Since February, Zaylevelten has stolen mainstream attention to an extent with his opium-esque music style, likened to Travis Scott’s and Playboi Carti’s but with a Nigerian flavour.
But the journey didn’t start in 2025 for the rapper. His first Spotify credit dates back to 2022, and with two album projects already in the bag, Zaylevelten might be a newcomer to the weight of his current limelight, but certainly not to the game.
It’s a different story today. Young people across major music hotspots in the country are tapped into his style, with new slangs springing up every day and music community conversations never ending. But how has this happened? How has he gotten these many young people to care?
Simple. They connect to the music first. The Generation Z and Alpha have grown into a lot of trap, opium and niche rap influences both home and abroad. Especially with those from high income regions, both generations have been very exposed to niche rap culture over a long period. Having a local rapper wear the same sound style as perfectly as Zaylevelten does is a guaranteed connection.
Secondly, not every artist has the creative luxury of being able to produce their own music. What this does is that it helps musicians accurately create a beat that fits into what they have in their mind on how they want the song to sound like. It might be a little more difficult to explain some things to somebody else.
Zaylevelten has produced most of his own songs so far, under the producer name ‘Tenski’. Today, the tagline ‘tenski, save me’ has become so integral to his branding and the popular perception that he has come to salvage the state of hip hop in Nigeria for the next generation.
It would be careless to leave out the visuals of his brand. Wearing skinny jeans, high boots, scarfs and Nigerian streetwear definitely places him in the same position that the earliest altè figures were in — one that didn’t care about trends or pop, but redefined what it meant to be cool with no regard to public criticism.
As expected, the co-signs have rolled in from A-listers and industry crème de la crème, and there have been sightings of Mavo, P.Priime and Seyi Vibez collaborations. But the future only spells more greatness for Zay. We simply tap in and watch it unfold.
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.
