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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Mary Chiney and Ben Beaumont-Thomas

Add to playlist: the introspective ‘Afromood’ of Nigerian star Strei and the week’s best new tracks

Strei.
Darkness as a zone of release … Strei. Photograph: Olaniyan Oluwapelumi p/k/a Lumigraphy

From Delta State, Nigeria
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Born and raised in Delta State and now based in Lagos, Strei is part of a new generation of Nigerian musicians turning away from Afropop’s extroverted certainties and towards something more inward-looking. His self-described “Afromood” sound retains the melodic instincts of contemporary Nigerian pop, but softens them into something more atmospheric and emotionally porous. There are traces of Omah Lay in his melancholic delivery, and of the late Juice WRLD in his confessional songwriting, but Strei’s music doesn’t feel like a mix of influences so much as a deliberate attempt to find emotional clarity.

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