scottyolorin’s  debut mixtape, ‘OLORIN PACK,’ is here

Posted on by Boluwatife Adeyemi

scottyolorin has released his official debut mixtape, ‘OLORIN PACK.’ The project arrived with little fanfare, having been announced only a few hours before its midnight release. Despite the swift and low-key rollout, it’s a timely release that culminates a period of significant buzz and momentum for the rising singer. The late announcement was met with instant excitement from fans, signalling the hype and engagement he managed to garner over the last few months. 

This time last year, scottyolorin had only two official credits to his name, slowly biding his time as he transitioned from a graphic designer to a musician. The release of “TRABAYE” and “LIKE ASHERKINE” in the middle of the year gave him some much-needed momentum, but it was his late-year collab with Egertton, “MOLADE”, and a standout verse on Straffitti’s “TE WO” that truly announced him as a star in the making. 

 

Since then, he’s been incredibly active, performing at various live shows and releasing new singles like “DEELA” and the R33NZO-assisted “FL STUDIO.” Both tracks make it onto this new mixtape, along with 10 other tracks that put on display the young singer’s artistic vision and unique take on a range of styles. 

 

‘OLORIN PACK’ includes guest appearances from ARTSALGHUL, ytboutthataction, R33NZO and a couple others. The production, which features pounding 808s, electronic guitar riffs, and heavy synths, is handled by a host of producers like Semzi, JoeyXcv, Elemen3, and a few others whose collaborative efforts result in a cohesive and varied sonic experience. 

With the singer’s first headline show only a few days away, this new mixtape serves as the perfect precursor for his dedicated fans looking to attend the show and for new listeners eager to delve into the sound of one of the scene’s most promising new voices.

Listen to ‘OLORIN PACK’ here. 

Mowalola, Soldier Boyfriend, And Obongjayar Discuss The Significance Of Nigerian Modernism 

Posted on by The Native

In November 2025, Tate Modern opened its doors to the Nigerian Modernism exhibition, an important survey of the people and the work that changed the face of Nigerian art from the 1940s until the 1990s. The exhibition traces how over 50 artists, from Ben Enwonwu and Ladi Kwali to Nike Okundaye-Davies, forged a bold new visual language that documented the country’s independence from the status quo of colonial and military rule.

NATIVE and Tate invited art historian Alayo Akinkugbe to host a conversation with three Nigerian artists: Soldier Boyfriend, Mowalola and Obongjayar, key figures exporting their Nigerian talent across music, art and fashion to the rest of the world. Throughout the conversation, Soldier Boyfriend, Mowalola and Obongjayar explored how their respective pasts influence their work today.

Curated by Osei Bonsu, the ongoing exhibition is open to the public at Tate Modern until May 10th, 2026. Nigerian Modernism takes us on a visual journey through the state of the country in real time, from the sacred groves of Osun in Oshogbo to the pre-independence rebellion of the Zaria Art Society and the Nsukka Art School, which created the intellectual backbone for what we know as Modernism today.

The conversation started with an assessment of what modernism means to each artist, and made its way through the roots of their creations, how various established systems help or hinder one’s creative expressions, and how the creative exchange between Nigeria and the UK is inseparable from the painful history that established a relationship between the two countries.

“It’s easier to go into the past first before you take into the future.” – Soldier Boyfriend

Alayo kicked off the conversation with a simple question: What does modernism even mean now? For Soldier Boyfriend, Mowalola and Obongjayar, Modernism is not an art-historical category that’s easily identifiable by what you see. For them, it’s more about what one breathes, lives and inherits. Soldierboyfriend believes that today’s art world is in a neo-modern condition, where artists get to see what has been and use that as the starting point, whether consciously or not, within their art. Following careful consideration of how the country’s civil war in 1967 shaped the world and the people around him, from his parents’ beliefs to the school rules he had to follow, he sums it up by saying, “It’s easier to go into the past first before you take into the future.” These past experiences, whether his own or the collective Nigerian youth population’s, always inform the art he creates.

Mowalola’s proximity to the fashion industry growing up gave her a very clear sense of what being modern looked like in Lagos, Nigeria. “When I actually grew up in Nigeria, and then we were just seeing more like made in Nigeria promotional things, when before it was very much like a lot of white people on the billboards and adverts,” she said. “And I felt like there was just a new push of being proudly Nigerian,” identifying how Nigerians shifted away from colonial societal standards.

Obongjayar, more sceptical about the word itself, confesses that his resistance is sharpened by the absence of history being properly documented in Nigeria. “I feel like those things need to be cataloged a lot better,” he explained. “I don’t think there are a lot of people that take the time to actually find those things and put them in a place where you can actually discover them easily.” 

The conversation turns quickly to what was taught, what was not taught, and how the pieces they could see throughout the exhibition enlightened their contextual knowledge of their own country. In the Tate’s exhibition, works like “Woman In Grief”, a post-cubist painting by Uzo Egonu, created soon after the Biafran War, depict a distressed, bent figure whose pose and fractured space have been interpreted as a visual embodiment of the anguish and trauma of the 1967–70 conflict.

Nigerian Modernism traces art from colonial rule to independence and beyond, and the Biafran War marks a dramatic turning point in that national and artistic story. While the country in the 1960s responded to independence with optimism, the Civil War forced a reckoning with violence and division very soon after.

“Growing up in Nigeria, we didn’t really learn any of our history for some reason.” – Mowalola says.

Born across the 1990s and 2000s, Mowalola, Soldier Boyfriend and Obongjayar only know life in its aftermath. The effects of the country’s conflict reach them through family stories, history textbooks, inherited tensions and freedoms. Without their own direct experience of it, this generational distance complicates their relationship to history, meaning they must rely on what they are told, or not told. The absence of institutionalised history in Nigeria for this generation means that it becomes both omnipresent and opaque in their lives.

In the context of their conversation, Soldier Boyfriend’s relationship to the war is especially resonant. Growing up in an Eastern family directly affected by Biafra, he expresses a closer proximity to its residue. His chosen name becomes an artistic gesture shaped by that inheritance. “I took the moniker up, not to embrace war, but to embrace the rebelliousness of it, because I feel like the world we live in is kind of built on the foundation of war and violence.” This choice does not romanticise war, but instead reveals his recognition of it as a structural condition that defines global systems of power. His adoption of “Soldier” reframes militaristic symbolism as a critique of how contemporary establishments, often through military force, were forged through violence and still operate within those frameworks.

Across the conversation, what becomes clear is that each artist’s creative instinct did not emerge in isolation. It formed in response to structures that existed in their realities: school systems shaped by colonial residue, homes shaped by religious fear, and socio-political authorities structured around hierarchy and control. As adults now holding authority over themselves, the work they produce is not simply an aesthetic choice; it is also a reaction to what has been, and sometimes a defiance of the set norms.

School is examined as an arena where structure collides with instinct. For Soldier Boyfriend, secondary school carried the lingering weight of colonial aesthetics and discipline. He recalls attending St Gregory’s College, Obalende, “an all-boys Catholic school” where the uniform, to this day, mirrors English formality in tropical heat. “They used to make us wear sweaters and blazers and I was confused because it’s so hot,” he starts, “And I’m wearing this blazer.” His imposed school uniform becomes a metaphor for inherited systems that do not fit the lived realities of being in Nigeria, and that friction feeds directly into his later resistance to aesthetic prescription.

Mowalola’s schooling experience shaped her differently, but just as profoundly. For her, the educational tension was less about colonial uniformity and more about her instincts being dismissed in a formal school setting. Before moving to the UK, she was already serious about art in school in Lagos. More serious, in fact, than the art teacher who would label her as an “ITK” (I too know, a common Nigerian jab referring to someone who is seen as doing too much). That early indifference sharpened her drive to rebel and take autonomy over herself and her art. It made it clear that if she wanted her work to matter, she would have to insist on it mattering.

Later, while studying in the UK, she encountered a different kind of structural narrowing, within a framework that erased her and people who looked like her. “I felt like when I went to the UK to actually study art, it was very much in a whole white context.” Even the tools reinforced it. “I was getting like white people’s skin colour pencils.”

In Lagos, her ambition was not taken seriously enough. In London, it was taken seriously within a framework she was expected to abide by, even though it did not consider her roots. Both of these experiences shaped the rebelliousness we see in her designs today. Where some see controversy, she presents self-validation, reminding herself that she has never needed to wait for institutional permission. Where, for previous generations, freedom often had to be earned, for this generation, freedom is assumed.

When Obongjayar declared his ambition to be a musician to his family, they all laughed at him. “I walked into the living room, I was like, ‘Yo, I just had a dream. I know exactly what I’m gonna be when I grow up… I’m gonna be a musician,” he recalls. The response immediately placed him within a framework he had no interest in. In early-2000s Nigeria, music was not seen as a lucrative or stable career path, and was considered unserious, which would have informed his family’s response. Today, as the musician he once dreamed of being, he reflects on that story with vindication.

Mowalola’s home, by contrast, contained both repression and unexpected freedom. She describes Nigerian culture’s silence around sexuality, yet notes that within her household, the shame that was ascribed did not really exist. The clash between domestic freedom and public taboo sharpened her curiosity to push boundaries in fashion. “I was always very interested in the topic of sex in Nigeria because I felt like no one really spoke about it,” she says. Her later provocative designs respond to the policing of bodies she witnessed throughout her life, and the instinct to rebel against a reality that felt contradictory to her lived experience.

“We’re fighting for new air.” – Obongjayar

Socio-political authority forms the third layer. All three artists describe Nigeria as structured by hierarchy and power imbalance. Obongjayar articulates it starkly: “There’s a hierarchy… It’s the government, there’s the army of the police… civilians literally bottom of the food chain.” Soldier echoes this sense of constant struggle. From the Nigerian military’s visible presence during his adolescence (including being stopped for wearing camouflage) to his father’s strict religious rules, this reinforces the feeling of surveillance and control. Creative rebellion becomes a refusal of imposed authority.

When he says, “Everything,” in response to what young Nigerians are rebelling against, he is not speaking hyperbolically. It reflects layered pressures: familial expectation, educational conformity, and state violence.

As a generation, some Nigerian millennials and Gen Z experienced a countrywide and large-scale political reckoning in October 2020 during the #EndSARS protests. Mowalola remembers the tollgate protests as communal and hopeful. “Everyone was playing music, people were performing… it was really beautiful.” Before the subsequent violence shattered that hope for her and for many Nigerian youth who had taken on the responsibility to stand up against police brutality. For Obongjayar, the heartbreak lay not only in the shootings of innocent Nigerians but in the system that enabled them. “To see that our government… willing to kill its own people… is hard.”

Taken together, school, home and socio-political authority do not simply influence these artists. They generate the tensions their work addresses. Obongjayar describes their role succinctly: “We’re fighting for new air.”

For much of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the relationship between Britain and Nigeria was marked by extraction. The most infamous example remains the Benin Expedition of 1897, when thousands of bronzes and royal artefacts were looted from the Kingdom of Benin and dispersed across European museums. Sacred objects, ancestral heads, plaques and regalia were removed from their ritual and political contexts and reclassified as ethnographic curiosities. 

In recent years, those objects have begun to return, and institutions across Europe have initiated repatriation processes, acknowledging both the violence of acquisition and the need for restitution. Against that backdrop, the Tate’s Nigerian Modernism exhibition feels like a world with new air. Here, Nigerian art is not displayed as plunder, but presented with consent, collaboration and curatorial leadership by Nigerians. The works of the 1940s and 1960s, born from a need to synthesise and assert, sit in London decades later as proof that the synthesis succeeded. The post-modern breakthrough has brought about a generational confidence, where Nigerian artists no longer ask permission to belong to global conversations.

Soldier Boyfriend speaks about Western influence on his work in a way that already assumes hybridity. “It’s just me taking things I kind of learned from Europe or from the UK and just adding my own little twist.” For him, European techniques are materials for his art, not masters. And that is where the post-modern condition quietly hums beneath the conversation. Obongjayar’s journey maps this shift clearly. Growing up in Nigeria, Western culture arrived aspirationally, but migration showed him the depth of what existed back home. 

In a moment thick with irony, he recalls discovering Fela Kuti properly in Norwich: “My white friends were playing Fela Kuti, and I was like, ‘Hold on, this is where I’m from.’” This experience challenged the way society had taught him to view traditionally Nigerian things, and led to a breakthrough about owning his Nigerian attributes, as they are. 

Mowalola, entering a design world that assumed whiteness as baseline, has never felt the need to define her work by existing “African” aesthetics. “I’ve never really felt like I have to make this look very African… Because I’m Nigerian. So anything I make is Nigerian.” This sums up the state of the post-modern creative exchange between Nigeria and the UK, which has produced music, art and fashion that is globally legible and understood by all.

Best New Music: Egertton Is Channelling Ancestral Rage On “Obokhian”

Posted on by Boluwatife Adeyemi

Even though the origin of Rage Rap is widely contested, one clear thing is that it’s been the definitive Hip-Hop subgenre of the 2020s. The sound didn’t materialise in a vacuum. The autotune and synthetic, digital-driven production that Kanye West popularised in mainstream Rap post-‘Yeezus’ was a foundational influence on the progressive SoundCloud Rap movement of the 2010s, which became a crucial incubator for the artists and sounds that would lead directly to the emergence of Rage Rap.

Playboi Carti’s landmark 2020 album ‘Whole Lotta Red’ catapulted the subgenre to mainstream consciousness, creating a definitive blueprint that inspired countless artists worldwide to adopt and adapt its high-octane formula. This fluid style has been reimagined within Afropop in the last couple of years, with Rema’s critically acclaimed sophomore release, ‘HEIS,’ serving as a prime example. Another Benin singer, Egertton, has also been exploring this sound, experimenting with a more restrained approach by scaling back on some of the heavy synth loops while retaining its riotous energy.

His debut project, ‘KARNAGE,’ which includes moshpit-ready cuts like “RAGE” and “CRAZE,” demonstrated his ability to harness the subgenre’s intensity while injecting it with his unique melodic sensibilities and cultural context. His latest release, ‘EGER,’ a two-pack single, features “Obokhian,” his most thrilling and fully realised fusion of the Rage Rap template with his personal artistic vision to date. He had initially teased the song a couple of weeks ago, receiving mixed reactions from fans hailing it as a masterpiece to more cautious listeners, unsure what to make of its polarising energy. 

Singing primarily in his native Bini, the singer has dubbed the new track “incantation music,” rooting the song in his Benin heritage. The description is significant, as it repositions the chaos of Rage music within a lineage of ancestral and spiritual storytelling, showcasing Egertton’s freewheeling vision and unique ability to bridge disparate influences to create a fresh and captivating sound. 

He repeatedly screams the words “Obokhian” and “Tota,” which translates to “welcome” and “sit down” in his native language, over DJ Primeau’s skittering production, inviting listeners into his dynamic and energetic world. The song’s official music video, which was directed by Cruel Santino, features symbolic imagery like a dancing masquerade and recurrent images of bats that further add depth to the song’s overall message and atmosphere. 

Egertton is not alone when it comes to experimenting with this dynamic subgenre, positioning himself among a new wave of artists who are slowly reshaping the landscape of contemporary African music. His unique cultural grounding, however, sets him apart, helping him earn co-signs from fellow Benin stars like Shallipopi and Cruel Santino, which signal his status as a rising figure to watch in the evolution of Afropop and its splintering subgenres.

Similar to a couple of his peers’ inventive interpretations of the subgenre, the existence of “Obokhian” existence signals a future in which Rage music from these parts will be intrinsically localised and possess a unique cultural resonance. Music that will borrow in structure and energy but will transform in spirit and subject matter. 

Listen to “Obokhian” here. 

Interview: Champz Wants To Make A Statement 

Posted on by The Native

African music is going through a reset right now, and that evolution is being led by young stars tapping into inventive styles without losing touch with their African roots and identity. Rising star, Champz, exemplifies that approach, merging the word-bending grit of grime with the melodic undertone of Afropop. Last year, he introduced himself with his five-track EP, ‘Champion’s Arrival,’ hybridising UK rap influences with a distinctive Nigerian identity. 

Less than five months after ‘Champion’s Arrival,’ the 14-year-old is back with his new project, ‘Young Poet,’ expanding on his origin story with standout tracks like “Bad Guyz” and “Shut The Block Down.” Across the 10-minute runtime of the project, the youngster affirms his origins, lays down a gauntlet for challengers, and situates himself in the future of Afropop. By his own telling on “War Lord,” he was made to make music and ‘Young Poet’ is his statement of intent. 

His conversation with Apple Music’s Africa Now Radio has been edited below for length and clarity. 

 

How does it feel to inspire people?

It feels really good. Someone my age doing stuff like this and inspiring my peers, people older than me, people younger than me, people who want to make music, and people who don’t believe they can do it. I just want to be the one to tell you that you can do it anytime. Once you push for your goals, you can pick your goals at any time you want. You always want to keep on going.

What does this new EP, ‘Young Poet,’ mean to you?

This new EP is like I’m solidifying my place, you feel me? I’m dropping this EP to let everyone know that I’m really doing this. I’m not playing any games around anymore. I’m doing this for real, so I want to let everyone know that, “Yo, this is what I’m trying to do for real.” With this whole EP, it’s kind of like a statement piece for me. Not everyone can do what I do, and I want everyone to know that. But doesn’t mean I don’t want to inspire people; I don’t want to demotivate. I’m open to competition, but it doesn’t mean I don’t think I’m the best, you feel me? As I said, this is like my statement piece, so I want to show everyone that I can do anything I want to do, and I want to do it. So, I did a bit of Afrobeats, Afroswing, Amapiano, everything is in there. Rap, everything.

How did you make “Bad Guyz?”

“Bad Guyz” is Amapiano, and there’s Rap in it, there’s Dance. I want everyone to be able to dance when they hear the song, and, you know, I don’t want to stray too far away from Rap because, you feel me, I’m a rapper. I don’t want anyone to forget that I’m a rapper for real, so that’s why I still had to show everyone that I still got that on me. So, the whole Rap is in the build of the song, the Amapiano, everything is like a combination of African and Western elements all in one song. It’s like versatility to push Africa forward. That was the goal: to push Africa forward and to push Champz forward. 

What’s your favourite track on the project?

“Shut The Block Down” was one of the songs [I really liked], it’s like my personal favorite song because it tells my story and how I feel about certain things. I don’t really speak much; I use music to express myself. So, when I rap about these things, it’s like, it’s me for real.  I’m speaking to you and letting you know how I feel and how I want to feel. So, “Shut The Block Down” was kind of like fully Rap, with emotional additions and everything just to make a statement. 

 

What’s your message to your fans?

To all the supporters of Champz, everyone who’s going to listen to ‘Young Poet,’ I pray for you. I pray you can find meaning in my music. I pray you can dance to my music. If you want to go to the gym, I pray you can work to my music, you feel me? I just want everyone to be able to enjoy my music at any time, anyplace, any day.  I want to give a big shoutout to Olaolu Slawn for designing the cover as well. Big up Slawn and everyone who put this together. The producers and Paranormal, as well. Shoutout to Paranormal and everyone on the EP and everything. Shoutout to my mom, my manager, and everyone. Big shoutout to everyone who made ‘Young Poet’ happen for me. I love you all to everyone and to my fans as well. Don’t let anyone hold you back. Wherever you get to in life, don’t leave your roots behind. Always push with your roots, push Africa because, you know, we’re really changing up the game. 

Listen to ‘Young Poet’ here.

Best New Music: Kayode’s “Aimoye” Is A Collage Of Old And New Influences

Posted on by Wale Oloworekende

For the best part of the last 18 months, we’ve been living through a new age of creativity in the wider Afropop soundscape. In many respects, there are no rules for what a banger can–or should–sound like, as artists dexterously pay homage to what has come before them, while fastening their gaze on the future of music. The bulk of this innovative charge has, of course, come courtesy of the radically imaginative vision of rising artists like Zaylevlten, Indi, Egertton, Danpapa GTA, and Deela, who are making artistic leaps without diluting their identities as their audiences grow. 

Given the recalibration of our music, it’s no surprise that rising rapper, Kayode got a roaring response when he posted a clip of himself rapping over a sample of King Saheed Osupa’s “Reliable Pt.5” late in February 2026. The snippet showed him working his  fluid Trap flow around a vocal chop of the Fuji legend saying, “Aimoye awon eniyan tan ti lo nile aye,” roughly translating to “Countless people have left this world.” 

The messaging on “Aimoye” is in keeping with some of Kayode’s best work. In November 2021, he released a drill-adjacent hit, “Live Forever,” that garnered some mainstream attention, hinting at the rapper’s promise. He’s since continued to sharpen his skills, releasing a series of singles as well as projects like  2023’s ‘STILL FIGURING LIFE’ and 2024’s ‘KAY KAY,’ which displayed the surgical flows and assured delivery that make “Aimoye” an instant highlight. 

 

For all the instant adulation that “Aimoye” has received, it’s the culmination of a journey that began with February’s “OWO LO BA OMO JE,” a balmy Trap offering that saw Kayode experiment with Yoruba heavily across the length of the song while manifesting more success and breakthroughs for himself and his loved ones. In some ways, the mid-March arrival of “Aimoye” is a natural progression of “OWO LO BA OMO JE,” signifying the convergence of a modern music style with a storied oral genre that is as dense as it is ever-evolving. 

Originally released in 2020, King Saheed Osupa’s “Reliable Pt.5,” taken from ‘Reliable,’ features the Ibadan native’s characteristic wit and mastery of the Yoruba language while admonishing his listeners to try and lead positive lives with a reminder that death is a human constant. 

 

Less concerned with the moral framings of right and wrong, Kayode’s “Aimoye” filters its reference material for that looming specter of mortality as a motivation to live life to the fullest and do one’s best. Death is a sobering reality, but in Kayode’s hands, that reminder is a rousing invocation to be fly and engage with life without regrets while the sample of King Saheed Osupa’s voice provides thematic rigour. 

For all his playful edge, Kayode is still deeply reverential of what has come before him, sharing his admiration for Yoruba oral genres and, specifically, King Saheed Osupa on social media. Even on “Aimoye,” he makes time to shout out the legend, saying, “Saidon P lo gbemi debe, enemies o le gbemi wale.” More interestingly, the instrumental for “Aimoye” rises to the occasion, groovily blending ominous percussion, gnarly 808s, and faint shakers for a worthy accompaniment that allows Kayode’s voice to soar without encumbrance. 

Lyrically, “Aimoye” is grounded but confident, positioning Kayode as a young baller who is living his life while mindful of jealous eyes seeking his downfall. Regardless, he’s assured thar no harm will come to him, confidently rapping, “Ko sin te ma she, on god,” in the song’s first verse. That line is delivered with an uber-confidence and air of invicibility that’s sure to steer Kayode’s career as he continues to position himself to be a Nigerian mainstream fixture. 

Too often, we get poor attempts at tracks paying homage to storied African genres where the musician is just not rooted in the terrain they attempt to plant their flag. On “Aimoye,” Kayode bucks that trend, displaying an intuitive appreciation of Fuji’s dynamism and King Saheed Osupa’s work and how best it can supplements his Trap work, perfecting a delicate blend of tradition and modern sonics that’s euphoric and contemplative in equal parts. 

With “Aimoye” already popping off, it will be fascinating to see what Kayode goes next. Another X post hinted at another single built on a sample of Musiliu Haruna Ishola’s Apala classic “Ise Oluwa Ko Seni Toye.” Still, for now, “Aimoye” is a triumph of old and new influences that place Kayode at an interesting crossroad in his burgeoning career.

Listen to “Aimoye” here. 

Beats and Nike Collaborate On Powerbeats Pro 2 – Nike Special Edition With LeBron James

Posted on by Melony Akpoghene

Beats and Nike have announced their first hardware collaboration: the Powerbeats Pro 2 – Nike Special Edition. The release marks a shift for Beats, introducing a new logo on the earbuds: the Nike Swoosh on the right bud and the Beats “b” on the left. To launch it, the brands turned to global basketball icon LeBron James, who steps in as the face of a short campaign that keeps things light.

In Keep Your Head in the Game, James takes to a golf course with a swing that’s intentionally mid; but he plays through it, his Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds helping him tune out reactions from pro golfer Tom Kim and actors Lionel Boyce and Travis “Taco” Bennett who also star in the campaign video.

 

The design takes cues from Nike’s style, with volt green accents on the earbuds and a speckled matte black case, and “JUST DO IT” stamped under the lid. Nothing major has changed on the feature side. You still get Adaptive Active Noise Cancelling and Transparency mode.

There is heart rate tracking that connects to Nike Run Club and the Fitness app, and battery life can stretch to 45 hours. They are built to handle sweat and water, with earhooks that keep them in place whether you’re working out or just on the move.

Beats has built its reputation on sound and design that are considered and consistent. That approach carries into this release, with Nike’s influence shaping the look without altering the core product. This collaboration with Nike is just another way both global brands are staying ahead of the curve, strategically merging their audiences to give them the best of both worlds and future-proofing their position at the intersection of sport and lifestyle.

Chris Thorne, Beats’ Chief Marketing Officer, described the collaboration as “a collision of two brands that define performance, culture, and sports, the attributes of today’s athlete.” For LeBron James, it is a full-circle moment, as two brands he has long worked with have come together in a way that aligns with how he trains and lives.

A Quick Primer On Yoruba Oral Genres

Posted on by The Jide Taiwo

Sampling Apala and Fuji for Trap? Nobody quite knows what it means, but it gets the people going! And it’s not that far-fetched, when rappers like Kayode make these experimental sounds, they’re only following in the legacy of the very genres being sampled.

 

Many styles of Yoruba music did not make it to being recorded for mass audiences. The ones that did include Jùjú, Sákárà, Àpàlà, Ajiwére, Wákà, and of course, Fújì. So, here’s a primer on what each of the sounds means and represents.

First, a crash course on Yoruba music. Many styles of music did not make it to being recorded for mass audiences. The ones that did include Jùjú,  Sákárà, Àpàlà, Ajiwére, Wákà, and of course, Fújì. So, here’s a primer on what each of the sounds means and represents. 

Jújù

Juju was the first commercially successful genre of Yoruba extraction, having been recorded the earliest by Tunde King in 1935. It was inspired by the minstrel activities of 1900s Lagos, mixed with the influence of the tambourine (brought by the missionaries), the box guitar, and the samba drums popular among Brazilian returnees. Guitars would become the dominant instrument a few decades later.

Musical Style: Call and response, praise poetry, and might include church hymns and choruses.

Principal Proponents: Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey, King Sunny Ade, and Sir Shina Peters.

 

Sákárà

This style was created from adapting Yoruba praise singing to Islamic cadences, employing slow and mellow rhythms, as though one was reciting the Holy Quran. Sometimes, the lyrics included moral instructions, but it was mostly for praise poetry. It emerged across Yorubaland in the 1920s.

Musical Style: Call and response, praise poetry, but driven by the clay-frame drum it took its name from. The molo or goje (lute or fiddle) was added by Yusuf Olatunji.

Principal Proponents:  Abibu Oluwa, Lefty Salami, and Yusuf Olatunji (both broke out from Oluwa’s band). Olatunji’s son, Abideen, continues the tradition today.

 

Àpàlà

Similar to the previous two, this too was created by evolving traditional music, and although many of its performers were Muslims who sometimes included their faith, the music itself is more from traditional religious groups and societies. It spread widely across the region, and it’s unclear now which exact town it was first played in.

Musical Style: Heavy percussion rhythms define Apala, along with rattles, shekere, and bells. It is at once recognizable by the deep, hoarse, almost guttural voice of its singers.

Principal Proponents: Haruna Ishola, Kasunmu Adio, and Ayinla Omowura.

 

Ajiwére

Born directly from Islamic tradition, Ajiwére was an activity carried out mostly by young boys who went around to rouse Muslims faithfuls during Ramadan mornings. It was a widespread activity across the region, from Ibadan to Abeokuta to Ilorin, and Lagos. In time, it became highly anticipated, and competitions were organized to discover talented youngsters. Its biggest legacy was giving birth to Fuji.

Musical Style: Fast and pacy with small drums and gongs. Performers had to sing and walk through the neighbourhoods, interspersing Quranic verses with playful tunes they made up as they went along.

Principal Proponents: Taiwo & Kehinde Oru, Dauda Epo Akara, and Sikiru Ayinde

 

Wákà

Wákà is similar to Wéré in the sense that it was Islamic, but it was performed exclusively by women. In any case, young girls didn’t go out with the Ajiwere boys in the predawn hours. But Wáká was sung all year round, at gatherings, services, events, and anywhere that Muslim women were gathered.

Musical Style: Call and response, led by a single vocalist. It started with no accompanying instruments but soon incorporated Sẹ́lí, a pair of metal discs with looping rings that was played by rhythmically clapping them together. This was easy for women to play. But as it became a successful genre, Wáká singers employed male drummers.

Principal Proponents: Batile Alake, Salawa Abeni, and Kuburatu Alaragbo.

 

Fújì

Much like Afrobeats, Fuji is a fusion of many things–most notably, preceding genres of Yoruba music and contemporary sounds that change by eras (Funk and Afrobeat in Barrister’s time and Hip-Hop in Pasuma’s). Its most dominant progenitor is Ajiwere music, as it was what Barrister excelled at and evolved into a new type of sound that was not limited by time of year (Ajiwére only came out during the annual Ramadan) or audience (non-Muslims could participate as well). 

It is the most enduring traditional Yoruba music genre as it has dominated for four decades and counting. Perhaps Fuji’s superpower is its ability to evolve, embrace other genres, and always come back to its core.

Musical Style: It started out slow like Sákárà, then it sped up as Barrister tinkered with it. Kollington introduced the Bàtá drum to it. K1 De Ultimate made it “Funky”, and then “Classical”. Obesere made it risqué. Ayuba made it crossover, followed by Pasuma. Saheed Osupa oscillates between purist-type lyricism and contemporary Dance. Its most identifiable factor is the drums, and the singers’ vocal structure that constricts the vocal cords to a high pitch.

Principal Proponents: The question is, who can we leave out? Barrister, Kollington, Iyanda Sawaba, Wasiu Ayinde, Adewale Ayuba, Obesere, Pasuma Wonder, Sefiu Alao,  Saheed Osupa, Remi Aluko, Taye Currency, Tiri Leather, and easily five hundred others.

 

Sony Music West Africa Is Celebrating Women’s Month With ‘Bloom & Bloom’

Posted on by The Native

To mark International Women’s Day 2026, Sony Music West Africa is rolling out its Women’s Month flagship programme, ‘Bloom & Bloom,’ a platform built to spotlight and support women who are shaping Africa’s creative and business spaces.

Guided by this year’s IWD theme, “Give to Gain,” ‘Bloom & Bloom’ presents success as something collectively built. The programme focuses on collaboration and long-range thinking with the principle idea that when women actively support one another, new doors open and lasting influence takes shape.

The experience opens on 19 March with the Greenhouse Panel Sessions, a close-knit forum designed for open and thoughtful conversation. Creators, founders, executives, and cultural voices will gather to talk about issues that influence modern creative careers: from intellectual property and brand ownership to turning creative ideas into lasting businesses and building institutions that stand the test of time.

This year’s lineup includes names like Nigerian actress Mimi Chaka, co-founder of PiggyVest, Odunayo Eweniyi, Victoria Nkong of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA). They will share hands-on insights from their journeys across music, media, entrepreneurship, and culture, offering lessons on how to grow industries while revolutionising the systems that support them.

The programme wraps on 20 March with the Bloom & Bloom Mixer, an invitation-only evening bringing together voices from different sectors. Part celebration, part launchpad, the mixer will spark conversations that can turn into creative collaborations, lasting well beyond Women’s Month.

Sony Music West Africa has made empowering women a consistent focus. In 2024, it launched the two‑day Lagos summit ‘She Is…,’ featuring panels, networking, and career insights. That evolved into 2025’s ‘In Her Element,’ which also introduced a mentorship programme for emerging women in the industry. 

This year, that momentum continues with ‘Bloom & Bloom,’ prioritising the growth of young women across West Africa’s creative scene. As conversations around International Women’s Day move beyond optics, Sony Music West Africa is aiming to build practical platforms that expand its role in the region’s creative ecosystem and support the development of a more sustainable industry.

Best New Music: Ayra Starr Continues Her Compelling Evolution On “Where Do We Go”

Posted on by Boluwatife Adeyemi

Ayra Starr’s journey since her explosive 2021 debut has been remarkably strategic. Of course, it helps that she was incubated at a powerhouse label with a history of nurturing and positioning top talent. Still, she’s also shown a palpable ambition, a desire to evolve, and an astute understanding of her own capabilities that set her apart from many of her peers. 

If her self-titled EP, as well as her brilliant full-length debut, captured an angsty Ayra finding her voice and vision as an artist, her coming-of-age follow-up, ‘The Year I Turned 21,’ showcased a more mature, rounded artist focused on getting the bag on standout cuts like “Goodbye (Warm Up),” “Last Heartbreak Song,” and “Commas.” 

 

That ‘TYIT21’ era, marked by an aesthetic shift that saw her transition from Y2K rebellion to a more mature, sensual elegance, and more sonic adventures, was neatly tied up with the sleek, Wizkid-assisted “Gimmie Dat.” Since then, she’s continued to blend this elegance with further experimentation, releasing sultry singles like “Hot Body” and “Who’s Dat The Girl” that chart the course to her impending next chapter.

“Where Do We Go” is the latest entry in this continuous and compelling evolution. Here, she teams up with six-time Grammy-nominee, ILYA–whose production credits read: Beyonce, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, and several other popstars—to craft a dark, sensual, and groovy record that details the thrill and complications of a spicy, non-committal affair. Her vocal performance is particularly remarkable, especially as she melodiously drags out her “Ooos” and “Ahhs,” adding a layer of tension and longing to an already evocative song.

 

Late last year, the singer made her Substack debut with a post titled “I’m not scared, I promise.” It briefly details her current living situation in New York and her resolve to remain true to her reputation as a “scandalous little rebel who insists she isn’t afraid of risk.” “Where Do We Go” sounds like a result of that resolve to keep taking risks.  

With every new drop, we inch closer to her next album, which she has hinted at on several occasions. While details remain largely under wraps, songs like the summer anthem “Hot Body,” a couple of snippets, and this new release, “Where Do We Go,” already hint at a lustrous and, more significantly, ambitious body of work. If her debut album served as a self-assured introduction to her talent and boundless potential, and ‘TYIT21’ built upon that foundation, then the upcoming project seems poised to take the crucial next step: a decisive bid for world domination. 

Listen to “Where Do We Go” here.

Charles Onyeabor Is Preserving A Generational Legacy

Posted on by Chinonso Ihekire

Charles Onyeabor’s latest release, “You Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” arrives with the urgency of a budding superstar eager to extend a generational legacy. The young troubadour, who is the son of the late electro Afro funk inventor William Onyeabor, continues his fusion-driven journey, which took off in 2020 as a unique exploration of Funk, Afrobeats, and Highlife.

Growing up between Nigeria and Italy, Charles Onyeabor began his music career three years after his father’s passing in 2017. As Williams’ eldest son, Charles had the most intimate exposure to his father’s expansive artistry, an experience that would redefine his music career as a torch carrying a generational flame. Unlike many children of popular music icons, Charles Onyeabor is not shying away from his father’s legacy, despite building his own unique sound. For him, it’s his holy grail of purpose, a paternal instinct to protect his father’s legacy while building his own.

His earliest records, including his 2020 debut, “They Can’t Pull Us Down” featuring Italian songstress Miriam Taylor, and “We All Need More Love” featuring Italian-Nigerian singer Evry, carry the weight of his mission to create expansive but accessible music. Those records introduced Onyeabor to a close-knit community of fans who cherished his inspiring messages and fluid sonics.

Two years later, he clinched the Africa’s Diaspora Artist award at the Scream African Women Award. By 2023, his fanbase kept soaring, especially after key live performances in Germany and Italy. To unite his fanbases in Nigeria and Europe, he released his debut album, Like Father, Like Son, a 23-tracker spin that fully established his sonic identity and heritage-driven artistry in 2023.

He followed up with a 10-tracker LP in 2024, dubbed ‘Onyekachi,’ which gave a more intimate peek into Charles’ paradigms, personal stories, and cultural musings. Then, in 2025, he released his third project, an extended playlist titled ‘Ifenkili,’ which celebrated his Igbo heritage, while boldly showcasing his sonority. Just before the year ended, he released an Amapiano-charged song, “Akanchawa”, which closed curtains on doubts surrounding his sonic fluidity.

 

“I am building a sound that lives at the intersection of heritage and futurism,” he tells Native Mag when asked about the framework of his sonic blueprint. “It carries the spirit of African rhythm and analog warmth, but it’s framed through modern production, global grooves, and storytelling that speaks to today’s world. My goal is for listeners to feel something familiar yet forward-thinking music that honors where we come from while imagining where we can go.” 

Much of Charles’ artistic growth also stems from lessons he gleaned from his father: “My father taught the importance of originality, fearlessness, and building a sonic world of your own,” he says. “I don’t try to recreate his sound. He did his thing his own way. But I carry his spirit of experimentation and independence. Just the same way music listeners are free to listen to any genre of music they want, I am free and independent to create and experiment with any genre I feel like working on.”

With three full-length projects in the last three years, Charles Onyeabor’s catalogue feels like a wholesome musical chapbook of sorts, with love, identity, and legacy central to his storytelling.  “Love is always present, but I’m also drawn to spirituality and purpose,” he says about his music. “I want my songs to feel like mirrors and bridges at the same time. The idea that music can be both personal healing and collective memory.”

Charles’ artistic upbringing witnessed his father channel the best analog recording gear in his time. However, while digital recording tools have somewhat peaked in today’s hyper-innovative tech scene, Charles Onyeabor still believes in the sacredness of live instrumentation to a recording. “Live instrumentation brings humanity into the record,” he explains. “Digital tools are powerful, but live bass, guitars, and keys add imperfections that make music breathe. I see it as a balance. Even when I use DAW software, I aim to preserve that organic feel. Today, live instrumentation is sadly fading away, and with the invention of AI tools, only God knows where we are heading.”

 

While William Onyeabor famously never performed his music during his lifetime and eventually quit his career to become a full-time entrepreneur, Charles actually takes the stage to heart. In fact, he was a contestant at the Uno Voce Per San Marino talent show in Italy in 2022, and he hosted his own sold-out concert at the Hard Rock Cafe in Florence, Italy, last year, a reality that is largely obscure from his late father’s legacy.

Another interesting ripple effect of being Charles Onyeabor is having such a distinctively tuned ear for sounds. “I didn’t even realize it until people started telling me,” he notes. “For me, it was just normal. My producers were also surprised. Early exposure to my father’s music helped me understand groove as a living thing. Not just timing, but emotion, space, and movement. You learn to feel rhythm before you analyze it, and harmony becomes instinctive rather than theoretical.”

With his still-unfolding career defined by a soundscape that feels generational yet genuine, Charles Onyeabor’s sojourn continues with his most pristine quests. “I’m excited to push my music further into experimental territories,” he says, admittedly. “I’m interested in projects that challenge expectations and expand what African-rooted music can sound like in the future.”

That eye on the future is largely trained by what has come before but Onyeabor is determined to stretch its scope effortlessly. “I see my music as part of the bridge between generations,” he says. “There’s a renaissance happening where African sounds are no longer seen as niche; they’re shaping global music. I aim to contribute to that evolution by honoring traditional textures while presenting them in ways that resonate with the rest of the world.”  

Listen to “You Can’t Tell Me Nothing” here. 

Ayra Starr Wants Women To Own Their Power 

Posted on by The Native

If Ayra Starr isn’t the hardest-working popstar right now, she is easily one of the most distinctive. Since her breakout introduced a young star with an intangible “it” factor, the singer has moved at a pace that keeps her at the centre of the culture. Less than two years after her sophomore album, The Year I Turned 21, the Sabi Girl is already hinting at another turn. Fame has shifted the terrain beneath her, and her recent moves suggest an artist paying closer attention to growth and the rhythm of her own life. That mood carries into “Where Do We Go,” her latest single that she has been anticipated for weeks.

One of Ayra Starr’s greatest strengths is her ability to capture the inner voice of young women. Over time, she has built a catalogue that feels made with them in mind—songs you play while getting ready, for the ride across town, and for stepping out into a room like you own it. By her own telling, “Where Do We Go” began as a personal favourite, the kind of track she and her friends would play while getting ready for a night out. The record gestures to a fresh era while holding on to the feeling that has always lived at the centre of her sound.

 

How do you feel about the reaction to your online videos?

You know, I’ve been whining my waist back to back. I don’t even know which video you’re talking about because I’ve just been going back and forth. 

What do you think about “Hot Body” not getting its flowers yet?

To be honest, it’s still doing amazing, and I expect more. Like, there’s still more that’s going to be done to the song. The song has just taken over, and it’s doing what I needed it to do, you know? It’s just that song that I know girls can get ready to, go out to, want to hear at the club, and it’s going to be that song for a long time, I’m sure.

How did your new single “Where Do We Go,” come about?

I’m obsessed with this track. Like it has been my track for a while, a long time, and it’s just the track that I would get ready to, like me and my friends. And it was just like our like get ready song, and it was a very funny situation that inspired the song.

What’s your message for Women’s History Month?

To be honest, like everybody has their own experiences, but I would say to all the girls, don’t let anybody have power over you. Don’t give anybody power over you. Have your own autonomy, have your own say, and don’t allow people’s dreams or people’s limitations predict your limitations. So, just do you and never give anybody that power, girl.

Listen to the full interview here.

uNder: Best New Artists (February, 2026)

Posted on by The Native

A new year, more often than not, presents an opportunity for fresh opportunities and starts across the board, and music is not an exception to the rule. While we experienced a thrilling renaissance of rising acts in 2025, eyes are already turned towards what’s coming next in our music, and uNder remains the perfect medium to acquaint oneself with the musicians who are set to have a definitive impact on African music in the coming months and years.

Whether it’s Ayjay bobo who’s already turning heads with his work on “HOW FAR,” or Sandro, who’s rebooting his career, the central promise of this column remains to provide visibility for our next creative class of musicians. We hope you enjoy discovering their music and continue to root for them as they figure out their paths. Welcome back to uNder. 

Ayjay bobo

For Fans of Nonso Amadi, Victony, and Ruger

The Nigerian music scene moves at breakneck speed, and few have caught the wind quite like Ayjay bobo. Emerging from Abuja’s underground circuit, where a new strain of sound often referred to as Nepopiano has been taking shape, he has grown into one of the most talked-about names in the country’s new wave. It is a space filled with young tastemakers and self-starters, and Ayjay fits right in.

He began by releasing his own songs and small projects, building a following online and across streaming platforms. The groundwork paid off. His breakthrough came with “HOW FAR,” a collaboration with NO11 and Monochrome that travelled swiftly across TikTok before spilling into the wider streaming world. Driven by tight percussion and a sticky hook, the track invited replay after replay and placed Ayjay at the centre of the Nepopiano conversation.

The 19-year-old  moves between rapping and singing with ease, a fluidity he credits to the influence of Wizkid. That range runs through his growing catalogue. Time spent in the United Kingdom has shaped his cadence, giving his delivery a crisp, cross-continental swing. His records double as a showcase of vocal control; there is an airy tone to his voice that easily glides with the soul reminiscent of the golden era of Alté, calling to mind artists such as Gabzy, Nonso Amadi and BOJ.

A defining thread in Ayjay bobo’s come-up has been his fierce optimism about where he is headed. The young star has long predicted his own superstardom, and that conviction is clear on ‘Lost Files.’ Across the EP, he speaks about his rise with certainty on tracks like “Superstar” and “Feels,” settling into melodic pockets that have become his hallmark. He strengthens that stance on last year’s ‘Bobo Dey Hot,’ a project that zones in on him at his most self-assured.  He coolly delivers jams like the Zaylevelten-assisted “Kwanta” and “Aktiv” featuring Khameel, but he stays true to form, manifesting on the cocksure “Lystyle,” “Cause I know it’s gone come and my time is near.”

So far, that faith has held firm. With talent this great and an artistic skill this sharp, Ayjay bobo is standing at the precipice of something bigger, and the timing feels aligned. – M.A.

 

Sandro

 

For Fans of: Fireboy DML, Justin Bieber, and Wizkid.

Sandro might only be at the start of his career but the Paris-based singer has a overarching vision of what he’s working his way towards, delivering soul-inflected interrogations on live filtered through a Pop framework. He was born in Clamart, France with Beninese origins, and is blessed with the sort of textured, honeyed delivery that’s quickly making him a voice for the moment amongst Francophone audience, taking inspiration from American acts like Jason Derulo, Justin Bieber as well as major figures from the French music scene such as Ronisia, RSKO, Aya Nakamura, and Ninho.

Like many rising artists, Sandro took his first steps on the internet, finding an audience through freestyles and tracks shared on Snapchat that helped build his profile during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Encouraged by his friend Fatou Manda and his younger brother Sema, he released a series of singles that marked the beginning of his career. Some of those songs like the buttery “Donne-moi Tout” and “In Fine” bear the mark of a precocious talent finding his voice in real time as he explored the depth of attraction and duty with a high level of precision. 

Sandro’s initial foray into music, marked by experimentation, led him to make a decision to take a three-and-a-half-year break. This period was dedicated to a deep search for his voice, his artistic identity, and the building of a strong new team to service his music. He made a return in January 2026 with “FAMOUS,” a sensual R&B cut that finds him emoting about romance like he never stepped away. As always, his dulcet vocals are a highlight, rising above the minimalist instrumental to express his interest in showing his love interest the best things of life. Close to six years after he initially started his musical journey, Sandro is back in the mix of things and he’s hunkered down for the long haul. – W.O.

 

jaykatana

For fans of: BrotherKupa, Nasty C, and Lil Wayne

jaykatana has assembled one of the most interesting catalogues in South Africa’s underground rap scene, wittingly fusing indigenous South African elements with Trap music.  His name is the first clue to who he is. Not borrowed from a street alias or a childhood nickname as most artists would, but pulled straight from the world of anime, he imbues the same sensibility of distinct storytelling into his music.  He was shaped by the music his uncles played, mirroring artists like Lil Wayne and Young Thug before ingeniously expanding his tone and delivery.  

When his debut single, “Pain,” arrived a decade ago,  he already had a clear sense of direction. But it all didn’t come together until he scored his first viral hit, “Eish!,”  inviting listeners to the multiverse of a rapper who understood that the underground rewards authenticity above everything else. From there, his catalogue began to take shape. His 2024 debut album, ‘The world is yours: reloaded,’ was an audacious statement of ambition. 

However, his sophomore album, ‘Mad Max,’ was a more natural extension of everything jaykatana had been building towards. Themes of survival, self-reliance, and moving through the world with a certain grit have always been present in his music, and the project solidified it. What makes jaykatana’s growth compelling is that it has never felt forced. Each project unfurled a new layer while retaining the core of his story, and it is the reason why, when jaykatana does break through to a wider audience, it will feel completely earned. – M.E.

 

Lali X Lola

For fans of: Ayra Starr, Chloe x Halle, Oiza & Meyi

Over the past few years, identical sisters Lali X Lola, who hail from Cape Coast, have been steadily working to redefine Ghana’s Pop and R&B music scene on their own terms. Initially starting as dancers, the sisters arrived on the scene with a wealth of entertainment experience that has been instrumental in their transition to recording artists and continues to stand them in good stead as they build their reputation as one of Ghana’s most promising musical acts. Their official debut single, “Not The Same,” a self-assured duet that served as a decent introduction to their style, arrived in late 2021. 

A succession of singles, most notably the playful dance bop “Johnny,” which is reminiscent of Yemi Alade’s 2014 hit, and the slinky “Picture Us,” followed, culminating in their debut EP ‘From Words to Magic.’ Produced largely by Rapidd, the sisters stack intricate vocal arrangements and showcase their decent songwriting skills over their close collaborator’s lush instrumentation. They accelerated their output from that point on, refining and expanding the scope of their music over the course of two additional 6-track EPs released within a year, a run that helped them secure the Emerging Woman of the Year award at the 2024 3Music Awards. 

One of their biggest singles yet, “Pepper Demm,” a groovy affair that excels thanks to the sisters’ sultry delivery and Rapidd’s rhythmic drums, arrived in early 2025, giving them sufficient momentum to release their debut album ‘Pepper Soup’ a few months later. Across highlights like the warm R&B-inspired opener “Could It Be,” “What It Was,” the steamy high-octane banger “Soso,” and “Pepper Demm” remix, which features Kojo Manuel and a standout verse from rapper Elestee, who injects new energy into the track,  Lali X Lola show a much more mature and varied artistic vision. 

The sisters continue to be relentless in their output, following up their album with recent singles like “I See You” and “Don Do.” Their latest “Kamikaze,” another groovy number fit for the dancefloor, has already started gaining some traction online, underscoring their growing influence as one of Ghana’s most promising rising stars and their unwavering dedication to their craft. – B.A.

LYRXX Wants You To Feel Things 

Posted on by The Native

While Lagos has traditionally held a place of prominence in Afropop, much of the city’s artistic gravitas has been defined by its communion with other cities in its orbit, like Accra and Port Harcourt. Ibadan, situated roughly 118km away from Lagos, has long served as a creative foil of sorts for Lagos, inspiring in spades while carrying its own distinct proud musical tradition with pride.  There are glimpses of that dynastic legacy in the way that rising singer, LYRXX, approaches his music, bending references from genres like Apala, Soul, R&B, and Hip-Hop with a deft touch without sacrificing lyrical rigour. 

Despite only debuting in 2025 with “Balenciaga,” the singer has gradually built a strong profile with a series of drops that blend a deeply surgical Pop execution with a sprawling linguistic ingenuity that shines through on his debut project, ‘MYSTERY RIDER.’ From the heartfelt crooning of ‘OAU Fine Girl” to the linguistic showcase of the title track, LYRXX traverses a world of emotions, affirming himself and examining the parameters of his quest for a better life. 

As part of a new partnership with Apple Music, we are publishing transcripts of interviews from their popular Africa Now Radio show hosted by Nandi Madida, and LYRXX is up first, discussing the influence of his grandmother on his artistic approach and the experiences that shaped ‘MYSTERY RIDER.’ 

What are your musical inspirations?

I grew up listening more to traditional sounds. I emulated so many people that did the traditional music because I could envision myself doing a lot of their sounds, infusing it into my own personal freestyles and stuff. So I looked up to people like Batile Alake, people like Barrister, people like King Sunny Ade. So a lot of them like that and their sound actually blended my own sound very well.

How do you navigate being reserved and channeling it into your music

Because I’m a very quiet person, I don’t really talk much. I try to make sure that my deep thoughts have been communicated through my music. If you listen to the project you will see that it talks about so many things that people do day to day. But instead of having a conversation like sitting down to talk to people about it, I just like to make it artistic, turn it into music. That way, people will understand better because when I’m talking to somebody one-on-one, I feel like they don’t get me like I want them to get me. So I just try to make sure that every single bit of the information is there so I won’t have to repeat myself in person. Anytime you want to hear the information again, you can always go back to it.

Tell us about your grandma’s influence?

One thing that I’m grateful for that my grandma taught me is teaching me early that life is all about ups and downs. It’s not always going to be rosy. There are seasons to everything. You will experience love, you will experience heart. Even the most trusted person will disappoint at some point. I’m just very grateful because she was real with me while she was still alive all through and I’ve been able to see what she has said to be true because I’ve mixed with a lot of people, understood different people’s mindset, how people think, how people go about their lives and just like a part in the song where I said I’m never disappointed, I know how people behave or people act. So I’m just grateful that she’s very real with me and I’ve learned a lot.

What themes did you explore on ‘MYSTERY RIDER’?

When I started this project, I just wanted to make sure that I’m communicating something that my fans will want to go back to many years to come. It’s not just about my story alone, it’s about what everybody feels. I started with a track that resonates with love, fantasies, and I moved on to optimism, I moved on to just like how a normal human being would want to dream, what they would expect from life, what they would want from life, the ups and downs, the disappointment they will face and all. So, let me just say I was given the opportunity to feel everything at once. I went through the phases of love, the phase of disappointment, the phase of being accepted and you know, neglected at some point. So I just brought everything together to make this masterpiece.

Who is “OAU Fine Girl” written about?

The song came when I went to a school, there’s a school in Nigeria here, the name is OAU, Obafemi Awolowo University. So I’ve been frequent in the school for a while and there’s this particular beautiful melanin popping that I’ve been eyeing, you know and she’s a very interesting person, a music person as well. So I just, like I said, I’m not much of a talker. The best way I just wanted to communicate my feelings to her was to sing it in a song. You know, I’m quite confident that the song is going to get her.

How did you approach writing “Honeymoon in Paris”?

“Honeymoon in Paris” happened during the course of the project. I just was expressing, this one is just me projecting things that I feel towards this particular lady and my hopes as regarding the relationship. I just wanted to make sure that she’s understanding what I’m saying and at the same time I’m giving her a piece of myself in the song. Also I tried to make sure that she’s not feeling left out because nowadays, the way people show love, the way people project love now, sometimes when you come to real life you don’t meet it that way. So I’m letting her know what I can offer and they are real. So that’s basically about the song. So they are not empty promises. They are real-time talks.

How about “Safer”?

“Safer” for me is, the people that have heard the song, they perceive it more from the romance aspect, but it’s absolutely more than that. It has so many spiritual touches to it, so many realistic touches to it as well. There are some times in relationships where when it starts at first, it looks like if you both leave each other, that’s going to be the end. But at some point you begin to realize that there is much more. Also I tend to touch the spiritual aspect where I said “oro mi o ni su olorun, ohun ti mo fe ni mo ba n so”, which means what I intend in my heart, what I want in my heart, I tell it to God and my situations will not be tiring, will not be bothersome to God, you know. It’s just me being vulnerable, you know, and at the same time expressing that I have so much love in my heart to give.

What do you want people to takeaway from the EP?

I just hope they feel a sense of realism, love, passion, because every single track on the EP was passionately done. I want them to pay attention to it and understand that life is in perspective too, because you cannot be thinking that everybody thinks the same way you think. You have to be ready to have a taste of almost everything if not all, when it comes to you, just own it and make sure that you bring out the best of yourself in it. So I just want them to have a sense of security, love and just keep living, you know. So that’s it.

Listen to the full interview here.

Best New Music: Mavo and SSSoundgawd’s “Aura Salad” Is Peak Dancefloor Filler

Posted on by Melony Akpoghene

“Aura Salad” is another dose of what Mavo does best: a loose-limbed run through his consistently inventive lamba, melded with his bouncy Afropop and Amapiano amalgam.

If there is one thing the artist has become known for, it is how to get the groove going. From “Tumo Weto” to “Escaladizzy” and “Shakabulizzy,” he’s spent much of his discography proving that as an incontestable fact. What better way to double down on that than to link up with someone like SSSoundgawd, who is equally skilled at getting the groove going? 

 

Widely recognised as a producer, SSSoundgawd has been stamped as a sharp mind behind the boards, but he began showing real promise as a front-facing artist after 2025’s “Ya Strata.” Co-produced by him, “Aura Salad” is a peak dancefloor filler, and the production stitches the beats together with spunky moments that foreground the fun of the record.

Less than two years ago, Mavo was tossing loosies into the ears of the modest crowd who rocked with him. His rise has moved fast, skipping the slow climb and swinging straight for the big leagues, tapping in for tracks with Davido and Wizkid within a year. Like him, there are thousands of promising acts, jittery and ready to pounce on a moment. Luckily for Mavo, he came prepared with a style that made it easy to separate himself from the pack. His playful command of language and off-centre phrasing carved a lane he could comfortably traverse, giving him an edge in a crowded field.

 

“Aura Salad” drops as part of the two-track ‘Breaking,’ alongside “Hey Mama,” also featuring SSSoundgawd. Months of teasing put the song under pressure, with the title alone inviting side-eyes and snide chatter before anyone heard the full cut. But the song really taps. It does not stray far from the duo’s established terrain with its themes circling familiar ground. Mavo and SSSoundgawd drawl through stock tropes about being rich “party monsters” chasing someone who’s caught their fancy, while slipping in a wink of wittiness by coining “Aura Salad” as a cheeky antithesis of “Aura Farming.” They both meet the beat with strong, catchy lines whose meanings are easy to let slide.  

Another solid entry to sate the raging appetite of a demanding escapist nightlife, the track is so vibey that all you need to do is stay put and let the music take over.

Listen to “Aura Salad” here.

Cosamote’s ‘Files ‘26’ Is A Testament to Collaborative Brilliance

Posted on by Melony Akpoghene

One of the things that makes our creative scene so exciting is the way artists link up and build something potentially larger than themselves. ‘Files ‘26,’ the debut album from the Lagos-based collective Cosamote, is one of the most recent examples of this. The project gathers 11 rising musicians—Suurshi, Fimi, Tiwi, Jamz FR, Musta4a, Reespect, Amakah, Adebaby, Caleb Clay, Creen Caesar and Rozzz—giving lyricists and vocalists room to be spellbinding in their own ways, with the subtext of romance as the throughline.

What distinguishes the album is its conceptual ambition; the music even served as the catalyst for Michelle Ejiro’s novel, A Portrait of Atypical People. The record moves through the shifting phases of love, from the rush of new attraction to the eventual strain of commitment and the perturbing dynamics that can surface over time.

 

Early standouts such as “One + One” and “Sweetest Taboo” capture the giddiness and heady thrill of catching someone’s eye. Midway through, the interlude “Take It” shifts the tone. The song is a haunting ballad in which Suurshi’s powerful voice conveys the depth of its theme. By the final stretch, the tracks dwell on the harder, more complicated aspects of love and relationships. The novel runs in lockstep with this emotional arc through the story of Uloma, whose illustration appears on the album cover.

Sonically, the project casts a wide net, threading together Afropop, Rap, and R&B into a fluid, cohesive soundscape. It hosts a formidable lineup of deft spitters like Fimi, Reespect, Rozzz who flaunt their skills to a dazzling degree. The music is particularly appealing thanks to its entrancing, melodic listening experience and the way each artist commands whatever track they feature on. 

 

Projects of this calibre matter, especially in an independent landscape that grows more demanding by the day, as the game is rife with talents who are truly committed. What began as a creative experiment led by executive producer Oke “Emaxee” Emmanuel and his team to test how far collaboration could stretch, even with lean resources has evolved into a sophisticated spotlight for Nigerian talent. ‘Files ‘26’ is a validation of the depth of skill within the industry and a clear reminder of what becomes possible when artists are afforded space to build.

Listen to ‘Files ‘26’ here.

Tiwa Savage Is Launching A Music Foundation With Berklee College of Music

Posted on by Michelle Ejiro

Nigerian superstar, Tiwa Savage, has been a global and multifaceted artist instrumental to the long-standing success of the genre and the Nigerian music scene as a whole. After decades of building an indisputable artistic repertoire, her ambition broadens with an additional layer to her interests as a philanthropist. This development takes form in her newly established Tiwa Savage Music Foundation, built with the sole aim of empowering an ecosystem of creative personas from artists, songwriters, producers, sound engineers, music executives, and as many talents that fit into the music flora.  

In collaboration with her alma mater, Berklee College of Music, where she was awarded a scholarship at just 24 years old to pursue her dreams, the flagship course will offer free education, access to world-class training materials, and mentorship to 100 participants who will be selected based on merit.

 

For Tiwa Savage, the goal is to be a conduit between talents and the harrowing situation of inaccessibility back in Africa. “Talent is universal — but access is not,” she says. “The Tiwa Savage Music Foundation is my commitment to giving others that same opportunity that was given to me. For too long, African creatives have been perceived as late to global systems. Education changes that. Access changes that. Ownership changes that.”

The maiden edition ‘Berklee In Nigeria: Tiwa Savage Intensive Music Program’ is a daily program scheduled to run over the course of four days from April 23-26, 2026, in the county’s creative hub, Lagos. Applications are set to start from March 10, 2026.  With the launch of her music foundation, Tiwa Savage is on the path to cementing herself as a legend who, beyond modeling a successful career, also primed a generation to come. 

Pith Africa Announces First European Pop-Ups in Paris and Amsterdam

Posted on by Wale Oloworekende

Pith Africa will take its first European tour from March 10 to March 21, with pop-ups scheduled in Paris and Amsterdam. The run marks the Lagos brand’s first international retail outings and a clear step toward a wider global presence.

The Paris stop will be held from March 12 to March 14 in partnership with the French Embassy in Nigeria through its Lagos x Paris Accelerator Programme, and in collaboration with French streetwear agency Talk Studio. After being selected for the accelerator in 2024 and completing the year-long programme, Pith Africa is now bringing its Lagos-rooted identity directly to the French capital. 

The pop-up will feature exclusive colourways, a limited Pith Africa x Talk Studio T-shirt, commemorative “I Love Paris” and Pith Global T-shirts, alongside staple pieces such as the Petal Jeans, Petal Tees, Petal Polo and Petal Lagos Hat. An opening night on March 12 will host guests from the creative industry and members of the African diaspora.

The tour will close in Amsterdam from March 20 to March 21 in collaboration with Showroom. The programme will centre on a retail showcase of Pith Africa collections, community gatherings and interactive workshops, including a Nike-supported T-shirt customisation session. An opening event will convene creatives and industry figures based in the Netherlands.

Since it was founded in 2020 by Adedayo Laketu, Cosmas Ojemen and Emeka Anazodo, Pith Africa has been accomplishing what it was created to do, working at the intersection of fashion, art and music to represent a new generation of African creatives. As the brand grows, it remains committed to building a multilingual cultural conversation, one that bridges Africa, its diaspora and the world at large; and this tour is an expression of that commitment.

Karam Gill’s ‘Wizkid: Long Live Lagos’ Is A Powerful Celebration Of Identity 

Posted on by Wale Oloworekende

About halfway into ‘Wizkid: Long Live Lagos,’ the 2025 HBO documentary based on Wizkid’s stunning rise to global superstardom from a quiet upbringing in Surulere, the unrelenting toll of the singer’s life as one of the most visible faces of contemporary African music is laid bare: his mum is admitted to a London hospital, but seemingly, his much-publicised 2023 concert at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium must go on. 

It’s moments like this that made Karam Gill, the documentary’s director, realise the burden and gift of Wizkid’s existence. “I looked at it as he’s somebody who realizes he’s on this earth for a larger purpose,” the director said on a Zoom call one late weekday in December 2025. “When you see him push through and still do the show and still do everything he’s doing as his mother is being admitted, who he’s so close with, it makes you ask the question, ‘Why?’ It’s very easy at that point to just walk away. So it made you realize that there’s something bigger driving this guy.”

 

Released as the latest installment of HBO’s famed Music Box series created by Bill Simmons in 2021, ‘Wizkid: Long Live Lagos’ unfolds across continents, capturing the details of the life of Wizkid while balancing out that narrative with the unfettered perspective of a long-time Lagos-based Wizkid fan who makes the journey to London for the 2023 Tottenham Hotspur Stadium concert. It’s a deliberate gambit from Gill, who was keen to show Western viewers the depth of Wizkid’s popularity and followership.  “You can have an interview, you can have somebody sitting in an interview and say that, but it’s far more different when you actually see it,” he explained.  “I really wanted to make this more immersive and get people to understand beyond just saying it to people.”

16 years into a career defined by countless hits and several landmark moments, Wizkid’s rise still exemplifies the ingenuity of African music and its potential to shape broader public opinion, as the documentary’s guests like the legendary Femi Anikulapo-Kuti, Wiz’s manager and partner Jada Pollock, and The NATIVE’s Seni Saraki attest to on screen. It’s that chance to tell the story of an African cultural icon that drew Gill in, providing what is hopefully the first of many attempts at contextualising Wizkid’s life and career. 

Our conversation with Karam Gill has been edited for clarity. 

My first question is about how you got involved with the documentary. 

Wizkid and I actually have the same agents at United Talents Agency (UTA), so we were introduced to each other. I met Jada as well. At the time, they were just talking about everything that was going on and some of the things that they had planned. They had this big show that they were looking to announce soon, or thinking about doing. They didn’t know if they were going to do it. The long and the short of it is, I got introduced to Wiz and Jada, and we immediately hit it off. The vibes were cool. I’ve always been a huge fan of Wizkid’s music. I just love his music. We started talking. I went to the studio a couple of times, hung out with them, and we started to figure out what we can do here. There was just so much to say and so much to explore. He’s such a legend. What’s happening right now culturally, with music coming out of Africa, specifically Nigeria, but just international music at large, just makes sense. We’re starting to see international music from different countries dominate the Western world. There’s a larger story to tell there. So we started to ideate around that. That was really the start.

Did you have a broader understanding of what was happening on the scene, or was Wizkid your touchpoint with the movement?

I’ve actually been following it. Both of my parents, coincidentally, were born in Africa. This is obviously a long time ago, but I’ve always been a huge fan of the music, especially the music that’s come out in the last 10 and 20 years. My dad introduced me to Fela way back in the day. I’ve always known about it, but just how it’s exploded in the last 10 years was incredible. This is insane. I live in Los Angeles, whether I’m in Los Angeles or New York or wherever, you’re hearing this music everywhere. It’s traveling. There’s a fascination I had. I was like, “Wow, there’s something bigger going on here.” This music also means something more to the people of these different places, whether that’s Puerto Rico and Bad Bunny, or some of the artists coming out of Asia or K-pop, or African music. Something bigger is happening. There’s something larger to say here.

 

Why did you think Wizkid was a perfect fit for the documentary? 

We just vibed. He’s a real artist, and I respect that. He’s a real artist. You can tell when someone is a real artist and cares about creativity and craft and all of those things. You can tell when someone is not. Immediately I met Wizkid, I was, “Wow, this is no bullshit. This is a real artist.” That just made me gravitate towards him. I really just liked his energy. He felt the same way. We were like, “Yo, we need to figure something out. We don’t know what it is, but we need to figure something out.”

What was the most fascinating thing you learned about Wizkid through the process of making the doc?

The most fascinating thing I learned was, as somebody who grew up in the US, right, there’s definitely super fans, there’s super fandom, there’s superstars everywhere. Growing up, you see that Lil Wayne was huge, Taylor Swift is big, Kendrick is big. There are so many big artists out here that have big fan bases that can’t step outside without being swarmed, right? But what I was so shocked by and taken aback by what is happening with Wizkid is on another level. It’s not even comparable because people see so much pride and identity, and so much cultural pride in someone. There’s not an American out there who thinks that the hopes and dreams of American culture are absolutely in the hands of one of these random American celebrities. It’s just not the same. Whereas in places in Nigeria, the super fan culture is beautiful to see. The other thing I would say is I learned that Wiz is a real artist. He is somebody whose intentions are very pure and very real. He’s a very intentional human being who just knows that music is bigger than just music. For Wiz, he realizes that the music he’s making, while it’s beautiful and it’s a great career, he knows that it’s bigger than just music. The impact of this music travels; when it travels, it really has the power to shift perception and culture. It has so many effects beyond just the music. 

You’ve worked on several documentaries. I checked out the Lil Baby one. What do you think is the biggest difference working on a project for that and one for Wizkid? 

This project was very different. We had multiple units shooting at the same time across Africa and Europe, and with Wiz. This was just a different challenge because we were tracking a story unfolding very quickly in real time. It was very challenging when we were filming. Wizkid’s mother got sick and was admitted to the hospital. There were just a lot of things that I had not experienced on other projects. It was just a very intense process, because we had teams in Nigeria shooting at the same time that we had teams in London. At the same time, we had a team with Wiz, then this happened with Wiz. So there’s just a lot more going on than other projects at the same time, in different time zones. Then you have part of my team that’s based in LA. It was quite challenging.

You spoke about Wizkid’s mother getting hospitalized during the course of production. What did you learn about Wizkid as a human being, observing him at close quarters during that process?

I looked at it as he’s somebody who realizes he’s on this earth for a larger purpose. That’s what I took away from it. He knows that he’s not every other artist that’s doing it just for the money or doing it just to be famous. There’s something bigger driving him. Part of that was his mother, and seeing the impact that his music is having. His mother was a big piece of that. Wiz talks about in the film. People’s parents weren’t looking at kids doing music as a viable path forward before him. People around the world, the Western world at least, weren’t playing this type of music in the clubs, in Los Angeles, in New York. Wizkid realized, “Oh, whoa, what I’m doing is bigger than just making music that people enjoy. This is having an impact.” When you see him push through and still do the show and still do everything he’s doing as his mother is being admitted, who he’s so close with, it makes you ask the question, “Why?” It’s very easy at that point to just walk away. So, it made you realize that there’s something bigger driving this guy.

 

I noticed that while watching the documentary, you focused on the perspective of his fans. Why do you think that was an important part of the story?

You can sit all day long and tell Western audiences how important Wiz is, but unless you really see it, you see him spray-painted on the walls, in images of him on the yellow buses, or spend time with super fans that really feel this way, it’s different. You can have an interview, you can have somebody sitting in an interview and say that, but it’s different when you actually see it. You’re like, “Wow, this actually, this is more than I thought. This is more complex than I thought.” I really wanted to make this more immersive and get people to understand beyond just saying it to people. People really understood how much Leo Messi meant to Argentina after they won the World Cup. There were hundreds of thousands of people in the streets. You get it that this guy means more than just sports. For me, I wanted to take people there. I want people to see it. I want people to feel it. I don’t want to just tell them.

What was the most difficult part of making this documentary?

The most difficult part was really how condensed the filming schedule was, because we were leading into Tottenham, so that was a fixed date. You can’t go back and shoot stuff after. So we had to make sure that we had teams working around the clock, 24/7, across the world, in three different time zones, to bring this project to life, because every day is getting a day closer to Tottenham, which is the narrative.

My final question is about the legacy of a project. What do you think the legacy of making a documentary about Wizkid will be? 

I hope there’s a sense of pride that exists coming out of this. That’s all I can hope for as a filmmaker, that people feel a sense of pride. But beyond that, the legacy of something like this is to really open people’s eyes in the US and in the West. They love dancing to this music, but they don’t really know how deep it goes. They don’t know what it means. They don’t know all these other layers. So, for me, the legacy of the project is, hopefully,  that it helps make a small dent and take a small step forward for people who love the music,  know what it is, and realize that it’s everywhere and hear it all the time when they go out, but gives them more context and understanding of where it comes from, why it’s important, what it means to people. Those are the bigger questions and bigger things that are just really important for people to understand. Once you understand all that, it means much more. You can really understand things more. That’s very important.

Watch ‘Wizkid: Long Live Lagos’ here. 

Kosi O and Rigo Kamp Explore the Dynamics of Modern Love on “UNO”

Posted on by Melony Akpoghene

Kosi O’s debut EP, ‘Kosi,’ was a clear statement of identity, rolling out in no uncertain terms the range of her textured vocals and, most importantly, her incisiveness when tackling subjects largely drawn from the heart. Traversing both R&B and Afropop has imbued her with the sonic versatility she needs to fully articulate everything she has to say about love. After a smattering of singles in 2025, she enters the new year with another heart-on-sleeve burner, “UNO,” a collaboration with Rigo Kamp.

 

With a “pun intended” title that carries dual meaning—“UNO” as in being someone’s number one, and “You Know”—the track immediately asserts itself as capable of charting the knotty web of love and desire. While the song is closely in tune with its singers’ emotions, the distinct pleasure of “UNO” lies in its breezy simplicity. It is a breathy, midtempo, lovestruck number in which Kosi is as yearning as a lover can be, throwing herself up as an unrelenting force as she pleads, over and over, to a passive lover: “Wait for me.”

 

Rigo Kamp takes full responsibility for smoothly crooning the hook, and his honeyed delivery brings something fresh and endlessly replayable to the formula. His luxuriant vocals and drive to explore all ranges of throwback sounds have made him a standout, placing him high among a new generation of artists mining Afropop’s history and stretching it into several exciting pockets. But with a voice like his, whatever he sings seems to reveal him as a true R&B loyalist, full of soul.

Listen to “UNO” here.

Best New Music: Zaylevelten Is Enjoying The Perks Of Triumph On “Muzz”

Posted on by Wale Oloworekende

Just a little under 18 months ago, Zaylevelten was glimpsing at a future that he couldn’t quite lay his fingers on despite the clarity of its predestination in his mind. Across the length of his ‘before 1t g0t crazy’ tape, the rapper was hinting at the success that was just around the corner for himself, whether it was on the Soul-Rap-influenced “money calling” or the project’s aspirational opener, “brabus (tiwa savage).” To listen to that iteration of Zaylevelten was to steep one’s self in a radical act of self-manifestation via his salacious lyrics. 

 

Fair play to the singer, a great percentage of what he was hinting at on ‘before 1t g0t crazy’ unfolded in 2025 with the singer sealing his reputation as one of Nigeria’s most promising up-and-coming acts thanks to a fluid flow and an arsenal of Popular culture references that keeps him plugged into the reality of day-to-day life in the west African country. His first release of 2026, “Muzz,” arrives as a reflective statement on his blistering come-up and the perks that his success affords him. 

There is a moment in many great artists’ catalogue when the scale of their breakthrough comes into focus for them, leading to defiant messaging on wax that captures their state of mind. Zaylevelten taps into that energy on  “Muzz,” offering a diaristic dispatch on the ways his life has changed. It’s perciptible from the opening words uttered on the track with “Whole lotta money” being uttered repeatedly before he launches into a sequence about his motion and the outsized influence of his work across the world. 

 

In many ways, ‘then 1t g0t crazy,’ the project that established Zaylevelten’s genius was a contemplative and ruminative statement of intent that at times revealed an earnest creator battling to prove his musical chops and soak in different experiences. Halfway through that project, when he says, “I just dey know say Abu Dhabi different from Dubai,” on “Fly,” it’s a candid moment that reveals just how far Zay has come. 

There’s less of that sentimentality on “Muzz” because he’s fully tapped into the fast lifestyle of being a rapper but it’s no less catchy when he sings, “For my show na mazza/ Na real party scatter,” because it’s just true: Zaylevelten is hotter than he’s ever been, he knows it, and, now, he wants the world to acknowledge that fact. 

Listen to “Muzz” here. 

African Gospel Music Is Ready for Global Recognition

Posted on by Chux Odoh

For decades, the Grammy Awards have functioned as a mirror of global musical influence not merely rewarding popularity, but recognizing movements that reshape culture, sound, and spiritual expression. Today, one such movement is unfolding unmistakably across the African continent: African Gospel music has grown from a regional expression of faith into a global cultural force, and it is increasingly difficult for the world’s most prestigious music institution to overlook. 

What was once perceived as locally rooted worship music has evolved into a digitally dominant, internationally consumed, and commercially viable genre, backed by compelling data, global audiences, and sophisticated distribution infrastructure. The question is no longer whether African gospel music meets global standards, it is why it has taken so long to be considered.

Streaming data now provides the clearest lens through which musical relevance is measured, and by this metric, African Gospel music is thriving. According to recent Spotify Wrapped insights focused on Sub-Saharan Africa, Gospel music ranks among the top ten most-streamed genres across the region, competing directly with Afropop, Hip-Hop, and Pop. More strikingly, African artistes dominate gospel streaming charts within the region, accounting for the vast majority of top performers and several now rank among the most-streamed Gospel artists globally. 

Artists such as Nathaniel Bassey, Mercy Chinwo, Moses Bliss, Sunmisola Agbebi, and South Africa’s Joyous Celebration consistently generate millions of monthly listeners, not only in Africa but across North America, Europe, and the Caribbean. These numbers are not driven by diaspora audiences alone; they reflect organic, cross-border adoption, fueled by playlists, social media virality, worship communities and congregations worldwide. In the modern Grammy ecosystem where data, reach, and sustained audience engagement matter, African gospel music is already operating at a globally competitive scale. 

 

Sound Innovation at the Intersection of Faith and Culture

The African Gospel music scene’s ascent is not powered by numbers alone. Its creative evolution has been just as critical. Across Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana, Gospel artistes are redefining worship music by integrating Afropop rhythms, Amapiano log drums, Highlife progressions, and contemporary urban production into traditional Gospel frameworks. The result is a genre that remains spiritually rooted while being sonically progressive accessible to younger audiences without diluting its message.

This hybrid sound often referred to as Afro-gospel has expanded Gospel’s cultural footprint beyond church settings into mainstream playlists, festivals, and global collaborations. Artistes like Victor Thompson, who has worked with American mainstream acts, exemplify this bridge between continents, genres, and faith traditions. Such innovation aligns squarely with Grammy values: originality, cultural relevance, and artistic excellence. 

The Infrastructure Behind the Movement

Crucially, African Gospel’s global rise has been supported by professional music infrastructure, eliminating one of the historical barriers that once limited international recognition. At the center of this shift is M.A.D Solutions, a leading African music distribution and services company. Since its founding in 2017, M.A.D Solutions has played a pivotal role in exporting African music to the world and in recent years, it has intentionally expanded its focus on gospel. 

By onboarding prominent gospel artistes such as Moses Bliss, Judikay, Tim Godfrey, and Neon Adejo, M.A.D Solutions has ensured that African Gospel music enjoys global digital parity distributed seamlessly across Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Boomplay, Deezer, and dozens of other DSP platforms. This level of access matters: it places African Gospel music directly into the same data pools, editorial pipelines, and discovery systems that Grammy-recognised music already inhabits.  In practical terms, African Gospel is no longer under-distributed, under-documented, or under-exposed. It is visible, measurable, and commercially structured. 

 

Recognition within Africa itself has also matured. Gospel-focused award platforms such as the Kingdom Achievers Awards reflect a growing culture of professional evaluation, excellence, and accountability within the genre. These institutions mirror the role early Gospel awards played in the U.S. before the genre became firmly embedded in the Grammy ecosystem.  This internal validation strengthens the case externally: African gospel music is no longer informal or fringe; it is institutionalised, competitive, and well-curated.

The Recording Academy has increasingly positioned itself as a global institution, responding to international movements in Jazz, Latin music, Afropop, and Global Pop. African Gospel music represents the next logical evolution of that trajectory. It meets and in many cases exceeds the core Grammy criteria of artistic excellence, cultural impact, global reach, commercial relevance and innovation rooted in tradition. Most importantly, African Gospel music is reshaping how faith-based music sounds, feels, and travels in the modern world. It is influencing worship culture globally, redefining spiritual music for younger generations, and doing so with undeniable scale. 

 

Conclusion: Recognition Is Not Charity, It Is Accuracy 

Granting African Gospel music meaningful Grammy consideration would not be an act of inclusion for inclusion’s sake. It would be an act of accuracy and a recognition of where the genre is today, not where outdated perceptions assume it to be. The numbers are there, the artistry is evident, the infrastructure continues to improve, and the global audience already exists. Now, the Grammys must decide whether they are prepared to fully acknowledge one of the most powerful Gospel movements of the 21st century