Though Nigerian rapper Odumodublvck’s thunderous baritone sounds predestined for fame, he didn’t go looking for music at first. It found him. He had originally hoped to become a professional soccer player before a bad injury; after that, he pivoted to business and got a degree from University of Lagos. When …
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I n June, Nigerian comedian Isaac Olayiwola — known as Layi Wasabi on TikTok and Instagram, where he has more than 3 million combined followers — took his first trip to London. There, he had his beloved skit character “the Law” endure U.K. hijinks as if it was his first …
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In late January, Teni, the Nigerian Afrobeats star, told me the meaning of “Bourdillon,” a standout track I had received on a draft of her latest album, Tears of the Sun. “Bourdillon is a wealthy place in Ikoyi, where wealthy people stay,” she said of the Lagos neighborhood. We were …
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S wizz Beatz, the Bronx-bred superproducer turned art collector, and Rema, the upstart Nigerian artist who’s become a global superstar, are sitting in one of the larger rooms at the Record Plant in Hollywood. This is the type of place where Swizz, 45, has worked since he was a teenager, …
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Outside the Conrad hotel in downtown Washington DC, a high-end stay outfitted in tasteful neutral tones, a mass of men with deep skin stood congregated around an SUV, bantering in what sounded like West African Pidgin English. Meanwhile, in the lobby, the language filled the air as another pocket of …
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Pheelz is perhaps best known as the Nigerian producer who’s contributed to notable releases like Fireboy DML’s Apollo, Olamide’s Carpe Diem, and Tiwa Savage’s Celia. But he worked both the boards and the mic on his latest single, “Finesse.” He floats across the slinky beat, built around gentle guitar, subtle …
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