Emoseh Angela Khamofu began crafting beats at age 12 and wrote her first song on a piece of tissue paper. This innocuous interest quickly developed an obsession with music that, later, propelled her to incredible heights. 

Within a year, the 25-year-old singer and songwriter now known as Bloody Civilian released two EPs: Anger Management and a remixed version, Anger Management: At Least We Tried, and signed to 0270 Def Jam. Her song "Wake Up" featuring Rema is on the GRAMMY-nominated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack. 

Bloody understood early on that she'd have to approach her career holistically. Across her body of work, Bloody uses her "unparalleled” storytelling ability and lyrical dexterity to take listeners through personal and societal hardships. 

The moniker Bloody Civilian refers to the struggles encapsulated by the often-derogatory term directed at Nigerian citizens by the military, and is also a poignant homage to a challenging chapter in her life. Born into a religious family in northern Nigeria, a young Bloody and her family relocated to the national capital, Abuja, due to unrest; she later moved to Lagos to pursue music. 

"Growing up as a female in Nigeria is unnecessarily hard. It's unnecessarily complicated, especially when you do something unconventional," Bloody Civilian tells GRAMMY.com. "I had to fight for a lot of the leniences that I experienced."

Ahead of the 2024 GRAMMYs, Bloody Civilian discusses pursuing music as a girl in a religious home, becoming a serial entrepreneur just to buy recording equipment, and the art of production. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

You gravitated toward music started at such a young age. What was it like charting a path that went against the pious, conservative norm you were born into?

It was a difficult process. Stopping making a beat to go wash plates just doesn't bang. As a Nigerian female, my brothers don't have the same home experience as I did. They had enough time to cultivate various skills and for me — if not for the level of obsession that I had for what I was doing — this could have been impossible. The chances of you being distracted at home as a female, is way higher than as a male. 

Your dad played as a bassist in a band. Surely, you wanting to be an artist could have been seen as following in his footsteps… 

But he's a man, so no one told him what to do. Whereas in my case, having that same creative hunger as the person that gave birth to me wasn't an easy journey. I had to fight for a lot of the leniences that I experienced. I had to rent things out and sell merch, to raise enough funding to buy equipment. I was a serial entrepreneur due to circumstance. 

I understand that your parents didn't support you financially until further into your career. What was their reaction to you doing all you had to do to pursue what they probably thought was a hobby? 

At the beginning, the little wins that I'd get and the little bit of popularity — people in the church saying "We saw her content from my daughter's phone" or one thing or the other — I think that's when my parents had an element of there's something to be proud of rather than be ashamed of me as a daughter. It became easier along the way. 

But it definitely was tough. Very tough. Especially production; beat making, they really couldn't fathom or understand. It came to a point where they understood that I wanted to become a singer but this beat making thing, why not go and work with a producer? 

And did they take you to a producer?

Yes, the first producer my mother took me to and paid for a session, I did most of the work. And I could tell that it wasn't easy taking instructions from a 12-year-old. I could see how hard it was. But I think in that session, him trying the things I asked for and seeing that it worked out, and he'd kind of give me this look of she knows. 

I went to the studio, didn't know much. I was fascinated by the mic — stared at it for, like, a while [laughs]. I still remember looking around. The deafening sound of a studio; I was just taken back by it. Everything was just so fancy. Production started out as equal parts bad belle [Nigerian slang for resentful, jealous or bitter] and equal parts necessity. 

**On "Family Meeting” off Anger Management, you sing: "Before you return me back to God, I think I'm going to pack my s— and run” hinting at how you moved to Lagos. Did you really run to Lagos?** 

Something like that, yeah. I had to leave Abuja…urgently. And ending up in Lagos was definitely something that was a do or die, but not necessarily die. More like do or nothing. 

It's been two years since you moved to Lagos from Abuja. How much of an adjustment was that move for you?

When I came, I was slightly more impressionable and very gullible. Typical JJC ["Johnny just come," a Nigerian term for a newbie/ novice to a place or situation]. And that's something about my psychology that really shocks me. I have a chameleon-like ability to evolve over a short period of time. The last two years of being in Lagos, I'm almost unrecognizable to my old self. 

When I came to Lagos, I was the person I needed to be. I connected with different creatives. I went to people with experience and a good heart to get advice. I knew where to go to listen, I knew where to go to record. I knew different things because I explored a lot. And the reason I'm not in a screwed up situation is that I went and got advice from Osagie [Osarenz, Director of A&R and Operations at ONErpm]. It is because of her that I didn't sign a contract that I'll be crying about today. She basically told me "don’t sign anything, make sure you show me." 

Honestly, I was just lucky. I didn't have anything that differentiated me from anyone. I'm just lucky I met the people I met and was coincidentally lucky to listen when they spoke. 

How did you get signed to 0270 Def Jam?

I got signed off of a demo tape. A bunch of songs I wanted to sell to other artists. I wrote "How To Kill A Man" to sell [and] a lot of the tracks on the EP [like] "Escapism" to sell. I wanted to kind of just write for other people. But because of the way I put the tracks together, people felt, this is an EP and you're an artist. 

I just kept getting nudged to take the artist route. And I always wanted to be an artist even prior to coming to Lagos because when I write songs, I write from my perspective; it's my voice, it's my music. Someone else could sing it out, but it's my story. I was pretty ready to become a writer-producer, but the way things panned out, [the EP] kind of sent my name around town. 

But two women put me here. Remove those two women, I'm in the trenches. 

The second woman was in the creative scene, high up. She was at an event with top executives and sent my music to multiple people, hoping a few would respond. Well, pretty much everyone she sent it to was sending me offers. My life changed [snaps fingers] in that instance. That's when I shut down all conversations with everybody in Lagos. I said, "I'm definitely not signing my deal here" because it was hard to get people to see the value in what I was doing. We're here today because two women decided let me clear some time in my schedule to talk to this girl. 

Take us on the journey of how your song "Wake Up," which is featured on the GRAMMY-nominated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever album, came to be.

Since the film is about Africa and had a very women-led cast, they really wanted to portray the strength of women in general. So, even with the way they made the music, they wanted it to involve women creatives. They wanted female songwriters, producers, and when you run a search for female producers in Nigeria, there's very few that come up. I just happened to be one of them. 

Got in the studio, met [composer] Ludwig [Göransson], played beats for him. He took the one that you hear and worked on it, added some cool synths and stuff. They had brought instrumentalists, and they spent a year sampling traditional music, so they pretty much had a bunch of sounds that he was playing with. He took it from what the demo beat was to what it is now. 

What ranks higher for you, producing or creating your own music?

Producing, then music. You wouldn't even have me if I couldn't produce. Maybe now in Nigeria, you can go 'round and find people that are experimenting outside of the norms [of conventional music]. Now it's a better time. These songs were made years ago. I was there before everyone else. 

My first viral video on Instagram was because I carried a Travis Scott-type melody loop, and I put on Afrodrums. It went viral because, one, no one does this combo — and then a girl did it. I had a hunger; I wanted to create a specific sonic, and I was just struggling to piece it together. 

I can tell you that production came first. It was when I put that part of my artistry together that my lyrics started to shine. 

You've spent years crafting your sound we hear today. There's a trend of Afrobeats artists trying to break away from the label and form subgenres, like Burna Boy with Afro fusion and Rema with Afro rave. Is "Afro-escapism" your attempt at that break away? 

[Laughs.] Why are they attacking me with that Afro-escapism? It's weird, I love the different Afro subgenres: Afro-depression, Afro-escapism, Afro-sapa. There are no bad songs. I hate it that we eat away at each other.

There's so many styles of intelligence. You can't come and say this person's music is more deep or profound than another person's music. Everyone has their perspective, their language, but the content of what they're saying has value. As listeners, we should just never forget that it is important for us to also train ourselves to be good listeners for the music to thrive. 

The cover art for Anger Management represented you being sort of alone, but Anger Management: At Least We Tried looks different with bright colors. Is it safe to say that this depiction represents how you feel now? 

Yeah, it is. Being the "number one breakout artist of 2023" [laughs] made me see that Nigerian music is in trouble. [My team] worked hard, but it definitely just lets you see how hard it is to break in new acts. The way I see it, if you're not expressing yourself and you're not being authentically yourself, whatever you stand for, it's gonna be harder now than ever.

Looking back at [Anger Management], it wasn't really a happy time. But despite that, on-air-personalities literally reached out to me and were playing the music before we had worked out business and everything. It was very organic. 

With a lot of my accomplishments, I usually have to be made to understand the worth of it because it doesn't really dawn on me. I just felt this EP was made with me in a sunken place. I'm no longer in a sunken place, but I want to remix my EP. 

I'm feeling happy, excited. And it feels like a point in my life where so much can happen. It was also the first time people would see me interact with other artists, which for some reason fans like to see.

2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List

To say that the past year has been an eventful one in the dynamic world of Afrobeats would be, at best, a gross understatement. The genre's list of global accolades has continued to swell in size, including multiple nominations at the 2024 GRAMMY Awards, expansive cross-border collaborations, and inaugural appearances on some of the world’s most coveted stages.

Simultaneously, Afrobeats has been undergoing something of an identity crisis, in which listeners have criticized sonic monotony and Western pandering of some artists. In the immediate wake of this criticism, as though on cue, came a slew of forward-thinking projects from the genre’s biggest stars, igniting the mainstream scene’s creative progression. Among these stars is 23-year-old Afrobeats sensation Anthony Ebuka Victor, known widely as Victony.

His debut album, Stubborn, is barely two months old yet has already received high acclaim from top Afrobeats pundits and laymen alike. Therein, Victony tells his life story for the first time, complete with vivid songwriting that delves into themes of childhood, romance, and dogged resilience. With features from Nigeria’s Asake and Shallipopi, as well as American acts Teezo Touchdown and Saint JHN, Stubborn's sonic meter explores Afrobeats with unending - and unmatched - innovation.

Victony, however, is no novice when it comes to putting out pristine bodies of work. His 2020 EP Saturn sounded nothing like a 19-year-old’s debut; singles “Jo Riddim” and “Space and Time” revealed serious sonic maturity. His subsequent EP Outlaw, which followed his breakout as the feature on Mayorkun’s “Holy Father,” included addictive hits “Apollo,” “Jolene,” and “Soweto.” The latter, of course, took the world by storm and led to a remix featuring Don Toliver and Rema, which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Afrobeats chart.

Between this, his debut on the ColorsxStudios platform, his assist on Burna Boy’s “Different Size,” and his record deal with the L.A.-based Encore Records, it is difficult to tell just when this young boy from Ojo, Lagos became a continental and global star. What’s more, he’s soon to push his story outside of Nigerian borders, kicking off his Stubborn North American tour on Aug. 6. 

Ahead of this tour, Victony sat down with GRAMMY.com to discuss his creative process, the importance of telling his story, and all things Stubborn.

'Stubborn' features excellent songwriting about your life experiences, though it's not the first time you've done so. What makes 'Stubborn' different from the other work in your discography?

Stubborn has my story; it’s where I get to properly introduce myself. The [Outlaw] EP is like Yeah, this guy can sing, he knows all this Afrobeats stuff. Let’s put a good body of work together for people to enjoy. The Stubborn album is saying, This is Victony. This is where he’s from. This is what he’s about.

You’ve mentioned before that veteran Nigerian rapper Olamide encouraged you to make 'Stubborn' a full-length album as opposed to an EP. Had you been ready for an era shift at the time that you spoke to him?

I was prepared for an era shift, but my mind was just stuck on an EP because that was the plan since last year. Sometimes, you can’t even see what everything looks like when you’re really in it. You have to extract yourself from the situation and really look at it. But speaking to Olamide, once he mentioned the album, it felt possible. I was like, Why am I not even thinking about an album? 

'Stubborn' is an incredible testament to resilience, but you also explore other themes like love and betrayal. What is the overarching message that you wanted the project to convey?

Resilience is the boldest statement that the project has. But within all that, there are other things that I’ve been through, like the stuff that you mentioned, that didn’t change me as a person.

I still have the ability to love, and I still have the ability to receive love. So obviously, that reflected in a few songs on the project because I still go through those emotions. I’m still human regardless of everything I've been through.

Your feature list is quite expansive — we have Shorae Moore, Shallipoppi, Saint JHN, Teezo Touchdown, and Asake. Did you have an idea of who you wanted on the project beforehand, or was your feature selection process more organic?

I’m always curious to see what this and this will sound like, or what doing this and this will look like. So I just make songs and think about who will be perfect on those songs. I didn’t think of it as, I want an album, who are the guest features? 

One thing that the features all have is authenticity. These people have a voice, they have a style, they have something that they stand for. And that is something that Stubborn is also preaching — authenticity. So collaborating with these people helped to bring very interesting ideas to life. Because one wouldn’t ordinarily imagine a Victony and Asake feature, or a Victony and Teezo feature. But when somebody who is authentic collaborates with somebody who is authentic, something has to happen. We were just trying to create something, and I love creating. 

Learn more: Meet The Latest Wave Of Rising Afrobeats Stars: AMAARAE, BNXN, Oladapo & More

You have a U.S. tour coming up which is extremely exciting. You’ve toured with Rema before, but this will be your first-ever solo tour. How are you feeling? 

I’m actually very excited. We’ve been planning what we want the tour to feel like, because it’s important to think about the feeling that you want to leave people with. I think that this tour is the biggest opportunity to showcase what the album is really about. Having to go on stage, perform for an hour plus. I don’t think I've ever done that nine times in a row in nine cities. So we’re planning everything to make that all come to life.

What do you want your U.S. audience to take away from your tour?

I want my U.S. audience to feel the essence of my journey and connect with my music. This tour is a journey through my experiences and my evolution as an artist. You'll get the party anthems as well as the soul-stirring ballads. I want them to leave each show thinking, This is what that Victony guy is about: raw talent, authenticity, and a sound that resonates deeply.

Give us your Afrobeats predictions for the year — what should we expect from the scene?

I just feel like it’s about to be a madhouse. Tems just dropped, Ayra Starr just dropped, Ruger & BNXN just dropped. And Wizkid is yet to drop, Davido is yet to drop, Fireboy DML is yet to drop. I don’t think we’ve had a year like this. Ever. It’s like everybody is dropping a project this year.

Read more: Tems On How 'Born In The Wild' Represents Her Story Of "Survival" & Embracing Every Part Of Herself

My prediction is that this is the start of something for Afrobeats. Before now, what people would tell you is that Afrobeats artists all share one fanbase. But everything is about to change because of the volume of music coming out. It’s going to really push structure with the fans.

Looking back from your debut EP to the present day, what comes to mind? Did you foresee yourself becoming what you are now?

I always knew that everything that’s currently happening would happen. I just didn’t know what was going to make it happen. I didn’t know that this was the direction. It’s been interesting because at one point, you just have life experiences that influence your art, and then the direction changes. That’s what it’s been for me because I like my art to reflect who I am at any given time.

So, who knows what’s going to happen next? After Saturn, I didn't foresee my story changing. And now new experiences have come, and those have also changed me. I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but one thing’s for sure, the journey is just beginning. I’m excited to see where this path leads and to continue sharing my story with the world.

Before Afrobeats icons Burna Boy, WizKid, and Tyla became globally recognized household names, Yemi Alade was the continent’s biggest pop star. On July 26, she will release her sixth studio album, Rebel Queen, which expands her repertoire with a world of adventurous pop sounds.  

The Nigerian singer/songwriter burst onto the African pop music scene in 2014 with "Johnny," a now-classic tune that gained acclaim by its iconic video featuring a TV news reporter tracking the titular womanizer. The video made her the first Nigerian female artist to hit 100 million views on YouTube.  

Since then, Alade has had an illustrious career, collaborating with artists including Rick Ross, earning another 100 million-view video for "Oh My Gosh," and featuring alongside fellow Africans Mr. Eazi and Tekno on the Beyoncé-curated soundtrack for The Lion King.

Her latest album, Rebel Queen, includes high-profile collaborations with Angélique Kidjo, Ziggy Marley, and dancehall star Konshens. The album promises a genre-jumping journey across the globe, incorporating amapiano ("Soweto to Ibiza"), highlife ("Chairman"), and even reggae ("Peace and Love") and dancehall ("Bop’).

Ahead of Rebel Queen’s release, GRAMMY.com caught up with Alade about her progression as an artist, what it was like to work with Beyoncé and her team, and bridging international success.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Your new album, 'Rebel Queen', contains influences from all over Africa and beyond. Was that intentional?

Yes, you're correct that I wanted to make sure that the album had sounds that I actually genuinely love, from the amapiano influence to dancehall. And also, I personally wanted to go back to the foundation of Afrobeats, which are sounds and genres that I listened to growing up as a kid. When my parents took me to family parties, there were certain melodies and guitar strums that I fell in love with. And I wanted to revisit those nostalgic moments and put it all in this album.

There are a lot of high-profile collaborations on this record, such as Anjélique Kidjo and Ziggy Marley. How did you decide who to work with on 'Rebel Queen'?

Honestly my life is a roller coaster, same for every touring artist. We try to gather as much as we can while being in motion. Anjélique Kidjo is like my music mum, I love her. And when I made the record, "African Woman," who else would I feature on such a song if not Anjélique? And as for Ziggy, he and I have a song that we did previously ("Look Who’s Dancing Now"), which was his song, and he featured me. And I wanted a tit-for-tat moment. So I sent the song to him. I felt like, who else but him? Every feature was necessary to complete the melody for each song, they are such a huge part of each one, not just in the fresh vibe that they bring. 

Learn more: Watch Yemi Alade's Enchanting Performance Of "Tomorrow" | Global Spin

It’s been ten years since you broke out with the massive hit "Johnny." Back then, African pop music was relatively unknown in America. Since then, African artists have gained global recognition. Do you see yourself as a pioneer for the current Afropop movement?

I agree with you 100 percent, there is no way you authentically go through the history of, you know, building a bridge between Africa and the rest of the world via music without mentioning a song like "Johnny." It's definitely an honor for me to be the vessel that delivers such amazing music to the world. Of course, there were people way before me who also did the same thing. We're talking about Fela [Kuti]. We're talking about King Sunny Ade. At the end of the day, yes, music is metamorphosing into so much more. And definitely, I'm a pioneer [laughs].

You have a strong sense of storytelling, especially in your music videos. "Johnny" has an entire storyline about a news reporter investigating a womanizer. How important is that kind of storytelling to your music?

Storytelling is a big part of my artistry, because I feel everybody loves a good story. I find that even when I'm writing most times in the studio, there's always a picture I'm trying to paint, and it only makes sense for the visuals to kind of match that most of the time. Except sometimes we decide to make it a performance video because I just feel like dancing.

What’s the most memorable video you’ve ever done?

Every one of my videos has taken a lot of pain, sweat, and even some tears. But I think "Johnny" is such a masterpiece, because it resonated with the entire world, and Africa especially. And it pretty much helped me to stay on my way through the industry, because it became my identity. That song and that video was the platform for the brand and everything that I am today. you know, so that is definitely the most memorable, in a good way.

You've traveled to and performed in America several times in your career. What's your overall impression?

I think I've done four or five American tours. And yo, America is so big [laughs]. My first American tour had me in shambles, because of the flights. I didn't realize that to go from one city to another, I might have to connect once or twice depending on how far I'm going. So the flights had me in shambles, but the energy of the people? Oh my days, lit! America is definitely one of my favorite places. I’m always reminding my agents to make sure that they include American cities on my tours, which is why even for the album listening parties for Rebel Queen, we did the first one in Paris, then London, and then we had to come to New York as well. And then just yesterday, we had one in Lagos as well.  

Since you first became popular, a lot of Afrobeats artists have gained a following abroad like Burna Boy and WizKid. It seems as though, at least looking at the artists that break outside of Africa, that the genre is still very male-dominated. Do you agree with that? And do you think there’s potential for more female artists to break out internationally?

Honestly, when I started out, the odds were really way more against women than they are right now, in that, there were female artists sprouting maybe once every two years, or once every year, and barely hanging around long enough. But now, the story is different. And I give kudos to all the women before me and all the women with me. Yes, in a male dominated society, it seems as though my male counterparts get their roses and their flowers for a second. And you know, once in a while someone comes back and remembers, "Oh, there's Yemi Alade." Do you know what I mean? 

I was speaking to someone earlier today and I was saying, I think what surprises me the most is that, I feel like there are no expectations of female artists. So like, if we do or we don't, people are just moving on. But I'm not the one to play victim, never. Despite the odds, you see that the females continue to be resilient, because we know. I know deep within that my existence is definitely of value to so many people out there.

What do you think of the upcoming generation of talent like Tems and Ayra Starr and Tyla, who recently won the first GRAMMY Award for Best African Music Performance for "Water?"

Exceptional, exceptional artists. As you just mentioned, they're doing amazingly well. And, you know, these women are unique in their own ways. And I want to just say that I believe it's just the starting point for them. There's so much to come. And there's so many other females that are still en route to greatness.

How have you seen the music industry in Africa evolve? And what sorts of challenges do you think African musicians face today?

I personally feel like, with all the momentum that Afrobeats has got, we need authentic platforms that can actually check the streaming numbers that are coming in for music, especially within Africa. Because at the moment it’s mostly Apple, Spotify, etc. But there are other platforms here in Africa that most Africans use, and they have more of a database compared to Apple and Spotify. We've come to a point where we need to have more credible numbers, because there's millions of people streaming music in Africa that are not on those platforms.

So you think that these local platforms need to be counted alongside Apple and Spotify?

100 percent. In Nigeria there’s two: Audiomack and Boomplay. Boomplay is a big deal.

You’re going on a decade in the industry. In all that time, what's one moment or one achievement that gives you the greatest sense of accomplishment? What are you most proud of in your career?

That’s a big question…I think I have an idea, because there've been so many moments in my life and in my career that have aligned with my dreams coming true. Number one is each time that I'm approached by a complete stranger and the stranger tells me "Oh my God, Yemi. You don't know what your music has done for me. Your music has gotten me through so much grief." Some people walk up to me and tell me that they just had the biggest struggle in their life and they listen to my music, and it always sends them into a realm of joy and happiness. Honestly, I feel accomplished in those moments, because when I record my music, I always say, the thing I'm trying to spread through my music the most is love, joy and happiness. So to have people testify to that, it means to me that the magic is complete, that my job is actually effective. So that makes me feel very accomplished. 

On a personal note, an accomplishment that I am most grateful to is the fact that I'm always able to comfortably take care of my family. It's something that I would never play down. You know, I'm just grateful to God for that. 

And lastly, aside from winning a GRAMMY through Angelique Kidjo — you know, I've met a lot of amazing people, and Beyoncé is one of them. So at the end of the day, it's a full circle moment for me. I'm just enjoying the ride.

You know, it’s funny you mentioned Beyoncé, I was just about to ask you what it was like to work with her. 

Oh my days — wow, working with her, it was such an experience for myself and my team. It was like, we're literally awake, walking in the dreams that we have dreamt for so long.The process of her team contacting us was a bit weird, because my management didn't realize that Parkwood [Entertainment] was a real company, that they were emailing them and talking about Beyoncé. They assumed that it was some kind of scam artist. But when they had sent it to me, I was like "What? Parkwood? Who doesn’t know Parkwood is Beyoncé?" 

So it turned out that it was for real, and we went to L.A. where the studio was, and I lost my voice for 24 hours — I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t sing. I just soaked up all the vitamin C's and hot teas and Throat Coats I could get. I managed to regain a little bit of my voice back and that's what I was able to record that day. That was a miracle for me. But one of the most memorable moments was actually meeting her in person. After the album, Lion King, came out, the movie was being premiered in London, and I happened to be in London at that time. We had met her in person, we met Jay Z. It was such a full circle moment. Honestly, that lady has really touched my life in a way that I will never forget. Because she could have lived her life without doing what she did, but she decided to reach out to people she felt were pillars of African music and pay homage to Africa. And I'm happy to have been part of that moment.

It’s officially awards season! Today, the nominees for the 2024 Emmys dropped — and, happily, the 2024 GRAMMYs telecast received a whopping five nominations.

At the 2024 Emmys, the 2024 GRAMMYs telecast is currently nominated for Outstanding Variety Special (Live), Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special, Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special, Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special, and Outstanding Technical Direction and Camerawork for a Special.

Across these categories, this puts Music’s Biggest Night in a friendly head-to-head with other prestigious awards shows and live variety specials, including the Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show starring Usher as well as fellow awards shows the Oscars and the Tonys.

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2024 was a banner year for the GRAMMYs. Music heroes returned to the spotlight; across Categories, so many new stars were minted. New GRAMMY Categories received their inaugural winners: Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Pop Dance Recording. Culture-shaking performances and acceptance speeches went down. Those we lost received a loving farewell via the In Memoriam segment.

The 2025 GRAMMYs will take place Sunday, Feb. 2, live at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and will broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on demand on Paramount+. Nominations for the 2025 GRAMMYs will be announced Friday, Nov. 8, 2024.

For more information about the 2025 GRAMMY Awards season, learn more about the annual GRAMMY Awards process, read our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section, view the official GRAMMY Awards Rules and Guidelines, and visit the GRAMMY Award Update Center for a list of real-time changes to the GRAMMY Awards process.

No one else sounds like KOKOKO! —  they are a truly unique aural experience, an emphatic statement that does justice to the exclamation point in their name.

The experimental live electronic group out of Kinshasa — the active, populous capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo — is a reflection of their city. Their shouted and chanted lyrics reflect people's frustration with their government, as well as the sonic signals of industrious local vendors. Even their DIY instruments are an example of their resourcefulness: Although DRC is a resource-rich country, that wealth has been extracted by and for Western powers for centuries. Locals are left with limited resources and experience regular power outages and intense, ongoing conflict.

KOKOKO! was born after French electronic producer Xavier Thomas — who makes left-field, globally-influenced electronic music as Débruit — met talented local singer and musician Makara Bianko on a visit to Kinshasa. He was captivated by Bianko's large, nearly daily outdoor performances with his massive dance crew. The group, which also consists of locals Boms and Dido who fashion DIY instruments, incorporate much of Makara's improvisational and interdisciplinary energy into their music and energetic live show, while Thomas brings in synths, drum machines and other electronic elements.

After releasing their powerful debut album Fongola in 2019 on indie label Transgressive Records, KOKOKO! started getting booked at music festivals around the globe, as well as on NPR's Tiny Desk series and Boiler Room. Now, the cutting-edge group is pumping up the BPM and bringing the lively Kinshasa nighttime to the rest of the world via their urgent, high-energy sophomore album, BUTU, on July 5 on Transgressive.

Read on for a chat with Thomas and Bianko about their captivating new album, the music scene in the Congo, how their music reflects Kinshasa, and much more. (Editor's note: Bianko's answers are translated and paraphrased from French by Thomas.)

What energies, sounds and themes are you harnessing on 'BUTU?'

Xavier Thomas: "Butu" means night in Lingala [one of the national languages of the DRC]. The album is all about that high energy, specific atmosphere that happens when the night falls in Kinshasa.  

It's a very loud and crowded city. It gets pitch-black quite quickly because it's on the Equator. The sun sets really fast all year long. The sounds of the city kind of wake up [at night]; the generators are plugged in and the club music and evangelical church music [start] competing. All the inspirations are from all these sounds and everything that happens in the night in Kinshasa. 

The band plays a lot of DIY instruments; what instruments are on this album and can you point to their specific sounds? 

Xavier Thomas: There're the go-to things and then there's the found objects or the ones you can build. Simple things that are kind of ready-made, like detergent bottles — you can play it with a stick with a little bit of rubber, and it kind of makes bongo sounds with a slight natural overdrive.  

And you can also build your own string instruments with what you found on the street. For example, there's plastic chairs that have metal feet, and you can do a kind of metallophone with; if you chop the tubes, you will get different pitches, etcetera. You can find something in a mechanic shop that sounds really good straight away when you hit it; metallic percussion. So that's all the different DIY instruments or found percussion that you can make or work with. 

Was it mostly the same instruments as the first album, or were there some different things you were incorporating as well? 

Xavier Thomas: There are different things. Also, on this one, we use a little bit more of electronics, as it's a bit more upbeat and influenced by the club and the small music production studios of Kinshasa. 

There are also some field recordings. For example, on some tracks, there's horns from moto taxis that we pitched and made melodies with. But yeah, it's roughly the same instruments. 

The term DIY is often attached to the band. Of course, you just talked about the instruments, but I was also curious what DIY and improvisation looks like in your music-making process and performances. 

Xavier Thomas: It was an all-over DIY thing when we started. I used to make a lot of the videos. We [still] work with a small team, so we always have problems getting visas. We're doing a bit of everything just to keep going forward and traveling and to get our music everywhere. So, the DIY is not just the music, it's [all very] hands-on. Even on stage, we don't turn up with a big team, it's pretty much us at the moment. 

The DIY aspect came out of necessity for the music and instrument creators, of not being able to afford to buy or rent an instrument. So it started like that, trying to make a one- or two-string guitar, a two-string bass, and a drum set. And then it went beyond that, realizing we can find original and new sounds if we're not copying existing instruments. 

When I met Makara, he was doing five-hour public rehearsals six times a week on his own with 40 or 50 dancers. He had to work out all the technical problems with power cuts and amplifiers exploding. Makara still has that energy, even when we're sound checking. A lot of that DIY intuition is still coming in. 

The recording process has to be DIY because you're recording in outside music studios in little compounds or in difficult neighborhoods of Kinshasa, so there's a lot of sounds in the background. You just grab the moment where the energy, the music, the inspiration feels right. That's another DIY part of the project, it's pretty much recorded outside of recording studios for the most part. 

How does that also speak to access to instruments, internet and music studios for music-making in the DRC more broadly? 

Xavier Thomas: Well, there's some big artists in the Congo that have a lot of money and travel to play even in the U.S. and France. A few artists have everything they want and they're very famous and wealthy. But most of the studios I've seen are a tiny room in the corner of a compound, yet people are doing the most impressive productions and recordings with very little, whether it's electronic or live music. It's very resourceful and sometimes you don't hear it, you could not imagine it would be coming from such a small studio. 

I wish I could ask about every song on the album, because it feels like there's so much energy and context in each one. Can you tell me about the opening track, "Butu Ezo Ya" — the energy starts out so strong. Is there a message behind that song? 

Xavier Thomas: The first track is kind of an invitation. It's saying the night's coming, be ready. We have all the sounds that we grabbed in the streets. That's the track where the horns of the motorbikes are pitched and turned into melodies. It's an invocation, an invitation, to the listener to step in the Kinshasa night because it's really something.  

We wanted the opening track to be a little bit overstimulating, which is the impression you have the first time you step into the night in Kinshasa. So that's the idea, to [channel the] overwhelming street sounds that suddenly from chaos become organized and become the opener of the album to invite you to the more organized music after. [Chuckles.] 

Makara Bianko: I'm inviting people to step into the night, step into the album.

The album's next track, "Bazo Banga," is really captivating as well.

Xavier Thomas: "Bazo Banga" means they are scared. Sometimes people chant it when they're protesting. It can also be used in sport events about the other teams. There's a lot of frustrations in Congo; the population is a bit abandoned by the government. Sometimes there are political things that can't be said or expressed because it's a bit dangerous. So, in this track — Makara has explained the lyrics to me before — it's a way to regain a bit of control by trying to impress the other side. 

Makara Bianko: There's another angle mentioned at the end of the track: We're bringing so many new sounds that their hips are not going to hold. They are scared they are out of date, that they will not be matching our energy or be able to move because we're going too fast. During the track, I'm quoting a lot of images of why they could be scared. 

Xavier Thomas: In Kinshasa, our sound is still very different. At the beginning, with all the music, art performers, people who do body performance as well, who gravitate around our music and are sometimes part of the videos; [other] people thought we were all so crazy. The music didn't fit any standards there, even though Makara has a lot of influences, more when he was younger, in more standard music like Congolese rumba or ndombolo. I think people can still be a bit scared of our style and our energy, the people we work with, it's a bit different. 

In what ways is your music incorporating — as well as radically shifting — traditional and popular Congolese music? 

Makara Bianko: Growing up in Kinshasa, there's a lot of Congolese rumba and nbombolo. I'm also influenced by [Congolese] folk music, really old rhythms and chants. Congo is so big that this has just been mixed in our music, but we are presenting it like it's a new recipe. It doesn't taste like what you're used to even though the ingredients are there. There's also influences [in our music] from outside countries like Angola or South Africa. 

Xavier Thomas: What struck me the most when I first met Makara at this concert — from my Occidental angle — he has a very punk energy. Even though people aren't listening to punk music in Kinshasa, Makara would stick his mic in the speakers and play with feedback, and he has a very powerful voice and sometimes a very threatening singing tone. It was not influenced from punk; it was his own energy, his own frustration. 

I think music helps express the frustration a lot of people have in Congo, and people see that in him, through his anger and when he talks about things people encounter on the street that they can relate to. So yeah, some of the old folk music is there as influences, but it's very important to him to not do the same thing that a lot of artists have done for the last 40 years and to bring something new. 

What's going on in Kinshasa and the DRC in terms of electronic music? Are there other DIY electronic acts coming up?  

Xavier Thomas: There's a lot of electronic music now, I think the big scenes are in South Africa or Nigeria for big pop electronic music. Congo used to influence a lot of West Africa and Central Africa and now Nigeria and South Africa have quite strong industries, so sometimes there's a bit of that influence.  

With more Congolese rhythms for electronic music, you can have the whole range from very pop to very alternative. In the neighborhood where we started, there's a few more bands coming up now with DIY instruments who play a bit more like folk music from the Equator region in the north of the country. In Europe, I've noticed three bands since we started that now work with more DIY instruments. There's a music producer, P2N, from the southeast of Congo who makes repetitive electronic music in a kind of hypnotic, dance way. 

The band has been touring quite a bit since the first album. Locally, are you an active part of a scene, or is it more like you're doing something different there and bringing that around the world? 

 Xavier Thomas: We're still quite unique in Kinshasa, and if we play there it would be more of a block party. Makara has a lot of dancers in his crew, and dancers would join from the youngest at the beginning [of the show] to the more experienced, bridging between classic Congolese dance and more contemporary dance. There's a lot of theater in the dance as well.  

When we play there, it's still alternative. Once in a while we might play a bigger stage, but we play out [of the country] way more in front of way more people. We try not to play too often [here]. It's a huge city, so it can be tricky with the power cuts and everything. It's more of the art scene and people from the performance art school and dancers who gather if we do an event in Kinshasa, it's not huge crowds. 

You've performed on some pretty big platforms, as well as at global music festivals. What goes into your energetic live performance; is there improvisation? 

Xavier Thomas: It's key that we are still incredibly passionate, and we feel the music and leave a lot of space for improvisation. Then we can surprise each other, even during a gig. One track can be one length or double the next time, depending on the feeling, the crowd, the sound system and the time we play. 

Usually, people end up really moving, sometimes without realizing. We don't spare any energy. You end up drenched in sweat. I think because our excitement is real, the music is not over-rehearsed. We're still always excited at every show. I think people can feel that it's not staged. There can be unexpected things happening, which keeps us energetic, motivated and surprised on stage. 

How does the band usually feel after a performance? Is it a cathartic experience? 

Xavier Thomas: Well, we have our kind of ceremonial thing. We usually talk together at the beginning; we gather and stick our heads together, and we say where we are and what we want to achieve. At the end of the concert, the whole hour or so feels like it's passed by really quick, and you're still left with that rhythm or energy, even though you might be super tired, sometimes traveling and playing every day. Sometimes we have more energy at the end. At the beginning, we feel tired, and then the energy really comes in, and we feel super energized and super sharp and really awake at the end. It's good for us. 

What does Kinshasa sound like to you? 

Xavier Thomas: For Makara and I, to explain to somebody who's never been to Kinshasa, it's a very sonic city. I've never seen [anything like it]. It's so crowded; I think it's 15 million or 18 million people now. [Editor's note: 17 million is the latest estimate.] Everybody lives on the ground floor. There aren't too many high buildings, so the density of people is very high. For this reason, it's visually a bit crowded and overwhelming with people, cars, colors and everything.  

Therefore, to be noticed or stand out, everybody needs to have their own little signal or jingle. You can tell who's around you with eyes closed. A nail polish vendor would just bang two little glass polish bottles; that sound carries far away and they have their rhythm. People who sell SIM cards have a loop on their megaphone. 

Sound is how to be noticed; how to sell yourself, what's your role, what's your identity. That's obviously, without talking about music and sound systems. Churches have their own huge sound systems and they can clash with the club in front. Also something very typical in Kinshasa; it goes to the fullest, to the max, everything is used at its highest potential. The sound is pushed in overdrive and distorted because you want to be louder than the next person. It's all these little sound signals that can tell exactly who's around you or sometimes where you are as well. For me, that's the sound, plus the traffic. 

Wow. It must be so different going somewhere more remote, or just where it's quieter. It must feel almost like something's wrong. 

Xavier Thomas: There's not many moments with silence because at night the city is still alive. People like to go out. You can have a church next to you with a full live band and a huge PA sound system at 3 a.m. Quiet moments are rare.  

Makara: It's hard to deal with silence. I don't feel comfortable in silence because I've never really experienced it.