Nonso Amadi makes epic returns with New Song “Foreigner”
Following the release of the 2019 Free EP, Nonso Amadi made the conscious decision to step away from social media and paused the release of music — all to take a deeper dive into his artistry and separate from noise and distraction. Today, Canadian-based Afro-R&B, soul singer, songwriter, and producer from Nigeria, Nonso Amadi, makes an illustrious return releasing a new track “Foreigner,” proudly presented with management team; Jade Busola and Quiet As Kept (Trung Hoang, Gavin Sheppard) alongside label partners Def Jam Recordings stateside and Universal Music Canada, offering the opportunity to strategically focus on a range of key global markets, including his native region in Nigeria.
“Foreigner” showcases Nonso’s duality, a smooth and seductive record that contains African drumlines, trance-like saxophone instrumentation, and is layered with other soulful jazz elements. Nonso describes the track further, “during the process of creating Foreigner I was driven by the idea of making a song that addressed both my disappearance from the music scene and the typical love drama my R&B-self is typically drawn to making.” Nonso continues, “The way I achieved this was by having the song feel like it has emphatic highs and lows. It starts heavy with the drums and chant but then it breathes a little in the verses; allowing me to sing calmly about the topics I mentioned earlier before going back to a heavily drum-laid chorus.” In speaking about returning to music, Nonso explains, “I felt like I needed such a pronounced yet groovy re-entry to the scene to express all the pent-up feelings I’ve held in while keeping it light and easily palatable for listeners.”
Nonso celebrates the release of “Foreigner” today from his hometown of Lagos, Nigeria surrounded by the family and fans that nurtured his early aspirations while fuelling his global forays. Nonso has since cemented himself in the next generation of artists bringing Alte, Afro-R&B to the international stage.
ABOUT NONSO AMADI
Beginning his musical career while studying in Nigeria at Covenant University and then Swansea University in the UK. Nonso Amadi transformed into a sonic-globetrotter after his move to Canada – leading him to fuse the soul & rhythm of African music with modern soft textures of R&B. With an affinity for contemporary R&B, Nonso developed a desire to explore North America and Africa in equal parts – citing Toronto-native Drake’s genre-hopping capability as an inspiration for his own creative fluidity. Nonso’s music is powered by borderless infusions and intention. “I really loved Mary J Blige, Brandy, Wyclef Jean, Paul Play. I love R&B because it’s slow enough to allow you to feel,” he says of his early experiences with the artform.
Photo credit: TSE
Nonso’s refreshingly honest yet tranquil approach to music has allowed the likes of Juls, Santi, and Odunsi The Engine — the latter of whom he collaborated with on the War EP’ — to entrench his arrival across Nigeria and the continent at large across the late ‘10’s. With over 100,000+ million streams across platforms, Nonso Amadi refuses to be the typical straight A-student stereotype. Instead, he stands tall as a constantly evolving, textured lyricist able to translate Alte, Afro-fusion and hip-hop into his R&B-canvassed approach to storytelling, best represented on his last EP Free (2019), which features Afrobeat’s heavyweights Simi and Mr. Eazi.
In 2019, Nonso made the conscious decision to step away from social media and paused the release of music — all to take a deeper dive into his artistry and separate from noise and distraction. Unaware of the global pandemic looming, Nonso’s time to cleanse and create was stretched into a long hiatus. Currently recording his debut album, with the support of Universal Music Canada and an international team — the now 26-year-old, Nonso Amadi is determined to shed even more of his creative skin. “I want listeners to hear this next project and know who I am and what I’ve gone through. I want to make great songs that tell my story”.
Published on HOLR Magazine.