Lists, upon lists, on lists. At the start and end of every year, music communities on the internet flood with lists about artists to watch out for in the new year, bright acts taking over the scene, most promising artists et al. A few times, these lists make accurate predictions. Other times, well, nobody simply sees Mavo coming.
My first introduction to Mavo’s music was in 2024, but it was his 2023 project, Ukanigbe. I simply didn’t understand it, but my guts didn’t lie about something being in it. On first listen, what hits you the most is how unconventional his rhyme schemes are. You simply don’t know what to expect. Your favourite rappers want “time” to rhyme with the last word on the next bar. But Mavo? Mavo simply doesn’t care. This nonchalance might put you off, but only because it messes with what you’re used to. It questions the status quo. It makes you realize you have been in the box, like the rat, or the ant within the ink circle.
Next, the slangs consume you. “Tap”. “Burbur”. “Ifa”. Kilolo has his own word for everything. This escalates the feeling of rebellion to the mainstream that forms in your chest. However, this time, rather than fighting it, you get curious. And that’s the force that keeps listening. You want to find out. You want to know. This quest for knowledge opens your eyes to the fact that you’re actually bopping your head and your soul likes the music.
Thirdly, you’re hooked. And only because it’s simply good music. The wordplay, extremely catchy beats, coarse melodies and insanely accurate bounce keeps you coming back – perhaps to feel like a rebel, or to make light of life’s troubles, or simply because you never saw him coming, but Mavo taps.
For many, the introduction was Escaladizzy with Wave$tar, courtesy its TikTok trending moments. Many things led up to that, by the way, and here’s a quick arrangement of the timelines.
• Zaylevelten’s “Watching Me” had a Twitter moment in February, introducing music enthusiasts in the space to sounds they aren’t exactly familiar with.
• In April, Wave$tar dissed Siraheem, throwing light on Lagos’ underground scene, of which Mavo has belonged to for the longest, until now.
• In the same period, Cruel Santino had a handful of the same underground artists on his Subaru Live Stream – Luwa, Zaylevelten, Mavo, Ravington and others. Throwing even more light to the scene.
• Zaylevelten and Mavo had TikTok viral moments in the same months with “Maye” and “Escaladizzy” respectively with co-signs from Davido, Zlatan et al. At the time, listeners were ready for their sounds to take over. And it did just that.
Today, there’s a sequel version of Escaladizzy that features heavyweights like Ayra Starr, Zlatan and Shallipopi, and regardless of what opinions are about it, only very few saw Mavo coming.
The shock effect of his career transcend makes it even all more exciting. Fingers are definitely crossed for what’s ahead of Kilobizzy.
Itty can be caught studying African pop culture, writing about it or hosting a relationship podcast. When he's not doing any of these, then he's definitely at a bar, getting mocktail.
