range of genres from R&B to Hip-Hop to Grime, Reggae, Pop and more, to her will. Her fusion of sounds is due in large part to her unconventional upbringing with a passion for musical theater. Growing up in a Christian Nigerian home, Klein has previously shared in interviews that she wasn’t exposed to circular music until her final year of high school and such, her religious upbringing serves as the cornerstone of the music she makes. “I grew up with music that was essentially the opposite of the music I make,” she once shared with gal-dem.
In 2016, she released her debut EP ‘Langata,’ a collection of songs that put her on the map as one of London’s DIY artists at the time. Klein followed this up across the years with music and hyper-colour visuals that allowed listeners to get a sneak peek into her creative, and oftentimes confusing mind. Recently, she released a new project titled ‘Harmattan,’ a collection of 11-songs named after the West African season and primed to cause epic revolt to beginnings and ends. As one of the disruptors bringing the much-needed change and refinement to classical music genres, Klein is crafting genreless music with a finely-tuned ear while basking in the emotions and situations that make her human, often arriving at a conclusion that offers more clarity than catharsis.
Chrystel
We admit we were a little late to discovering Chrystel–but this doesn’t mean you should be late to the party too. First gaining our attention through her scene-stealing appearance on DND Section’s “Darling”back in 2020, the singer’s alluring and passionate vocals provided a much-needed combination of heartfelt singing and technical songwriting ability unlike most of her peers today.
Digging back into her discography, you’ll discover that Chrystel has been making music since she was nine years old. A first-generation bilingual African who moved to Utah when she was much younger and then later to Atlanta in 2015, Chrystel got her big break in 2019 when she earned songwriting credits on Dreamville’s compilation project ‘Revenge of the Dream III’ and Baby Rose’s debut ‘To Myself.’ However, it’s on her solo work that she seems to thrive the most.
Growing up on a musical diet of genre-bending artists such as Stromae and Rihanna, Chrystel’s music is an amalgam of a range of influences including West African pop, Congolese Rumbas and Country music. She makes beautiful love songs armed with tangible emotion that permeates off our screens. If you’re looking for a place to get into her music, we’d recommend her 3-pack single titled ‘Prey’which was released earlier this year. “Thunder” is an atmospheric number that examines Chrystel’s state of mind with a scalpel-like examination while “Hot Star” is a groovy anthemic number that finds her delivering emotionally layered lyrics and “Good Thang” is an anti-love anthem about realising one’s worth. Her deep understanding of her psyche and those of her peers results in music that is both relatable, universal and pensive, providing listeners with music that sees them at the base of their emotions.
Dai Verse
Making his debut at the start of 2020, newcomer Ifeanyi Chineme Lennon, popularly known as Dai Verse is a singer and songwriter with the right blend of lyrical vulnerability and catchy songwriting. Born and raised in Surulere, Dai Verse’s love for music and performing started at a young age when he began creating freestyling videos on his social media pages. He soon plucked up the courage to share these releases on Soundcloud before releasing his debut single “Love” in 2019. His intriguing vocals earned him our attention but he’s been able to retain this by delivering soothing and sumptuous love songs that sound more bittersweet than outright sad.
Dai Verse first gained traction in 2020 with the release of the Zugo-assisted“Colorado,” an earworm track that weaves relatable stories about young romance, as the singer likens the effect his partner has on him to the effect of a hallucinogenic strain of marijuana known as Colorado. The metaphors have only grown more poignant with each new release. The Soundz-produced “Your Body (Cocaine),” similarly finds the singer drawing parallels between his love interest and the harmful class A drug, cocaine. While he certainly doesn’t hold back from stating his admiration for this woman, Dai Verse also recognises that their relationship is ultimately built on his infatuation with her, a detail that signals their eventual end. Still, he is more concerned with tracking the jovial pursuit of love and loss which characterises many Afropop releases.
Already, “Cocaine” is garnering Dai Verse the attention he needs to enter the next phase of his budding career. Hitting a milestone record of over 20 million streams across all platforms earlier this month, the singer has kept his releases short and sparse over the past few months since he shared “Your Body (Cocaine)” but he’s already gracefully distinguishing himself from the fold with a cryptic online personality (Dai barely reveals his face which is typically clad with a balaclava or trucker hat) that has fans guessing his real identity. Instead, the music does the talking as he recently echoed, “Music is the heartbeat of the universe, and my music is driven by passion and love for the sound.” With a knack for blending catchy Afropop rhythms with soothing R&B melodies, Dai Verse is one to watch before the new year.
Titose
Fast-rising Botswana-born singer and songwriter Titose has a voice that will stop you in your tracks mid-listen. Evoking the warmth of silk sheets and armed with a keen eye for catchy melodies, Titose has been taking several assured steps towards the powerhouse that she is capable of becoming. Her string of releases has provided a protective balm for listeners in search of some aural healing with its polished production and emotion-laden writing.
Titose kicked off her passion for music at a very young age, encouraged by the unwavering support she received from her musical family. While her peers pursued professional careers, there was never a moment of doubt in Titose that she couldn’t forge her own singing career, despite the dearth of success stories in these parts. In a recent interview, the singer shared that this overwhelmingly firm sense of belief comes from years of nurturing at home. “I come from a musical family,” she shared. “I sing, my sister and my brother too. A cousin and an uncle are acclaimed musicians. So I grew with music [being] a part of my life,” she continued during the interview. Ingrained in her DNA from early, Titose would spend most of her formative years forging her own distinct sound, which rests firmly at the intersection of R&B, Afropop, Hip-Hop, Trapsoul and more.
Titose shared her first single on Soundcloud when she was 16. The mid-tempo number titled “Colour Blind” was actually a cover for an original song inspired by a Glee episode she had watched. “Please don’t mind the quality, I was like 16,” she warned listeners at the time, worried that her music would not land the desired impact. However, the song fared better than she expected. Today, “Colour Blind” has over a thousand listens and counting on Soundcloud, a feat worthy of celebration from an artist on the cusp of an explosion. Motivated by these reactions, Titose then officially began releasing music three years ago. Her first official single “Drowning”, a slow R&B fusion track was released in August 2019 and was soon followed this closely with the release of her sophomore single“Lights Off” during the peak of the COVID-19 lockdowns last year. While each new release adds a layer of intrigue to her artistry, a worthy starting point for anyone looking to dig into her discography would be her debut EP ‘Was It Something I Said?’
Over 8 soul-baring tracks, Titose ruminates on relatable topics for young women including tales of love, life, friendship, becoming and more. Each track on the project tells a different story, however, they are mostly driven by personal experiences, creating honest tracks that intimately mimic a late-night conversation with your girlfriends. Across her short but sweet discography, Titose’s personal and artistic growth is crystal clear. This year already, she’s enjoyed notable career highlights such as joining the talented spate of artists on the Platoon roster and reached her first 200,000 streams milestone. With all this and more music planned for 2022, next year may very well bring the big break she desires.
Featured image credits/NATIVE
Words by Ada Nwakor, Dennis Ade-Peter, Wale Oloworekende, Wonu Osikoya and Tami Makinde
Following the release of '888', Kemena reflects on artistic evolution, self-acceptance, and balancing...
A little over two weeks after the release of his first project of 2025, Kemena and I sat down to discuss the...
A little over two weeks after the release of his first project of 2025, Kemena and I sat down to discuss the joys of creating art, the clarity that powers ‘888,’ and the freedom he found in surrendering to his path. Even though we were speaking virtually, his presence feels steady. He is speaking with the quiet confidence that defines his music–intentional yet fluid, deeply personal yet resonant. Over the years, his artistry has evolved, shaped by a desire for creative independence and the pressures of an industry that often demands compromise.
With ‘888,’ Kemena has reclaimed his space. The project neither chases the mainstream nor rejects it; instead, it exists on its terms, rooted in self-assurance. Across seven tracks, he weaves through stories with a sharp lyrical style and layered production, a testament to an artist fully in tune with his craft. In many ways, ‘888’ feels like an arrival—not to the commercial peak the industry might expect, but to something more valuable: a place of artistic certainty.
Standout tracks like “Rainy Day” and “Bola” remind you that Kemena is a storyteller in more ways than one. On “Rainy Day” he flexes his production prowess but the summery vibe of the song does not blunt the sentimentality of his lyricism. With “Bola,” Kemena taps into his element, deploying witty puns and his brilliant approach of social commentary and “I’m not mad, just hungry” is as relatable as it is envy-worthy—to be so intertwined with a lover that they can complete your lines.
Totaling seven tracks with a runtime of 16 minutes, ‘888’ is brief but expansive, a collection of ruminative thoughts, nimble melodies, and declarations of self-assurance. There is no hesitance in Kemena’s voice when he speaks about the album, no lingering doubt about whether he made the right choices, which is the same confidence he’s communicating in “You don’t need me”. ‘888’ is the product of someone who knows who they are and, more importantly, knows that they do not have to prove it to anyone. From the powerful declaration of “I Will Never” to the easy groove of “Evelyn’s Vibration,” the album takes you on a journey. It is a return to himself, a rekindling of the mindset he had before industry expectations clouded his creative instincts. It is also reminiscent of ‘Bond,’ the project that first put him on the radar of music lovers.
“I made ‘Bond’ as a student,” he reflected during our conversation. “I wasn’t trying to be anything. I just wanted to make music. And then all of a sudden, people started calling me—people I never expected. That was how I got into songwriting for other artists. But somewhere along the line, I forgot what it felt like to make music just because I wanted to.” When I asked him how he found his way back, his answer was certain: “I stopped overthinking. I just made what felt right.”
Our conversation, lightly edited, follows.
‘888’ just dropped. How are you feeling?
I feel cool. It’s been nice. I feel like a celebrity, to be honest. I’ve done a couple of interviews already, and I feel like I’m saying the same thing over and over again. But that’s a good thing, right?
‘888’ feels different from ‘Guitars and Malaria.’ Did you approach this project differently?
‘888’ feels like me making music the way I want to again. With ‘Guitars and Malaria,’ there were a lot of industry conversations and people saying, “Work with this guy, collaborate with that person, do this to make the music more commercial.” I don’t regret making that album, but looking back, I think I was trying to fit into something instead of just being myself. I wouldn’t say I lost myself completely but, I lost the balance between the business and my authenticity. I started to feel like my music wasn’t valid unless it was getting industry attention. And for a while, I was chasing that. I was doing what I thought I should be doing, instead of what I wanted to do. I had to learn that I’m probably a project artist. I needed to stop feeling like my music wasn’t enough just because it wasn’t ‘blowing up.’
I started thinking about why people liked ‘Bond’ and, back then, I wasn’t overthinking it. I was a student just making music because I loved it. I wasn’t trying to force anything. But then, suddenly, things started happening—I started getting calls from people I never expected. That’s actually how I got into songwriting for other artists. People in the industry heard ‘Bond,’ reached out, and asked me to write for them. And before I knew it, I was deep in that world. But in the process, I started to forget what it felt like to just make music for me.
Was there a specific moment that made you realize you needed to return to that authenticity?
Yeah. At some point, I just stopped overthinking. I realized [that] I didn’t have to prove anything to anyone. I didn’t have to chase industry validation. I could just make what felt right. That’s where ‘888’ came from.
One of the things that stands out about your music is how it feels both deeply personal and universally relatable. Do your lyrics come from lived experiences?
Not exactly. I think the way my music is put together—the energy, the emotions—is influenced by what I’m going through at the time. But the actual content? Almost none of it comes from my personal life. I don’t write songs like, “Oh, this happened to me, let me put it in a song.” Instead, I take a feeling, a perspective, or something I’ve observed and build a fictional story around it. I also like humor. I like to be witty, to play with words in a way that feels natural but unexpected. That’s always been part of my music.
That makes sense. Your lyrics often have a layered meaning like they say one thing on the surface, but there’s a deeper story underneath.
Exactly. I like to phrase things in ways that make people stop and think. I want someone to hear a line and go, “I’ve thought about this before, but I never knew how to put it into words.” Or sometimes, I just want the music to feel good. It doesn’t always have to make sense, it just has to resonate.
Would you say that’s why artists like Omah Lay and Jon Bellion resonate with you? Because they do something similar with their songwriting?
Yes! Jon Bellion especially. His music is almost like sermons sometimes. He says things in a way that makes you pause and reflect. Like in “Conversations with My Wife,” when he sings, “What if all the things I’ve done were just attempts at earning love? Cause the hole inside my heart is stupid deep” That’s the kind of songwriting that gets to me. That’s such a simple way to express love. He could have said it in a hundred different ways, but he chose that one. That’s what I admire. Not just what they’re saying, but how they say it.
That approach is very present in your music, especially in ‘888.’ What’s your favorite lyrical moment on the album?
It’s a conversation. It’s not one person talking. On ‘I will never,’ there’s this part where one voice says, “The things you want for me, I want it too. The things you like for me, I like it too.” And then another voice—almost like a god-like figure—responds: “Hope you know that I would never say something I don’t mean.” That moment feels special to me. It’s basically a prayer, but I don’t like to box my lyrics in, I keep it open-ended.
With the album it feels like you weren’t just making music but you were reclaiming something. Would you say this project is a turning point for you?
Yes, I think so. It’s not my first turning point, though. ‘Bond’ was the first one. ‘Bond’ was the project that put me in rooms I never expected to be in. Before that, I was just a student making music. Then, suddenly, people were calling me—people I respected. That was how I got into songwriting for other artists. But then, in trying to navigate that world, I lost a bit of myself. ‘Guitars and Malaria’ was me trying to find that balance, and ‘888’ is me realizing that I don’t have to balance anything, I just have to be.
You’ve mentioned that you’re at peace with not chasing commercial success. Is there a part of you that wants mainstream recognition?
If it comes, great. But I’m not going to force it. I know how the game works. I’ve written for big artists, so I know the kind of songs that work in that space. And if I wanted to, I could sit down and make those songs. I could make music that fits neatly into what’s trending. But that’s not why I do this.
Does songwriting for other artists help you keep your music pure?
Yes! That’s a big part of it. Since I also write and produce for other artists, I don’t have to rely on my music to pay my bills. That takes a lot of pressure off. It means I can release what I want, when I want, without thinking, “Will this chart? Will this go viral?”
That freedom must be refreshing.
It is and it’s why I don’t overthink my releases anymore. I’m constantly creating. So when something feels ready, I put it out. I don’t have to wait for industry validation or the “perfect” timing.
What does that mean for the future? More projects?
A lot more. I’ve realized that my way forward is to just keep giving. The Lord has put me in a position where I can create without stress, so that’s what I’m going to do. No long breaks. No holding back. I’ll just keep releasing.
What is the biggest takeaway from ‘888’ for you?
That you don’t have to force anything. Whether it’s love, creativity, or success—what’s meant for you will come when you’re aligned with yourself. And if you have to fight too hard to keep something, maybe it was never really yours to begin with.
In a reversal of events at the turn of the 2000s, Afropop is profoundly reshaping the texture of music...
Over the last two and a half years, some of Afropop’s biggest stars have denounced the genre to advance...
Over the last two and a half years, some of Afropop’s biggest stars have denounced the genre to advance their personal agendas. In a wide-ranging interview from 2023 with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe just ahead of the release of his last album, ‘I Told Them…,’ Burna Boy derided Afrobeats for a perceived lack of contextual subject matter. “Afrobeats, as people call it, it’s mostly about nothing, literally nothing,” he said. “There’s no substance to it. Nobody’s talking about anything. It’s just a great time, it’s an amazing time. But at the end of the day, life is not an amazing time.”
Just a few months later, Nigerian music superstar, Wizkid, also disavowed the genre, claiming that he was not an Afrobeats act and that his then-forthcoming album, ‘Morayo,’ would not be an Afrobeats album as he considered the genre – and the classification it infers – too limiting for the type of music he made. Predictably, fans were incensed by both artists’ stances and the casual dismissal of the genre that their statements invited. What was almost lost in the whirlwind of that discourse is that for all the attempts to capture the totality of African music under the loaded ‘Afrobeats’ label, African music has never been just one thing; and, in that spirit, Afrobeats itself has always been all-welcoming of a multiplicity of influences and styles.
From its earliest iteration, Afropop has always been a potpourri of sounds that took influences from various parts of the Black diaspora and distilled them with an African sensibility. The work of early Afrobeats pioneers like Junior and Pretty is a direct descendant of the burgeoning Hip-Hop blueprint of the ‘80s; while the early 2000s popularity of Ajegunle-based rabble-rousers like Daddy Showkey, Danfo Drivers, and African China occurred tangentially to the rising profile of Reggae on a global scale. The mid-2000s to early 2010s saw the arrival of several dulcet-toned singers like Banky W and Tiwa Savage rooted in the R&B and Soul traditions, introducing a slicker dimension to Nigerian popular music. As always, homegrown stars adapted these foreign styles for their own market while continuing to work on a distinctive style that centered genuine indigenous expression and ingenuity.
Over the years, the fruit of those experiments has ripened to produce a scene that’s bustling with life and talent. As the genre has attained global attention, many sub-genres have come to the fore, showcasing the depth of African music on a global scale. If Wizkid’s sonorous melodies and unbeatable charisma made him the sun of Afrobeats in the 2010s, Olamide’s militaristic bars and Pop anthems rooted in their street sensibilities mark him out as the genre’s moon. It was on Oamide’s back that a nascent indigenous rap circuit rested. Taking the mantle of DaGrin, the Bariga-raised rapper who helped institutionalize rapping in Nigerian languages with cult classics like “Eni Duro” and “Voice Of The Street.” Along with the effort of other stars like Reminisce, Phyno, Lil Kesh, and CDQ, the indigenous rap movement gained steam and, recognizing the Nigerian market’s zest for melodies, soon morphed into Street-Pop, a distinct hybridization of local genres like Fuji, Apala, and Highlife.
Inspired by the work of their forebearers, a new crop of artists have taken Street-Pop to new heights. Zlatan and Naira Marley served as a transitory generation; together with Rexxie, they patented a more melodic take on Street-Pop while infusing a devil-may-care disposition that launched them to the top of Nigerian music. It is fitting that Olamide was the one to hand the baton to Asake, the biggest Street-Pop star of the moment. Similar to the YBNL head’s legendary album run, Asake has released three albums and one extended play in three years, each coming out to a world paying more and more attention to his work. Impressively, Asake has also established himself as a global touring star, regularly playing sold out arena concerts across the world with a music style that is rooted in Yoruba oral tradition.
Asake is not spreading the Street-Pop gospel alone, though. Ikorodu star, Seyi Vibez, has also grabbed mainstream attention for his gritty take on the genre. Initially a divisive figure, his 2023 song, “Different Pattern,” saw him reach a new level of cultural relevance in 2024 and his new extended play, ‘Children Of Africa,’ arrived in February 2025, marking a new era in his career. The yearning for a reclamation of cultural heritage that has created a Street-Pop golden era has not evaded other parts of Nigeria. Shallipopi’s drawling, sprawled-out sound mimics the playful pulse of South-South pidgin while Jeriq, hailing from Nigeria’s South-East, has emerged as one of Nigeria’s most acclaimed rappers. Outside Nigeria, there’s a yearning in Ghana to preserve the purity and history of its Highlife genre, an elemental component of Afrobeats. British-Ghanaian producer, Juls’, ‘PALMWINE DIARIES’ and ‘High Life Sessions,’ both pulsate with the beguiling riffs of the storied genre while the work of Nigerian brother-duo, The Cavemen, is reintroducing Eastern Nigerian highlife to a new generation of listeners.
A youth-led zest for exploration outside the framework of Afropop has also produced a sub-culture that rejects the tenets of mainstream conservatism. Beginning as a band of friends and collaborators who prioritized freewheeling experimentation, Alte music has emerged as one of the most important sonic evolutions of the last two decades. First championed by OG pioneers like DRB Lasgidi, LOS, and Show Dem Camp, the Alte community drew in left-field thinkers and madcap auteurs setting the stage for a new generation of stars to emerge from the depths of SoundCloud circa 2016. In the hands of stars like Odunsi (The Engine), Cruel Santino, and Lady Donli, the Alte experiment reached an unprecedented level of critical and commercial success.
Odunsi’s ‘rare.,’ throbbing with influences from ‘70s Disco and Funk, sits in the canon of great Nigerian debuts and Lady Donli’s ‘Enjoy Your Life’ artfully melded Folk music with Afrobeat and Soul across its 15 tracks. Taken along with the work of producers like GMK and Genio Bambino, these acts built a community that successfully created the blueprint for a sound that reflected the tensions and joys of younger Nigerians who saw life in a specific fashion. It even took flight beyond the borders of Nigeria with a young Amaarae cutting her teeth working alongside some of the most prominent names in the Alte community. The inventiveness and clarity of vision that the community prioritises is evident across both of the Ghanaian-American artist’s albums, ‘The Angel You Don’t Know’ and ‘Fountain Baby.’
In a reversal of events at the turn of the 2000s when Afropop was heavily influenced by outside sounds and genres, music from the continent is profoundly reshaping the texture of music outside its borders. Much like how the Windrush Generation and other immigrants from the West Indies helped to introduce Britain to Reggae, Dancehall and Soca, generations of African immigrants are making music that signals their African heritage, with Afropop as a base influence. The rise in popularity of African sounds has helped UK artists mesh the lingo and sonics from the continent into their work, creating a new genre referred to as Afroswing. Taking influences from Afrobeat, Dancehall, and Grime, Afroswing is distinctive for its use of lyrics from Africa with British rapper, J Hus, credited as one of its pioneers. Songs like J Hus’ “Did You See,” Ramz’s “Barking,” and Not3s’s “Aladdin” signal to the sound of the homeland and speak to Afrobeats’ incredible stride to global popularity as a base reference point for global Black music.
Nearly a decade out from “One Dance,” the Drake, Wizkid, and Kyla collab that pushed Afropop into a different stratosphere, the genre is in safe hands with several stars emerging across different sub-genres that speak to our past, present and future. It is perhaps more than the pioneers imagined when they were making music all those years ago, but all the roads have led here to Afropop being a global sensation that offers various forms of expression to a watching world. There are no limitations on what can be done within the genre, that sense of open-endedness and possibility was always our strength, and it’s why Afropop will stand the test of time.
Ahead of the release of ‘The Breeze Grew A Fire,’ we sat down with Mereba to discuss putting together her...
Mereba exudes a palpable warmth. When she speaks, as she did with me via Zoom one evening in late January,...
Mereba exudes a palpable warmth. When she speaks, as she did with me via Zoom one evening in late January, she’s gentle and perceptive, speaking in soft, meandering passages that paint an intimate portrait of the LA-based singer’s mind. Similarly, her stirring discography, which dates back to 2013, evokes a keen sense of serene intimacy. “I’m inspired by those little moments in life where you’re like “Ah that’s really beautiful,”” she tells me halfway into our conversation, making sense of the ethereal quality that her music possesses. “It could be an interaction between two people, it could be something in nature, it could be a memory I have. Those are the moments that drive me to go get my guitar and write a song.”
The 34-year-old singer, songwriter, producer and instrumentalist has been writing songs for as long as she can remember. Growing up between Alabama, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, as well as an unintended one-year stint in her father’s native Ethiopia, ensured that Mereba picked up a wealth of influences that would go on to inform her richly diverse and understated sound. After years living across multiple cities, she finally settled in Atlanta where she became a staple in the city’s indie music circuit. “There, I met my peers who I made music with and are still my peers to this day. People like J.I.D, 6LACK and my crew. We all were just coming up during a really rich time of music there so that was a big part of my journey,” she reminisces fondly.
In the years that Mereba lived in Atlanta, she released 2013’s ‘Room For Living’ and ‘Kotton House Vol 1,’ two extended plays that neatly outline the foundations of the balmy and eclectic style that she would perfect years later, leaving ample room for her soothing vocals and evocative songwriting to shine. She also joined Spillage Village, a musical collective that comprises others like Earth Gang and JID, contributing to various releases like ‘Bears Like This Too Much’ and the critically acclaimed ‘Spilligion.’ Following her time in Atlanta, Mereba moved again, this time to Los Angeles, where she signed her first major record deal and released her debut album ‘The Jungle Is The Only Way Out.’
Since the release of ‘The Jungle Is The Only Way Out’ in 2019, Mereba has continued to hone her unique sound, continually experimenting and ironing out the rich textures of her temperate style on subsequent releases like 2021’s ‘AZEB.’ Ahead of the release of ‘The Breeze Grew A Fire,’ her first project in four years, we sat down with the LA-based singer to discuss the story behind her well-received debut, her various influences as well as the process of putting together her highly-anticipated new album.
This is your first album in about five years. How are you feeling?
I feel really excited. I’m definitely excited to give my music back to the world again. I’m also ready for connection, performing the songs, and sharing these new stories.
You’ve been making music for a long time now, but do you still feel any nerves before a major release like this?
I don’t know if it’s nerves. I think I feel anxious about the fact that the music is being released and people are going to hear it. But I guess I’m anxious in a good way for them to hear the music, to get to experience what I’ve been toiling away at and what I’ve been excited about for a while. It’s more like a good anxiety.
I think the first time I came across your music was in 2019. I heard “Heatwave” with 6LACK off of your debut album ‘The Jungle Is The Only Way Out.’ I believe that album was sort of a breakthrough moment for you. Can you tell me a bit about how it came together?
That album coming together was quite a journey. I started ‘The Jungle Is The Only Way Out’ years before it came out. I had left Atlanta and moved to L.A at this point. I didn’t know so many people when I just moved and so I was kind of starting over in certain ways. I was writing a lot of songs that felt really powerful to me but they were sonically different from what I used to make before. I was also learning how to produce, I was in Ableton learning how to make beats and just produce my music. Because I didn’t know so many people, I couldn’t outsource some of these things so I was just experimenting on my sound on my own.
Over the years, the community that I was a part of in Atlanta, everyone started finding their way in music but we still stayed closely in touch even though I had moved to L.A. I featured on a song with J.I.D and that kind of got me back into making music properly again because at that point, I was working random jobs, my car got taken and I had to start taking the bus to work. I was living a completely different life. It was my friends that put me back in the zone. They would invite me to sessions and just remind me that I wanted to do this music thing. Then I started putting together songs I had made over the years like “Sandstorm” and “Heatwave” with 6LACK which we made way before the album came out and even my solo songs like “Black Truck.” Most of the songs on that album had come from that period where I was struggling but knowing I was meant for music somehow.
How many years did it take to put your first album together?
I’ll say about four to five years. They say you write your first album for your whole life. “Highway 10” is the first song I made on that album. I made that song in 2014 and the album came out in 2019. In the years before the album came out I was signed to a bad record deal and I couldn’t get out, I couldn’t release music. All I could do was just create and that ended up forcing me to just hone in on my sound.
After your debut, you released an EP titled ‘AZEB’ two years later. Listening to that project, it felt lighter than your debut which was a lot darker and more melancholic. Do you remember what headspace you were in when you made this EP?
I was definitely feeling a lot lighter when I was making ‘AZEB.’ I felt like I had shed a lot of the weight that I carried during all those years of uncertainty. I was in a much more hopeful place when I was making one-half of the project. The other half was made during the early days of the pandemic so it was like a mix. Songs like “Rider,”“Beretta,” and “My Moon,” those songs represent beautiful, light type feelings to me while some of the other songs like “News Come,” and “Another Kin” are more intense lyrically and sonically.
Let’s talk about ‘The Breeze Grew A Fire.’ How did you land on that as the title for your second album?
The making of that title was different from how I titled my other projects. It didn’t come to me right away and I decided to not force it, I believed it was going to come eventually. So the making of this album has always felt very gentle. In contrast to what I had been through for so many years, I felt like I was in a much softer space creating this album and this feeling of a breeze just kept coming to me. It was also kind of like springtime going into the summer and the idea of a breeze became so prominent that I was going to title the album breeze. But as I continued on the journey of finishing it, it felt like the album was saying something a bit more. I realized that the album wasn’t just about all these gentle feelings and relationships I’m singing about like friendship, family, and my son but these things also inspire me to live with purpose, conviction and to have a spark in me. Things that make people “strong” are inspired by these little moments and experiences that we have and less by the force of trying to make a fire forcefully.
You co-produced “Phone Me” and “Counterfeit,” the lead singles for this project and you’ve also produced a lot of your older stuff as well. I’m curious to know how taking the reins on the production side affects your music-making process in general.
I got really into producing during that period when I felt lost in life. I got into Ableton, playing the guitar on my computer, sampling my voice and just experimenting. So songs that I produced from ‘The Jungle Is The Only Way Out’ like “Sandstorm” and “Kinfolk,” were me experimenting a lot with learning how to produce. With this new album, the first two singles were heavily produced by my co-producer Sam Hoffman. When he sends me things that I like, I’ll add things to them and it could be the opposite as well where I produce a song and I’ll have him or another friend add something to it. That process is personal because I could completely be in my world and get the feelings that I want to convey out through production as well as writing the song out lyrically. When I unlocked that part of myself, it felt like my whole life that’s what I’ve been wanting to do. To be able to make the music arrangements and compositions come to life.
A lot of the time I would start with a simple beat or drum loop and I’ll build chords over it with my guitar. I experiment with writing when it’s bare and then fill in the production as I write the song. They’re a very interwoven process.
I’ve read that you’re heavily influenced by legendary acts like Stevie Wonder and Lauryn Hill. Are there other acts that inspire you when it comes to the production side of music specifically?
That’s a great question. In certain ways, I’ll say it’s the same people that I look up to because most of them produce. Interestingly enough, what I love most about these musicians is that they are very involved in the sonics of the music they’re making. So the people that you mentioned, like Stevie Wonder who mentored me and encouraged me to continue on the path of producing my music versus being a singer who works with a producer. I feel like it’s important to the language of an artist to at least know how to contribute in some way to the sonics of their music.
I’ll say Quincy Jones is the blueprint for me just because of the span of work that he did. He’s the concept of producer I’d like to work towards in my life.
Do you have a favourite memory from creating ‘The Breeze Grew A Fire’?
There are a few. There was a time when I made this song on the album called “Hawk.” The song is dedicated to a really dear friend of mine who passed away unexpectedly in 2021. It was not easy to write and when I first wrote the song, it was sad, slow and reflective of the whole situation. I listened to it after I made it and I started thinking about my friend and the things that he liked. He was a very expressive and hilarious person who loved dancing and dance music. At that moment a light bulb went up and I felt like the song needed to be more of a dance song because I wanted to make something that he would love and not something he would think is corny. It was a really beautiful moment musically and personally.
If there’s one thing you would like your fans or listeners to take away from ‘A Breeze Grew A Fire,’ what would it be?
I hope it brings a sense of comfort and warmth. I also hope it tells a clear story of what matters to me. I just really hope it makes people feel better, that’s really it. I think it’s one of those albums where it’s a personal album for me and I think it’s meant for personal moments too. I hope it lives in people’s lives in comforting ways.