Fresh off his “Life of a Party” video drop just one week ago, fast-rising Nigerian-British Afrobeats star oShamo returns today with his latest single “oSHA-PIANO,” coining a new genre name with his infectious fusion of amapiano, fuji and hip-hop.
The latest artist signed to Mr Eazi’s groundbreaking pan-African music company emPawa Africa, oSHAMO has been enjoying a breakout campaign in 2024, thanks to the viral success of “Life of the Party,” which has spawned over 12,000-user generated videos and four million views on Tik Tok, and a further two millions streams across DSPs, while picking up rave reviews from the likes of BBC 1Xtra, KISS Fresh, and Notion Magazine, among others.
oSHAMO is this week’s Spotify RADAR: First Listen artist, joining a program whose impressive list of alumni includes Tyla, Libianca and Peso Pluma, among others, with the artist featured on the cover of the streaming platform’s RADAR UK & Ireland playlist.
“oSHA-PIANO,” oShamo’s second drop of the year and the second single from his forthcoming EP, sees the London-based musician reconnecting with “Life of the Party” producer Skeellz, to tell the compelling story of his journey as an artist, with lyrics reflecting his struggles and search for purpose.
While the song embodies the vibrant energy and joy reminiscent of his earlier offerings, “oSHA-PIANO” also sees oShamo taking a bold step sonically in the afrobeats space as he offers a fresh and unique new sound that is poised to captivate his rapidly growing audience.
Speaking about the inspiration behind “oSHA-PIANO,” oShamo says, “This song was heavily inspired by my love for fuji, hip-hop, and amapiano, and me trying to find a middle-ground between these genres for my own music. ‘Osha-Piano’ is the first song I’ve created that I really feel very comfortable releasing. The song lyrics speak to my journey as an artist, from not knowing what to do with my life to now finding a purpose in music.”
The video for “Life of the Party,” which dropped a week ago today, was directed by by MRMTMMG (Krept & Konan, Wizkid) in collaboration with Fola Abatan (Rudimental, Ms Banks, JGrrey). The video captures a party-themed fantasy world, encapsulating the feeling of being a superstar for a day. Reminiscent of a modern-day Cinderella story, the video sees oShamo dreaming of the glitzy life of stardom from his seemingly mundane life at his mother’s launderette, only to be magically transformed into the “life of the party,” even if just for a fleeting moment.
