The UK music industry is among the leading entertainment industries today. The UK shares proximity to Africa geographically and it is no surprise that some of the top and emerging artists in the UK today are Africans. They are either Africans of half or total descent who were born there or migrated later on.
It is often said that you will find Africans everywhere around the world. Not only do we have them spread across countries of the world, but we also have them in various industries in different capacities. The music industry is one of the biggest exports of Africa and the influence of African music globally cannot be underestimated. There are several musicians in the UK today who are Africans but you might not even have a clue. Some have featured on several global projects and are still making giant strides in the entertainment industry. One cannot help but notice the fusion of African sounds and patterns in other global sounds currently. However, today’s Exclusive focus is on UK artists of African descent.
Check out these 7 UK artists that are Africans.
little Simz
Simbiatu Abisola Abiola Ajikawo aka Little Simz (born 23 February 1994) is a British rapper, singer, and actress. She was born to Nigerian parents in Islington, London. Little Simz has been active in the entertainment scene since 2010 when she started her acting career. As an independent artist, Little Simz pushes her music through Ages 101- a self-owned label. She has 4 studio albums, several singles, extended plays, and a worldwide publishing deal with AWAL Recordings that helps with the distribution of her projects.
On the other hand, as an actress, She has also made appearances in several film projects. She played the role of Shelley in Top Boy and made a cameo appearance in Venom: Let there be carnage. However, over the years of her career, she has won quite several awards like the Brit Awards, Libera Awards, and the MOBO awards. She also got nominations for several other awards and recognitions as well.
Darkoo
Oluwafisayo Isa (born September 19, 2001) aka Darkoo was born in Yaba, Lagos in Nigeria. The 20-year-old Nigerian drill rapper and singer is currently making a name for herself in the UK music scene as well as in Nigeria. Her single, “Gangsta”, released in 2019 brought her into the spotlight and she has been making waves ever since. She has also been featured on several top songs in the UK like “Body remix” by Tion Wayne. On this day 16th of July, 2021, she released her EP titled 2 in 1 which featured top artists like Tion Wayne, and Gabzy who are also Nigerians as well as Unknown T. In 2020, Darkoo got nominated for the best female act and best newcomer at the MOBO awards. And in case you don’t know, Darkoo sang the hit song ” Always” which was released in February 2022 featuring Black Sheriff.
PS: Darkoo is a different person from Darkovibes. Darkovibes is a male artist from Ghana.
Shaybo
Laura Adegbite (born October 5, 1996) aka Shaybo was born in Nigeria and grew up in Abuja before moving to the UK. She is popularly referred to as The Queen of the South which also happens to be the title of her mixtape. She is one of the UK Artists who display they are Nigerians proudly. This she does by infusing elements of Yoruba, her local dialect, in her songs to connect with her Nigerian roots and also express herself. She expressed that she used to feel misunderstood while growing up which contributed to her getting into trouble a lot. In addition to music, she has a degree in Social Work, a path she explored before returning to music.
Jacob Banks
The exceptional singer and songwriter based in Birmingham, Jacob Akintayo Akinoso was born on July 24, 1991, in Nigeria. On first listen, you would never think of him to be African until you hear the fusion of certain Nigerian sound elements in his projects. He has four extended plays (EPs) and a studio album titled “Village”. You must have heard his songs in several TV series, video games, and movies but wouldn’t know. Here are some of the projects you can find his songs on His song, “Slow Up” featured in the Netflix film Fatherhood (I saw this movie because of this). “Found ” is heard in the final season of Lucifer, and “Something Beautiful” got featured in the feature film, Tom & Jerry. Banks wrote and performed “In The Name of Love” for the Equalizer 2 movie. “Unknown” and “Monsters” are also featured in the series Power.
He also has his songs featured in video games like Dirt 4 (Monsters 2.0), FIFA 15 (Move with you), and FIFA 19 (Love Ain’t Enough) among many others. Banks won the MOBO UnSung regional competition in Birmingham in 2012 and also the Adidas “Are You In” music competition.
Jnr Choi
You must have heard or used the popular drill version of Bruno Mars’ song, “Talking to the moon”. Jnr Choi is the artist who made the drill remix sampling Sam Tompkins’s cover of Bruno Mars’ “Talking to the Moon”. Jnr Choi was born in the Gambia before moving to London. He started as a model before becoming a rapper. He has released several singles and one studio album titled SS21.
Br3nya
Nana-Brenya, a British singer and rapper was born on 20th October 1995 and is a Ghanaian by descent. She grew up in West London and combines several influences of African sounds in her songs. The release of her singles “Double Dutch” and “Sis” introduced her to the spotlight in the UK music industry. Although she is yet to release an album, Br3nya has been co-signed by some of the UK’s greatest acts including Stormzy, Maya Jama, Donaeo, and Nadia Rose, to name a few.
Pa Salieu
Pa Salieu Gaye (born 1 July 1997) is a British rapper and singer. He was born in Slough but he spent his formative years in The Gambia (his hometown) with his grandparents. He moved back to the UK later where he began his music career. After experimenting with several styles, Pa Salieu now makes Afro-drill. He is signed to Warner Records and has one mixtape, one extended play as well as several singles which include “Frontlines”. It is on record that he wrote his breakout track in 20 minutes and that was the beginning of his journey to stardom in the UK music scene.
How many of these Artists do you know and listen to? Let us know in the comments
Are you interested in learning more about African music? Check out our Time Series!