.::Snapshot ::.

“Mo is my name, Music is my Logo”

Name: Moelogo

Talent: Singer/Songwriter

Country: Nigeria

Location: London

Achievements: Nominated MOBO’s ‘Best African Act’ (2015 & 2016). UK Entertainment Award, ‘Diaspora Artist of the Year’.

He took the UK Urban music scene by storm in 2014, with his single ‘Baddest’ ft Giggs, where he effortlessly blurred the lines between Afrobeats and UK Grime. Creating a new sound that has evolved to become one of the hottest music styles to come out of the UK in 2016 aka AfroGrime. On the verge of dropping his highly anticipated new single “shine your light” on March 31st, let’s take a look at the man behind the music….

Humble Beginnings

Born and bred in Lagos Nigeria, Mohammed Animashaun better known by his stage name Moelogo, moved to Peckham South London in 2001 at the tender age of 14. His love for music however, was born when he joined his secondary school choir, where he used the opportunity to train and explore his voice. He fondly recalls singing for fun and imitating other musicians such as R Kelly and Usher, who ultimately have influenced some of the ways in which he delivers his vocals today. Fast-forward 10 years later to December 2010, he finally got his big break at a performance in Gambia with Jamaican reggae artist Busy Signal, where he won over a crowd of 60,000 people with his rich vocals and infectious energy.

New York City to London Olympics

Still on a high from the positive experience of his debut performance in Gambia, Moelogo focused his efforts on making his musical dream come to life. This saw him take a trip in 2011 to the concrete jungle (New York), where he spent 6 months drawing inspiration and challenging himself to write songs using a combination of English and his native language Yoruba. He eventually perfected this art and went on to pen his first track ‘Indomie’ ft Kwamz & Flava, where we see him effortlessly switch between Yoruba and English on a Naeto C and Davido inspired beat. Following the success of this single, Moelogo was given the opportunity to participate in the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony and later went on to perform at the Africa Unplugged festival with the likes of 2Face idibia, Femi Kuti, Sarkodie and Iyanya.

But it doesn’t stop there in March 2013, Moelogo was chosen by DJ Edu to be a part of the ‘BBC 1xtra’s Introduction sessions, held at the iconic Maida Vale studios’. During this session he teamed up with artists such as Bayoz Muzik, Christopher Ellis and other rising stars to deliver one of the most musically diverse sessions to date. The exposure gained from these collaborations along with numerous performances given across the UK, US and Africa, have made Moelogo into a household name.

Over the Years

Over the past years Moelogo has hit our air waves with the smash hits ‘Do you love me’ (2016), ‘My Sweetie (2015)’ and ‘My City’ ft. the renown British Poet Suli Breaks (2016). My city is the first single released off of his Sophomore EP Ìréti, which was premiered by the international tastemakers The FADER. According to The Fader, the EP “anchors floating, sticky melodies with the kind of buoyant percussion and gut-wrenching bass that’ll make you buss a wine wherever you are. The opening track in particular, ‘Plenty Plenty,’ sounds like a frozen drink gripped tight at an outdoor party. The project gets its title from the Yoruba word for ‘hope’—a sentiment you can hear all over the final song “Ireti,” a triumphant power ballad done Naija-style”. A simple yet powerful message, never ever give up hope when life gets you down.

He ended 2016 with a bang when he was nominated for the 2nd year running for The MOBO Awards “Best African Act” 2016. Shortly after, he delivered a killer hit ‘Rora Se’ ft. the popular Yoruba artist Adekunle Gold, which sees both artists give stunning vocals over a fluid acoustic guitar arrangement.

Although, only having been on the music scene for a short space of time he has already made his mark and is now the “one to watch” in 2017. Looking at his Instagram, Youtube and other social media handles, it is clear that he is a humble individual, often crediting his fans and God to be the reason behind his music and making it known to his followers that he is just the same a everybody. Join us in celebrating this humble talent and make sure to look out for his highly anticipated single “Shine your Light (sometimes I pray)” ft, Tiggs Da Author which is out on March 31st.