Fresh off the release of his highly anticipated debut album, God’s Timing’s The Best, Naira Marley has shared the video for his new single “Montego Bay.” Directed by Dammy Twitch, the bright visual finds Marley serenading us about his desired location for an ideal escape, Montego Bay, showcasing fugitive lovebirds escaping to a remote island.
After years of solidifying his reputation as both the pioneer of Afro/Hip-Hop and a prominent voice of the streets, Marley has continued to develop his music, marrying the raw, unpolished tones of UK rap, the Yoruba language, and the sounds of the diaspora as seen on God’s Timing’s The Best for a debut that features an uncompromising and unpredictable sonic palette in stark contrast to the saccharine commerciality of the Nigerian AfroPop mainstream.
Later this month, Marley will give his debut performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk as part of their Black Music Month series alongside FKA twigs, Usher, Monica, Denzel Curry, and Ravyn Lanae. Marley is also set to feature on WizKid’s upcoming new album, More Love Less Ego (MLLE), due out August 5th.
About Naira Marley:
With over 12 million combined social media followers and 300 million streams across DSPs and YouTube, Lagos-via-Peckham superstar Naira Marley is Nigeria’s most notorious Afrobeats and Hip-Hop artist who has single handedly created one of the largest cult followings in the world – a community affectionately termed the “Marlians.” The pioneer of AfroBashment, Naira’s 2014 debut track “Marry Juana” was the first to fuse the slang and accent of his birth city of Lagos with the floor-filling rhythms of Jamaican Bashment – all delivered with the charismatic road swagger of his adopted hometown of Peckham, South London.
The last two years have proven the President of the Marlian Nation is on the road to stardom. He’s given electrifying performances at WizKid’s StarBoy Fest @ London’s O2 Arena, formed his own immensely successful Marlian Music label, headlined his massive Marlian Fests drawing in upwards of 30,000 fans, skyrocketed from 100k to 6 million Instagram followers, and released a series of local chart-topping hits including “Am I A Yahoo Boy” — the infamous satirical track about fraud that saw Naira jailed by the Nigerian government in 2019.
Inspired by the success of his first US tour in December 2021, “First Time in America” gives the Marlians a taste of what to expect from his dynamic debut album and continues his ascent across the globe. On the explosive standout “Coming,” which has surpassed 20 million streams globally, Marley joins forces with South African singer Busiswa. Kicking off 2022, Marley debuted the visual for his festive Detty December jam, “Kojosese”, following a viral TikTok challenge that saw 20 million views. Marley’s sound has eschewed the saccharine commerciality of the Nigerian AfroPop mainstream, proving that hit records can still be unpredictable, wild affairs.
