British-Nigerian Afropop singer Maleek Berry got his start producing tracks for such artists as Wande Coal and Wizkid before releasing his own material.
∙ Berry’s futuristic 2016 single “On Fire” helped to popularize Afrotrap, a style that combines dancehall’s lyrical flirtiness with grime’s rhythms and occasional Afrobeat guitars and horns. ∙ The video for his urbane breakthrough hit, 2016’s “Kontrol,” has been viewed more than 90 million times. ∙ In 2016, Berry contributed a guest mix to FADER World Radio on Beats 1. ∙ At the 2017 MOBO Awards, which spotlight achievements in music of Black origin, he was nominated for Best Male Act and Best African Act. ∙ Isolation Room, the 2020 EP that he recorded while quarantining, features the laidback track “Balance”—his first work with Nigerian singer-songwriter Tiwa Savage (Beyoncé, Fantasia).
