By Our Correspondent
Nigerian singer Belliyah records Afrobeats and pop songs before switching to reggae on her most recent singles, Different and Smile.
They are created by the independent New York-based business Tuffgig Music Empire.
Different addresses racism, whereas Smile is an energetic lovers’ rock song. Jamaican musicians are present in both.
Belliyah, a radio host in Lagos, started making music three years ago. Following a promising 2022, she is optimistic as she begins the New Year.
Nigerian Singer Belliyah
It required a great deal of learning, unlearning, and relearning. In 2022, the recognition reached a new peak, and that gave me the confidence to carry on,” she said. “And I suppose working with Hardy Jimbaz made the successful push more and more attainable. Tuffgig Music Empire’s leadership is Jimbaz. Former reggae performer from Lagos who spent many years in New York and collaborated with a number of Jamaican artists and musicians.
Afro-roots-reggae, a fusion of native sounds from his native country and music with Rastafarian influences that he first heard in the 1980s, was introduced by him in 2022.
Sidney Mills, a seasoned keyboardist best known for his work with Steel Pulse, Shabba Ranks, Aswad, and currently Big Mountain, provided support for Belliyah on Different and Smile. Mills is an English native who was raised in Jamaica.
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Guitarist Shelton Garner and veteran bassist Ras Droppa, who has performed with Worl-A-Girl and Easy Star All-Stars, also contributed to the songs.
Jimbaz expressed his “pretty excited” about his most recent reggae endeavors to the Jamaica Observer.
Even so, in this instance, I’m aligning with and directing it toward my artists. Because of their versatility and a shared love of reggae music, he continued, “and the fact that I personally was a reggae artiste before I became a music producer—all the way up to having my own label—made it so easy to flow with them.
Previous music by Belliyah includes the Afrobeats song For You and the Gaelic ballad Hussh
