By Clarence MacEbong
There is clear evidence that we have seen the best of Afrobeats over the years. The reality is that the magic of the genre is starting to wear off as our soundscape has become devoid of music that evokes deeper feelings that transcend our insatiable thirst for euphoria.
Nigerian artists can offer a lot. They already do. However, within the mainstream, there is not enough music that speaks life to the listeners who press play on their streaming platforms. At the same time, a new class is emerging, one that realizes our music needs to be about more than just charts and numbers. They make it about community, expression, and a message that dovetails with their overarching values as people and artists. One of the frontrunners of this new class, Kunmie, who is the focus of this UNCOVR special, embodies the exact qualities that the Nigerian soundscape needs to revive itself.
With one EP, a viral hit record, and north of 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify, Kunmie almost expected his introduction into the scene to resonate in this manner. “We released the first song (Arike) and went on to put out the body of work. We sensed it, you know, my manager and I. We sensed that the song could go off. I didn’t see it as a fluke; I wasn’t so surprised when great things were happening. I feel like it deserved all that it got.”
Since its release in February 2025, Arike has garnered a colossal amount of buzz, especially on TikTok, due to its somber yet heartwarming texture. The record caught the attention of Spotify programmers, allowing it to reach #2 on the Viral 50 Global playlist.
Kunmie’s music is filled with soul. He carries culture in his sonics, which are densely populated with Yoruba-inspired drum patterns and laced with pieces of the language. He pours his heart into all of the 11 minutes that Before We Became Strangers runs for, presenting each song as a part of an overarching story of broken love and the search for redemption. Vulnerability is an inseparable aspect of Kunmie’s artistic approach, and as a result, his fans can connect with him through the words in his music.
“Online, you can’t feel emotions, but the love feels much more real in person,” he says, speaking on his connection with the fans. “Sometimes I get messages from people, maybe they’re going through a terrible time, or they’ve just lost somebody, and they tell me, ‘You’re the genuine light in my life right now; your songs are comforting.’ I think that’s when it’s like, wow. But I think you feel the love more when you go outside. I went to a restaurant, and when I got there, they played the project throughout.”
Kunmie’s breakout season was preceded by a long period of preparation. Growing up in the church, Kunmie started playing the drums at the age of eight, and the young singer learned the ropes as a songwriter for some of Nigeria’s finest artists before creating his music. “I just love the idea that I could see an artist and visualize concepts that would be cool for them. I used to write to challenge myself, but then I realized that if I tried to focus on my own thing, there’s no limit to what it could sound like.”
Before We Became Strangers is the first result of Kunmie’s decision to pour into himself. Arike is two years in the making, and much of the project’s foundation was laid by Kunmie’s guitar chords before the rest of the sonic compositions were completed by producer The Kazez. “I met Kazez in 2023, and it was on a songwriting thing. We were supposed to write for a big-shot artist,” he tells me. “We were working, and he asked me, ‘Bro, why don’t you make your music?’ I told him I wasn’t sure about it, and he’s like, ‘Bro, just do it,’ then he just installed FL Studio for me on my laptop. And the first song I recorded was Arike.”
“I had just gotten back into my writing era when I made Arike. I was doing other stuff, and then I got sick, and it was in that period where I messed up the relationship that I had with Arike, the girl, which led to the project’s creation.”
There are instances where the Afrobeats palette has undergone a necessary cleanse and reset. Wizkid’s Sounds From The Other Side and Omah Lay’s Get Layd easily come to mind as the projects that “slowed down” Afrobeats. Kunmie’s music might be some distance away from reaching such proportions, but it still possesses the potential to diversify Afrobeats as we know it. The race for action-packed records and artificial chart success has deceived artists into sticking with old, unsustainable templates at the expense of authentic expression. It has skewed the perception of what can sell and resonate in this market.
“I’d say for a fact that there are very underrated and overlooked songs because they come off as ‘slow, ‘” he says. “At the time when I was making these songs, I wasn’t thinking about, ‘Would this sell? Would this work? Would this not work with Nigerians?’ For me, it was just making the music first. A lot of people try to get in the way of the creative process by focusing on what’s gonna fly in the clubs.”
Kunmie continued, “I’m fully focused on the impact [of the music]. Someone walked up to me one day and said I’m the reason why he would want to put out songs of this nature and texture. He came from the angle that many people think that if your music is not fast-paced, it has no place on the charts.”
Kunmie’s team provides him with a level of guidance that ensures his decisions are well-informed. For them, disagreements are a pathway to making the right moves. He deliberated with his manager about which one of the many versions of Arike would be appropriate for the world’s consumption, his manager’s choice being what you hear in the official release.
“I might not look like I take advice, but I do. Sometimes, a lot of bias can go through your mind as the creator of the music, but I’ve learned that even though the music is mine, it’s not for me. If I made Laho, I could’ve decided not to release it; that’s why you need a team of people you can trust [to make the right choice].”
Together with his team, Kunmie has made significant strides in presenting the music in a manner that makes it accessible to the wider world. The first time he ever travelled out of Nigeria was to perform in Uganda, a country where Arike went #1.
Although still in his first year as one of the sought-after artists in the country, Kunmie does not feel out of place as he experiences this new reality. “Seeing streaming numbers is one thing, but when you see people come out for you to enjoy the music, the love feels so much more real,” he explains. “I remember performing Majekaja off the project and telling my manager that I was a little surprised that they knew the words to the song. He asked me, ‘Where do you think the streams are coming from?’”
With the reception that Kunmie and his debut project are receiving, it is no surprise that the Arike crooner was called upon to provide musical entertainment at the 2025 AMVCA. The impact of his music in a short time frame almost proves that the market for R&B-leaning records within the Nigerian soundscape has been starved, either for lack of frequent releases or a shortage of engaging personalities.
His aunt manifested Kunmie’s appearance at the grand Nollywood event when she watched Rema take to the AMVCA stage, a wish that came true in May 2025. Kunmie’s aunt saw something in him that he had not yet seen in himself when she put her wish for her nephew into the universe.
“I was just surprised that day when people thought I was lying or trying to set a narrative. I remember we were just sitting in the living room, and she just said it. She sees things in me, and she just sees that I’m going to perform on that stage. And I promise you, she’s not a believer like that, just a normal person who had a feeling.”
Kunmie’s potential for greatness is evident to everyone from near and far. While he cultivates his aura as one of Nigerian music’s golden children, he understands that the road to success is filled with different kinds of bumps and needs to keep his ten toes down to navigate the scene. Now that he has our attention, he needs to keep it. “I didn’t celebrate going #1. I guess I didn’t understand how difficult it is to do so, but even my manager and team aren’t easily impressed. We did 1 million streams and didn’t celebrate, but there was a sense of fulfillment.”
He has new music in store in 2025. Before We Became Strangers is the first serving of the story of Kunmie’s breakout season, and the new project is gearing up to etch Kunmie’s name deeper in the minds of his new and existing fan base. He intends to serve us a new story, stating that the premise of his debut EP concludes perfectly and needs no further expansion.
This will surely give him the room to explore new artistic directions while continuing with familiar motifs, like the cigarette that graces his left ear. “People think I smoke or that it’s swag or whatever. It’s in honour of my brother,” Kunmie says. “He called me from rehab and told me he had seen me do that in my video, saying that it was the whole highlight for him.”
Kunmie’s desire to lend a helping hand to struggling addicts is part of his overarching plan to leave an impact that transcends music. For him, music is the vehicle with which he will touch lives on a large scale.
It is said that one should start as one means to go on. Kunmie’s initial foray into Nigerian music’s often turbulent waters has been smooth sailing so far, with promising signs that a diamond has truly been uncovered. It remains to be seen how he multiplies his momentum, but if early signs are to be trusted, his musical message will quickly seep into the hearts and minds of music lovers around the world.
