Rising Afrobeat sensation Emperor Otiti is fast becoming a name to watch across West Africa and beyond. With roots in both Nigeria and Ghana, the half-Delta State, half-Ghanaian artist brings a unique blend of cultures, sounds, and personal stories to his music.
Otiti, who spent 18 formative years growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, was born in Delta State and remains based in Nigeria. His name—Emperor Otiti—is one of intentional creativity. Inspired by a movie featuring the Emperor of China and seeking a more distinctive identity after realising “Richie Rich” was overused, he coined his stage name by combining “Emperor” with his surname, Otiti.
The Journey So Far
Though he has only been making music professionally for two years, Otiti admits the road hasn’t been easy. “It’s been a lot of work,” he says. But the hustle is starting to pay off.
One of his major career highlights was the release of “Complicate,” a song featuring Ghanaian Afrobeats star Kelvynboy. Otiti revealed that the collaboration came as a surprise gift from his management team.
“I was actually in Lagos, Nigeria, chilling, and my management wanted to surprise me. They were in Ghana, and they met Kelvynboy. They called me and told me Kelvynboy wants to hop on one of my songs. I asked which one, and they said Complicate. It brightened my day. We just finalised the contract,” he recounted with a smile.
As fate would have it, both artists found themselves in the United States shortly afterwards and decided to hit the studio together.
“I happened to travel to America for some stuff, and he [Kelvynboy] was there too. So we decided to use the opportunity to hit the studio. We vibed, smoked, chilled—and everything came together.”
The result was a smooth and emotional track born out of a deeply personal experience. Otiti shared that Complicate was inspired by real-life relationship stress.
“I was actually dealing with someone at the time, and she was stressing me out. I needed something to let it out, so I turned it into music. Ladies—no disrespect—but sometimes you really stress us out!”
Boomba: The Club Anthem
Hot on the heels of Complicate, Otiti has dropped his newest single, Boomba, a high-energy club anthem that’s already making waves.
“Boomba had to be a club banger,” he said. “I was in the studio with my engineer, Ray. We had just finished another song around midnight and were packing up when he played a beat. I felt the beat was hard, so I told him let’s do it.”
Remarkably, the entire song was recorded in a single take.
“Talk one—Boomba!” Otiti exclaimed. “We did it in about 10 minutes. I didn’t even feel like I did my best, but it just came out right.”
What’s Next?
Emperor Otiti isn’t slowing down. He closed out his recent interview by announcing that he’s currently working on an upcoming EP. While details remain under wraps, fans can expect a fusion of heartfelt storytelling, danceable rhythms, and boundary-pushing creativity.
In the meantime, he encourages everyone to stream Boomba on all platforms and stay tuned for what’s next from the Emperor of Afrobeat.
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Story by Kelvin B. Annor-Yeboah | univers.ug.edu.gh
