No genre has played a more critical role in providing the sonic base for Nigerian pop music as much as hip-hop has. The New York-pioneered art form has inspired, transformed, and reverse-engineered what music from West Africa’s biggest country can aspire towards. From the guttural flows of pioneers like Ice Cube to the chilled-out melancholy of Canadian pop giant, Drake, and the reflective elegance of Kendrick Lamar, hip-hop has found a spiritual home among the teeming youth of Nigeria who have adopted it as a tool for vigorous self-expression. Rising singer and songwriter, Muktarh, understands the utility of hip-hop and pays homage to the genre while infusing elements of his reality into the mix.

Kickstarting his professional recording career in 2024, the artist’s goal was to artfully blend the lyrical rigour of hip-hop with the free-wheeling musicality and gritty vocal tradition of indigenous Nigerian music. His forthcoming debut single, “Young Bad Boy,” is a testament to that vision as Muktarh layers specific bars and anecdotes about living on the street, mental struggles, and beating the odds into a nearly three-minute play-by-play archiving of his life while looping in elements of Yoruba and Pidgin. In many ways, “Young Bad Boy” follows in the haunting yet devastatingly insular approach made popular by acclaimed New York MC, DMX, and Nigerian rap hero, Olamide who’s widely credited for popularizing the indigenous rap movement.

Speaking about his debut single, Muktarh describes “Young Bad Boy” as a tale of working through any hindrances. “The song is a dedication to the hustle and what it takes to become a success. As someone striving for success, there are a lot of hurdles and you just have to be ready to find a way through it,” he says. “I wanted the song to have elements of hip-hop but it also had to reflect where I’m from, who I am, and the realities of life as I see it. That’s why there’s an indigenous feel to it and even though it sounds like that, it’s also an encouragement for people not to let their heads go and give up.”

Produced by budding producer, Nakedbeatz (Superwozzy and Magixx), “Young Bad Boy” sits atop a fizzing boom-bap instrumental that’s pockmarked by thumping bass and an unmissable digital reverb that keeps pace with Muktrah’s impassioned bars. It’s a combination that allows the song to sound crisp while maintaining its technical edge and originality.