Afro Soul Stories

Ghanaian-Filipino alt-pop artist Anabel Rose joins Afro Soul Stories to talk about bringing pop to an Afrobeats city, and the song that told her to quit her 9-to-5.In Accra in 2022, fresh out of university and working in marketing, Anabel started taking a pop-rock song to open mics where everyone else was performing Afrobeats and hiplife. She thought nobody would want to hear it. Instead, people leaned in. Three years later she's played Reeperbahn and The Great Escape, done a Berlin residency, and had "How I Want It" named one of Apple Music Africa's Best Songs of 2025.Host Sewor Okudzeto and Anabel talk about:- Debuting with "Love Me or Die" and life as an independent artist- Writing "Do Not Disturb" in the middle of a 9-to-5, and what the lyrics told her- Her Berlin co-creation residency with Black Girls Glow and Musicboard Berlin- Collaborating with AVIT on "Buruma Buruma" and Celeste Ojatula on "Traveler"- Navrongo roots, Filipino karaoke and where the soul in her voice comes from- Her new EP, How Do The Flowers Bloom- Why Ghana needs more artists committed to sowing the seeds"Who knows, 10 years down the line, what is going to be born out of all of us being brave enough to put our art out there." — Anabel RoseThanks to M3NSA for the introduction.🌹 Stream Anabel Rose: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3eVgQnpc2p4D7ora60WBKb📸 Follow her: @theanabelrose🎙️ About Afro Soul StoriesAfro Soul Stories, hosted by Sewor Okudzeto, explores the roots, rhythms and creative journeys of African and diaspora artists, where music meets memory and culture meets innovation.📺 Watch on YouTube: @Afro-Soul-Stories📸 Instagram: @afrosoulstories | @sewor_music🌍 https://www.afrosoulstories.com | https://www.seworokudzeto.com✉️ [email protected] | [email protected] the show so you never miss an episode.

Artist Akadi Sankofa, who records as Trees with Roots, joins Sewor Okudzeto on Afro Soul Stories to talk Afrofuturism, hip-hop, funk and his new EP, Black to the Future.Akadi breaks down what Afrofuturism means to him and takes us inside the world of the new record: Gabriel Rose, Dark Matter, the melanin aliens and a journey through "space and rhyme". He traces his inspirations from Nas and hip-hop back through funk, blues and the spirituals, and shares how his family traced their roots to the Ewe people of Ghana, Togo and Benin. He also speaks openly about his mental health and how art became his therapy. Plus: why his music lives on Bandcamp, Sankofa Smoothies, and what nature and community have taught him.This episode includes frank discussion of mental health crisis and hospital admission.Hear Akadi Sankofa's music as Trees with RootsBandcamp: https://treeswithroots.bandcamp.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/treeswithrootsWatch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-VQ8FltuZiYAbout Afro Soul StoriesAfro Soul Stories, hosted by Sewor Okudzeto, explores the roots, rhythms and creative journeys of African and diaspora artists — where music meets memory and culture meets innovation.Follow the show so you don't miss the next conversation, and leave a rating if this one moved you.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afrosoulstoriesWebsite: https://www.afrosoulstories.comContact: [email protected]

What does home mean when your music has carried you across three continents? Cameroonian balafonist, composer and music educator Obase-Aboli joins Sewor Okudzeto on Afro Soul Stories to talk highlife, belonging and the business of music.Obase-Aboli's journey runs from Cameroon to Abu Dhabi, Ghana and now the UK. He explains how he plays two balafons side by side — one tuned for the "white keys", one for the "black keys" — so he can play every note with a full band. He talks about why four years in Ghana and its highlife tradition reshaped his sound, how Cameroon holds nearly every form of balafon found across the continent, and why musicians need to understand that music is a business with a brand behind it.We also talk about his band Ban'tikar – The African Spy Band and the question at the heart of their new project: what happens when you're not fully home here, and no longer fully home there?📺 See the balafon in action — watch the full video episode on YouTube: [ADD YOUTUBE LINK]🎵 Follow Obase-AboliInstagram: @obaseaboliofficialWebsite: https://abolimusic.com🎧 Follow Afro Soul Stories so you never miss an episode, and leave a rating — it helps new listeners find conversations with artists shaping the sound of the African diaspora worldwide.🎙️ About Afro Soul StoriesAfro Soul Stories, hosted by Sewor Okudzeto, explores the roots, rhythms and creative journeys of African and diaspora artists — where music meets memory and culture meets innovation.📺 YouTube: @Afro-Soul-Stories📸 Instagram: @afrosoulstories | @sewor_music🌍 https://www.afrosoulstories.com | https://www.seworokudzeto.com✉️ [email protected] | [email protected]

Steelpan artist, composer and educator Damoi Morgan joins Sewor Okudzeto on Afro Soul Stories to explore the remarkable history and evolution of the steel pan.Born in Brooklyn with Trinidadian and Jamaican roots, Damoi reflects on his journey from school music rooms in New York to research and performance across Senegal, South Africa and London.We discuss the steel pan’s transformation from an instrument shaped by colonial suppression into a global symbol of Caribbean creativity, alongside Damoi’s own artistic development, his album Reflections Abroad, and the experiences that continue to shape the way he composes, performs and teaches.A conversation about music, migration, heritage and the continuing evolution of one of the world’s youngest instruments.

Gbogboade joins Sewor Okudzeto on Afro Soul Stories to discuss his journey from Nigeria to the UK and the evolution of his distinctive sound.Born in Port Harcourt and shaped by Lagos, the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist blends Neo Soul, Afro Fusion and downtempo influences into music that feels intimate, reflective and entirely his own.We explore his growth as an artist, the 2025 EP Where Do We Go?, and his latest 2026 project, Bastard!.One of the most compelling new voices emerging from the Nigerian diaspora.