Review: ‘Starrgirl’ by Ayra Starr

‘Starrgirl,’ Ayra Starr’s feverishly-anticipated third studio album, begins at a frenetic pace. On “Dangerous,” the opening track, cavernous drums rumble, buoyed by moody synths that evoke a superhero film score. Apala-inflected ad-libs by Terry Apala and label mate Lovn, however, smuggle in a Nigerian texture. In a tone teetering between braggadocio and indignation, Ayra adorns herself with praise, offers tribute to her army of fans, Mobstarrs, and scowls at her detractors. “Won o le ri mi tan,” she sings defiantly on “Dangerous.” The song offers useful clues for parsing what the 24-year-old virtuoso describes as her “grown woman living in New York City” era. Firmly in her girlboss epoch, she’s done with playing nice. A fierceness glistens across the album, reflected through lyrics asserting that she’s done begging for love and placating foes. Crucially, on ‘Starrgirl,’ Ayra Starr offers an expansive vision of African Pop.

Ayra Starr shot to superstardom in January of 2021, when she released her eponymous EP. As the lore goes, years before, music impresario and label boss Don Jazzy had scouted her from a cover she posted on Instagram and promptly funneled her into the Mavin Academy, where she was minted into a star. When she released her debut EP, a mix of stricken ballads and springy romps, very few might have anticipated her breathtaking career arc. But even then, it was clear she was special. 

 

By 2024, when she released her sophomore album, ‘The Year I Turned 21,’ a mix of sappy romantic ballads and punchy confessionals, she’d taken her place amongst Afropop’s vanguard. Along the way, she had also acquired an army of devotees whom she christened Mobstarrs, entering the rarefied echelon occupied by generation-defining stars like Madonna, Wizkid, and Beyoncé. These fans champion her achievements, parry rival fanbases, and ensure she remains in relevant conversations. 

“Mobstarrs na my family,” she sings on “Dangerous.” Coming from another artist this might read like a case of a celebrity goading fans into parasocial behavior. But anyone who has seen Ayra’s fans come out in their numbers to support her would agree that addressing them as family is perhaps not so much of a stretch– as an act of support in the lead-up to ‘Starrgirl,’ they christened an actual star after the album. Fervor at this intensity tends to come with some dogmatism, and this case is no different. Mobstarrs view themselves as extensions of their patron saint, internalizing both her successes and perceived slights against her. Shortly after her last album, fans began to murmur that her distinctly Nigerian branding was perhaps holding her back from becoming a true global star. In many ways, ‘Starrgirl’ feels like a rejoinder to this criticism. 

On ‘Starrgirl,’ Ayra Starr trades her distinctly Nigerian sound for a cosmopolitan one, weaving Afrobeats, Soul, R&B, Pop, Dancehall, House and Bouyon into a glorious carnival, as she makes her case for global hegemony. On “Midnight in New York,” one of the most exquisitely produced records on the project, she’s melding Afropop and Dance music with practiced ease.  It’s midnight in New York, Ayra is dressed in a bare-back dress, heels swinging in her hands, as she steels herself for a memorable night with her lover. In July last year, Ayra Starr inked a management deal with Jay Z’s boutique label Roc Nation, and jettisoned Lagos for New York soon after. With “Midnight in New York,” among other things, she seems to be saying the journey is going très bien. 

 

The project has a significantly wide range, which means that listeners who lean back during solemn moments might find themselves blasted backwards when the project swerves into boisterous terrain. It slips into R&B territory on the Kwn-assisted “Amazing.” Over slippery melodies and fuzzy synths, Ayra Starr and Kwn take turns painting rompy, sex-centric scenes. Meanwhile, on “Ms. Paper,” a majestic Bouyon number featuring French-Congolese artist Theodora, restless drums crash into careening melodies, summoning the frenzied energy of a carnival. “Dance,” which finds her ecstatic about her gilded life, subtly nods at House Music’s growing influence in West Africa. With its pidgin delivery and ecstatic percussion, it would sit comfortably on the playlists of the raves taking over nightlife in Lagos and beyond. 

Across ‘Starrgirl,’ Ayra Starr is eager to tell us she’s a grown woman now. Moving away from the dreamy notions of romance emblazoned on her earlier work, she resurrects the archetype of the girl boss that dominated the early aughts, embodied by superstars like Madonna, Riot Grrrl, Mary J. Blige and Beyoncé. 90s and Y2K girl bosses, as portrayed on the screen by celebrities, served as the manifestation of feminism’s third wave in Pop culture. Their ethos included taking up space, laser focus on career or ‘getting the bag’, and, not least, optimizing for maximum possible attractiveness. These forces ripple across the album. Their combined effect is that ‘Starrgirl,’ can feel like a contemporary manifesto for young women across the world– and maybe that is the point. 

On “Ms. Paper,” she spurns a love interest in pursuit of money. “I make money bae, I call you later,” she sings, making the case for career taking precedence over tenuous matters like romance. It’s also not enough for her to have money, her ideal man is equally well-off. Later in the song, she sings: “Mr. money come see ms. paper.” On “Where Do We Go,” even as she teases out a thorny romantic situation, she sings about matching Mercedes with her romantic interest. In songs like “Who’s Dat Girl” and “Tornado,” she is throwing around her weight in ways certain to inspire women across the world. 

 

Across the album, the subject of hotness simmers in the background, rising to the surface in specific instances. There’s also a lot of sex on ‘Starrgirl,’ described in vivid and colorful language. “When I put my body on private, you just wanna put miles on it/ I just wanna give you, give you that sweet escape/ Touch me,” she sings on the Leon Thomas-assisted “Pressure.” On “Amazing,” featuring Kwn, she ups the ante, singing: “Earthquake in my legs. While the backboard ’bout to break. Put a hole in the wall/ When we freakin’ on the sheets, put that arch up in my back.’ Nonetheless, the moments when she dials down to an emotional register will leave you misty-eyed. In “Heaven Baby,” featuring ZAYN, surfing a somber piano melody, she offers lyrics so vulnerable and pristine, they feel like the journal entries of a love-struck teenager. “You could be my heaven baby/ Die for you if you let me baby/ You’re an angel, god damn it, baby,” she sings. Listen long enough and you’ll start pining for the kind of whirlwind romance that exists only in movies.  

 

As she aims for global domination, the range of themes and sounds Ayra Starr explores on ‘Starrgirl’ is genuinely breathtaking. Eclectic projects typically struggle to achieve cohesion. Nonetheless, for all its sonic adventurousness, the songs on the project sound like different expressions of the same central ideas. Another remarkable feature of the project is how raw and honest it feels. Despite the flawless writing on her earlier works, the lyrics tended to feel like cleverly constructed fictions as opposed to lived experiences. Fictitious lyrics certainly have their place. But in a world where artificial intelligence and the blizzard of misinformation on social media are blunting us emotionally, the ‘Stargirl’s’ diaristic nature makes it particularly compelling. 

In 2017, Afrobeats pioneer Wizkid made a gambit for global acclaim with his initially polarizing album ‘Sounds From The Other Side.’ With its novel fusions and eclectic sonic ambitions, it struggled to find its footing in the monocultural zeitgeist of the day, when the predominance of television and radio meant that much of society consumed a streamlined media diet. ‘Starrgirl’ arrives under wildly different circumstances. Its ambitious soundscape feels very much like a product of our post-monocultural era. Going solely by its quality, ‘Starrgirl’ will go down as a classic. The question is: will her globe-trotting sonic cocktail be enough to catapult her to global dominion? The album emerges at a time when the momentum African pop experienced shortly after the pandemic seems to be cooling off. Yet its thematic breadth, intimate lyrics, sticky hooks, and calibration to the zeitgeist make it difficult to dismiss—and even harder not to root for.

Listen to ‘Starrgirl‘ here.  

HOW  REALITY TV SHOWS HAVE BECOME A TRANS-DIASPORIC CONVERSATION STARTER ON BLACK LOVE

Posted on by Olumuyiwa Aderemi

While browsing through my favorite Snapchat channels sometime in late June, I stumbled across the statuses of classmates conducting a surgical analysis of the current affairs between contestants of ‘Love Island USA.’ Nigerians are notorious for consuming reality TV shows, case in point the ‘Big Brother Naija’, ‘The Real Housewives of Lagos’, and now, an international dating show filmed thousands of miles away. There were hot takes, memes, threads, relationship analyses and predictions, all directed at people the analysts have never met and will probably never meet.  Simply put, why has a trans-diasporic dating show become closely associated with thousands of Nigerians and the wider Black audience?

The fact that it didn’t start and finish with a specific season or group of competitors makes the obsession worth investigating. Black audiences have increasingly used love choices made by strangers as a platform to discuss representation, gender, racism, compatibility, and desirability in a variety of dating forms. During Season 6 of ‘Love Is Blind’, AD was exposed to objectifying words and behaviors from other competitors. Her body became a hot subject of conversation, dominating her personality and autonomy. 

 

This stereotyping reflected important cultural ignorance and the stereotyping of the bodies of Black women. TV has always portrayed Black women as angry, overbearing, lazy, humorless and expected to conform to white beauty standards. Black men aren’t treated differently. Reality TV often portray them as uncontrollably hypersexual. They’re reduced to non-chalant and thirsty species, ready to have children in any city and mark their kingdom among multiple weak, needy, man-sharing women while avoiding responsibility. 

As NATIVE Mag, in partnership with Bumble UK, noted during Black History Month in 2020, white relationships in the mainstream media were seen as content, healthy, and stress-free. Black romances, on the other hand, were categorized as either nonexistent or limited to stereotypes. However, it seems the zeitgeist has now changed among Black people. A cursory search on X about conversations by Black audiences on ‘Love Island’ would reveal a mix of memes, threads and commentary that analyse attraction, compatibility, rejection, loyalty, vulnerability and emotional intelligence. 

The relationships and couples in ‘Love Island’ do not exist in a vacuum. Online and offline, relationships are rarely ever seen as just relationships. What viewers perceive those ties to represent has changed. In the 2020s, shows like ‘Love Island’ or ‘Pop The Balloon,’ focus more on what these coupling and relationships between contestants represent. A Black man choosing one woman over another can become a conversation about colourism or Eurocentric beauty standards.

 A Black woman who is always overlooked is rarely seen as simply unlucky; viewers often read her experience as confirmation of broader patterns of desirability that have long shaped Black women’s lives. Likewise, when a contestant dates outside their race or appears to favour a particular type, audiences start to ask whether those preferences are genuinely individual or products of social conditioning. 

 

Social media then fills with debates over whether certain women are consistently treated as less desirable, whether Black men are held to different expectations, or whether contestants are reproducing stereotypes they have inherited about beauty, masculinity and femininity. Nationality adds another layer to these discussions. Audiences watching a British dating show, or a South African one like ‘Love Never Lies’ interpret contestants through familiar cultural lenses. 

Online reactions oscillate beyond the individuals involved to make claims about “Black men,” “British Black women” or “African women”. In doing so, viewers transform private relationships into symbols of national identity and cultural belonging. Contestants in these shows then become a means of expression for the viewers to come face-to-face with conversations surrounding what they’ve understood as desirability, romance, and colourism; conversations that have been in existence, and buried, way before they made their way somewhat to reality television shows.

This may be the ultimate reason why modern Black dating programs are so important. The question of whether Black people are visible on television has given way to one of what that visibility entails. It makes sense that earlier discussions about representation focused on the lack of Black intimacy in mainstream media or the stereotypes that predominated when Black people did show up. With more Black participants taking center stage on dating TV, viewers now have another challenge: interpreting what they see. 

The perfect case study is Nigeria, home to the most populous Black population in the world, where its people have not engaged in this trend passively. In 2025, BBC reported on how passionate Nigerians were for the 2025 edition of ‘Love Island.’ One of the persons interviewed for the article, Olamiposi, noted how she came across a WhatsApp group while searching social media for a chance to cast her vote for her favorite Islander at the time, Huda Mustafa. This was because voting is not permitted for those outside of the United States. 

Two individuals, one from Nigeria and the other from the UK, co-founded the group she joined. About 150 of the 200 participants in the discussion were Nigerian, according to Olamiposi, further noting the diversity of other members of the group who were from the US, Ghana, Kenya, and the UK. Strategically, the WhatsApp group was able to pool monies to obtain American phone numbers for non-residents so they could vote. 

More than this, Nigerian audiences of the popular regional reality TV show, ‘Big Brother Nigeria,’ placed campaigns for the contestants, voted for couples, defended contestants, and predicted relationships even after the show. It is not that other audiences don’t do this but the uncommon emphasis on shows like this, as rightly captured by Dr. Wendy Osefo, a Nigerian-American sociology lecturer, for BBC, is that, “The biggest reality TV is our political system.” 

This comparison is not wrong. These reality dating shows intertwine with the average Nigerian life to produce and celebrate big personalities/celebrities/politicians (as proven by Olandria’s visit to Lagos back in May and the paparazzi that followed), dramatic plots (like a courier service choosing not to call you to pick up your package and intentionally choosing to be an asshole and have you pay extra to pick it up), betrayals (like where Nigerians complain of hardship at the hands of the government yet choose to hike the price of public transportation because of heavy rainfall), and promiscuity.

When the season is taken out of the picture, the importance of this involvement becomes more apparent. The couples either stay together or break up, the competitors finally depart from the villa, and the daily disputes about who should be with whom eventually become less urgent. But what’s left are the audience’s level of engagement and the dialogue it generated. This intensity is disproportionate to the stakes of a dating show until you account for how rarely Black audiences have been offered complex, sustained portrayals of Black intimacy anywhere else on television. 

 

Few genres of reality television generate the kind of emotional investment that dating shows do. They ask audiences to choose favourites, celebrate new romances and mourn heartbreaks alongside the contestants. However, when Black people are at the centre of these stories, that investment often becomes something deeper than ordinary fandom. Black characters were either absent from romantic narratives altogether or confined to narrow stereotypes that rarely allowed them to experience love with the same complexity routinely afforded to white couples. 

While representation has improved, genuinely nuanced portrayals of Black intimacy remain comparatively rare. As a result, every visible Black relationship carries a symbolic weight that extends beyond the couple themselves, which, if you ask most viewers why they watch such shows, male and female alike, they simplify it with phrases like “I love love,” “for the entertainment and love”, and other reasons along these lines. This does not mean every Black contestant is consciously representing an entire community. Rather, it reflects the way audiences engage with visibility. When opportunities to see Black love on mainstream television have historically been limited, each new portrayal is often expected to carry the burden of representation.

This phenomenon is bigger than ‘Love Island’ to cover a variety of such shows with similar offerings. Black audiences across the diaspora have turned Black dating shows into some of the internet’s most active sites for debating what Black love looks like because these shows have become rare, highly visible spaces where questions about desirability, colourism, masculinity, femininity and belonging can be argued out in public, attached to strangers rather than to the people actually in our lives. When watched this way, the genre stops being a guilty pleasure and starts looking like a mirror Black audiences would keep returning to because arguing about it collectively is one of the few ways we get to define, in public and on our own terms, what getting it right would even look like. 

Manifest Is Rethinking Where Lagos’ Independent Brands Can Exist

Posted on by Folake Ajao

For many of Lagos’ independent brands, Instagram has long doubled as storefront, campaign platform and community space. Many businesses are building loyal audiences without ever needing a permanent shop. But as these brands grow, there is an increasing desire to bring the worlds they have created online into physical spaces where people can experience the products and meet the communities around them.

The options for doing that have not evolved at the same pace. Permanent retail comes with significant cost and commitment, while conventional markets and multi-brand pop-ups do not always give brands enough freedom to translate their identity into a distinct physical experience. Manifest, a Lagos-based space discovery and spatial concepts platform founded by Osayomon Obaseki-Ojogwu, is interested in what can exist between those models: temporary access to spaces suited to a particular brand, audience or idea.

On July 18, that thinking took physical form with Rooted, Manifest’s first retail and culture experience, staged inside BYD’s showroom in Victoria Island. For one day, 14 Nigerian brands including NBDA, Refaini, Moyé, Saint Rufina, Liz & Co, Obida, Feko and Linen Vanille occupied the showroom.The setting was part of the point. Rooted unfolded inside the showroom while test drives continued outside, turning an automotive space into a retail and cultural destination without displacing its original function. 

For Manifest, it demonstrated a wider possibility: some of the spaces Lagos’ creative businesses need may already exist, even if they have not traditionally been considered for those uses. The same curatorial thinking shaped the room. Rather than putting out an open call for vendors, Manifest selected brands with distinct identities and considered how their worlds would sit alongside one another. Each was given the freedom to create its own space rather than a uniform stall or table, creating different expressions of Nigerian craftsmanship across the showroom.

That kind of world-building has become increasingly important to independent brands. Many are developing recognisable visual languages, communities and cultural identities around what they make. Lagos’ growing pop-up culture reflects that shift, with retail increasingly about gathering and discovery as much as transaction. Rooted embodied this. Designers, artists, founders, creative professionals and customers moved between the different brand spaces. People came to shop, but stayed to talk, discover and spend time together, bringing communities that often interact through screens into the same room.

That fluidity is quintessentially Lagos. Across the city, the boundaries between fashion, food, art, music, retail and nightlife are increasingly blurred. A fashion launch can become a party; a restaurant can host an exhibition; a pop-up can become a meeting point for a wider creative community. Rooted sat within that culture while asking a practical question: what kinds of physical spaces will support its next phase?

That shift is what Manifest is responding to. “A generation of Lagos brands have built massive, highly engaged communities entirely online. They are now reaching for a physical canvas that can carry their world, but the infrastructure to help them land simply didn’t exist in an organised form. Manifest is that infrastructure,” says Osayomon Obaseki-Ojogwu.

Manifest’s proposition extends beyond its own experiences. Its platform connects brands and creators looking for temporary physical space with a curated network across Lagos, while its spatial conceptualisation work considers what those spaces could become in response to a brief. Rooted offered an early expression of that idea. For a day, an automotive showroom became a meeting point for fashion, design, retail and community. More significantly, it suggested another possibility for Nigerian brands that have already learned how to build audiences online: entering physical space does not have to begin with a permanent store. Instead, Manifest is building a more flexible model of access to space. 

Interview: ‘Starlife’ Is A Document Of Victony’s Evolution

Posted on by The Native

Victony is living through seismic changes in his life and he wants you to know through his music. After the emotionally-taxing toll of making sense of his come-up story on ‘Stubborn’ and ‘Very Stubborn,’ the singer is stepping into a new era with his forthcoming album, ‘Starlife.’ It’s the product of a recalibration of his attitude towards music stardom. “I think the biggest transformation has been just looking back at everything and recognizing that being in the music space or being an artist is an opportunity for me to live,” the singer told Apple Music’s Africa Now Radio. 

Accepting that there is not so much of a wall of difference between his life as Victony the singer and human has allowed him to embrace the fullest version of himself yet. “For the longest, I used to always see it as a job; like we have to do this, we have to do that,” he explains. “I think just giving myself the grace, like, I’m also human, and this is something that I’m living through, this is an experience as well. I don’t necessarily need to separate it too much from my life as a person.” The process of holding space for himself has opened up a new lane of expression within the singer, leading to songs like “FRE$H” and “SLICK” that hint at a brave new direction for him on ‘Starlife.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

What does “FRE$H” represent for you?

“FRE$H”is a fun song but it also represents me stepping into a new era. I’m just fully embracing who I am finally. I’m at a place where I’m just really having fun with the music. So at the time I made “FRE$H” more than anything, that’s what it kind of symbolized for me.

How do you feel about “SLICK” being such a massive success?

So with “SLICK,” I’ve been enjoying every bit of the moment. From the recreates to the comments, everything. It makes me happy and I just appreciate that people appreciate my work. 

What was the energy like when making “SLICK?”

To be honest when we were making this song, sometimes I was like, “Well, am I sure?” Because it’s like you said, it’s a mix of all these things and it’s a bit unfamiliar but I guess the exciting part for me is being able to try out something new just based on my influences. My playlist ranges from Playboi Carti to P-Square and when I’m making music, I’m forced to just try out things that I’ve heard. It’s usually just my subconscious working. So, “SLICK” is one of those records where we’re just [trying stuff]. Whenever we were making it, something would come to my head, like even the hook, it’s very Hip-Hop. Doing that combo of the R&B chorus and the Afro verse is such an exciting thing to try. So, that’s just usually what it is. It’s like just pouring in what I listen to.

What was it like collaborating with BNXN on “WHO THIS?”

I think just listening to BNXN’s records of late, he’s been on this wave where he sounds very comfortable with where he is right now. I could just feel he’s very comfortable in his skin and that’s what I felt like I needed to compliment the record. That authenticity was needed because that’s really the bag that I got into to create the record. Obviously it’s his cadence. So, he just really fits like the missing piece and I reached out to him.

How did you make the collaboration choices & features for ‘Starlife?’

Sometimes, I have a record and I don’t even know I need anyone on it until months later. That’s how a lot of the records on ‘Starlife’ came about. I make records and just listen to them in a different space and recognize that it needs this person. The intentionality part of it is always there. We’re always gonna be intentional about how and who we want to put on the record. It’s based on energy. Asides that, I’m a very collaborative person though, so even when I’m not working on music, I always try to see who’s in town because I do believe in the power of collaboration. So I’m always reaching out to my peers like, “Yo, let’s do something.” Young Jonn and I have been trying to make a record, and when I had “Armed and Dangerous,” reaching out to him was very easy. It was just like a continuation of the collaborative process. It wasn’t just an impromptu reach out because I’d been with him in the studio. We had recorded two other songs before then.  AV is family. So, we always make music every now and then. When I have a song, I kind of understand that he’s going to fit into this soundscape very perfectly. So, it’s like it’s a bit of everything: just me as a big collaborator and understanding what needs to go on and being intentional about it. 

If ‘Stubborn’ was about arriving and ‘Very Stubborn’ was about reflecting, then what is ‘Starlife’ about?

I think ‘Starlife’ is about becoming. It’s like this is who I am. That’s really what  ‘Starlife’ is. Over the years, I don’t think I’ve let my personality shine through the music as much. ‘Starlife’ is the phase where I’m like, “You know what? I really just want to do me. I don’t care about anything else.”

Why did you experiment as much as you did on ‘Starlife?’ 

To be honest, I’m always a student of the game. I think I’m going to be a student of the game forever. The more I consume, the more I expand my taste and the more I wanna keep trying these things and just be intentional about having my own signature. For the experimentation, it’s just building the soundscape, giving it a very solid foundation, and all these things you mentioned, like with the chants. It’s like that it gets more intentional with every project. Being opportune to direct this process and experiment with the trials has been very interesting and it just keeps expanding my taste. 

How does it feel to tour and watch your music reach fans around the world?


Sometimes when we’re back home, I don’t think we recognize how much people are in love with what we do. When you travel and you see firsthand the response, you see the love, it’s a very good feeling. I can’t lie. It just makes me feel good and I just appreciate this talent that I have. It also motivates me to want to even do more because I feel blessed. That’s how I feel at the end when I see people just going crazy. Like the Davido tour, I think the last show was 20,000 capacity in DC. Just walking out on that stage and them announcing Victony and people going crazy.  That 10 seconds before you arrive on stage you’re like, “Wow.” They know me this much here. It’s a good feeling.  

What do you think your biggest transformation has been?

I think the biggest transformation has been just looking back at everything and recognizing that being in the music space or being an artist is an opportunity for me to live. For the longest, I used to always see it as a job; like we have to do this, we have to do that. I think just giving myself the grace, like, I’m also human, and this is something that I’m living through, this is an experience as well. I don’t necessarily need to separate it too much from my life as a person. When I recognized that, it just started allowing me to give myself more grace and more time to learn on the job, rather than trying to always get it the first time or always trying to perfect everything. 

GARVICII RETURNS WITH FIRST SINGLE OF 2026, “SHALEWA”  

Posted on by The Native

After a year of emotional excavation and a defining run of live performances, Garvicii is back with his first single of 2026, “Shalewa,” playful, flirtatious record that the Warri-raised singer trading the vulnerability of heartbreak for the reckless confidence of desire. 

Arriving as his first release since his 2025 E.P, ‘Heartless,’ the single marks a new chapter for an artist who has spent the past year expanding the boundaries of his sound and presence. Following the release of the project, Garvicii took his music on the road as part of the Soundcity tour, bringing his growing catalogue to live audiences and sharpening an increasingly important part of his artistry: the ability to turn records into moments

On “Shalewa,” Garvicii is caught in pursuit. The record is driven by an unapologetic attraction to a woman who has completely taken over his attention. From the opening bars, he wastes little time with ceremony. “Sare wa gba gba, Shalewa / Make I clear you the artillery,” he sings, turning the song’s central refrain into both a proposition and a declaration. 

 

Beneath the cheekiness is a surprisingly earnest pursuit: Garvicii isn’t simply looking for a moment. He wants to take Shalewa home to meet his parents, promising marriage when the opportunity presents itself. 

Listen to “Shalewa” here. 

How Ayra Starr Got To ‘StarrGirl’

Posted on by Michelle Ejiro

From the beginning, Ayra Starr’s artistry was always centred on identity, deeply permeating not only the music she has shared across the five years of her incredible career, but also her method of self-expression.  Like British superstar, Adele, her biennial album releases are age-titled and intentionally curated to share her growth with the world, especially the intricacies of being a young popstar who made her entrance into stardom during the formative years of18 to 19–transitional years between teenagehood and adulthood where one feels simultaneously young and grown.  

Ayra Starr has managed to perfectly balance that contrast which is why if we return to the starting point of her career  with ‘Ayra Starr’ EP, or retrace her journey with ‘19 & Dangerous’ and ‘The Year I Turned 21,’ and compare with the hints she has been sharing subtly over the past few months, it becomes evident that Ayra Starr’s new era entails embracing womanhood from a matured lens, with its attendant risks and tradeoffs. As documented by Ayra on her substack, “‘Starrgirl’ is a bridge between past and present, tradition and transformation, self and society, accepting complexity and turning it into strength.’

From the onset, Ayra Starr has been well-groomed for the media, knowing the right things to say at the right time and giving the audience the version of her they’d like to see, which is why it was so easy to see her through grown-up lenses her even when she was clearly just a teenager. In spite of the media training, the music was where she unfurled her true thoughts and the tremendous weight of being a young person without being perturbed by flashing lights of fame. When her debut EP dropped, it was refreshing to hear songs like “DITR” address the actual issues that affected many teenagers in a way that explored without practically glorifying or condemning it. Likewise, on “Sare,” she sang of a dreamy fairy-tale romance in a Nigerian way, and moments like that made her relatable. 

 

As time progressed, especially towards the release of her debut album, her fashion style evolved and honestly, it seemed more like defiance packaged as a brand. Transitioning into wearing the skimpiest outfits was Ayra’s way of reminding the world that she was still young and wanted to rebel against the “ideal” representation of a 19-year-old Nigerian girl. As has often been the case throughout her career , it worked in her favour. Many teenagers and young adults lived through her self-expression.  

In the music, she was vocal about her decisions on “Cast,” where she clearly admitted to being aware of her defiance but was facing it head-on because life has no limitations but the ones you make. There’s a popular saying that shameless people are the most successful and Ayra Starr clearly embodied that relentlessness sternly declaring to the world that she only wanted to live for herself. Also, on “Fashion Killer,” she poured her heart out over confident lyrics, affirming her love for clothes and how they can empower a person. Further solidifying her stance on “Bridgertn,” she reiterates: “I’m the queen bow down…Broke all your stereotypes, I make my rules.” 

After her debut album, Ayra only intensified the prowess put into showing audiences that she was going to remain a force to be reckoned with. On the globally recognized “Rush,” which earned her first Grammy nomination, she sings about how her focus doesn’t stray from chasing her bag with no regard for distractions. This period also saw the release of hits like “Bloody Samaritan,” and “Sability,” an anthem that solidified her status as the Nigerian pop “sabi girl.”

 

For her sophomore album, ‘The Year I Turn 21,’  there wasn’t an obvious fashion switch, but the music had definitely grown. She had evolved into an era that absolved her of the need to repeatedly announce her rebellion. In fact, the world had already caught on two  years after her debut and came to understand her better.  The songs simply documented her transition into adulthood, housing some important highlight from  her life, like her familial tribute to her late father on “The Kids Are Alright,” her homage to Don Jazzy, who has been integral in her artistic journey on “Jazzy’s Song,” her heartfelt collaboration with her brother, Milar, on “1942” where they sing about their dreams and the swift, dissipating nature of time, and her soulful rendition on, “21,” where she reminisces on her journey to becoming herself and trying to find a way to stay the same, describing it as her naivete. It’s impossible to ignore the mix of growing faster than she realises while acknowledging the benefits.  It’s the same for many other young adults in their early 20s. Life is confusing at that stage, but we all do it and Ayra is just as human.

 

It’s been a little over two years since  ‘The Year I Turn 21,’  years and in a few days, she will be releasing her third studio album, ‘Starrgirl.’  During the 2026 Teen Vogue Fest in July, Ayra promised in an on-stage conversation that this album will reflect her versatility, shaped by her experiences with different cultures from everywhere she has ever found herself. She said that the album allowed her to exist in multitudes, and confidently assured listeners that it would cut across a wide range of genres and influences. The tracklist for the album seems to hold up to that promise, including collaborations with artists such as Zayn Malik, Kwn, Wizkid, Rema, Danny Ocean, Theodora, and Leon Thomas; multifaceted acts that prove that the drop will indeed incorporate different styles of musical expression encompassing contemporary and alternative R&B, Soul, Hip-hop, Dance-pop, and Afropop. 

Her visualization of the gele in her album promotion quickly became a statement, encouraging fans to take the leap from recognising the artifact as a piece only appropriate for traditional events, to something that can inspire creativity and embolden outfits worn at festivals, raves, and similar nightlife events which have in their own way become a tradition among the younger generation.

Looking back, the release of “Gimme Dat” and  “Hot Body” in 2025 signalled the end of an era and the subtle introduction of a new one. Ayra Starr had always sung about love with a focus on the romantic side of it but on both records, she leaned into sultriness with ease, singing about surveying the prowess of a potential sexual partner on the former and waxing strong about her sexiness on the latter, indicating strongly that she was well within the age to infuse luscious lyrics in her music. It’s a big leap from the lovestruck anthems of the 19-year-old girl who used to sing about fairy tales and the intricacies of youthful exuberance. 

 

We are currently witnessing Ayra Starr’s evolution across all fronts including fashion. For many years, she worked closely with her previous  stylist, Janice Mahemge (Yanderejan), who vividly brought to life the vigour of young Ayra. Their chemistry was over the top. Now, she’s ushering in  a new version of herself with celebrity stylist, Elly Karamoh, who is revolutionising her style to fit a more global aesthetic. She’s gradually shedding her signature look in the most elegant way. It is a definitive cue that the music will also embody all the changes. It’s going to be a matured Ayra season, and there are a lot of things that can be explored. 

On the business side of things,  her management deal with Jay Z’s Roc Nation has her uniquely positioned, leaving no doubt that she’s better equipped to achieve a greater impact on the world stage. . If it translates into music, she might as well be on her way to winning a Grammy very soon, following two nominations in the category of  Best African Music Performance. 

Part of her growth includes  her relocation to New York. In a publicly shared substack essay titled, I’m not scared. I promise, her vulnerability shone as she expressed her fears of living by herself in a new city amidst struggles of fatigue and fighting to be understood. It goes again to prove that fame is never enough and behind a celebrity is a human who experiences all the daunting challenges of being, of living and for a person who has commanded  a perfect  reputation, it must have been so hard to write such gloomy thoughts and share them. If that side of Ayra makes it to her new album, it is not an overreach to expect a couple of tearjerkers. 

So far, the album tracklist has been released, and collaborations were teased with profile pictures of featured acts being exhibited across her social media platforms before they were officially announced. Snippets of some of the tracks have been dropped, and a preview of “Ms Paper,” which features French-Congolese star, Theodora, was performed by Ayra on the TODAY show. 

Her family took to the streets with placards, adorned with purple geles to promote the upcoming album, and listening parties have been held for fans to experience the album with her. An album trailer with fascinating visuals has also been circulated to accompany the roll out for ‘Starrgirl.’ The anticipation for a new Ayra release is at an all time high, and all the signs are saying that this might be her biggest evolution yet. 

LADIPOE Is Leading A ‘REVIVAL’

Posted on by Shamza Daniel

Arriving eight years after his debut album, ‘Talk About Poe (T.A.P),’ Ladipoe’s sophomore album, ‘REVIVAL,’ comes as a personal statement, giving fans and long-term listeners insight into all the ways the rapper has evolved and changed  after his debut album presented an introduction. In the time since then, the rapper has further expanded his catalogue with standout releases, including “Know You” with Simi, “Feeling” with BNXN, and the EP ‘Providence’ which featured tracks such as “Afro Jigga” with Rema and “Law of Attraction.” Alongside music,  he made his acting debut on the Prime Video-released ‘Christmas in Lagos,’ directed by Jade Osiberu.

 

Beyond a follow-up to ‘Talk About Poe (T.A.P),’ ‘REVIVAL,’ represents a new chapter in his journey, capturing his growth, self-discovery, and evolving perspective as an artist and a person. For Ladipoe, the album isn’t about presenting a finished version of himself. Instead, it reflects someone who has become more comfortable with the journey of understanding who he is. Throughout the project, growth is a  central theme, not only through lessons learned over the years, but through recognising the qualities that have always existed within him, even as life’s pressures tried to reshape them.

Rather than telling listeners who Ladipoe is, ‘REVIVAL’ offers his perspective and invites them to find pieces of themselves within it. That perspective informed how the album was made. Ladipoe focused on unlearning perfection, a mindset that ultimately changed how he approached creating ‘REVIVAL.’ Rather than relying on a pattern, he learned to trust that the right ideas, people and process would reveal themselves along the way. The beauty of the experience is that there isn’t one formula for creating an album, only the process that unfolds when you’re willing to let it.

“All of it was challenging,” Ladipoe explains. “I learned from the process of making this album that there is no process. The only process is the one that you allow to happen. You kind of know where you want to go. You have a feeling for where you want to go. You don’t know everything. You don’t know the beats. You don’t know all the beats. You don’t know all the people you work with, but as you start to move, things start to unfold and there are things that you have to allow to happen. There’s some things that you can be intentional about, but overall the process of making an album taught me that there’re many ways to make an album.”

 

That multi-varied approach to making an album naturally extended to the project’s collaborations. Each feature came together differently, not through a fixed plan but through instinct, timing and creative chemistry. For Ladipoe, collaboration has never been separate from the music itself,  it has been one of the defining forces behind both  ‘REVIVAL’ and his career as a whole.

This conversation has been edited for clarity. 

How does it feel to share your sophomore album with the world after putting much time and effort into creating it?

It feels really good. It feels very fulfilling.

What inspired the album title, and why did it feel like the right name for the project?

It’s actually straightforward, but at the same time there’s still a bit of a story to it. My last album was called ‘Talk About Poe (T.A.P),’  and the last track on it is called “Revival,” that kind of named itself. It came as “Revival,” and when I wrote the track it stayed as “Revival.” I am the leader of the revival, and it stuck. So naming this album ;REVIVAL’  feels very natural but at the same time there’s also a story to what it means and what it has come to mean. It feels like this time that it came out was the perfect time to come out. At one point it was going to be called something else, but it all came back to ‘REVIVAL.’ 

What does the album say about where you are in your journey, as an artist and as a person? 

I think if anything it says that I’m real. I’m a real person. It says that I know who I am. I’m on the journey to knowing who I am, and it’s giving you my POV in a way. I think more than anything though, when you release an album, it’s less about what it says about you and what you hope people will actually see, what it says about themselves. I think what it really says about me is that I’m understanding what it takes to know who you are. It’s about growth, it’s always been about growth. It’s about learning from your lessons and growing, but it’s also about knowing what you also already come with. You already come with certain traits and the view of the world and characteristics that are perfect for you to become who you need to be. But sometimes life can change that. The hustle can change that. All these things can change that. The fears can change that. So, it’s always important to know the things that were always in you, I think that’s kind of like what people will probably see about the album. I’m sharing that perspective. 

How does this project differ from your last album, and what did you want to do differently this time around?

Eight years, are you joking? It had to be different. There’s no way it was going to be the same. So much happened in that time.  I feel like the last project was an introduction, like, “Hey, what’s up? My name is Ladipoe.” This project is like, you’ve heard about me now know who I am. You know, I think that’s what the difference is, one was an introduction. Now this other one is a statement. It’s like the impression.

Is there a particular track you’re excited for people to hear, and what makes it special to you?

All of them.  I handcrafted all of them. Lifelines are like what I call my core fans. It’s also what I call how I Rap, but that’s a different story. I was really excited for them to listen to “Chosen” but I think overall on the album, maybe “One More Time,” because I wonder if they are going to take it personal, like how I take it personal.

 

When someone listens to the album, what feeling or emotion do you hope stays with them?

I can’t express the emotion. I just hope they feel something.  I feel like that’s the whole point of me giving you an album and more than one song is for you to feel many different types of ways. But at the bottom line, the common denominator is to feel something.

Was there any song on the album that you weren’t sure would make it to the final tracklist but ended up being important to the project? If yes, what changed your mind?

 There’s a song called “Deeper” from the project. It wasn’t going to make it for a while. I liked it. I always liked it. I always liked the beats, but, I just wasn’t sure. I didn’t see it in that world.  There were some champions for that song. There were some people that were like, “Bro, if you don’t…,” “It has to make it…,”and “Ah, since you’re not using that song, let me collect it..” I said, “Hold on. I did not say I didn’t want it”. It made its way on the project and I’m really happy that it’s there. I think it’s a really sexy song.

On “Chosen” you touched on unlearning perfection. Can you expand on that, and how that mindset around perfection influenced your approach to making music?

 I feel I have an interesting relationship with perfection. I think perfection is something that is worthy of pursuing and chasing. You actually make amazing things in the pursuit of it. And to accept that. I feel like that’s just the main thing. The acceptance that it can’t be perfect. It takes time to understand what that means for you as a person. And to me, when I heard the phrase, I don’t remember the original quotes, but just how perfection is like another form of procrastination. And to me, it was like, I can see how that can be the case. But at the same time, I know that chasing perfection is what allows some people to achieve things that will last for a long time. So kind of finding that balance. That definitely shapes the making of this album, for sure. And that’s why I said to you, the thing I learned is that the process of making the album, there is no process. It’s the one that you allow to happen  because you can’t force things to fit in certain places.

 

The album includes features from some incredible artists, how did these collaborations add to the vision of the project?

Very organically. How each one happened is very different and it just speaks to what I talked about in terms of process and allowing it to happen. There’s some people that we heard on the track and it’s like, “I gotta get you on it.” There’s people we had already heard the idea they had on the beat and it’s like, “Oh, I want this beat.” To me, all music is a collaboration. Even if there’s no artist on the song, making the music is a collaboration. So, collaboration has not only shaped this album, it’s shaped my career, you know, and I’ve been blessed with that.

Looking back on your journey so far, what lessons have you learned that you would want to share with aspiring rappers?

When you’re creating something to see your dreams come to life, especially if you’re an artist, that can only happen by doing. You really have to figure out how you can make something and even if you fail at it, do it again.You have to actually have a very comfortable relationship with doing things many times, even if they don’t work out. The same thing over and over again and I feel like if you can get a very strong relationship with that and being able to, because once I started to do, then it started to happen. Even if we did it and the song didn’t work out, it led us to another situation. So many doors open just by taking one foot in front of the other and then doing it again, even when you trip. I think the biggest thing is that it really is okay to be yourself when you make your music. You really can be you and people will gravitate towards that. We’re living in a time where you can actually be yourself. That’s what is leading the revival.

 Looking ahead, what do you hope to explore or achieve in the next phase of your career? 

More albums. Eight years between albums is not sustainable. They need more Ladipoe music in the space. So, I definitely want to do that. But the main thing I want to do is tour. I want to take the ‘REVIVAL,’ and take it where it needs to go. That’s something I haven’t done a lot of in my career, so that’ll be an amazing thing. More albums, but to actually begin to be on the road with the ‘REVIVAL.’ 

Listen to ‘REVIVAL’ here. 

Double Drop and Alassane Badboy Are Bringing Senegal and Mozambique Together on ‘Jinn’

Posted on by The Native

African electronic music continues to evolve beyond borders, and ‘Jinn’ stands as one of the continent’s most compelling new artistic statements. Bringing together Senegalese singer-songwriter Alassane Badboy and Mozambican electronic producer Double Drop, the six-track project merges West African vocal traditions with Southern African Afro-Tech and electronic production to create a bold, borderless sound rooted in African identity. 

Created between Dakar, Maputo and Italy, ‘Jinn’ is the result of an organic collaboration sparked by a shared commitment to pushing African music into new creative territories. What began as a remote exchange of ideas quickly evolved into a full-length project before the duo eventually came together in Genoa, Italy, where weeks of intensive studio sessions transformed their vision into reality. 

Inspired by the Wolof concept of the Jambaar, a resilient life warrior, the album follows a deeply spiritual narrative exploring identity, perseverance, ancestral wisdom and self-discovery. Sung entirely in Wolof, the project embraces language as both a cultural archive and a tool of decolonisation, demonstrating that emotion transcends linguistic barriers while reaffirming the importance of preserving Africa’s indigenous voices. 

 

Across its six tracks, ‘Jinn’ journeys through themes of spirituality, mythology, Pan-African unity and collective healing. From the meditative opening of “Niaay,” to the mystical storytelling of “Mame Coumba,” the celebratory energy of  “Kutlhu,” and the introspective reflections of  “Jamm Ay,” the project seamlessly fuses Afro-House, Afro-Tech, traditional African melodies and contemporary Electronic Music into an immersive listening experience designed for both dance floors and deep reflection. 

Beyond the music itself, ‘Jinn’ also serves as a statement on artistic ownership. Released independently through Xibalo Records, the project champions African artists building their own creative ecosystems while demonstrating the power of collaboration across African countries without relying on traditional industry gatekeepers. The album presents a blueprint for a new generation of African creatives committed to shaping their own narratives and strengthening cultural exchange across the continent. 

By joining forces, Double Drop and Alassane Badboy invite audiences into a transformative sonic universe where tradition meets futurism, spirituality meets electronic innovation, and Africa’s diverse musical cultures converge to tell a shared story of resilience, creativity and possibility. 

Listen to ‘Jinn’ here. 

The P-Square Saga & Afropop’s Sketchy Relationship With Legacy

Posted on by Emmanuel Esomnofu

“What’s better than one billionaire? Two / ‘Specially if they’re from the same hue as you”  – JAY-Z

 

Whether one likes it to admit it or not, Africa’s cultural history has been influenced by Paul and Peter Okoye. So much has been said and written about these twin brothers that anything new seems prone to redundance. Yet we can’t cast these gems out of our sight, more so now that the invasive machinery of social media has amplified their woes into communal significance. For the past decade, this duo which makes up the legendary P Square have been in a roundabout tug-of-war, one with implications which stretch across the legal to the familial. 

Why do we care? Surely, it’s common for disagreements to arise between family members, celebrities though they might be. To this inference, it’s important to once again refresh the memory, though it’s almost impossible to forget this particular duo. Not when they ruled the 2000s (Afrobeats’ foundational decade) with synth-heavy bangers and emotive love records of such potency we haven’t seen before and seldom after. In trying not to rehash old arguments, one must move beyond the quality of their music and what they offer as brand powerhouses. 

The first time I saw P Square on-screen, what was most evident was the strong sense of individuality. Although they’d sing “Peter and Paul, dem be one no be two,” they were indeed two, a sleight of sight that was amplified by them looking the same. That’s what being identical twins means after all, however they made this personality illusion even more powerful by adopting distinct characters within the group. The dreadlocked Paul was more outwards-facing, usually leading the video scenes and answering the questions in interviews. Suave Peter brought the performance; the ladies’ man, he often maintained an elusive aura that made him even more sought after. This was a good mix of attributes, one so innocently perceived no one could have predicted its eventual role in the group’s dissolution. 

 

For a while, P Square was the embodiment of Afropop’s innate ability to transform any stage. From Nigeria to the rest of Africa and the world, performing albums like ‘Game Over’ and ‘Danger’ birthed scenes that were visibly Michael Jackson-esque in its  effusive sense of adulation: massive crowds of people, long lines of ambulance vans, ladies fainting after seeing the duo. It wasn’t just the music and dancing that appealed so much; it was also their delicate crafting of myth. Watching P Square often came with the sense of beholding something greater than oneself, perhaps even greater than any crowd. They belonged to the Black world. 

This might be the reason why initial cracks of a breakup were thought to be a publicity stunt. Who in their logical sense would think to destroy a building of such domineering magnificence? It’s even more disappointing following their trending back-and-forth to know that the issues stretch back more than a decade. Depending on who you ask, this was all avoidable or inevitable. It was avoidable because any issues between them both and their manager Jude ‘Engees’ Okoye couldn’t possibly have been worth sacrificing their legacy; yet, going off the information we’ve gotten in the past week, it’s now clearer that their dissolution veered towards inevitable closer than we ever thought of. 

If there’s been any positive from this whole ugly affair, it has been the deliberate projection of the foundational era of Nigerian Pop. Across different media channels, a family saga has transformed into a sort of archive, birthing stories that have been rather diminished amidst the cache of contemporary abundance. We know the name P Square, but do we remember how big they were, the feats they accomplished? And placed side by side with them, how does the similarly gigantic 2Baba stand? 

Memory is a tricky affair, especially in a nuanced subject like music. How does the brain register importance? It’s somewhat unfair to put as rivals these artists who made “Possibility (Remix)” together, but even music cannot cast away the bangles of competition. Away from these aspersions as to who was number in 2007 or 2009, whose music moved the pulse of culture the most, I have loved particularly the consecration of these classic artists into social media. It’s refreshing to watch that sun-suffused video of “Ole” just a tweet away from a writer musing on the requirements of good craft. 

 

Even this is spurred by temporary nostalgia, it bears a striking resonance to the note we must strike, which is the usefulness of the past. Since no art form is built on a vacuum, so must its practitioners and enthusiasts constantly seek to view the old in light of the new, if not the new in light of the old. What I mean is that there’s a constant interplay between every artist who has ever transformed thought into form. P Square’s form in particular carries a cherry mark that bore on songs like “No One Like You” and “Forever”; a melancholic edge that enlivened “Senorita” and “Am I Still That Special Man.” Their videos were homely and engaged the whole family. Quite simply, they are memory itself. 

 

But even memory doesn’t sit still. Trouble is life’s old friend. Now the case is in court, stories are being told, and the world has been invited to bear audience to this… strange tumble between twins. Yet we look at the past and present, and it points us to the optimistic future; a hope that the universe will again inspire art of such brilliance that will move us to such extremes. It would be a lesson in the revelatory powers of collaboration, even as we brim with all the weaknesses that make us human. 

Cruel Santino Is Back With ‘International Collector / Oz..’

Posted on by Boluwatife Adeyemi

Cruel Santino has released a two-pack titled ‘International Collector / Oz..’ The new singles arrive as the curtain-raiser for his highly anticipated new project, ‘Kings Of The Bounce,’ which the alte pioneer has been teasing for the past couple of years. 

The first single, “International Collector,” which he had previously teased with a snippet, also served as the soundtrack for a recently released trailer that offered fans a first glimpse at the immersive world Cruel Santino has built around this new project. Produced by longtime collaborator Tochi Bedford, the song finds the singer in peak form as he weaves between melodic passages and razor-sharp rap cadences over a bouncy instrumental. 

 

The crisp trailer for the singer’s now-released music video is particularly noteworthy as it serves as another reminder of his hugely imaginative vision as a director, blending surrealist imagery with gaming and fashion influences to create a richly textured universe that this new era is set in. The trailer has already spawned several fan theories, predicting this new arc might be his most cinematic yet and trying to unravel how the cryptic First Heaven Corp ties into the larger Subaru World that he first brought to life in 2022. 

The two-pack’s second single, “Oz,” features a similarly bubbly beat courtesy of Vic Reagan and a menacing guest verse from rapper Jeriq. Both singles hint at the sonic direction the new project will take and rev up anticipation for the long-awaited follow-up to ‘Subaru Boys: FINAL HEAVEN.’ 

 

Even though this latest arc of his career has been four years in the making, he has managed to keep his fans satiated with a couple of drops, including the ‘Trilogy’ two-pack with producer Vic Reagan, who appears to be one of the major architects of this new sonic world the singer has built and the conceptual Subaru Live Radio, which features a lot of unreleased originals and flips of popular tracks. 

His interactive livestreams have kept him in conversation as well. The streams have featured names like Davido, Slawn, Zerry DL and Jeriq, but more importantly, they have also served as a platform for emerging talents like Mavo, Zaylevelten and Luwa.Mp4 long before they broke into wider consciousness, reinforcing his reputation as not just an artist but a tastemaker with a keen eye for the next wave of alternative music. 

He’s also remained active with a couple of collaborations like “Attack,” off Adekunle Gold’s latest album and Genio Bambino’s “Wait.” But with ‘International Collector / Oz,’ the focus shifts back to his own universe, setting the stage for what could be his most ambitious project yet.

Listen to ‘International Collector / Oz.’ here.

Michelle Alozie On The Balance Between Football And Personal Identity

Posted on by Shamza Daniel

For Michelle Alozie, being a footballer extends beyond the hours she spends on the pitch. Her career plays an intentional role in shaping her daily routine and lifestyle, with taking care of her body remaining a priority even during the off-season. Staying active, maintaining her fitness and developing habits that support her physical wellbeing are an active part of her everyday life. 

Six years into her career, wellness has naturally become a part of her routine, from red light therapy to the habits she has developed to keep her body active. Ice baths, however, is one thing you’ll never catch her doing. Early in her career, while balancing football with her work as a research technician, she experienced what it felt like for something she loved to become tedious. She, however, holds on to the gratitude that comes with being able to play football professionally, a sport that still brings out the same childlike excitement that drew her to it.

 

Self-expression is just as important to her identity. Being athletic is not an opposition to her femininity, but a natural combination that coexists. Her individuality remains a deep part of her style, on and off the pitch whether through her hair, nails or jewellery. Even within the uniformity of a football jersey, these details give her a way to make it feel more like her while maintaining practicality and ease in her style. She has also been exploring African designers and finding ways to bring modernity into her wardrobe, with comfort and confidence being her style priorities.

This interview has been edited for clarity. 

What does protecting your body actually look like day to day, especially when you’re also just trying to live a normal life in your 20s?

I feel like everything I do, like I’m a very adventurous person. I love to do things, whether that be in-season or post-season, like in off-season, but obviously knowing the career that I have, I know that my body is my work and I have to make sure that I treat it like so. So, I love doing so many different recovery modalities. I love cryo, I love saunas, I love red light therapy. I just love being active, even if it’s not actively doing football. I love to stay active and just make sure my body’s recharged, hydrated. I always have electrolyte on me at all times. I feel like even though I like to be adventurous and do different things, I’m constantly thinking, “Oh, let me make sure my body is good for football.”

Where’s the line between discipline and burnout for you and how do you know when you’ve crossed it?

I feel like it’s a very thin line, honestly.  I had got a taste of burnout early, pretty early in my career when I was kind of juggling football and my work as a research technician. The burnout happens when what I’m doing becomes less fun and enjoyable and it does become work and it becomes tedious and I almost forget why I enjoy doing what I’m doing so much. In football, it’s easy for it to get burned out because you have to do so many things, obviously juggling not only club football, but national team as well.  If you lose sight of why you’re doing it and what made you so passionate about football and just how grateful and blessed you can be for playing football, you can lose sight of that and then it becomes a burnout and you’re so tired and everything just seems like a hassle or work.  When that happened a couple years ago, I realised like I’m so blessed to be in the position I am in and I love playing football and it just brings out a childlike joy in me. So I think that that’s kind of the thin line between just working really hard and possibly burning yourself out.

 

Wellness is having a real moment right now. Does that change how you think about your own routine, or does it feel unrelated to what you actually do?

I feel like that’s already what I do. I’ve been pro now for six years, which isn’t that long, but it seems like forever to me. I feel like I’ve kind of finally figured out my routine that works best for me, but also is sustainable. I think sometimes when you’re being an athlete, it might be hard to sustain a healthier lifestyle. You think you can only do it in season, but I feel like as years go on, our off season becomes shorter and shorter and so we don’t really have time to cheat or be unhealthy. So, over the years, making a sustainable, healthy lifestyle has really been important.

What’s one exercise or habit you’d defend to the death, and one you think is completely overrated?

I think ice baths are super overrated. You will never catch me in an ice bath. I don’t care what we’re doing, I will not do an ice bath. I feel like there’s other ways to break down the lactic acid in your legs.  Surely, not being freezing cold for seven minutes is something I have to do. Something that I am obsessed with is red light therapy. I feel like that one’s just really good. It gets your deep muscles warmed up. I literally do that every morning. I always try to get red light before everything I do.

How do you hold being sporty and girlie at the same time? Does that feel like a balance to you, or does it just come naturally?

I feel like being sporty and girly is natural to me. I feel like that’s such an interesting juxtaposition almost because I feel like you think that if you’re sporty, you can’t be girly. It’s like, you’re either into sports or you’re like a girly girl. I feel like there’s so many crossovers of both of them that aren’t really recognised, but I think it’s so fun. I always have my nails. I always have really long hair. I love having all my jewellery on all the time. It’s just a part of me and it’s allowed me to have some self expression as well.

 

Walk me through your match day look, what do you actually notice about the jerseys you wear? 

I feel like we actually just got so much Nike gear. I feel like obviously we always have to be in uniform, but I love just like trying to make myself a little bit different and accessorising a little bit differently, whether that be with some chains, whether it be for rings, literally just for a walk in, I don’t care. Or whether it be like a really cool shoe that I just got or just brought. I feel like just little things that I tried to just accessorise with for our match day is like how I like to express myself when we have to be in uniform.

How do you approach your hair styling during football seasons? 

I love doing different hairstyles. I think that my go-to is probably a French braid, knotless French braids, or French curl braids. Those are probably my favourite. I feel like it’s fun to just do different things and experiment with your hairstyles. Right now, I have like a half weave in with some knotless braids and this is so fun and easy, especially for WAFCON. It’s just so hot and I’m not going to have time to redo my hair or anything like that. But then also just being natural is so fun too and nice and easy and a little bit different, but I definitely like to switch it up.

What’s your off pitch style like, what are your go to choices for every day?

I feel like my off-pitch style changes like every year, I think. This is probably the girliest I’ve ever been off-pitch. I wear a lot of heels and a lot of skirts. I never thought I’d wear a skirt ever in my life. I used to be solely super baggy jeans and super baggy shorts, but I’ve been kind of changing a little bit more into skirts and playing a lot with Nigerian or African in general designers and just kind of creating some modernity like with that has been really fun.

What’s a style choice you get the most comments about, good or bad?

I feel like whenever I wear heels with something more like tomboy. I usually wear heels with really big shorts. I usually do like knee-high boots with shorts and stuff.  I feel like I probably get the most comments whenever I wear something like that. I feel like a little bit of both. Like either you see it, you see the vibe or you don’t. As long as I’m feeling comfortable and confident, then I’m happy.

Tobe Nwigwe’s Naija-Houston Journey to ‘The Bridge’ 

Posted on by Dennis Ade Peter

Tobe Nwigwe has a theory for why Houston, Texas saw a significant number of Nigerian immigrants in the 1980s: In 1980, basketball deity Hakeem Olajuwon made his way to the U.S. for a chance to play at the University of Houston.

Olajuwon had switched to basketball a few years before he travelled, and it was the prompting of a scout that helped secure a tryout with the university’s coach and eventually a successful college career. In 1984, Olajuwon declared for the NBA draft after his third official year in college, and he was selected as the number one pick by the Houston Rockets, ensuring that he stayed in the same city he first landed in. 

According to Tobe, Olajuwon’s high-profile as a rising star in Houston spurred the many Nigerians that landed in Houston and other cities in Texas. On the day Tobe was born, March 7, 1987, Olajuwon scored a measly 12 points in a blowout loss for the Rockets, but the basketball star had already been to the NBA finals and was in the early stages of curating a dream of a career. 

Tobechukwu Dubem Nwigwe was raised in the suburban hood of Alief, Texas—affectionately referred to as SWAT (short for South West, Alief, Texas) by locals. The Nwigwes had a Houston address, in the Winfield apartment complexes, but Tobe and his siblings were raised in a quintessentially Nigerian household. Parental directions were delivered in Igbo and Pidgin English, jollof rice and fufu with different soups were eaten regularly, and his parents didn’t take no shit. 

 

Outside, it was different. By the 1980s, Alief had transformed from being a predominantly white rural area decades earlier, into a multicultural suburb and, consequently, one of the poorer parts of Houston. Tobe grew up trying to assimilate into this American society, surrounded by some kids who had easier contexts than him because their families were of the land, as well as some who were like him: a second generation immigrant balancing two cultures, one at home and another outside. 

Mainly composed of working class families, most of them people of colour, poverty wasn’t uncommon in SWAT. This naturally meant navigating a town with its fair share of perils, a place where illicit street hustles and turf wars were staples. A place where “intense crime rates had bodies sitting sideways,” a searing portrait he shared on “From the SWAT.” 

Tobe also had to navigate questions of identity, not just being black in America but also being African, with traceable roots to Uturu and Awka, southeast Nigeria. Initially, he tried to fit in as another black kid but he started to learn about America’s history of slavery and how it severed ancestral ties for generations of black people. That led to an increased embrace of his Nigerian heritage as high school education wore on.

“It was a blessing to know where you come from, who your people are, what your culture is, and I started taking pride in being Nigerian,” Tobe said in 2017 to Houstonia. By the time of this interview, he was an intriguing post-blog era sensation, laying the foundational bricks of what is now a successful Rap career. 

Rap wasn’t always the priority for Tobe Nwigwe. Initially, it was American football. At the University of North Texas, he was a solid middle linebacker on a rather shitty team. During his junior year, he had the defining moment of his college career. In a game against Western Kentucky, he returned an interception 97 yards for a game-sealing touchdown that snapped an eight-game losing streak. His team was a sorry one, but “NFL scouts [saw] him as one of the few players on the UNT Roster that [had] flashed NFL talent.” 

The dream of going pro was cut short by a career-altering mid-foot injury in the middle of his senior season. He entered the 2010 draft, with some franchises showing interest in his six-foot-one, 245-pound frame, but he ultimately went undrafted. Shortly after, he had a brief stint with the Hartford Colonials in the now-defunct United Football League (UFL), but it became evident that any hopes of playing American football on a professional level were pretty much done. 

Uncertainty set in, with Tobe trying to figure out what next. Raised by Nigerian parents who were Catholic, Tobe scarcely had any choice but to be deeply reverent of God, and he attributes his next moves to divine direction. He recalls a voice he attributes to God telling him that his mission is “to help others find their purpose.” That led to the founding of a non-profit organisation, TeamGINI, a name derived from “Gini bu nkpa gi?”—Igbo for “What’s your purpose?” 

With TeamGINI, Tobe began hosting events at schools, organized holiday drives, learnt how to raise money and manage resources, as well as building connections with people that could help optimize the impact of his organization. For one of TeamGINI’s events, he convinced popular preacher and speaker Eric Thomas to come participate, beginning a fruitful relationship. It was Thomas who, seeing Tobe’s charisma and oratory at events, helped convince him to try his voice at rapping, and even signed him as the first artist on ETA Records—Thomas’ then-new label. 

In 2014, Tobe Nwigwe dropped his first project, ‘Pardon My Lateness,’ a rudimentary outline of the artist he could become. The proper starting point didn’t come until 2016 when he hopped a challenge that required people to rap over the 2003 hit “So Gone” by American R&B singer Monica. In his entry, Tobe rapped with an infectious southern twang while his then-girlfriend and now-wife Martica “Fat” Nwigwe twisted his hair. Not only did that garner a lot of positive reactions, but it also created the template for the series that began to raise his notoriety. 

In 2017, Tobe and Fat started #GetTwistedSundays, a freestyle series with the former ripping through jacked beats and the latter twisting his hair. Aside from garnering new listeners, the series allowed Tobe to workshop his abilities as a lyricist, flaunting the technical leaps he had made since his debut project. By the time he dropped ‘Tobe From The SWAT’ in late 2017, it was evident that he was a better realized artist. 

Then, as it is now, there’s a distinct southernness to Tobe’s music. A hyperregionality that comes from expressing his immediate surroundings and proudly embracing the heritage of Houston’s Rap canon. On project standout “Houston Tribute 2,” he pays homage to forebears like Pimp C and DJ Screw, stating that “they half of the reason I got the hardest rap.” The other half, he attributes to his Igbo heritage. 

Nearly a decade since effectively committing to rap, Tobe Nwigwe is putting that Igbo heritage at the center of his music with the new album, ‘THE BRIDGE.’ Reverence for the Nigerian side of his heritage has cropped up sporadically across his catalogue, whether it’s mentioning his full name on several tracks, or the Jazzy Igbo folk composition that colours “Love Song,” or repeating a Pidgin phrase on “Round One.” It’s also worth inferring that his trademark green colour, usually in mint or sea foam shades, could be a reference to his Nigerian identity. “The Bridge isn’t a place,” Tobe wrote in the announcement note for the album. “It’s what happens when you stop choosing between parts of yourself and realize they’ve been connected all along.” 

‘THE BRIDGE’ is primed to be Tobe’s most ambitious effort yet, which is saying something for a hyper-prolific artist that never seems to run out of ideas, like making an urban gospel album with spare use of drums and hella features from secular artists. Two singles in and you can hear the outline of an album that embodies his hybrid cultural identity. The Labrinth-assisted “All or Nothing” is straightforward, a mid-tempo jam that fits into the Nigerian Pop soundscape. The new single, “Perfection,” is where it gets even more exciting, a slapper that blends Nigerian Funk with southern Crunk and Blues. Flavour sings the vibrant hook, C.S. Armstrong reaches to the heavens with his raspy vocals, while Tobe raps the first verse and sings the second. 

 

Like several of his previous projects, the new album is stuffed with collaborations, several of them Nigerian. ODUMODUBLVCK and Adekunle Gold make their second appearance on a Tobe Nwigwe project, after their features on 2024’s ‘HOOD HYMNS.’ Firstklaz and The Cavemen., contributors to three songs, round out the project’s Nigerian supporting cast. The south is also prominent, with features from Scarface, Paul Wall, Jay Electronica and Clipse’s Malice. 

Tobe recently shared that he used to feel “too Naija for Houston and too Houston for Naija.” In some fashion, ‘THE BRIDGE’ is meant to be an expression of how assured of his identity he is, that there’s no dissonance in him being an Igbo man raised in the city that embraced Hakeem Olajuwon, in a hood that helped him better appreciate where his family is from. Tobe Nwigwe is an independent Rap star because of the Nigerian upbringing that gave him resilience, faith and dignity. He took the long route, but it’s led him here, to making music that is as Nigerian as it is Houston.

MR P CONTINUES HIS ROMANTIC RUN WITH NEW SINGLE “I LOVE YOU BECAUSE” 

Posted on by The Native

Mr. P continues into a new chapter of romance with the release of “I Love You Because.”  Arriving as a natural follow-up to his recent energetic viral single, “I Can’t Look Away,” this new record moves the story of attraction beyond its first spark.

Where its predecessor captured the instant pull of seeing someone who commands your attention, “I Love You Because” is concerned with what happens after the fascination settles: the qualities, emotions and intimate details that turn attraction into something deeper. 

 

It is a warmer and more openly affectionate performance from Mr. P, who approaches the subject with the melodic ease and emotional directness that have long shaped his relationship with his audience. Rather than overcomplicating the sentiment, he builds the song around a simple but enduring idea: love often becomes most convincing when you can name the reasons a person matters. 

The record plays like an ode to the small things: the character, presence, memories and emotional comfort that make one person feel irreplaceable. It is personal enough to sound like a direct declaration, but broad enough for listeners to attach their own relationships and experiences to it. 

There is also a clear sense of continuity in Mr. P’s recent releases. “I Can’t Look Away” and “I Love You Because” work almost like adjoining chapters in the same romantic narrative. The first is driven by chemistry and the magnetic pull of desire; the second asks a more intimate question: what makes that connection worth holding on to? 

 

For an artist whose career has repeatedly moved between high-energy pop records, dancefloor instincts and emotionally driven songwriting, “I Love You Because” finds Mr. P comfortably occupying the latter space. It is affectionate without becoming overly sentimental, celebratory without losing intimacy, and another indication that his current musical run is being shaped around romance not simply as a theme, but as an unfolding story. 

As a solo artist, Mr. P has continued to evolve his artistry, building a catalog defined by infectious melodies, dynamic performances, and a seamless blend of Afropop, R&B, and contemporary African sounds. His acclaimed  solo debut album, ‘The Prodigal,’ showcased his versatility and featured collaborations with some of Africa’s biggest stars, including Tiwa Savage, Simi, Teni, and Wande Coal, alongside international acts such as Tamar Braxton and Mohombi. 

Listen to “I Love You Because” here.

Interview: ru. Is Feeling The Textures Of Life On ‘SILK’

Posted on by The Native

When ru. made her debut with 2024’s “i think i love you,” the singer’s unique juxtaposition of weighty emotions and buoyant delivery marked her out as a voice to pay attention to. A Magixx-featuring remake of the song in March 2025 confirmed the promise that early listeners heard. All of that has set the stage for the arrival of her new extended play, ‘SILK,’ that’s a practice in understanding life and her capabilities. 

“What defines this era is just what is strength to me,” she told Apple Music’s Africa Now Radio. “What does strength look like? That’s what ‘SILK’ is about.” Across five songs, the singer explores the cost of ambition, romance, and fear with characteristic wit and tenderness while providing more detailing on her artistry and inspirations. 

This conversation has been edited for clarity. 

What impact does Abuja have on your music?

In comparison to Lagos, I would say Abuja is much more chill. It’s just a much more calm energy, like a slower pace. Not in a way that makes you lazy, but just allows you to be intentional and really take things in. I think the approach I have to Afrobeats is just on a much slower pace, not in terms of melody or rhythm, just more intentional with the music. I want you to feel everything. I’m trying to actually create an atmosphere, an environment, one that allows you to feel, to breathe, and just be. I would say that’s the portrait of Abuja in comparison to Lagos. 

How do your values and faith influence your music 

I am just who I am. I believe that everything that comes out, comes from that core. So, I’m not necessarily always double-checking or trying to be sure that the essence of my faith is coming through, because I believe it is one with who I am. I believe that anything I’m making is coming from the original source, which is God. I just explore or take things in that way, basically. I would say that there are times when I’m worried when I’m trying to feature an artist and I’m like, “Oh, can I speak to them?” For me, having explicit words or expressions, I really don’t want that because one of the reasons I set out to make music anyway is just for that purity. I want people to enjoy excellent music and not have to worry about the source or the essence of where it comes from. 

I want to be that sound. I want to be that person that people run to when they’re just looking for something clean. When I say clean, I don’t mean it’s mediocre or slow. I mean excellent music, still great, but you just can trust what you’re listening to. I have definitely worried sometimes if, with great artists that work with me, maybe, sonically they sound amazing, but maybe they speak a bit more freely than I do in terms of expression. I’ll be like, “Mm, can you maybe rein it in a little bit?” It’s always hard because you really don’t want to stifle expression, but it’s like this is a priority to me that the sound remains so pure. I’ve not been in music too long; It’s been two years, literally. I haven’t even had a lot of features or situations like that. I’ve not really had an issue in that way. The one person who I had a feature with, I didn’t even have to speak to him, he just delivered. Sometimes, you just thank God that the stars align. 

How did your collaboration with Magixx on “i think i love you 2” come about?

For the idea to have Magixx on, he’s an artist I respect and I love. His vocal tone is just so rich. Someone literally just said to me, “I think you should do a feature with Magixx.” I’m like, “How do you get someone like Magixx to jump on a song like this, and how do I convince him to give me a verse I want?” A verse that I feel like is perfect for the song. At first, it was like a shot in the dark, but then someone knew someone that knew his A&R, and they pitched the song to him. In a few days, he sends me a message and he’s like, “Ruth, I think you’re a star. I love this song so much,” and he sends me a verse. I’m like, “No, you guys must be kidding.” And the verse is clean. It’s perfect. The melody is on par. The chemistry is undeniable. I was just so glad because it felt like it was just supposed to be that way. I didn’t plan a chapter two, but it was perfect. I couldn’t even call it a remix. At the time, my very good friend was like, “I think you guys have done justice to this. We can’t even call it a remix. Let’s say part two.” So, she gave me that idea, and I’m like, “Okay, let’s just say this is a sequel to the original,” as opposed to, a regular remix or something. We got to release it that way, and honestly, I’m just grateful. I think everything that happened as it was supposed to, and I wouldn’t change a thing. 

What inspired “Woman?”

I just tried to search deep within myself and of course, God, because if you’re a creator and you made a woman, and I know I’m not an afterthought, what did you have in mind?  What were you thinking about? So, “Woman” is just that journey of discovering who I was because it was largely a quest for myself.  I’m like, “If I can’t describe what I am, how am I supposed to reshape identity, grow, and become when I don’t know what the starting point is. Purpose will now define who I’m supposed to be, and “Woman” was just my documentation of the response I felt like I was getting, and I feel like it’s still just the tip of the iceberg. I worry that my generation will feel like it’s too soft, it’s such a vanilla song, and women right now, they’re trying to be dangerous. But I had to just do justice to the purity of the message I felt I was getting, and that’s what that song really is about.  

Why did you choose ‘SILK’ as the title of your project?

I chose that name because I feel like it’s such a paradox. It’s soft when you touch it. It looks glistening and shiny, but spider silk rivals the strength of steel. So, that I’m soft or that I’m presenting as a fragile babe or embracing my softness does not mean I’m lacking strength. It was the perfect metaphor. For all of the songs on this project, I didn’t make them as a project. We handpicked sonically aligning music, because I needed different phases of the strength I was talking about to come through. It’s literally just a collage of different frames of me being a woman. It’s my diary, but it’s also like my message, like a daring message to women out there to just accept who they are. You actually don’t have to do all the things. You don’t have to do all the add-ons. Who you are is enough, and you’re actually really strong, and you have a lot of power as you are. I think even in just exploring the music, I’ve figured out so many things about myself.  So, there are songs where I’m singing in third person because I’m looking at the woman I’m aspiring to be. There are songs where I’m talking to myself. There are songs where I’m singing from who I am now. It’s a compendium of many things.

Llona Is Finding Himself ‘On The Road’

Posted on by Clarence MacEbong

Llona is motion personified. The effects of frequent relocations as a youngster growing up in Kano State and Northern Nigeria—which forms part of the basis of his successful debut album ‘Homeless’—made him accustomed to the idea of seeking out success through a nomadic lifestyle. As a child, he was never in one place long enough to make new friends. 

However, since embarking on a monumental nationwide tour spanning across 25 cities for most of 2025, thousands have found solace and companionship with Llona off the strength of his music. Beyond storytelling, Llona’s music serves as a mirror (both for himself and for others) to examine who we really are, what we struggle with, and the catharsis that comes from overcoming those obstacles. As an artist constantly on the move, he has had to learn those lessons on the road. Documenting this process over the last two years created the framework for what is now his sophomore album, ‘On The Road.’ 

“We’ve been on the road for several months after ‘Homeless,’ which was a very vital part for the second album,” Llona tells NATIVE Mag. “If that was not done, there was no way the second album would be in the works. This whole album was built from motion and for motion.” 

 

The tour’s success was remarkable considering the ongoing concerns about insecurity around the country. As an artist who first made his mark battling other rappers in the court of public opinion, Llona cannot overestimate the importance of sharing the music with the fans. “The tour was a way for everyone to experience the album like they’ve never experienced before,” he says. “Getting to see them gave me a feeling that my people will always be my people.”

Above all, Llona aims to make his fans feel seen. That’s why his shows often feel like a collective outpouring of emotions from people who feel less alone in their silent battles after the experience. He is not a preacher nor therapist, he doesn’t claim to be; but his depth and authenticity in a shallow world gives those who interact with his music a way back to themselves.

Through the release of ‘Homeless’ and the duration of the tour, though, Llona admits he has changed a lot. “I became dangerous; more resilient, more experienced,” he explains. “Everything that comes with the job was something that I learnt while doing it. So it made me a different type of person. We could make a plan and something goes bad, but I promise you, I’m still active.” He credits his team as a major influence in the growth of his career; a set of innovative, forward thinking individuals that have guided and protected his creative process even when it is least convenient. 

One particular incident while on the Homeless Nationwide Tour stood out: “I had to go on stage at 1AM in Umuahia and Mide asked me not to because he didn’t like the stage. He had them redo certain things and these people were patient enough to wait. After everything, at about 2 or 3AM, I performed and it was beautiful. On this tour, I learnt that plans can change.”

 

After the tour, Llona needed time to recover from the tour’s intensity and finetune his ideas. Now in 2026, he is ready to go again. He released “Dead Flowers” while on the Homeless Nationwide Tour in 2025 and performed it at the final show in Lagos. His decision to withhold singles in the buildup to his latest album ‘On The Road’ was a bold one that was difficult for his team to accept. “It was very intentional,” he admits. “Right from the start, in 2024, I knew that‘s how I wanted to do it. I wanted it to come as a brand new full album. I didn’t want the singles to dilute the full excitement of it. You don’t know what you’re expecting, just like the way I was, not knowing how it was going to turn out. I wanted them to have that feeling too.”

While the tour turned out to be a creative catalyst for his latest work, it was, first of all, a vehicle for extensive post-release promotion of ‘Homeless.’ This time around, however, Llona is releasing ‘On The Road’ in its entirety, aiming to prove that its impact will be felt without a traditional rollout. “Before we even got to the music aspect, there was a lot of psychological work I had to do,” he says. “I wanted to know a lot of stuff. I like to read a lot. I figured out there was a ‘sophomore curse’  around artists doing their second albums. I wanted to know why it was that way. I had a lot of questions and I got answers to them.”

Following his stunning debut, Llona continues to unravel before his audience. ‘On The Road’ is an attempt to question interactions with both his inner and outer worlds, explored through an array of lyrics that carry themes of trust, lust, emotional control and positive portrayals of masculinity wrapped up in mellow, Jazz-influenced production. Being exposed to the perks of superstardom has given him a platform to test his personal growth in real time, and he sings about the times he has fallen short despite his best intentions. “‘Anger Management’ made me realize all the times where you know anger is a bad reaction in the moment, and you promise yourself to work on it,” he starts, “But when the moment shows up again, you forget all the things you tell yourself, making the same mistakes.” 

 

Always with his heart on his sleeve, the vulnerability in Llona’s music has turned into his biggest strength. Across the project’s twelve tracks, we’re taken through a cohesive body of work that requires your ears and heart in equal measure. He creates pockets where his raspy vocals intertwine with subtle bounces to make you dance, sweetening an already intimate and wholesome experience. 

Llona packs a short but impactful guest list on the album, collaborating only with those who could add colour to his story. “I was chilling in Ghana when Blacko (Black Sherif) asked me to come over to his place,” he says about the creation of the album’s third single, “Cry.” “I felt like I needed to play the album for him, top to bottom, just so he could understand what I was trying to do. Next thing I know, he starts to turn off the lights, he gets in the zone and starts recording.”

 

Llona weaves musings about the loss of friendships on the journey to stardom into a vibrant, bouncy instrumental. Morrelo’s smooth vocals contribute a layer of warmth to an emotionally dense record that is “Different Pictures.” “During ‘Homeless’, I went over to see Morrelo to finish a song. I heard him play an instrumental from his phone and I got so moved that I asked that we record on it. He had plans for the instrumental but he trusted the energy that I had about the song and let me have it.”

‘On The Road’ also had moments of near misses. Llona had initially planned to feature Tems on “Masculine Love” but wasn’t able to due to scheduling conflicts. “It’s a special record for me and I chose that name because it’s provocative,” he explains.” I think masculinity is being preached to our women wrongly. We cannot survive in an environment where our women are being taught to hate us.”

With the release of his second album, it feels like the work has only just begun for Llona. So, what impact does he expect ‘On The Road’ to have on his career? “I want my fans to completely know me. I don’t want them to second-guess the fact that they know Llona. I want them to know that I’m a crazy guy. I never beg for anything. I want them to know that we are up forever.”

Listen to ‘On The Road’ here. 

Review: ‘Oriade’ by Davido

There’s a startling realization halfway through “B4 B4,” a record from Davido’s sixth studio album Oriade. Shored amidst the complementary serenading of his protege Mayorkun and FOLA, one perceives a satisfactory level of the artistic sublimity the Afropop stalwart has been moving towards in his recent music. Where scorching, ego-fuelled dominance supplied the tools of his myth-building from early albums such as ‘Omo Baba Olowo: The Genesis’ and ‘A Good Time,’ he now favors more serene compositions. It’s akin to the gestures of a dancer whose favorite moves have been executed and now anyone who arrives the scene must make do with the physical evidence of sustained choreography: the dust in the air, sweat slick all over the dancer’s skin, the awed gaze of the bystanders who make it their duty to relay what they’ve witnessed. 

 

In quite overstated ways, Davido’s entire career has been an exercise in the inevitable. He wants to be undeniable even when he isn’t liked. Greatness like the kind Davido desires doesn’t tarry on the banks of subjectivity. It must be inevitable, in-your-face. There’s a clip of his great contemporary Olamide saying he wouldn’t work as hard if he had a billionaire father like Davido. Elsewhere, the “Dami Duro” singer has related and emphasized the dramatic trappings of a musical passion so fiercely at odds with a more conventional, comfortable life, one secured by generational wealth. Quite tellingly, his music hasn’t shied away from his biography.

Maximalist in feeling, with extravagant sonic choices, he’s leaned into his privilege while referencing humane stories. ‘A Better Time’ was created on the back of great personal misfortune. ‘TIMELESS’ had emotional candor. ‘5IVE,’ which followed last year, was unnecessarily stuffy and lacked the sensuous layering that made its predecessor so beloved; ‘Oriade’ attempts an edit. The entire album is the document of a creator who’s sung in so many different ways and has acquired a fine means of blending these varied impulses. 

Album opener “On The Road” reflects the high bar David Adeleke has set for himself, its bluesy strings nodding to Louddaaa’s signature flourishes. Davido’s delivery foreshadows the relaxed atmosphere of the entire project, as he lays down his ethos early on his first verse: “You see me living lavish, but many can’t understand it / Say I dey put hard work into practise, my body no gree me/” It’s an earned sentiment, but the artist strikes for even more character on the other side of the chorus: “I still make time for family and friends ‘cause all work and no play / Makes Davido another man with no face.”

 

Rather than slither into the arena of the bop, a field he champions exquisitely, Davido yet unfurls this particular album’s vision to be restrained. “Constantly” and “Julie” are peak rainy weather songs; there’s an insistence in them for the other, a seeking for fullness through romance. Produced by Pheelz, the drums exude a peculiar lightness of being. Hence it’s Davido’s voice which saturates the foreground, yet enlivened by the soaring violins and notes building from the back. 

“Julie,” a name entrenched in the Afropop lexicon, gets another appraisal on ‘Oriade.’ Here, Davido strikes a pleading note, asking to be considered. If its drum and note progressions sound familiar, it’s because there’s a thematic and sonic connection to “E PAIN ME,” one of the more vulnerable moments in Davido’s oeuvre. While the newer record is somewhat on par, the record lacks enough specificity to drag it across the finish line. Fortunately, the much-heralded “B4 B4” attempts and surpasses those emotional scales. This-kinda-DMW reunion has Fresh VDM on production duties, a choice that inserts immediacy and familiarity. 

A thing must be said about the openness of Davido’s creative spirit. Where his two biggest peers have made exclusivity an art, he embraces the fire of the now. From the outside it seems like a loose grip on his influence, but when one looks at the range of his collaborators (and how big they go on to become) it’s clear that Davido applies a business-like approach to such matters. And on each album, one younger act happens to burst onto higher strata of popular acceptance on the strength of their appearance. 

On ‘Oriade,’ that role ostensibly belongs to Llona who enlivens the closing record “My Light” with his piercing, introspective lilt. A different kind of artist to Davido, yet both paint their tales in sweat and blood. United from their distinct positions the result is a brilliant portrayal of submission to higher authority, hence the allusion to destiny in the title. A Yoruba phrase with limited translation into English, ‘ori ade’ suggests royalty and leadership. This culturally-informed linguistic might also inform the aesthetic of the album. 

 

“I choose growth over silence, no pressure for this side,” sings Davido in his verse. How he subverts the existential queries of Llona is like an OG sitting down over lunch with the hungry youngster, assuring him the future holds roses as equally as thorns. “Pay my dues before the paper, no fear the risk if you go take am.” These are the words of a man growing into his influence, and on the better songs on Oriade, he does so concisely, in entirely-earned words. 

It’s believed in African societies that the more a person knows, the lesser they tend to speak. Experience tempers the fire of youth, an embodiment of grace becomes even more necessary than the need to prove oneself right in matters of a certain disposition. Nigerian music—and Afropop in general—is going through a transitory phase and new cultures are building amongst listeners. Amidst rapid experimentation, AI is challenging humanity’s supposed knowledge on what is real and what isn’t, broaching slyly existential terrain with its posing of the familiar and the unfamiliar. 

Davido’s voice unmistakably belongs to the familiar, but even he is careful of being too familiar. We’re in a time when albums are received with less fanfare than ever, slithering out of popular conversations before long, and the artist seems to know this. ‘Oriade’ is thirty nine minutes long, which is significantly his shortest album. Even the album cover—his jewelled hands holding a crown—captures his most evasive, poetic display yet. You’d have noticed that Davido’s covers have otherwise favored a mainstream penchant for excess but here he’s direct, quietly luxuriant. 

Those are qualities reiterated in Aya Nakamura’s guest showing on “Yaya,” in the breezy vibe of “Zanzibar,” and across the knocking house-nodding percussion on “I Know Who I Be,” extending his successful experiments with club-ready genres. What’s a Davido album without bops? I suspect “Already Falling” will do best in the long run: in a glossy project too slick with its own perfection, here a rough exterior is achieved; the drums sometimes lose themselves. Davido’s voice, ever charged, becomes even more engaged, working that iconic husk into a measured affinity. 

 

For much of ‘Oriade’ the artist maintains a laid back energy that’s really the elder’s grace. Let the music do the talking, he seems to suggest. It’s quite an original response to the times from an artist who used to come under the stick for his relative struggles with longer works of art. For a time (memorably so, one must add) Davido’s magic rested on the hit; that crafty ability to weave our worlds around the audacity and urgency of one record. From “Dami Duro” to “If” and “FEM,” he’s never seemed to leave anything off the course of a track. If an adversary was taking shots, if he was heads-over-heels in love—nothing was left to later. An album, by its design, favors a certain restraint.

‘A Good Time’ depicted Davido’s growing understanding of the form, but both critics and everyday listeners agreed on ‘TIMELESS’. Color me overly impressed but there is something refreshingly humane about the creative process being so candidly expressed. Purists will decry a cheapening of art’s supposed mystique but Davido has never been anything if not collectively ours. From his early moments in the scene he relayed a spirit that gave as much as it demanded, that every cheer of “OBO!” he met in the streets would inspire a love that would inspire a hit that would make those people happy. 

Now that character arrives eventually at interiority, taking back some of the space for himself. The stories and music that have come before makes this worth it. Even the rollout for ‘Oriade’ is relatively lean, featuring little of the grand gestures that accompanied ‘5IVE’ and ‘TIMELESS.’ In a nuanced way this puts little pressure on the album to become a commercial giant, only that it needs to succeed sonically. To that end, ‘Oriade’ has some of the more calculated moments of Davido’s career. Its serene exterior will likely inspire listeners to probe its content, and when they do they will find a man triumphant and satisfied

Listen to ‘Oriade’ here.

A Primer On South African Electronic And Dance Genres

Posted on by Karabo

South Africa has long been one of Africa’s greatest musical innovators, consistently producing genres that transcend borders and redefine global music culture. From the revolutionary rhythms of House and Kwaito to the worldwide explosion of Amapiano, alongside the rise of Gqom, Lekompo and 3-Step, South African music has become one of the continent’s most influential cultural exports. These genres have not only filled dancefloors but have shaped fashion, language, identity and youth culture across Africa and beyond.

One thing is important to understand: none of these genres has a single founder. Like Hip-Hop in New York or Jazz in New Orleans, South African genres were born through communities of DJs, producers, musicians and dancers who collectively pushed the culture forward. While there may not be one inventor, there are undeniable pioneers who laid the foundation and champions who elevated these sounds onto the world stage.

House Music: The Blueprint

South African House Music arrived during the late 1980s after influences from Chicago and New York reached local clubs. Rather than simply copying the international sound, South African DJs slowed it down, infused it with African percussion, township slang and local rhythms, creating something uniquely homegrown. From this movement, numerous sub-genres would eventually emerge, including Kwaito, Afro House, Deep House, Gqom, Amapiano and, later, 3-Step.

Among the architects of South African House are Oskido (Oscar Mdlongwa), DJ Christos, Vinny Da Vinci, DJ Fresh, Glen Lewis, DJ Ganyani and DJ Mbuso. Through clubs, radio stations, record labels and live performances, they built the country’s electronic music culture from the ground up. As the genre evolved, artists including Black Coffee, Culoe De Song, Black Motion, Da Capo, Sun-El Musician, Shimza, Prince Kaybee, Heavy K, DJ Kent and Caiiro transformed South African House into an international movement. Today, South African House is played at festivals across Europe, Asia, North America and the rest of Africa, making it one of the country’s biggest musical exports.

 

Kwaito: The Soundtrack of Freedom

When democracy arrived in 1994, South Africa found its own musical voice through Kwaito. Emerging from Johannesburg and Soweto in the early 1990s, Kwaito slowed House music to approximately 110 BPM while introducing township slang as well as African melodies and storytelling that reflected everyday life after apartheid. The genre’s pioneers include Oskido, DJ Christos, Don Laka, Trompies and Arthur Mafokate. While Arthur Mafokate is widely recognised as the “King of Kwaito,” the genre itself was a collaborative movement shaped by DJs and producers who collectively defined its identity.

Kwaito was championed by artists such as Arthur Mafokate, Mdu Masilela, Boom Shaka, TKZee, Mandoza, Zola, Brown Dash, Bongo Maffin, Thebe and even Brenda Fassie, whose crossover success helped bridge Pop and Kwaito. More than music, Kwaito became the voice of South Africa’s first democratic generation and inspired artists throughout the continent.

 

Gqom: Durban’s Dark Revolution

While Johannesburg was shaping Kwaito, Durban was quietly creating one of South Africa’s most distinctive electronic genres. Emerging during the early 2010s from townships including Clermont and Umlazi, Gqom stripped House music down to its rawest elements, relying on dark basslines, haunting percussion and hypnotic rhythms. 

The genre was pioneered by artists including DJ Lag, Rudeboyz, Distruction Boyz, Citizen Boy, DJ Tira, Worst Behaviour, Dominowe and Babes Wodumo, whose breakout smash “Wololo” introduced Gqom to mainstream audiences. Meanwhile, DJ Lag became one of the genre’s most respected ambassadors internationally, earning recognition from electronic music communities around the world. Gqom proved that South African Electronic Music could continually reinvent itself while staying rooted in township culture.

 

Amapiano: South Africa’s Global Phenomenon

Few genres have travelled as quickly or as successfully as Amapiano. Born in Gauteng during the mid-to-late 2010s, with development taking place across Pretoria, Atteridgeville, Mamelodi, Soweto and Johannesburg, Amapiano fused Deep House, Jazz, Lounge music and the now-iconic log drum into an entirely new sound. The genre was shaped by pioneering producers including Kabza De Small, DJ Maphorisa, MFR Souls, Vigro Deep, JazziDisciples and Kelvin Momo, who refined its signature sound through street parties, taxi ranks and local clubs before it reached national audiences.

As Amapiano exploded, artists including Young Stunna, Focalistic, Uncle Waffles, DBN Gogo, Tyler ICU, Daliwonga, Musa Keys and Kamo Mphela transformed it into one of Africa’s biggest cultural exports. Today, Amapiano dominates clubs from Lagos and Nairobi to London, Paris, New York and Tokyo, proving that African sounds can lead global music conversations.

 

Lekompo: Limpopo’s Cultural Renaissance

While Amapiano conquered the globe, Limpopo was building its own movement. Lekompo emerged primarily from Sekhukhune and Capricorn Districts by blending traditional Sepedi music with electronic production, energetic percussion and infectious call-and-response vocals.

Artists including Janesh, Shebeshxt, Hitboss SA, Ba Bethe Gashoazen and numerous local producers have pushed Lekompo from village celebrations and taxi playlists onto national streaming charts. One of the genre’s greatest achievements is its fearless embrace of indigenous languages and rural identity. Rather than conforming to commercial expectations, Lekompo celebrates Sepedi culture while inspiring young artists from rural communities to believe that authenticity can become mainstream success.

 

3-Step: The Next Evolution

One of South Africa’s newest dance movements is 3-Step. Rather than having a single inventor, the sound evolved naturally from Afro House, Deep House and Amapiano during the early 2020s. Characterised by rolling percussion, broken rhythms and emotionally rich melodies, the genre continues to redefine South African Dance Music.

Although there is no universally recognised founder, producers including Thakzin, Atmos Blaq, Darque, Argento Dust, SculpturedMusic and Da Capo are widely credited with shaping the movement. Many fans regard Dlala Thakzin as the artist who has done the most to establish the modern 3-Step sound. The genre has since been championed by Oscar Mbo, Sun-El Musician, Caiiro, Kasango, Lemon & Herb and Zakes Bantwini, helping introduce 3-Step to audiences across Africa and international dance music festivals.

 

Why These Genres Matter

South Africa’s musical innovations have always reflected more than entertainment: they mirror the country’s history, identity and resilience. House music became the soundtrack of social transformation during the final years of apartheid. Kwaito gave voice to South Africa’s democratic generation. Gqom captured the raw energy of Durban’s townships. Amapiano became Africa’s biggest global dance movement, while Lekompo continues to uplift rural communities by celebrating indigenous language and identity. Now, 3-Step represents the next chapter in South African electronic music’s evolution.

Collectively, these genres demonstrate Africa’s ability to innovate rather than imitate. Instead of following Western musical trends, South African producers have consistently created entirely new sounds rooted in local experiences, languages and traditions. Their success has inspired artists across the continent to embrace authenticity, proving that local stories can resonate globally.

Beyond cultural influence, these genres have created thousands of economic opportunities. They have built careers for producers, DJs, dancers, vocalists, photographers, videographers, fashion designers, event organisers and entrepreneurs. Festivals, international tours, streaming platforms and brand partnerships have transformed what began in townships and villages into billion-rand creative industries.

As these genres continue to evolve, they reinforce South Africa’s position as one of Africa’s most influential musical powerhouses. Whether born in the streets of Soweto, the clubs of Johannesburg, the townships of Durban or the villages of Limpopo, they all carry the same message: Africa’s greatest sounds are often created by communities before they are embraced by the world.

TADE AJIBOYE’S “GO NORTH” DOUBLES DOWN ON THE POTENTIAL OF NIGERIAN GAMING

Posted on by Dodi Igwe

The gaming industry has always been poorly represented when it comes to its African sector. Too few games come out of the continent, and the ones that do don’t make it very far. This issue runs even further because there is no shortage of skills needed to code, create music, develop animations and create a compelling story for these games. The truth of the matter is that African game developers simply don’t have the support to put these skills into action.

This is the problem that fuels the fire behind Tade Ajiboye’s most recent work, “Go North.” He’s been making games all the way back to his childhood, from games for his secondary school friend to building a career out of it, going as far as being featured on the American media giant, IGN. In conversation with NATIVE Mag, Tade reflects on how he got into game development, some key insights into the world of Go North, and his hope of writing a new chapter for the gaming industry in Nigeria.

This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.

How did you get into game development and what has your journey as a game developer been like so far?

I’ve been building games since I was a kid. My parents sent my siblings and I to a tech boot camp where I learnt the fundamentals of game making and collage making. Following this, I continued making games for me and my friends in secondary school like RPGs and shooters, going on to continue making them in university. I made a game called “Water Bubble” in my university that sort of blew up, which brought requests to make games on a freelance basis.

 

Would you say that making games started off as more of a hobby before it developed into something more?

Yes, it did start off as a hobby and personal interest. I’d say that it still is. Before I started making “Go North,” I was a freelancer making games for clients. From there, I started making it a career then I decided to focus more on building my own games and “Go North” is a result of that. 

What type of game is “Go North” and what can players expect when they step into it?

It’s a cozy exploration game. Players would explore different mazes with a story unravelling in the process. Players will also get to solve puzzles and interact with different characters. When they first play, I expect them to have a sense of calm, relaxation and wonder because of the beautiful fantasy world they’ll be in. I also want to pique a sense of curiosity through discovery.

What are some inspirations that influenced the world building of “Go North”?

“Legend of Zelda” and “Animal Crossing” do have some influence in terms of places to explore and similar art styles. I’d also say some games like “Blue Prince” influenced how I think around puzzles and “Journey,” which would be the most prominent inspiration out of all of them, has similar elements of exploration, beauty and landscape. 

There aren’t many games that come out of Nigeria or Africa as a whole. What would you say are some structural issues we have within the gaming industry that prevent this?

One of the problems, that isn’t particular to Nigeria, is the difficulty that comes with making games. It’s a tough endeavour and those are harder to do in places like Nigeria because there’s no support and a lack of resources that would make game development easier. There aren’t a lot of success stories and big enterprises that some nations have around gaming. Nigerians can’t publish on platforms like Steam, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch so we have to go through different channels that manually put a game there but that involves having connections.

 

Would you say that there are any elements of “Go North” that tie back to your Nigerian or African identity?

I wasn’t intentionally trying to make a Nigerian game. When I thought of the main character, I chose to name her Dara, after my friend. Even though I wasn’t trying to tell a Nigerian story, it sort of feeds into the game in some of the dialogue and characters because that’s what comes to my head.

What was your process for coming up with the “Go North” soundtrack?

The soundtrack was mainly contracted out because we have scattered talent all around. I gave a music producer, that I’d worked with prior to “Go North”, enough information and visuals to tell what exactly I was trying to achieve and the emotions I wanted to evoke*

“Go North” has won awards and even been covered by major gaming networks like IGN and The Game Awards. How much does this mean to you as a solo indie developer?

Although I’m not one to get super excited, it’s definitely a good feeling and exciting thing. A lot of these showcases are highly competitive, so you could have thousands of applications for a showcase that has around 80 or 100 games. Knowing that people who run these showcases have been doing so for many years and have so many games to choose from believe that my game is of quality is externally validating. It also helps put the game* into an audience that’d actually play it so that helps with pre launch attention.

Would it be possible to get a sneak peek in the story of “Go North”?

You play as a young girl, Dara, who wants to have her wish granted by finding the Maze God. In order to meet them, you need to complete all the different mazes from the beginning to where the Maze God’s castle is located. Dara is resourceful and laser-focused, but also socially awkward so she doesn’t try to talk much with others unless she’s trying to help them. As she makes her journey through the maze, she meets interesting characters that she forms bonds with. She also faces obstacles and betrayal but grows as a person. There’s also a sinister force corrupting the mazes from within that makes it difficult to explore. So she has to figure out why this is happening.

 

What vision do you hope to fulfil with “Go North”?

The game industry in Nigeria is not where I want it to be. I’m not the sort of person that likes to say “This isn’t good.” when I’m a part of it and can make it better. I’d like to build a premium story game through locally sourced talent. Even though I built the game myself, I still got the craft of other Nigerians for elements like the music and art. I want to let people know that we have the key ingredients to build a globally competitive game and if I do succeed, I can show that more people can achieve this with what we have. 

Do you have any plans for game development in the future?

There are a bunch of ideas that I want to pick from and make into a game but I can’t share that right now. There’re definitely games that I’m excited to build.

Support “Go North” here.

Interview: Teni Is Recentering Her Journey With ‘The Wellness Package’

Posted on by The Native

Close to a decade after her breakthrough, Teni is taking stock of who she is as a person and the journey she’s been on with her new project, ‘The Wellness Project.’ Her new project is a fluid suite of seven songs that captures her thoughts on growth, inner peace, and joy foregrounded by the Folk template that brought her to fame. Following creative detours with ‘WONDALAND’ and ‘TEARS OF THE SUN,’ the singer is finding her way to herself again. 

“It’s my personal experience,” she told Apple Music’s Africa Now Radio. “There’s the music and then the music business. I was at a point in my life where the music business was driving me crazy. I had to go through life, find myself, evolve and grow and become somebody. So, all these were just my experiences as I maneuvered life and found myself again. This is just my story of the things I went through at the time.”

This conversation has been edited for clarity

How did you make “Meditation?” 

I recorded the song in Ondo State, Ondo Town, where my mother was born. I was trying to figure a lot of things out and I just felt very vulnerable. I wanted to express myself. Music, for me, is not just a job. It’s like an escape. It’s a calling. It’s an assignment. So, I just needed to express myself and express how I was feeling. I got to find out about the things I could do that could help me release, not cheap dopamine, but dopamine that could really help me get in tune with my mind and help me sharpen my soul because music is beautiful, but it could also get really dark. I just needed answers to certain things I was feeling and that’s how that song came up. It’s really just medicine for my problems, and it’s medicine that could also heal and help other people that might not be going through similar things or the same, but could use my experience as a case study. If I could come out of a dark place, then they can too.  

Why did you choose to release “Zion” first?

“Zion” won because of the belief in the song by the person I collaborated with. Shout out to Olamide. He really believed in the song. He was like, “The people of the world need to listen to this song.” I started to listen to the song. You know how when you sing a song, you don’t even understand the depth of the song until other people start finding their own meaning of the song. Then you start to listen to it, and then you just start to find your own meaning. So, I was just like, “This song is speaking to me differently.” I was like, “Let’s do it,” and we did, and people love it. It spoke to their souls. It’s not just about love. It’s also about self-love. It’s like I’m talking to myself in that song. I have to learn to fall in love with myself over again and give myself grace. As much as I want more, I also have to be grateful for what I do have.  

Talk us through some of the songs on the project. 

Well, for “Wise,” I was talking to myself. I was mainly talking to myself about the decisions I was making and on the mistakes that I made. I was just telling myself, “Girl, you better wake up and be wise.” I made some mistakes and I made some poor choices. Not poor choices. I just had to walk through the valley to really appreciate the mountain. I was in the valley and I was telling myself, “Girl, you better wake up to be able to discern the wolves in sheep clothing.” As superstars, we’re surrounded by people that want everything from us and might not really wish us the best but the discernment and ability to be able to see through that, to stay grounded, to do good business and to really leave a good mark [is necessary]. 

How did you make “HTGT (Here Today Gone Tomorrow)?”

For “Here Today Gone Tomorrow,” I’d like to say when I was recording that song, it felt like I was so afraid to even say the things I was saying, because it felt like I was in the middle of the graveyard. Like, people from the grave were sending me on an errand to tell the living to enjoy their lives to enjoy the moment and appreciate the present. The people that don’t have the opportunity to be here with us today, they’re telling me to tell people here that you only have this one chance, so just enjoy it. 

uNder: Best New Artists (July, 2026)

Posted on by The Native

As we cross the mid-year mark, there’s no denying that some of the year’s best music has come from the vibrant, ever-mutating underground scene. The surge of new talent across the continent, which gathered serious momentum last year, carried over into 2026, injecting fresh impetus into African music and pushing even the mainstream to evolve.

This month’s Under picks are among some of the several exciting names pushing the boundaries of what music from the continent can and should sound like. Take, for example, A.D, the talented producer and recording artist who experiments with several classic Nigerian records, updating them for a new generation who might be unfamiliar. 

There’s also Oriiginelle, the Eswatini MC crafting deeply personal, politically charged Rap rooted in queer Black identity; EKENE, whose poignant vocals and songwriting are quietly redefining contemporary R&B; and British-Ghanaian rapper D.H., whose melody-driven take on Rap music continues to expand in exciting new directions. Together, they embody the curiosity, originality and ambition that this column looks to constantly spotlight.  

Oriiginelle

For Fans Of: Noname, tg.blk, and Enny

Makhosazana Thwala came up in Mbabane with little doubt about the artist she was meant to be. Performing under the name Oriiginelle, her moniker is a statement of intent. Those three ‘i’s chart distinct chapters of personal evolution, whilst the feminine suffix frames womanhood as a rigid source of power. Right from the jump, her sonic output has been tangled up in her politics, forged by the realities of taking up space in the world as a queer African woman from Eswatini and driven by an unrelenting need to speak the unspoken. Eswatini rarely gets its fair share of the spotlight in conversations about Afropop. Too often, the nation is swallowed up by neighbouring South Africa’s shadow thanks to shared geography and cultural spillover, despite consistently producing singular talents. Uncle Waffles has shot to global superstardom, whilst artists such as Manana continue to broaden the country’s footprint. Now Oriiginelle sits tightly within that wave. 

African music is currently enjoying its most visible era yet. Hip-Hop, in particular, has seen a string of blockbuster releases that dissect and debate regional styles, but that mainstream shine hasn’t necessarily broadened the stories being told. Black queer artists are still criminally underrepresented at the top table, where hypermasculine flexes and braggadocious chops still dominate the culture’s public image. Oriiginelle’s music reverses that order. It is quite literally a breath of fresh air. She gently but assuredly moves between siSwati and English over warm Soul loops, letting loose strikingly honest verses against buttery grooves. Breakout single “A Thou’nyana” first put her on the map, claiming the top spot on Eswatini’s radio charts for four consecutive weeks. She capitalised on that momentum with 2021’s Phazed, before dropping the stellar ‘MetamorphoFeels’ EP in 2023. Trading bars with elite lyricists — ZuluMecca on “Change” and Jay Jody on “Nguwe” — proved she could hold her own alongside the region’s sharpest pens, whilst ‘Expensive Hunger’ sealed her reputation as an essential listen.

This year, Oriiginelle reached a whole new peak. She set the tone with “Always Returning,” a lush Neo-Soul joint alongside producer STU and Firdy, before releasing her landmark June 2026 LP, ‘Loving This Black Woman.’ Clocking in at 14 tracks, the record leverages her elastic flow and expressive vocal range to set off her most vulnerable work yet, stitching together candid reflections on radical self-love as a queer Black artist in modern African Rap. There are very few MCs uniting elite penmanship with the urgent, foundational truths that Hip-Hop was built on quite like Oriiginelle does. We all need to pay rapt attention to her. – M.A

 

A-D 

For Fans Of: Cruel Santino, Luwa.Mp4, and Len

One of the defining traits of the exciting, underground talents who have come to the fore in the last couple of months – injecting some much-needed inventiveness into the sometimes creatively stagnant local musical scene – is their willingness to experiment and, particularly, draw inspiration from the music that precedes them. While more prominent names like Monochrome, Luwa.Mp4 and Kayode have recently built reputations by reimagining Nigerian classics, producer and singer A-D – a.k.a Awful Daniel – is also actively contributing to this new wave of experimentation, breathing new life into beloved records from past generations.

Take, for example, his latest release, “Toxic,” a bouncy, emotionally charged tune built around a sample of Psquare’s “Forever,” a hit single from their 2011 album ‘Invasion.’ While the Okoye brothers profess their undying love to their muse on the original, A-D explores the push-and-pull dynamic of a toxic relationship that’s hard to walk away from on his new single. It’s a clever reinterpretation that preserves the nostalgic appeal of the sample while reframing it through a more modern, emotionally complicated lens. Beyond “Toxic,” his expanding catalogue features several other clever reinterpretations. A recent track titled “(for violet)” draws from another one of Psquare’s classic songs, “Ifunnaya,” “Super Story,” a cut from a 2-pack of the same name, flips the iconic television series theme song into its orbit while the Yung Orad-assisted “Modupe” incorporates a sample of Dr SID and K-Switch’s “Over The Moon.”

As a producer, A-D boasts an extensive track record, having produced for the likes of Len, Fresh L, and Congolese-American rapper Unghetto, among others. Yet, with a solo discography featuring only a pair of EPs — 2024’s ‘New Vibrations’ and its follow-up ‘PARTY PACK’  — alongside a few singles, he clearly has much more to offer as a recording artist. His evident appetite for sampling and experimentation bodes well for what’s to come, and if his recent singles are anything to go by, his most compelling reinterpretations are still ahead of him. – B. A

 

EKENE

For Fans Of: Braye, Khalid, and Passenger

EKENE’s voice is unmistakably unique. One of his most striking qualities that suggests his year-old career is built to endure and outlive the moment is the palpable dedication to his craft, evident from the instant you press play on any of his records. He sings with the confidence of an artist who is exploring all the layers of self he’s ever known while understanding how deeply people long to feel seen. So he surrenders his emotions for others to find solace in them. At least, that is the lasting impression left by his debut project, ‘Little Us.’

Before arriving at this project, which has received acclaim for its heartrending emotionality, the 24-year-old artist spent years sharing his music on Instagram, gradually building a loyal fanbase that constantly urged him to make his songs available on streaming platforms. Then in November 2025, he officially released “Plead Guilty” on Spotify.

Six months later, he followed it with “Red Benz,” before releasing “Lullaby” and “Relations” with R&B artist Braye. Together, the songs became part of the larger world he was constructing for ‘Little Us.’ Using the EP as a diary of sorts, he explored the searing pain of grieving someone who is still alive on “Lullaby,” imagined an idyllic romance with a  hypothetical love interest on “Red Benz,” stretching  as many other emotions as possible on a total of seven tracks for an emotive twenty-one minute runtime. EKENE’s career may just be starting, but the quality of his work already confirms he is  one of the emerging voices poised to expand the possibilities of what R&B and Soul can sound like through impeccable songwriting and singing skills. – M.E

 

D.H

For Fans Of: Yeat, Don Toliver, and Zaylevelten

A major highlight from the early months of 2026 was the breakthrough of a new crop of exciting talent. Although many of these artists had already begun building momentum months before, the start of 2026 proved to be a watershed moment, propelling several of them into the limelight. NO11, for instance, became a national sensation with the viral success of “HOW FAR,” while Igwe AKA found an enthusiastic local audience through his distinctive fusion of Western Trap and his native Igbo influences. British-Ghanaian rapper and singer D.H. was another artist to benefit from this early-year surge, garnering attention for his Trap-influenced banger “KOTOKA.” 

Clocking in at just over two minutes, the Jaytron-produced single offers a crash course on everything that makes D.H such a compelling artist. He’s a nimble lyricist capable of switching flows at will and has a knack for crafting sticky melodies. The single inevitably earned him comparisons to Zaylevelten, who also possesses elastic flows and a similar ability to glide on beats. But while the Lagos-based rapper is more focused on bars, clever one-liners and infectious hooks, D.H’s melodic instinct is more of a driving force behind a lot of his music. 

Before the release of “KOTOKA,” his 2025 project ‘GR8NESS’ already hinted at his strengths and the breadth of his artistry. Tracks like the cinematic opener “GR8,” “Wait,” “Blanco’s Interlude,” and “She Wants / 4 A Year” excel thanks to his melody-driven songwriting and dizzying flows. If ‘GR8NESS’ established the rapper’s foundations, his latest project, ‘HANI WO YA,’ demonstrates just how far those ideas can be stretched. He ventures beyond the Trap foundations of his earlier work, embracing a broader sonic palette influenced by everything from South Africa’s Amapiano to Bouyon. The project’s lead single “NO DELAY,” the Ayjay bobo-assisted “WHAT YOU NEED,” and “STUNNER” rank as some of the best music in his growing discography. Together, they showcase an artist growing increasingly confident in marrying infectious melodies with adventurous production, all while retaining the technical dexterity that first made him such an exciting prospect. – B.A

D’NYRA Releases “Pariwo” Ahead of ‘Ear Candy Vol. 1’

Posted on by Wale Oloworekende

Nigerian singer and songwriter D’NYRA has returned with “Pariwo,” the infectious new lead single from his forthcoming EP, ‘Ear Candy Vol. 1.’ Produced by Phantom, the record blends vibrant Afro-Dancehall rhythms, irresistible percussion and chant-ready hooks, delivering an energetic sound that captures the confidence and melodic depth that have become synonymous with the artist.

Born Norman Iria, D’NYRA first established himself as a respected songwriter before stepping fully into the spotlight as a recording artist. His songwriting credits include contributions to Zlatan’s “Bolanle,” Tekno’s “Skeletun,” Wande Coal’s “Dem Go Pay,” and composer credit on Wande Coal’s “Sure For Me.” As a solo artist, he has continued to build an impressive catalogue with releases including “Star Signs,” “AFRO LOVER,” “9K,” and “SHAYO.”

 

With ‘Ear Candy Vol. 1,’ D’NYRA is poised to deliver what promises to be his most refined body of work yet. Executive produced by Phantom, with additional production from Trentvibes, the five-track project explores Afrodancehall through rich melodies, engaging songwriting and polished production. Alongside “Pariwo,” the EP features “KiloKanmi,” “Ready,” “Yard Gyal,” and “All My Life,” offering listeners a cohesive experience that highlights his artistic growth while remaining rooted in melody-driven storytelling.

With “Pariwo” setting the tone, ‘Ear Candy Vol. 1′ positions D’NYRA for an exciting new chapter, reaffirming his commitment to creating music built for lasting impact rather than fleeting moments. As anticipation continues to build, the project stands as a confident statement from an artist whose years of experience behind the scenes are now translating into a compelling voice at the forefront of Afropop.

Listen to “Pariwo” here.