With the dust yet to settle on his massive ‘Life of the Party’ single, which has gone viral on TikTok, spawning over 12,000 user-generated videos and over four million views, while also garnering over two million global streams, and rave reviews from the likes of BBC 1Xtra, KISS Fresh, and Notion Magazine, fast-rising UK-based afrobeats musician oSHAMO is ready to go again with an electrifying new single titled ‘OSHA-PIANO’. Excellently merging fuji music, amapiano, and hip-hop music together, oShamo delivers a unique and thrilling genre-bending sound that pushes the envelope even further.
The inventive new track was written and composed by oShamo, and sees the London-based musician collaborating with ‘Life of the Party’ producer Skeellz, and audio engineer Dobromirs Vasiley to craft a completely new afrobeats sound that draws inspiration from oShamo’s love for fuji, amapiano, and hip- hop music. Thematically, the song tells a compelling story of his journey as an artist, with the lyrics reflecting his struggles and search for purpose, highlighted by the poignant opening line, “Back in the days, I was young, and I felt like I was in a maze, vision blur like a bat in the day”.
STREAM HERE
What inspired you to mix fuji, amapiano, and hip hop for this track?
A: Growing up in an islamic environment, which is where the core element of fuji originates, I decided that whatever genre I sing, I need to let people know more about my identity and cultural background.
Some of the themes here revolve around growth. How have you grown as an artist over the years?
A: Having moved from Nigeria to the United Kingdom, most of my beliefs about how I thought my sound was limited to a specific region in Africa has changed. Because living in a multicultural place like london i’ve seen “the most distant person” listen to songs i would never have thought. This has also given me more confidence to develop & spread my sound as music is food for every soul.
What kind of growth are you looking to achieve in the future?
A: I’d love to start a change/movement in the music industry where there is no longer law nor boundary to young artists starting out their music journey in a place where we as of now currently see as “not possible”/ “not your market”
How do you think your viral moment helped you build a name for yourself? If that;s the case, of course.
A: Haha, I wouldn’t say viral moments don’t help build a name but the work you put in before your viral moment is what builds a name/legacy. For example, Going viral only gives a period of spotlight for people to see the work you’ve done and if they want to truly invest in your journey. But if you have no work done in the past then people are just unsure about what you really stand for.
What kind of relationship do you have with social media yourself?
A: As a highkey introvert, it’s been very helpful as it’s one of my ways of socialising without physical contact.
What kind of other genres or music would you like to mess with in the future?
A: Every genre, I’ll be the middleground to every genre in a sense where many or more cultures can listen to without a feeling of being left out.
What’s the afrobeat scene and culture like in London?
A:It’s a very strong community here and I’ll say it’s great as it keeps young artists to stay inspired.
