Wizkid released the tracklist to his forthcoming Morayo album yesterday and some of the artists on the album caught fans by surprise. Many expected a lot of Afrobeats superstars. Rap sensation Odumodu Blvck also came out on X to say that he made the album and he was finally going to shame his haters only for him to be disappointed shortly after. Bar Asake, there was hardly any familiarity between the featured artists and the local market. Here’s a brief biography on each of the featured artists, and all you should know about them
Tiakola
Tiakola was born William Mundala on the 4th of December 1999, in Bondy. He is a French rapper and singer, and a former member of the group 4Keus before his solo career.
In 2019, while remaining a member of the group, Tiakola embarked on a solo career with the title Sombre Mélodie, taken from the CRCLR Mouvement compilation. This increased his momentum and visibility, and he was invited to collaborations with artists such as Tayc, Dadju, Leto, and Gazo. He then returned solo in 2021 and on 27 May 2022, he released his first album Mélo containing 16 tracks. On 25 August 2023, he released two songs, featuring British rapper Dave, namely ‘Meridian’ and ‘Special’. He currently has 6.2 million listeners on Spotify.
Jazmine Marie Sullivan
Jazmine (born April 9, 1987) is an American R&B and Soul singer-songwriter. She has won two Grammy Awards, a Billboard Women in Music Award, and two BET Awards throughout her career. In 2022, Time placed her on their list of the 100 Most Influential People.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, she released her debut studio album, Fearless in 2008. It went on to peak at number six on the Billboard 200, topped the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and received platinum certification by the RIAA. Her second album, Love Me Back (2010), peaked at number 17 on the Billboard 200 and saw further critical praise. After a three-year hiatus, Sullivan signed with RCA Records to release her third album, Reality Show. It was highly successful and peaked at number 12 on the chart and earned three Grammy Award nominations.
Her first EP Heaux Tales was released in 2021 and it debuted at number four on the Billboard 200. Sullivan’s song “Bust Your Windows” was listed at number 137 on National Public Radio’s list of The 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women. Jasmine has 3 million monthly listeners on music platform Spotify.
Anaïs Cardot
Anaïs Cardot is a French-Gabonese singer-songwriter based in Paris, France. She is known for her unique voice and versatile style, covering and performing original songs in multiple languages. She was inspired to do music by her father, Bouddha Cardot, who was a musician and boxer. She gained digital recognition by recording songs in her bedroom with earphones and posting them on Soundcloud.
She gained more access to fame with her works on Asake’s Lungu Boy Album, providing soul with her voices on Mood and My Heart. Thus would be her second major encounter with Afrobeats, and it promises to be something worthwhile.
As at the last check, Anais has 103k monthly listeners on Spotify.
Brent Faiyaz
Christopher Brent Wood (born September 19, 1995), known professionally as Brent Faiyaz, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Faiyaz rose to prominence following his guest performance on GoldLink’s 2016 single “Crew”. The song peaked at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100, received sextuple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Performance at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. The following year, Faiyaz released his debut studio album, Sonder Son. He is well known for his silky vocals and “atmospheric slow jam productions,” along with the occasional rapping that comes with him.
He currently has 24.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
