Apple Music names Nigerian singer EKENE its July 2026 Africa Rising cover star, spotlighting his raw new project about faith, family, and finding himself.
Some artists chase trends. EKENE writes letters to his younger self instead.
That honesty just earned the Nigerian singer-songwriter one of African music’s biggest spotlights. Apple Music has named him the July 2026 cover star of its Africa Rising playlist, the platform’s flagship push to introduce the continent’s next generation of talent to the world.
While much of Nigeria’s current wave leans into Afrobeats, EKENE has carved a different lane. His debut single, “Lullaby,” introduced a stripped-back, textured R&B sound, soulful, unhurried, and unmistakably his own.
It’s the kind of music that doesn’t shout for attention. It earns it.
EKENE’s real breakthrough, though, is emotional. His latest project, “Little Us,” plays out like a conversation between him and the boy he used to be, one shaped by a strict, religious household where feelings weren’t always safe to show.
The project digs into identity, repression, faith, and the quiet delay of self-discovery that comes with growing up under pressure to conform. It’s nostalgic without being heavy-handed, warm even when it’s confronting something painful.
“This project is really me trying to stay in touch with my younger self,” EKENE explains. “I am understanding him, forgiving him, and saying the things I didn’t know how to say back then.”
It’s a sentence that will land for anyone who grew up having to be someone else’s version of themselves first.
For an artist this early in his career, being chosen for Africa Rising isn’t just a badge, it’s an amplifier. EKENE will feature across the playlist, sit down with Ebro Darden on Apple Music 1, and join Nandi Madida on Africa Now Radio, giving new listeners a direct line into how he thinks and creates.
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“I just want people to hear it and feel seen,” he says.
