NATIVE Exclusive: The Evolution of Dankie Sounds
a London-based collective playing Amapiano and everything Dance music
“If you come to a Dankie Sounds, you can’t sit still,” Babatunde Adeniyi says, barely five minutes into our call. It’s a cool Thursday afternoon and the young entrepreneur is together with his three other “brothers”–Sama Olanrewaju, James Anyiam and Reuben Brown–who are currently living in London, United Kingdom. A year ago, all four of them quit their corporate jobs to start an entertainment brand, the one currently known as Dankie Sounds.
“In these first twelve months,” recounts Tunde, “we’ve been fortunate to grow from doing our first event of maybe, like a hundred and thirty people, to now selling out a thousand tickets in less than 24 hours and that’s a real testament to the glory of God as well as the customers, and those that continue to support what we’re doing.”
The word ‘Dankie’ has connotations with their London and African characters. It’s most commonly known as ‘thank you’ in the Afrikaans language of South Africa, but ‘Danke’ has also been known to describe pengness in London circles, a solemn compliment for looking fresh. All four friends have African connections: Tunde is obviously Nigerian, Sama is from Sierra Leone, Lebanese, and Nigeria, Reuben is from Ghana and Grenada, and James is from Nigeria.
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Dankie Sounds is a community of people gathering to play really electrifying Dance music. Their setlist is typically African influenced, and they’ve spent the past few years building a strong reputation in the UK where young communities are catching the Afro-inspired wave. In their early days, the soothing Jazz of Amapiano was their forte; nowadays, they’ve expanded onto broader forms of the sound.
“We were fairly new to Amapiano at the time when we wanted to launch but we knew it was a sound that we liked, and really enjoyed, compared to some of the other sounds that were out then,” explains Tunde. “We were seeing the trend of how this music was growing. It’s a genre that promotes the movement of dance. Everyone on this call loves to dance. At the end of the day if it’s music that makes us dance we like it, and want to bring it to the ears of people that we think ‘when you hear this sound, you’re gonna like it too’.”
“I think what sets Dankie apart,” continues Sama, “it’s not just an event, it’s an experience. [Through the times] we still kept the experience. When customers come to Dankie Sounds they might just have maybe their handbag but when they leave, they left with a tambourine, they left with a glowstick, they left with light-up glasses, rings, whistles, horns—we give an experience to the customer that is quite unique.”
The district of Camden Town in northwest London was the roots of their beginning. They started a three month residency in a scenic rooftop bar and in November 2021, did something groundbreaking by featuring an all-female lineup of DJs. “This was something at the time that we felt needed to be done to showcase the amount of rising female talents there is,” says Tunde. “Not only in the industry, but in the space of Amapiano. That event was our biggest attendance that we’d seen.”
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From then on, Dankie Sounds set their sights on Africa. They decided on Ghana, collaborating with rap group NSG to play at their venue. It was a considerate risk because most of them had never been to the country (except Reuben, who’s half-Ghanaian) talk more about hosting their own event. The event was packed, they say, bigging up Ghana for their chokehold on the local entertainment scene. “That kinda set our tone on alright, we wanna take Dankie, not only to London, we wanna take it to the world. It’s a brand that we really wanna take around the world.”
You’ll see colourful posters of their many events on social media. The Dankie Sounds community also have traditional series they play alongside their regular shows worldwide. An event they’ve regularly held this year is Ladies Love Dankie, which was largely inspired by the all-female event last November. “Until we’ve given every female DJ on our list a platform to do that event, we’ll continue to do them,” says Tunde. “Just to chime in,” Sama adds, “even in the London Amapiano scene as well, a lot of it is pushed by actual female DJs as well. So as we’re celebrating women it also aligns with what’s going on in London right now.”
They’re also intent on utilising the Detty December to grow their presence in the motherland. Having set the template with their Ghana show, they’re looking to host events in Nigeria, South Africa and, wherever the sound takes them across the continent. “We want to be students of the culture, understand the scene over there and do what we continue to do, which is learn in a respectful way.”
Part of paying that respect means recognising the homegrown players in every scene, and Danke have continued to collaborate with talented DJs and event organisers in these places. Looking over the wider music ecosystem, the founders of Dankie have had first-account witness on the ubiquity of Amapiano and other genres orbiting Afropop. “You’re now seeing non-Africans DJs that are pushing the sound of Amapiano, not because it’s a trend or hit, but because they truly are lovers of the music,” says James. “They approach the genre with respect, with humility and have a passion for the sound.”
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As you’ll expect from this varied mix, the guys listened to very different music–including church music–during their formative years. Being in the UK meant Grime and Rap formed a prominent slice in that diet. It was later into their young adulthood did African music begin to get on the radar, and who would have thought? Right now they’re active players in the game. Their contributions to the running of Dankie Sounds is similarly varied and cognizant of their individual skills. Tunde handles strategy, Reuben is the creative director, Sama executes and manages the talents they work with, while James is largely responsible for the brand’s youthful representation online, across socials.
Dankie are already deep into the future, making great projections–not just for Amapiano, but Dance music in general–about how the scene would consistently continue to grow. Their merchandise is very limited, but they’re inclined to do pop-up shows at venues they play in. “We just see an exciting, bright future; scary, a lot of ups and downs, but overall, like, a blessing,” says Sama.
“That’s what’s so unique about what we’re trying to do and our mission,” affirms Tunde. “Yes, our fundamentals are, we’re an event brand, an entertainment brand. That’s where we started but what we’ve built the brand to now is one that you can actually book Dankie Sounds to be at your event, you can book Dankie Sounds to be on the lineup of your festival, you can book Dankie Sounds to open up for a headline concert, you can book Dankie Sounds for your corporate Christmas party. It’s now become an act in its own right. Actually, the experience you get with Dankie isn’t one that can be replicated. We’re building on that by playing around in the studio right now and making music so we cannot only provide the platform for the music to be shared, but also influence the creation of the music in the industry itself. That’s the beautiful place Dankie Sounds is at now”.
Featured image credits/Courtesy of Dankie Sounds
Skyla Tylaa Is Taking Off
For the next phase of her career, Skyla Tylaa is actively working on creating music while entertaining with...
As a child growing up in South-east London, Skyla Tylaa had a natural affinity for the arts. Whether it was music or stage performances, she found herself exploring these interests intently from a young age. That devotion manifested in multiple ways – her attending the BRIT School and Sylvia Young Theatre School where she performed in a West End production of Annie or her fiddling with several musical instruments while she figured out her creative identity. Through it all, music was a constant, the backdrop to her home life where she grew up between Jamaican and English influences. She remembers being exposed to Drum & Bass, Funky House, and Garage. “I think that’s had a big influence in my DJ career,” Skyla Tylaa admits.
Progressing into adulthood, those musical influences persisted even if she didn’t always engage with them professionally. Things changed when she started DJ-ing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Possessed by a visceral desire to experience the euphoria of interacting with people through music, she burrowed deeper into DJ-ing. “I couldn’t be in my room and just have people commenting,” she recalls. “I need to see people’s energy, and feel everything in the moment.”
Since then, she’s enjoyed a meteoric rise that has taken the world by storm. Mentored by DJ Tunez, she performed multiple times on the American leg of Wizkid’s ‘Made In Lagos’ tour and came out of the experience raring to go. “Opening for Wizkid on his tour was a transformative experience,” she says. “It taught me a lot about resilience and adaptability in my craft. I was still pretty much a start-up DJ when I went on tour and it made me really realise how important it is to connect with the audience. Touring from city to city with different crowds, it helped me to learn how to read the room and keep the vibe going.”
Almost as importantly for Skyla Tylaa, Rihanna was present at one of those tour stops and was impressed by her set, stopping by after the show to congratulate her. “After that I felt like I could conquer the world,” she says. Since then, she’s been selected by Rihanna to DJ at a Fenty X Puma Creeper launch event in London in 2024, marking a full-circle moment between the women.
Like Rihanna, Skyla Tylaa is inspired by music from the breadth of the Black diaspora, playing sets that take as much influence from the fervid restlessness of Hip-hop as they do the wavy melodies of House music, and the dancefloor summons of Afrobeats “I love partying! I genuinely love it,” she explains. “When preparing my sets, I’m always thinking of people having a good time. Whatever I can do to connect with them, I’m down to do it!”
In the last few years, few genres have shown the propensity for inspiring a great time with the regularity that Amapiano does. From Johannesburg to Windhoek, to Lagos, London, and New York, the log drums and mutating basslines of the genre have proven integral to a new Pop framework that is as amorphous as it is exhilarating. Since first hearing the genre while on a visit to Ghana years ago, Skyla Tylaa has been hooked. “It was the log drum, the sound, just the vibes that came with it,” she says. “I was like ‘wait – what is this?’ When you hear Amapiano, it’s one of those sounds that no matter what, you’re gonna dance.”
Diving into the genre, she’s picked up valuable lessons from important figures like Maphorisa, Uncle Vinny and Major League DJz while putting her youthful spin on the sound. It’s all coming together for the DJ who’s working with her sister, music heavyweight Jada Pollock, to figure it all out one step at a time. “When I found my passion for DJing, Jada was right there, urging me to dive into the ‘Made in Lagos’ tour,” she says. “I wasn’t sure I was ready, but she believed in me and knew I could handle it. My love for music has been with me since school; it just took some time for me to realize that this was the direction I wanted to pursue. Once I found my calling, her support became endless–she attended my early gigs and pushed me to perform at major festivals like Afro Nation.”
She’s since performed at leading festivals such as Wireless, Piano People and Australia’s Promiseland as well as selling out headline shows across London, London, and Ghana. For the next phase of her career, she’s actively working on creating music. This month, she released her debut single, “Bombshell,” a searing Amapiano banger that has all the hallmarks of a potential summer hit. “Bombshell” features Tanzanian Bongo Flava act, Diamond Platnumz, as well as South African acts, Tyler ICU, Khalil Harrison, and DJ Exit. It’s a blockbuster showing that sits well in the tradition of the genre. “The idea was initially played to me by Tyler ICU in March 2024,” Skyla Tylaa says. “He and I had a session while he was in London, and this was one of the ideas we worked on. Khalil was already on it, at the time, and I loved what I heard!”
After seeding it into her live sets last summer and starting live teasers with a dance challenge, Diamond Platnumz reached out about potentially working on the song and it was arranged. “I started teasing the new version of the song in my sets and then a whole new viral dance challenge came about online in December,” she says. “From that point, I knew the track had all the elements (features included) to be a big release in 2025 !” For DJ Exit, a chance to be part of a transformative song like “Bombshell” was an opportunity he didn’t want to pass up. “What drew me to this single was the chance to be part of something boundary-breaking,” he explains. “Gqom and Amapiano are both powerful in their own right, but fusing the raw, percussive energy of Gqom with the soulful, hypnotic swing of Amapiano creates a sound the world hasn’t fully experienced yet. This isn’t just another collaboration–it’s a cultural statement.”
The Xhosa word, ‘basazomangala,’ meaning ‘to be shocked,’ is uttered several times on “Bombshell,” and it reflects the message that Harrison was trying to pass on the track. ““Bombshell” is really about letting people know that there’s still so much more to come from me,” he says. “It’s a celebration of the present moment, but also a reminder that this is just the beginning. We’re all dancing to what’s happening now, but there’s an energy in the air that says the best is yet to come.”
In light of Amapiano’s rise to global prominence and the international acclaim it enjoys, Harrison is right about more things being on the horizon, and Skyla Tylaa agrees with him: “When I was introduced to Amapiano, I fell in love instantly and that time it was just on the verge of global appeal. It’s global now and still growing and that makes me appreciate it even more! I love it, and the world loves it! The feeling is mutual ! We can all enjoy it together!”
For Tyler ICU, having DJs from the diaspora like Skyla Tylaa engage with Amapiano and its culture is a win for the genre. “This shows the power of the genre–it’s not just a sound, it’s a movement,” he says. “When someone like Skyla, who appreciates the culture and brings her own flavour, plays Amapiano in places like London, New York or Toronto, she’s not just playing music, she’s building bridges. That’s how we grow–by letting the world feel it in their own way, but staying true to where it started. It’s important that the roots are respected, but the branches can reach far.”
Just a couple of weeks since its release, “Bombshell” has crossed over 650,000 thousand views on YouTube and continues to be a sensation on TikTok. Like everything Skyla Tylaa has done up till now in her career, it’s shaping up perfectly and has shown that she has a knack for the right collaborations. She intends to keep making music. “This year, my focus is all about music,” she says. “I recently signed with Robots and Humans (Sony) in the UK and Epic in the US, which has given me a different level of drive to really want to create good music. I’m also looking forward to exploring the Afro-house genre and collaborating with other talented artists.”
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What OdumoduBlvck’s Greatest School Tour Could Mean For Touring In Nigeria
The rapper’s decision to embark on a local university tour of this nature could go on to become a...
There’s no denying that OdumoduBlvck’s 2023 mixtape ‘Eziokwu’ established his musical genius. While the half dozen projects that preceded ‘Eziokwu’ almost served as target practice, largely showcasing the early iterations of Okporoko music – his unique melodious rap fusion – it was his major label debut that truly grounded the rapper in Nigeria’s rich Hip-Hop lineage. The album’s far-reaching success culminated in a historic joint tour with fellow 2023 breakout star Shallipopi, which saw the two share the stage across 9 cities in the United States. Similarly, riding the high of his latest mixtape, ‘The Machine Is Coming,’ the Anti-World Gangstar head huncho recently announced a new tour. This time, however, instead of taking his new collection of infectious bangers to stages abroad, the rapper decided to visit different universities across the country for what he calls the ‘Greatest School Tour Ever.’
Touring in Nigeria is a subject that has become somewhat controversial over the last few years, splitting opinions amongst many fans, industry experts, and artists themselves. Back in the mid-2000s to early 2010s, local touring was very much the norm. Platforms like Star Music’s ‘The Trek,’ as well as a few prominent local promoters, enabled some of the biggest names like 2face, Olamide, and M.I to hold annual nationwide tours. These tours included stops in cities like Warri, Makurdi, Owerri and many other places that artists are less likely to visit today. University tours were also popular as they presented an avenue for these artists to connect with their younger audience, who mostly served as the bedrock of their fan base.
The rise of digital streaming platforms, which has partly informed the industry’s rapid evolution over the past decade, coupled with other economic and infrastructural issues, has, however, forced a sharp decline in local touring, making it an almost altruistic endeavour in today’s Nigeria. Afropop gaining global exposure meant that the international market immediately became more viable and lucrative to our biggest stars, and this reshaped their priorities. The extensive, multi-city shows became reserved for diaspora fans, while the local audience, in most cases, are treated to a solitary annual show.
OdumoduBlvck looks to buck this trend with the ‘Greatest School Tour Ever,’ prioritizing his primary audience before tending to those abroad. In truth, the Lagos-born rapper is not the only one who has embarked on this type of tour in recent times. A couple of years ago, UK-based rapper Kida Kudz and Ckay also went on similar campus tours, with the latter making stops at 10 different universities across the country. Llona, one of the breakout stars from last year, is also currently on a nationwide tour coming off the success of his impressive debut album ‘Homeless.’ The ‘Greatest School Tour Ever,’ is however, peculiar and momentous because of its timing and OdumoduBlvck’s standing as one of the biggest names around.
At the recent 17th Headies Awards, the rapper became the latest recipient of the Next Rated award, a highly coveted plaque that’s historically reserved for standout acts whose music defines the zeitgeist at a given period. He received the award just two days after he gave an electrifying performance at Afe Babalola University. His latest mixtape, ‘The Machine Is Coming,’ a precursor to his highly anticipated forthcoming debut, currently sits at the No. 2 spot on the Turntable Top 50 Album charts. It is unheard of in recent times: that the Headies Next Rated act, who has one of the top projects in the country, is on a local university tour. The Abuja-native has, however, shown on numerous occasions that he has never really been one to abide by existing standards. The famous opening lines from his breakout single “Declan Rice” (I can do without their Policy I Know), did not only serve as a message to gatekeepers and naysayers but also as a manifesto that declared his mode of operation going forward.
At the time of this writing, the rapper has only made two stops on his ongoing tour, but his decision to embark on a local tour of this nature already looks to be paying dividends. The first two shows have produced viral clips that capture his star power, the hysteria of his headline shows and his rapidly growing influence, especially amongst younger listeners. The viral clips have already created an increased demand for shows, with many young fans harassing the rapper to add more dates to the tour. With the release of ‘The Machine Is Coming’ and his recent crowning moment at the Headies, it’s safe to assume there’s more attention on him now than ever. While it is, of course, still early days, the rapper’s decision to embark on a local university tour, especially given that he’s currently experiencing a career high, could go on to become a significant moment, one that potentially inspires a shift in the touring landscape in Nigeria.
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NATIVE PREMIERE: Tanika Is Stepping Out On Her Terms With The Kida Kudz-Assisted “FAST FWD”
From working her way out of London’s Myatt’s Field, Tanika is now setting her sights on the bright lights...
Across a career that’s in its second decade, Tanika has proven to be a force in her own right, holding her own on collaborations with Black British stars like Stormzy and Wretch 32, as well as popular record producer Naughty Boy–working with the Grammy-nominated beatmaker on his acclaimed ‘Hotel Cabana’ album.
Following a stint as an actor, she returned to the studio in 2021, releasing a new extended play, ‘333,’ in 2023. The project carried all the hallmarks of Tanika at her tantalising best: lilting cadences, well-paced narratives, a songwriting that reaches for the heart of the matter.
On her latest song, “Fast Fwd,” she’s growing into her own and stepping into a new era. In many ways, “Fast Fwd,” a hypnotic, sultry anthem, is landing just in time for summer revelry. Produced by her longtime collaborator, Naughty Boy, her silky vocals land effortlessly on the mid-tempo instrumental and pulsates with her desire for her love interest.
Joined on the song by her fiancé, Kida Kudz, they make an interesting duo and replicate the synergy they had on “Nobody,” off Kudz’s 2021 ‘Top Memba.’ Distinctively marked by use of neon lights, the video for the song captures the effervescence of romance that Tanika hums about throughout the song.
From working her way out of London’s Myatt’s Field to becoming a star with millions of streams, Tanika is now setting her sights on the bright lights of superstardom. Ahead of the official release of the single, we had a brief chat with Tanika about her career, the influences for “Fast Fwd,” and working with KIda Kudz on it.
Her answers, which follow below, have been lightly edited for clarity.
How would you describe where you are in your career right now?
I’m just enjoying the journey.
What does the release of “Fast Fwd” signify for you?
It signifies love.
Why is Kida Kudz a fit for the song? (
To be honest, we didn’t plan to do another song together. I have worked on two records with him before (“Nobody” and “Tasty Time” ) but we never thought to shoot a video for it.. “Fast Fwd” felt like a real testimony of our present moment in the relationship.
You’ve worked extensively with Naughty Boy and he’s helped with “Fast Fwd,” what’s your relationship like and why does it work?
Naughty Boy knows me very well. We’ve known one another for over 10 years, so he knows what fits me musically. We gel. I think him knowing me and being a fan of Kida’s music made it all work. Naughty Boy does his listening before he makes a beat for you. A lot of producers don’t really understand the importance of knowing the artist musically but he does.
What were you aiming for with the video?
To be honest, I’m aiming for nothing. I’m just enjoying the journey. It’s been a very long road and I know I still have a long way to go.
Catch an exclusive view of “Fast Fwd” below.
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