Explore every episode of the podcast Underground Unreleased

Episode 21 - What’s Beef? We’re getting into all of it. We break down the Burna Boy and DJ Tunez situation - the fight at Obi’s House, the oath Burna swore on his mother invoking Ogun, and the video evidence that tells a very different story. Then we get into Odumodublvck vs Blaqbonez - the ACL beat drama, the personal backstory behind a beef that was never really about rap, and the most calculated power move in recent Nigerian hip hop history. We also revisit a debate that’s been going on since secondary school - Chris Brown vs Michael Jackson vs Usher; and where that conversation stands today. We close out with our Put You On segment: underground Nigerian and African artists you need to hear right now.

Omah Lay dropped Clarity of Mind and we have thoughts. We get into the album, the promo campaign that preceded it, and whether his bold claim of being the best artist of the last 20 years holds up when you actually press play. We also discuss two former DMW signees - Dremo and Liya - who opened up about their time under Davido, and what their stories say about the artist-label model in Nigeria. Then we address Panther7, one of our most dedicated listeners, who says Afrobeats feels stale to him right now - we get into whether he’s right, and if so, whether it’s something to worry about. We close out with our Put You On segment: five underground Nigerian artists you need to hear.

In this episode, the guys break down Burna Boy’s canceled Chicago show and his so-called “apology,” debate AI’s growing influence in Afrobeats, and dive into whether the culture is truly ready for openly LGBT artistes. They also react to a music review request from a new listener. Tap in!

The guys discuss the issues with attending Burna Boy concerts, beef between Rema and Wizkid, Mavins' new signing, Cupid, Gunna's place in Afrobeats and lots more!

Wuchi and Wale discuss whether Afrobeats needs a reset or not and what separates the underground scene from the mainstream. Also featuring an unreleased song from a dope underground artiste you should tap in with, so don't miss it!

Welcome aboard Soul Commute - a smooth ride through Soul music by Nigerian and Black artists from the diaspora. From vintage textures to modern blends, this episode captures the mood, stories, and sound of underground Soul like you’ve never heard before.

Spotlight artist: F3miii, a Dublin-based genre-bender whose Soul-leaning tracks bridge alt-R&B, gospel, and modern pop.

Also featuring Lou Val, Moses Ideka, Aussie Maze, and more.

Curated by: @Okwuchiii

Presented by: @unreleasedng

Welcome to the underground where the lights flicker, the bass hits like a curse, and the stars are ghosted on socials. This episode taps into the shadowy sound of Opium-inspired rap - dark, hypnotic, and drenched in mystery.

What started as a spotlight on South Africa’s rising underground has now evolved into a cross-continental cipher. From the haunting echoes of Drae Sativ to the glitchy growl of Nigeria’s Zaylevelten, this playlist is for the nightcrawlers and mood benders.

No backstories. No bios. Just blackout energy. Tune in.

Follow Underground Unreleased on

Twitter: @unreleasedng

Instagram: @unreleasedng

SoundCloud: Underground Unreleased

Spotify: Okwuchi Okaa

Vintage Heat, Modern Beats is a journey through the past, present, and future of Highlife music - the sound that laid the foundation for so much of today’s Afrobeats.

This episode features:

4 vintage slept-on Highlife songs

A spotlight on a modern Highlife act

Afrobeats tracks with Highlife flavor

3-4 modern Highlife records

And a final classic to close it out full circle

Whether you’re a Highlife head or just discovering the genre, this one’s a vibe.
Hit play, feel the groove, and let the culture move you.

Follow Underground Unreleased on
Twitter: @unreleasedng
Instagram: @unreleasedng
SoundCloud: Underground Unreleased
Spotify: Okwuchi Okaa

Heartbreak lingers, trust shatters, and the echoes of love lost still burn. This episode of Underground Unreleased dives deep into the raw emotions of deception, betrayal, and the struggle to move on. From lovers who played pretend to the ones who left scars, each track tells a story of heartbreak, lessons learned, and the strength to walk away. Whether you’re reminiscing about the past or finally closing the door on it, these underground gems will have you feeling every emotion.

Follow the show on

Instagram: @unreleasedng

Twitter: @unreleasedng

This episode covers everything from Afrobeats history debates to the evolving podcast industry and viral moments shaping conversations online.

We discuss Omah Lay’s controversial comments about Afrobeats and the role of Fela in the genre’s legacy, the rise of exclusivity deals in podcasting, and the viral story of Ella - a Lagos commuter whose activism highlighted transportation issues and sparked real change.

Later, we get into Ari Lennox and Tiwa Savage’s recent reflections on relationships and societal expectations, before closing out with a spotlight on emerging female artists worth checking out.

This week on Underground Unreleased, we explore the evolving landscape of Afrobeats. With fewer foreign labels giving artistes huge advances, we ask whether the genre is slowing down or simply entering a new phase. We also unpack the economics behind cultural success, including the complicated role piracy has played in spreading African music globally. The conversation then turns to female stardom in hip-hop and Afrobeats, using Ayra Starr's career as a lens to examine what it really takes for women artists to reach megastar status.

A lot of wars have started over food and this one is one of them. On the menu, we discuss Ghanaian restaurant staff attempting to take credit for egusi, break down Billboard calling Rema a one-hit wonder, Rolling Stone Africa publishing an AI article on Wizkid & Asake, Buju Banton saying Afrobeats lacks substance, and whether Mavin Records is positioning Ayra Starr like the superstar she is.

Heads up: this episode might make your head hot. Enjoy!

This week on Underground Unreleased, we're going audio-only but still doing what we do best! First, we break down Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance and debate whether any Afrobeats artist right now could’ve done it better. We talk Davido losing another Grammy to Tyla and what it’ll actually take for a Nigerian artist to win on that stage. We also unpack why Mavin Records artists aren’t connecting like they used to, and whether J. Cole stepping away from Kendrick Lamar changes how we view his legacy.

Underground or Underground | Episode 13

First episode of 2026. First, we address the gap - Detty December, travel, and why it took a minute to get back behind the mic.

Recorded during Nigeria vs Morocco, this episode turns into a wider conversation about pressure, narratives, and culture.

We unpack what “underground” means in Nigerian music today, debate the state of the Underground rap scene, and touch on:

• Ayra Starr’s recent image shift

• Seun Kuti vs Wizkid FC

• African categories at the Grammys

• Why The Headies lack credibility

• The Tyla Afrobeats debate

• Asake & Wizkid pushing back their EP

And Sleepers: two song recommendations for our listeners.

ENJOY!

On the new episode, the guys discuss Asake's Red Bull Symphonic concert, Asake and Wizkid's upcoming "Real" EP, T-Pain's status in Nigeria, the state of Hip-Hop post-war between Drake and Kendrick Lamar and lots more!

Episode 23 - Asake dropped M$NEY on May 1st and we were ready. The verdict? Album-making culture in Afrobeats is in trouble and unfortunately, M$NEY is exhibit A. We break down why one of the genre's most consistent artists delivered what might be his weakest project yet, what the absence of Olamide's pen reveals, and why being rich and being creative don't always go together. Then we get into Davido publicly mocking DJ Tunez over the Burna Boy situation - what that says about where the Big 3 dynamic actually stands right now. We also discuss Elestee parting ways with Mavin Records, why it didn't work out, and what her path forward looks like as an independent artist. We close with our Put You On segment.

Episode 22 - It's been a wild week in Afrobeats and somehow, the women keep getting blamed. We break down GoodGirl LA's contract termination with VMF less than a year after signing, Qing Madi's allegations against her former label, and the industry insiders insinuating both situations are somehow the artists' fault. Then we get into Zinoleesky going independent from Marlian Music with his new "Zinodict Music" label and what that says about artist-label relationships across generations. Fat Joe claims Afrobeats came from Jamaica and tried to take credit for making BNXN change his name; BNXN had something to say about that. We also break down the upcoming May release calendar: Asake's M$NEY, Adekunle Gold's FUJI XTRA, Drake's Iceman, plus the Tyla vs Ayra Starr July situation. We close with our Put You On segment featuring some of the underground artists who've reached out to us since the MillyMay clip.

Rap day. We flipped the format and opened with the music for once: two underground rappers we're actually fucking with (0:31). If you can't hang, sit down. Literally.

A listener hot take on whether "Afrobeats" needs to be split into real subgenres the way South Africa does and the double standard where a man can sing "I look into your eyes, I see your waist" and it's a bar, but a woman can't (8:05). We got into all of it.

Moving on (or not), Wuchi addresses Odumodublvck's comment on the pod and details a Tinubu-style setup that he sniffed out from a mile away (22:56).

Then the big one: P-Square (50:28). Blood, apparently, is not thicker than water. Jude, the 40% no manager should ever collect, the hidden Cynthia Morgan catalog, and why Peter's the one we feel for least. Plus VDM inserting himself as usual.

We close on the singles: Rema's "Tea" (what's tea?) (1:19:30), Fireboy trying something new (1:24:01), Davido's ORIADÉ and why the name doesn't fit, respectfully (1:25:54), and one more rap Put You On to send you off (1:26:25).

Put You On this week: 1DRAG, Sveti, Josi, $wvnk, and Flairr Amalii.

Follow @unreleasedng on TikTok, X, Instagram & YouTube.

Artists: send us your unreleased music.

Rate us 5 stars wherever you're listening, and pull up in the comments.

On this episode of Underground Unreleased, Wuchi sits down with Afrofusion’s next big story, Laz, fresh off signing to Wande Coal’s Black Diamond Collective.

We recorded this whole conversation once, lost it to a botched platform, and brought it back from the dead. But since the guest's name is Lazarus, we leaned all the way into it (00:00). Laz breaks down the 20 seconds of silence on "Patience" that had me convinced it was a listener test (03:08), before taking us all the way back to a childhood split between Sierra Leone and Nigeria in a house full of Brenda Fassie and Bonnie M, where the same parents who filled it with music became the first people to try to shut it down (06:00). We trace the lyric books and golden-age Naija rap that shaped his ear through the uni years and his first recorded song (15:30), the six years he spent as a ₦60K-a-month spa manager before running to Lagos on a ticket a friend paid for (23:45), and the random writers' camp that turned into Wande Coal himself asking "Where is Laz?" (41:00). He gets candid on what signing to Black Diamond actually looks like and why melody is expensive (48:00), the real stories behind "Body Language" and "Patience," which weren't pulled from one relationship (51:00), and whether Afrobeats is really dead (1:00:00). We close with raw, no-PR reviews of submissions from LeMon, MJ Papi, Biola, and MarellaXVL (1:04:00), plus one last word for anyone still grinding: don't give up (1:18:00). And much more.

Follow Laz:
Instagram / X / TikTok: @_itzlaz
Stream Laz's "Body Language" EP:

Spotify -https://open.spotify.com/album/0k36RIxFmkZG0OIgHGfr5j

Apple Music - https://music.apple.com/us/album/body-language/1882876223

Follow Underground Unreleased:
Instagram / X / TikTok / YouTube: @unreleasedng

Artists: send your music for review to unreleasedng@gmail.com

Episode 29 -

Back on the pod and we came in hot. The "sun-kissed" debate kicks things off before we get anywhere near the music (0:00).

We handled it appropriately. 100 lashes, town square.World Cup season had us all the way in: Messi's silence on his teammates' antics, England vs. Argentina, and an Argentine restaurant with an unreal name (5:00). Yeah; we're rocking with Spain.

Olodo Uprising, round two (9:13): why the comments missed the point, and the hypocrisy of hopping on Carter Efe's platform right after clowning Peller for the exact same thing.

Mid-year album check (24:47): Asake, Omah Lay, Wande Coal, and the uncomfortable truth that six months in, nobody has an Album of the Year. Omah Lay promised the best Afrobeats album in 20 years and ghosted his own rollout. There's a funding problem nobody wants to name.

Davido talk (31:50): the No 11/Toye situation, why "upcoming" isn't a compliment, and a first listen to the new single before it drops. Wale also has some advice for Toye.

Tyla's "recorded around monkeys and bugs" comments got exactly the reaction you'd expect (48:36).

The Odumodublvck vs Blaqbonez ₦2B lawsuit (52:41) and why picking and choosing who you call out kills your own argument.

Closing with underground reviews and a premiere: Kaya by Toje (unreleased), Hold Me by Biola, plus cuts from TR Gobrazy and unreleased Latino Perrico (1:06:29).

Follow @unreleasedng on TikTok, X, Instagram & YouTube.

Mr P dropped "Can't Look Away" and the internet is gassing it up - except the lyrics, the vocals, and the cover art all scream AI. I break down exactly why, why Davido's co-sign doesn't change that, and why an OG with Mr P's catalogue shouldn't need a robot to write his hooks. Then I get into the escalating Qing Madi situation - her TikTok Live callout of JTON's CEO, the EP that got pulled from streaming, and the second lawsuit from Richie Music Empire claiming she breached an earlier contract before ever signing with JTON. Two label heads, two lawsuits, one artist. I lay out where I stand and why.

Follow the podcast on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter: @unreleasedng

Ody joins Wuchi for a different kind of episode on Episode 26.

It's time for the P-Square brothers to hang up their individual music careers and we explain exactly why.

Davido dropped a snippet too, and we discuss whether he's rewarming rice. We also talk about the company he keeps: what Cubana Chief Priest's "Cemetery Chillin" moment at a funeral says about his character, and how being surrounded by people like that might be costing Davido creatively.

Then it's Qing Madi; we break down the difference in songwriting between I Am the Blueprint and the new Barely Legal EP, and what that shift tells you about where she's heading.

We also get into something bigger: whether the decline of Hip-Hop is part of why Afrobeats feels stale right now, and how the early 2000s Hip-Hop influence shaped the Afrobeats artists we grew up on.

Before you dive in, follow us on TikTok, Twitter and Instagram: @unreleasedng

Episode 25 - We're back on video and Wale took over song selection.We revisit the South Africa boycott stance after a listener pushed back. The argument: you can't selectively condemn - if Nigerian artists stay silent on domestic issues, advocating for boycotting SA artists is hypocritical. We unpack the accompanying receipts and discuss whether it's the proof the argument needed and why holding the people advocating for accountability to a higher standard than the people perpetrating violence can come off as its own kind of dishonest.Then it's Drake. Iceman is out and we sit with it. We discuss how the impact of the beef on Drake shows on the album and whether Drake does the telling of his experience justice. We also address some of the criticism of the album and our expectations of Drake's next album should he be independent.Afrobeats artists are leaning on AI for cover art and visualizers and it's getting harder to ignore. We name names and discuss whether or not their usage of AI is justified and acceptable and under what circumstances.The final discussion involves Wuchi addressing some of the criticism he received for his review of Asake and Wizkid's REAL EP and he details why his critique has been vindicated.The episode ends with a review of two song submissions.Heads up - next episode is audio-only. Find it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Follow us on TikTok, Twitter and Instagram: @unreleasedng

South Africa is in the streets - mobs, machetes, students being chased out of schools, two Nigerians dead...and Nigerian artists are nowhere to be found. We open with the full timeline of the xenophobic attacks, the political response on both sides, and the question that keeps going unanswered: where is the solidarity?

Then we turn to the music. Asake's Flaunt interview tells you more about M$NEY than the album does; we break down what he actually said and what it means for where he goes from here. Seyi Vibez called Adekunle Gold wack on Twitter. AG posted his North American orchestra tour link and kept it moving. We discuss. Rihanna used Ayra Starr's music in her Met Gala recap and the internet has been at war ever since, so we get into what's really up and what the July timeline actually tells you about who's playing chess here.

We close on Burna Boy and Shakira as the official FIFA 2026 World Cup song and what it means that Nigerian music is the global soundtrack of a tournament Nigeria didn't qualify for.

Put You On features Ema Onigah, Roju, Makinde, and Tay Iwar

Three-mic episode. Taiwo pulled up as our biggest Davido fan on record, and we came in wrecked from the Asake concert the night before. We switched things up again and opened with the music: Kimi's "Westside Tides," Guess where he's from. We liked the song so much that we also got suspicious about whether AI had something to do with it (1:28)

Two listener hot takes and one hot hate: is Ayra Starr getting the push she deserves post-Roc Nation - especially at the same level Tems has gotten a push? (6:25) And is Davido really "a talentless hack"? Yeah, we'll answer that one. Rage bait or not (10:19).

We then kicked things off in Chicago at Asake’s tour opener, rating the vibes, the crowd energy, and whether the performance actually hit or fell flat (13:02)

PYO (24:25)

And then we got into the main event: Odumodublvck vs. Blaqbonez. Again. Except this time, there was a lot more to unpack. Odumodu's wife responds to the pod, Blaqbonez gives his side, allegations of harassment and threats, the 32 calls, the Ghana trip, conflicting stories, shifting language, and why we're still nowhere close to knowing the full truth. At some point, the whole thing stopped being a rap beef and started looking like a courtroom drama (27:41)

Speaking of bad blood: Davido and Wande Coal. Why the unreleased verse never came out, whether Davido was right to reject the remix, and whether Wande had been harboring resentment for years. Plus, why does everybody seem to crash out at Davido specifically over his talent? (1:00:09)

To wrap up, we discussed Ayra Starr and Llona's albums (1:07:57)

Put You On this week: Kimi - Westside Tides, Kaestyle - Cairo, and Kemuel - Pitakwa Girls Riddim.

Follow @unreleasedng on TikTok, X, Instagram & YouTube. Artists: send us your unreleased music.

Rate us 5 stars wherever you're listening, and pull up in the comments.