Africa is home to some of the most talented musicians in the world. From the likes of Wizkid and Rema to Burna Boy and Tems, Afrobeat sonics can be heard across all corners of the globe, with records such as Wizkid and Tems’ “Essence,” and Burna Boy’s “Last Last” becoming global mainstays since their releases.

Afrobeats is an incredible connector of people; it represents an entire culture, allowing listeners away from home to take themselves back and immerse themselves into a world packed with culture, nostalgia, and community. It’s this approach to music that newcomer, Odumodublvck stands for.

The Lagos-born musician was raised in Abuja, Nigeria, and has been one of the most exciting voices out of the country’s capital in recent times. Paring his larger-than-life personality with his arresting flow, Odumodublvck’s Afro-tinged style takes its main sources of inventiveness from the UK, citing Skepta as his biggest inspiration and “idol.”

“The music I make is more influenced by the UK sound and culture than the U.S. culture. When you listen to me, you’ll hear the UK and Nigeria – I’m a drill artist before I’m a hip-hop artist,” Odumodublvck told Hypebeast.

The musician’s relationship with the UK doesn’t end there, either. His recently-dropped single “Declan Rice,” named after former West Ham footballer and England international is a current UK-based smash, whilst the artwork to his just-dropped project, EZIOKWU, is designed by British-Nigerian designer and artist, Slawn.

The 14-track project – which includes hit records such as “FIREGUN,” featuring Fireboy DML – features artwork that’s an original piece painted on canvas, depicting Odumodublvck in introspection, while also encapsulating a profound moment of self-validation – all of which, are feelings captured in the musician’s latest project.

Hypebeast caught up with Odumodublvck to discuss his new album, EZIOKWU, his relationship with the UK, how he’s creating a new path for the next generation, and more.

Hypebeast: How are you?

Odumodublvck: I’m solid, man! We have a lot of new music out now, we’re on a good run.

Talk to us about your single “Declan Rice.”

Basically, that’s the first song I made when I was in Ghana. At the time, I didn’t know what the song meant until around five minutes after I recorded it. In Africa, it’s Afrobeats that is dominating the music space – and “Declan Rice” isn’t an Afrobeats song, it’s a hip-hop tune. It just has a bit of progressive R&B, which makes it commercially appealing. When I finished the song, I realized that I like Declan – he used to play for West Ham, he starts for the English national team, it’s basically an underdog story.

People who start for the English national team, they play for the top teams; Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, but Declan played for West Ham at the time when I wrote the record and he is pretty much the undisputed player. So, this reflects the song and “Declan Rice” is basically an underdog song that wanted to take over the commercial records in Africa at the time with a brand-new sound. The record also went number one, without any Afrobeats influence or features… so, that’s it.

“There are a lot of A-list artists out there that I want to make music with, but we haven’t yet because we haven’t connected on a personal level.”

What is your relationship like with the UK?

My musical icon and role model is Skepta. That’s my number one guy – he gave me the chain I’m wearing today. I just met him for the first time when I was in London a few weeks ago. The music I make is more influenced by the UK sound and culture than US culture.

When you listen to me, you’ll hear the UK and Nigeria – I’m a drill artist before I’m a hip-hop artist. When I last went to London, I met J Hus, I met Skepta, I met NSG, lots of people. It’s a wonderful space and I love it.

Why do you think African and African-inspired music resonates with people in the UK so much?

I think it’s because of the number of Nigerians in the UK. Also, good music is good music, whether that’s from Arabia, or it sounds American, we can’t deny when something is good. So, in the UK, a lot of Nigerians have foreigners as friends so the music naturally spreads.

When everybody was telling Skepta to go to the U.S, to blow, he realized he didn’t need to do that – and before he knew it, Drake came to the UK, you know? Everything that people are listening to in the UK, people are listening to in America because the music resonates with them. So, for example, Wizkid now, it took him three years for him to break through in the British market, but when he did, it was a match made in heaven because the music just resonated.

How did one of your latest records, “Fire Gun,” come to life?

Basically, Fireboy came to my house. He’s been on my radar since 2019 and he came with his producer, we made three records and “Fire Gun” was the one that came out. We decided on the name of the record because my nickname is “Big Gun,” so we put both of our names together.

I’m very particular about the names of my tracks, I want people to see the name of it and think, “What is this?” So, yeah, Fire is a great guy – he gave me that verse for free, came to the video shoots… just a lot of positive energy. The song ended up hitting the top 10, too… it’s a great success.

“When Digga D was on the come-up with the likes of Headie One and Tion Wayne, I used to listen to them a lot.”

You only seem to work with the very best and appear very particular with who you choose to make music with. How do you come about choosing someone to collaborate with?

There are a lot of A-list artists out there that I want to make music with, but we haven’t yet because we haven’t connected on a personal level. People used to tell me that Skepta was messing with me and that I should send him some music and I said no – let us meet in person first, let’s go to lunch, let’s have a conversation, let’s be friends. I was friends with Fireboy before I made music with him. We do this because when the song comes out, there’s a genuine connection and it hasn’t been done on a business level.

Who are you listening to from the UK right now?

To be honest, I’ve not been listening to much UK music on an underground level lately. But, back then, when Digga D was on the come-up with the likes of Headie One and Tion Wayne, I used to listen to them a lot.

Your new EP has just come out – what can people come to expect from it when the go to listen for the first time?

Everything that I say on the EP; the melodies, lyrics, attitude, realness, this EP lets people know that I’m that guy. It’s not even on a boastful level, but I’m that guy – I’m here to create a path that has not been created before. I’m trying to create a path for the people behind me and show people from Africa that it’s not just Afrobeats sounds that people listen to.

What’s coming next?

I’m aiming to come over to the UK soon to perform some shows. There’s also a new record that I’m trying to release with a UK artist in a month or so. One thing I’ve learned is that the attention span of people is very short, so you’ve always got to be in people’s faces, especially when you’re still on the come-up like me and are trying to cement my foundations in this industry.

After that, I’m trying to drop another EP before I drop the next album. That’s what we do, it’s my day job – we don’t need to be on the same vibe as Adele where we drop music every five years. Adele has the money to be able to sustain herself for five years [laughs]. I always have to be on it, I’m on a journey that requires consistency.