Maleek Berry Embraces Rebirth On ‘If Only Love Was Enough’
Few weeks after the release of ‘If Only Love Was Enough,’ we caught up with Maleek Berry to discuss the journey to his debut album,
Most producers can put in their ten thousand hours on Fruity Loops and still never come close to creating the magic that Maleek Berry did on his debut “The Matter.” This single was released in 2013, a time when Wizkid was on an impeccable run, but even he couldn’t outdo Maleek Berry on “The Matter.” Regarded by many as a modern classic, the song’s enduring quality is credited as much to the 37-year-old producer’s pounding drums and fuzzy synth notes as it is to Wizkid’s memorable performance. “The Matter” kick-started a fruitful partnership between the two, making Maleek Berry one of the most sought-after producers around. In the years that followed, the producer began to step to the forefront of his music, releasing a few singles like “They Know (Wan Mo)” and “For My People” with British rapper Sneakbo, but it wasn’t until a few years later that he truly came into his own.
In late 2016, Maleek Berry released his debut EP ‘Last Daze Of Summer.’ While his hit single “Kontrol” from earlier that year had given listeners a taste of his bouncy and warm strain of Afropop, it was on that debut project that he truly expounded on this unique sound that evoked the twilight bliss of summertime. Cuts like “Eko Miami” and “Flexin” fully capture this distinct and nostalgic sound that 2016 continues to be remembered for. Two years later, he released ‘First Daze Of Winter,’ another 6-track EP that served as a sort of antithesis to his debut. His sophomore EP introduced a moodier side to his sound, but the music never lost the kinetic bounce that made his songs so catchy and fun.
After years of continuous experimentation, fusing different elements from Afropop, R&B, to Grime and Garage, Maleek Berry has just released his long-awaited debut album ‘If Only Love Was Enough.’ The album comes four years after his last project, ‘Isolation Room,’ marking a significant moment in Maleek Berry’s decade-long career as well as a welcome comeback after an extended period of inactivity. A couple of weeks after the release of ‘If Only Love Was Enough,’ we caught up with the producer-turned-artist, discussing the journey it took to finally deliver his debut album, his South London background, his love for fashion and much more.
It’s been a few days since the release of your debut album, ‘If Only Love Was Enough.’ How do you feel?
It feels amazing to finally give the world the music. It’s a relief, and I also feel that at the time where we are right now in Afrobeats, there needs to be a shift in sound and sonics. So it feels good, and the right time to release.
You’ve released three EPs before this new album. Why did you think it was time to finally release your debut album?
Delay, to best put it. I’ve always wanted to drop an album, but I have a lot more respect for albums than the average person. So I didn’t want to put out a full LP till I was ready, and I also wanted to be in a certain business position where I would be able to put out the album the way I want to put it out. I spent a lot of time restructuring and getting my business in order. One of the most important things I had to do was create my imprint, Berry’s Room (Maleek Berry’s record label). I felt like this was finally the time for it. As they say, delay is not denial.
I’d like to know how your background as a Nigerian growing up in South London shaped your sound early on, and how you think that sound has evolved over the years.
During the time when I was raised in South London, it wasn’t necessarily cool to be African. But I was raised in a family where we were encouraged to be proud of our roots. I come from a family that has a strong history as well. So I never lost my identity, and I think that gave me some form of strength in the way I approached my music early on. It also added to my strengths in understanding how to make global music. From my maternal side, we’re from Ijebu, and from my paternal side, we’re from Abeokuta. Having that deep, strong connection to our heritage, as well as meeting so many different people, gave me a wider perspective and view on music.
My sound has evolved from what it used to be. I’ll say it’s a lot more mature now. I’m not trying to be someone that I’m not. I’ve always tried to understand my strengths and weaknesses, and now, as I evolve, I just try to own my strengths even more and blend all the music I grew up listening to, whether it’s Afrobeats, R&B, Fuji, Juju or Grime and Garage.
What was the inspiration behind the title for your new album, ‘If Only Love Was Enough’?
I know the title is a mouthful, but I feel like it speaks for itself. I’ve always wanted to make an album with a provocative title. I feel like everyone can relate to that. Just to give an example, I was on a podcast the other day, and there was an argument about whether love was enough, so I posed a question to one of the ladies on there: If love was enough, would you allow your partner propose to you with a Haribo ring? I asked that question just to show that there are deeper things to consider. There are things like emotional intelligence, the pressure to be successful pretty early as a man and many other things. So it’s like a mix of ambition and trying to find love.
You spent a lot of time in Nigeria making this album. Was that a deliberate decision, or was it simply circumstantial?
I was shuffling back and forth between the UK and Nigeria while I was making this album. A lot of the cultural sounding songs like “Biggie Man,” “Lagos Party,” I had to come back home to finish those songs. Something was missing in those songs, and I felt like for me to give my all, I needed to be back home. The weather, being around live local music, hearing the percussion and grooves again, just helped me get back into that energy, and I’m very happy I did that. A lot of those songs, I didn’t like how they were sounding before, but now they sound amazing to me.
You collaborated with a few different artists on this album, but I’d like to speak about Wizkid. How do you think your musical relationship with him has evolved over the years?
We’ve both grown so much musically. He’s a global superstar now, but our musical relationship hasn’t changed much. We’ve both had a love for music that’s true. Wiz has always been a big fan of R&B and songwriting and stuff like that. So whenever we get together and make music, it feels like two kids at the playground just playing. It feels natural, organic. Before I finished this album, when I was in Lagos, I played him some of the updated songs. He’s heard different versions of these songs because he’s been one of the people who’s been pushing me to drop this album.
I’m also curious about your relationship with Legendury Beatz, who are the only other credited producer on the album aside from you.
Legendury Beatz are some of the only producers that I can work with, and I know that I can go to sleep knowing I’ll wake up to a hit. I know I’m going to get quality, premium-standard production from those guys. It’s interesting because “Situation,” with Wizkid, is like a full-circle moment. Back in the day, we came with Wiz, and Starboy, that whole production camp, we were almost untouchable. Coming up with them and having this song with Wizkid now, where they produced the song, it’s like the best feeling for me ever.
Do you have a favourite song on the album?
A personal favourite will probably be “The Pain,” the last song on the album.
Outside of music, I learnt you’re into fashion and tech. Can you tell me a bit more about those interests?
I’m a super tech enthusiast. It’s no secret that I’m a computer science graduate. I’m a little bit of a nerd at heart. At Berry’s Room, we’re trying to infuse tech into what we’re doing musically. That’s something I’m going to be talking about more in the future. I’m super interested in what’s going on in the tech space in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. At the moment, we’ve also secured a partnership with a distribution company to build a pipeline that’ll help distribute for the next generation of African talent. We’re doing a lot of exciting things.
I’ve always been a fashion guy as well, even though you might not see me at Fashion Week. Back in the day, I used to go to visit The Sartorialist website a lot, and I’ll just learn a lot about the fashion industry and culture.
If your listeners and fans could take away one emotion from your album, what would you want it to be?
Joy.
Listen to ‘If Only Love Was Enough’ here.
Shekhinah Returns With Surprise Album, ‘Less Trouble’
The South African R&B star is at her most assertive on her first album in four years.
South African R&B and Pop singer Shekhinah has released a new surprise album titled ‘Less Trouble.’ The Durban star, who had been quiet for most of the year, took to social media shortly before midnight to share the new album’s cover, synopsis, and tracklist, simply stating, ‘If you’re seeing this my album LESS TROUBLE is out now at Midnight,’ in an Instagram caption.
The soulful singer first began teasing ‘Less Trouble,’ her first album in over four years, about a year ago when she released its lead single “Risk,” a bouncy Afropop-inspired collab with Ghanaian star MOLIY. A few months after the release of “Risk,” she put out “Steady,” a dreamy pop number that suggested that something bigger was on the horizon. But then it was largely radio silence about a project until its surprise arrival at midnight.
If 2021’s ‘Trouble In Paradise’ represented a coming-of-age for Shekhinah, subsisting some of the dreamy, youthful exuberance of her debut album for more measured musings on themes like heartbreak and grief, ‘Less Trouble’ finds her at her most assertive, writing and singing with the acuity of someone who is grown, decisive and discerning. The delicate opener “Break Up Season” sets the tone for the rest of the album as she shows little tolerance for shady behaviour and toxic patterns.
Other standout cuts on the album like “Bare Minimum,” a sombre collab with fellow South African award-winning singer lordkez, the ethereal, in-your-face interlude “New Casanova,” and the percussive “What Are We,” where Shekhinah contemplates the nature of a relationship but ultimately demands all or nothing, all drive home a part of the album’s synopsis, which reads ‘A BOOK ON MORE HEARTBREAK BUT LESS HEARTACHE.’
Shekhinah invites a couple of new collaborators on ‘Less Trouble,’ featuring the aforementioned MOLIY and lordkez as well as multi-instrumentalist Mars Baby and Young Stunna across the album’s 11 tracks. Mpilo Shabangu handled the majority of the album’s production, while other producers like Michael Morare, her longtime collaborator, Mthintheki Mzizi, and Vuyo also contributed to the album.
Listen to ‘Less Trouble’ here.
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The NATIVE’s First Impressions Of Amaarae’s ‘Black Star’
‘Black Star’ marks another evolutionary arc for Amaarae, and The NATIVE team offer our thoughts after a...
Change has always been a constant theme in any discussion about the career of Ghanaian-American star, Amaarae. Since she emerged as a singular voice in the late 2010s, she has evolved from a sirenic Afropop-adjacent singer into a Punk-Pop firestarter with minimal fuss. ‘Fountain Baby,’ her 2023 sophomore album, was a sweeping departure from the lilting melodies and shapeshifing cadences of the hypnotic ‘The Angel You Don’t Know,’ emphasizing her commitment to charting new courses with her music.
In the lead-up to her new album, ‘Black Star,’ she has wholly embraced a Pop aesthetic and sheen that was reflected on the album’s promotional singles, “S.M.O.” and “Girlie-Pop!.” Now that the album has arrived, the singer has advised listeners not to go in expecting a continuation of the soundscape on ‘Fountain Baby.’ As keen followers of Amaarae’s career from its start, we are sure that ‘Black Star’ marks another evolutionary arc for her, and we offer our thoughts after a few listens.
WHAT WERE YOUR EXPECTATIONS OF AMAARAE GOING INTO THIS ALBUM?
Kemnachi: I had zero doubts that she would impress me again. Amaarae always comes correct. She is audacious with her choices, taking creative risks most artists would not dare to imagine, and somehow rendering them seamless, deliberate, and effortless. Her music has a way of enveloping me: it’s fluid, slightly dangerous, and yet irresistibly sensual. Every project feels like an immersive world she has curated down to the finest detail. With ‘Black Star,’ I knew it was not going to be a mere collection of songs but another meticulously constructed realm.
Bamise: I expected something fun, genre-bending, and sonically diverse in the fashion that Amaarae’s music typically is. I may have taken the album title a bit too literally, though, because listening made me realise I had an eye out for some Pan-African statements or something to spark discourse on African identity, but I didn’t quite catch any of that.
Boluwatife: Amaarae has largely delivered throughout her career, so I knew she was going to come correct again. She’s one of those forward-thinking artists who take the kind of risks most others wouldn’t, but she always manages to make it work. She’s proven to be a musical omnivore who constantly meshes her wide-ranging influences into something new, fluid, icy, and more often than not, sensual. I knew ‘Black Star’ wasn’t going to be any different.
WHAT SONGS STOOD OUT ON THE FIRST LISTEN?
Wale: I liked “Girlie-Pop!.” I feel like it captures Amaarae’s vision of pushing Afropop into the future. She’s also really grown comfortable with music and lyricism and will not dumb down her message for anybody. The instrumental for “Girlie-Pop!” is also a wonder; it’s so dense, but there are pockets for Amaarae to be emotive about her feelings. Top song!
Daniel Akins: I need to hear “B2B” at the next rave I’m at. Amaarae is in her Dance era, and I’m here for it. Kiss Me Thru The Phone pt 2” with PinkPantheress is the collaboration I knew I needed, and I’m glad they finally linked up. It’s a clear standout on the project; their ethereal style complements each other.
Shina: “B2B” was the one that did it for me. That is my favourite track on the project. The number of times I ran it back was unhealthy for a first listen. It was also really fun to catch the Don Toliver “Best You Had” sample. I need to hear this outside!
HOW WELL YOU THINK THE GUEST APPEARANCES ENHANCED THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE?
Israel: The guest features on Black Star aren’t mere flexes. They’re strategic, theatrical, and sometimes emotionally resonant. They enhance, yes, but they do so on Amaarae’s terms. A standout for me was PinkPantheress on “Kiss Me Thru The Phone pt 2.” The tradeoff is that a few songs feel like dazzling cameos rather than an integrated conversation, yet overall they enhance the album’s drama, texture, and bravado with precision.
Daniel Banjoko: Everyone showed up and delivered, no weak links here. Instead of just guest spots, they felt like vital pieces of a bigger puzzle. Charlie Wilson on “Dream Scenario” nailed his part especially, making the track sound exactly like its name promises.
Moore: The guest appearances on ‘Black Star’ feel very intentional; each one enhances the album’s world without overshadowing Amaarae’s vision. PinkPantheress’s signature airy delivery meshes with Amaarae’s experimental pop sound. Naomi Campbell’s commanding voice on “ms60” is an unexpected but powerful addition, adding drama to the track. Each feature feels carefully chosen.
WHAT SONG IS THE BIGGEST SKIP?
Bamise: Not to be a party pooper, but I don’t get the PinkPantheress collab, “Kiss Me Thru The Phone pt 2.” It feels like a PinkPantheress song with less pop in it, and just borrows the title of the iconic Soulja Boy song but has no other similarities. It’s between that and “ms60.” For me, the chorus of that sounds like something I’ve heard from Amaarae before, and I doubt its absence would have diminished the album.
Shina: I feel like biggest skip is a strong word for a solid project, but if I have to pick a song to skip, it’ll be “ms60.” I think it’s easily forgettable.
Wale: It’s hard to single out a song that stuck out to me, but hearing Naomi Campbell on “ms60” threw me off. It’s just too contrived to bear for me.
WHAT SONG HAS THE BIGGEST HIT POTENTIAL?
Boluwatife: My gut answer would probably be “She Is My Drug,” just because of how she beautifully reworks the melodies from Cher’s “Believe.” DJ remixes of this song could go crazy. But if I were to think a bit more logically, TikTok would probably lap up “Kiss Me Thru The Phone pt 2.”
Daniel Banjoko: “Kiss Me Thru the Phone pt 2” goes crazy. Amaarae and PinkPantheress are the perfect match. This collab feels like it was destined to happen, and it delivers in full. Honestly, I can’t believe it took this long, and now I just need more tracks from these two, ASAP.
Moore: “Kiss Me Thru The Phone pt 2” has the biggest hit potential on the album. The song has a nostalgic, sad party girl vibe that makes it appealing, and it’s also catchy and well-produced. PinkPantheress consistently performs well on platforms like TikTok, and her fanbase overlaps in a really interesting way with Amaarae’s. The collaboration feels organic and exciting, and will likely create a lot of buzz.
OVERALL FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Wale: There is a very visceral quality to how Amaarae expresses desire that I don’t hear very often in a lot of music. It’s abstracted and warped in futuristic textures, but it’s very profoundly human, and it’s always great to hear that even as she advances the sonics of her delivery. I do, however, have an issue with the thematic scope of ‘Black Star.’ I thought there would be overt references to her experiences of navigating her Ghanaian identity, but those references are limited to samples and interpolations. It’s still an incisive listen and a triumph for finding ways to advance music from Africa.
Bamise: It’s Amaarae; she can never go wrong. But for me, this is the album that excites me the least from her catalogue. Other than how bass-heavy some songs on the album are, like “S.M.O.” and “She Is My Drug” among others, it feels similar to other projects I’ve heard from her in a way that’s not exactly refreshing or mind-bending. I may have gotten spoiled by how diverse and eclectic Amaarae’s music tends to be, but I wanted more from her. I expected more gangster, Hip-Hop Amaarae. Thematically, I didn’t get anything that gives the Black Star of Ghana, or black stars are ruling the world. Will I listen again and enjoy every bit of it still, though? Yes, I will.
Shina: So first off, this is a solid body of work. I love the fact that Amaarae stuck with the Dance, Electro-Pop route she was going with throughout the album. The features also played their part, adding their unique touches to each record. I would say, though, a feature I would’ve loved to hear on this project is 070Shake. I think she would have been perfect on “100DRUM,” but we don’t always get what we want, do we? Thematically, I think Amaarae could’ve leaned heavily on her Ghanaian heritage, seeing as the title and cover of the album are a nod to that. Maybe Amaarae just wants us to dance, and that’s what I’m just gonna do, and you should too.
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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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