Music is a universal language which we all understand and express ourselves with, regardless of its many genres. These words hold meaning to every artiste, none more so than those in Nigeria’s underground music scene. Not because they try to appear tethered to some ideal the music industry deems pivotal but because they explore the nuances and often discarded elements of music to weave a musical tapestry rich in originality, thought, constant experimentation and vibes.
For most underground artistes, the goals are simple: (1) to position themselves within the larger conversation about how music should interweave with storytelling and self-expression, and (2) to assert autonomy from mainstream ideologies about how music should sound. This intention is evident in the way they create. With digital streaming platforms like Spotify making it easier for artistes to earn, many now prioritize popularity. Unfortunately, a large percentage of audiences tend to favor familiarity over authenticity, causing many artistes to conform, folding these popular elements into their sound. As a result, creative experimentation and evolution have become scarce in Nigeria’s contemporary music industry.
This raises a bigger question: what really is the future of Afrobeats—Nigeria’s biggest music genre, which is now a global topic. The answer may lie with underground artistes like Palmwine, OrgnalBadGuy, Mide Fash and GRNDMSTR, whose creative processes have evolved to reject the easy formula and create a loyal following that loves and appreciates how their sound breathes fresh air into Nigeria’s music landscape. This isn’t about hype but understanding a movement poised to bring change to Nigeria’s music industry and documenting their strides into a record for the world to read.
“WHY MUSIC?” - TRACING THE SPARK BEHIND THEIR SOUND
Before they built their community, there was a moment where it all began. For Palmwine, OrgnalBadGuy, Mide Fash and GRNDMSTR, the moment wasn’t about fame or making it to former president Barack Obama’s infamous playlist. It was about the feeling of music and what it meant to them.
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| Palmwine |
Palmwine traces his love for music to his parents. “Growing up, my parents always had house music and the classics playing…and this was way before I started listening to Afrobeats or Nigerian artistes”, he says. With these early influences, he began mixing and mastering different sounds and elements, eventually becoming a DJ. While many might think that a DJ’s creative process depends on what others release, Palmwine disproves this theory. His sonically charged tunes at Palmwine ‘N’ Friends (PnF) showcase an ability to fuse otherwise incompatible genres. A powerhouse of musical malleability whenever he’s on the DJ deck, he exemplifies what it means when we say music comes from the heart and then some.
For OrgnalBadGuy (OBG), music has always been a means of “escape. I have a pretty busy mind and my mind works with my eyes. Anywhere I am, I’m observing everything unconsciously and compulsively and it’s very disturbing ‘cause it means I can’t really focus…and music was an escape from that. Then my dad got these Airpods with foreign songs, like blues and reggae.” A look at his discography, which includes hits like Ol Soja and features on Happiness Is A Choice and Ain’t No Way with Yohanan Irnsd, shows how he draws from various genres to create an eclectic sound. His evocative lyrics on emotional beats give his music a diaristic trait that connects deeply with his audience.
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Palmwine
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Mide Fash recalls that making music was “something I have always enjoyed. I have always enjoyed singing. I was in the choir for most of my life, from playing the violin and guitar”. She adds further that “being able to sing is different from being able to make music. It’s something that I have always wanted to do. With tracks like Manipulator and Gold and Fire, spanning Afro-Soul, Alternative R & B and house music, she gives listeners a taste of what it self-love and appreciation feels like while encouraging unapologetic self-expression, tapping into her rich literary background and her velvet, luxurious voice to do so as well.
GRNDMSTR, in his words, felt “music was the only thing I could do.” While this comes off as being modest, his lyrics are saying something else. Lines like “I’m working hard so my mother can go testify/That I don’t have to worry bout my father’s will when he dies/Nigga ask about me, I’m a hustler” off Hustle O with Sosa.ttw or “Stuck in traffic since 7pm/On my way home from work since 7am/ My cooking gas e don finish and I gatz buy fuel for gen so tell me wetin really concern me with nashona item”, off his 2024 hit, Nashona Item, reveal an artiste combining his personal struggles with external experiences to fuel his cadence, whether he’s leaning towards heartfelt or hard-hitting tracks.
With their own words, these artistes share a commitment to substance over that most underground artistes have in common and that the current Nigerian music industry sorely needs.
HOW THE PERSON BEHIND THE MUSIC SHAPES THE SOUND
Channeling their sparks help define who they are. In turn, this shapes their sound. For these artistes, music means translating themselves into something their audience can hear and feel. The quiet ones tend to create beats that speak louder than their words could. The rebels build sounds that refuse to fit in. The dreamers layer their songs with textures that mirror their inner world.
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| OrgnalBadGuy(OBG) |
Take Palmwine. When he’s not behind the deck or testing beats, “I’m a very quiet guy. I’m usually playing games or indoors when I’m off the clock”. Yet, music simmers beneath the surface. “Even when I’m playing games, I can still be cooking up some beats in my head and when its starting to make sense, I just pause the game, bring out my deck, cause I have a personal DJ deck at home, and just start playing the beats I have in my head to see what works”, he says. His quiet nature fuels a rhythm that transforms into aura capable of filling any space. To grasp this, you really should hear his set at PnF.
OBG describes himself as “just a regular guy” outside his music. “To be honest, sometimes, I don’t think my music is special itself. I think it's how I see music and how I can envision it but even at that, I consider myself a creative still because I can create in any form whatsoever. I can influence the creation of art in any form. Music is just so predominant in my way of expression”. This “regularness” might make him blend into the crowd but it allows for a genre-bending shift when he creates music. His songs become layered maps of what he’d never say any other day.
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| OrgnalBadGuy(OBG) |
Outside her sound, Mide Fash simply sees herself as “someone that likes to enjoy life. I enjoy silence, the company of my friends. I enjoy living life. My purpose is to enjoy life, chill and have a good time. I like to consider myself as someone with a lot of soul who’s learning every single time.” On how this persona shows up in her sound, Fash says “a lot of my songs are about worship and when you listen to it, you’ll hear that I’m talking about how I liked to be worshipped, carried and even when I make love songs, you’ll hear a lot of devotion to myself in it because I’ a passionate person.”
This pattern continues with GRNDMSTR. “I’m a very introverted person. I think I can say I have a sense of humour and it’s usually hard to find me. I’m in my house sleeping.” But this quietness vanishes the moment he hops on a beat, especially when rapping. “I don’t think my introverted side shows up when I’m making music, particularly when I rap,” he says. Where his daily life might be defined by the calm and reserve, his tracks erupt with raw emotion, rapid flows and unpredictable switches in style and intensity.
What’s clear here is that their music doesn’t just mirror who they appear to be but pushes beyond it, with each of them poised to build a path true to who they are.
HOW TODAY’S UNDERGROUND ARTISTS ARE DOING IT DIFFERENTLY
Without a how, the meaning behind why and who won’t matter. For these artistes, success isn’t trying to fit into an existing sound or genre but reshaping the music industry by experimenting with styles and blending influences to evolve and solidify who they are as artistes. But what does this look like in practice?
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| MideFash |
For Palmwine, his secret is his community and listening to them. “My guy, Joe, loves amapiano and another friend, Subomi, loves anything trap. Both of them helped start PnF. So, one day, I was just playing around with some beats on my virtual DJ on my system with my guys at my place and everyone liked what they were vibing too. People often think that I come up with the beats myself but that’s not the case. I make sure to listen to what my guys tell me while fusing it with what I like as well”, he says.
OBG reflects on how his process has evolved. “When I started out, I’d have to hear the beat first then take a week to write the lyrics. As time went on, I got confident and started freestyling which I turned into actual songs so my writing became something I did the moment I heard the beat instead of waiting until after a week, which is something I’ve mastered now. But because I prefer to take it slow with my music, now, I just write songs without beats or create melodies without lyrics so the creative process is disconnected sometimes, only for everything to make sense in the end. It really depends on how the songs come”.
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| MideFash |
For Mide Fash, it starts with a mindset. “Every single time I go to the studio, I always take a selfie with the caption ‘On my way to make my next hit’. I usually don’t know what genre I’m going to sing, I just know that I’m going to the studio, have a good time and make a hit. But I make sure to make music I’d want to hear, like I make it for myself”.
GRNDMSTR describes his process as instinctive. “The way I envision a song in my head, however it is or how I feel about it, is how I create it so there’s no standard way I do it. If it’s singing that comes to mind, that’s fine. If it’s rap, that’s fine as well. This implies that his creative process has evolved to either be fluid-driven, instinctive, or conversational, the latter being the inspiration behind his 2025 hit, Nashona Antem.
Together, each of them show that doing things differently isn’t about rejecting structure for its own sake but about building new ones that reflect who they are as artistes and where they want music to go next, further cementing just how diverse the underground’s creative evolution really is.
A MOVEMENT IN THE MAKING
Across Palmwine, OBG, Mide Fash and GRNDMSTR, the surface-level differences in how they create are striking - Palmwine’s sound is built on community energy, which he steer using his own influences; OBG’s on an evolving personal rhythm between structure and spontaneity, Mide Fash’s on feeling and feeling and fearless self-expression and GRNDMSTR runs on raw instinct and mood. Yet, they share an understanding to refuse to let trends dictate their sound, be original and experiment.
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| GRNDMSTR |
Their unifying factor is a common ideal to create music that means something, music that carries the weight of their lived experiences and offers them space for both themselves and others of like minds to feel seen and vibe to. In turn, this evolved their creative process to an extent that, unlike much of the mainstream, isn’t focused on copying industry strategies. It’s about writing new blueprints that stay true to who they are, while challenging what Nigerian music can be.
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| GRNDMSTR |
In their industry and cadence, one can see the beginning of a quiet revolution - a movement driven by intention. One that insists that the future of the Nigerian music landscape won’t be shaped only by what fills the clubs or climbs the charts but by those who dare to break the glass ceiling and build something new.
Most likely, this is the most powerful thing about today’s underground music scene in that it reminds us that the future of music belongs to those who create without fear of where it might lead.
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