Tomi Agape is a Nigerian Afro-fusion,

neo-soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contem ...

, and

alternative R&B Alternative R&B (also referred to as alt-R&B, indie R&B, and originally known as PBR&B, hipster R&B, emo R&B, or R-Neg-B) is a term used by music journalists to describe a stylistic alternative to contemporary R&B that began in the mid 2000s and ...

singer, and songwriter. She is part of the Nigerian

Alté Alté (locally pronounced as "ahl-teh") is a fusion genre of music that combines elements of afrobeats, dancehall, reggae, hip hop, and alternative R&B. The term was coined in the 2010s by Nigerian music group DRB LasGidi, meaning alternative ...

scene. Her breakthrough single "In The Night", features

Nonso Amadi Chinonso Obinna Amadi (born September 1, 1995) is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and music producer. He is a self-taught songwriter and music producer who embarked on his music career in 2012, while at Covenant University, where he studied chemical ...

. In 2020, she released an extended play ''Never Gunna Be the Same'', which included the tracks "London", "Better", and "Lovers Rock". She also contributed vocals on

Cruel Santino Osayaba Andrew Ize-Iyamu, better known by his stage name Cruel Santino, is a Nigerian alternative singer-songwriter, rapper and director. He is a member of Monster Boys collective, with music producers Genio Bambino, and GMK. He was signed to Int ...

's song "Rapid Fire".

Early life

Tomi Agape was born in 1996 in

North West London The NW (North Western) postcode area, also known as the London NW postcode area, is a group of 13 postcode districts covering around 13,895 live postcodes within part of northwest London, England. It is the successor of the NW sector, originall ...

. She credited her Dad for her early music experience. In a conversation with

BellaNaija ''BellaNaija'' is a Nigerian lifestyle, entertainment, and fashion website headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. History BellaNaija was founded by Uche Eze in 2006. In its early form, BellaNaija featured scanned magazine articles, pictures, and in ...

, Tomi said; I grew up in a household filled with music and would wake up to old school RnB/Jazz/Hip Hop on Saturday mornings. Her dad played a lot of

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997) was a Nigerians, Nigerian musician and political activist. He is regarded as the principal innovator of Afrobeat, a Nigerian music genre t ...

's songs. She studied Performing Arts in university and once I got that degree I knew it was time to face the music, she tells Bella.

Career

Music

Tomi launched her career in 2015 on SoundCloud and went on to release "Go There" featuring

Eugy Eugene Entsir, professionally known as Eugy, is a Ghanaian-British singer, rapper, and songwriter. Career Eugy started writing and recording music at around age 14, having moved to London, UK from Ghana eight years prior. He originally started ...

, and "La La La" featuring

Ladipoe Ladipo Eso popularly known as Ladipoe or Poe, is a Nigerian rapper and singer. On 28 February 2017, Ladipoe signed a record deal with Mavin Records. He rose to prominence with the song "Feel Alright" where he got featured by Show Dem Camp, SDC "Sh ...

, both produced by

Juls Julian Nii Ayitey Adjin Nicco-Annan (born 25 October 1985), better known by his stage name Juls, is a British-Ghanaian record producer, disc jockey, and musician. He is known for his music contributions, particularly in Afrobeats circles, and fo ...

, who also introduced her to the public, with Bizzle Osikoya

In 2018, she released "In The Night", featuring

, independently through The Plug. "In The Night" music video premiered on

Soundcity TV Soundcity TV is a 24-hour Nigerian lifestyle and music channel based in Lagos from Consolidated Media Associates Limited. Soundcity TV describes itself as a "pan-African urban music TV channel." Soundcity TV is a popular TV station and showcase ...

and was released on 30 May 2018. In 2019, she featured on

's single "Rapid Fire". In the same year, she was on the line-up of

Felabration Felabration is an annual music festival conceived in 1998 by Yeni Anikulapo-Kuti in memory and celebration of her father Fela Kuti, a Nigerian musician and human rights activist known for pioneering the Afrobeat genre of music. The one-week-lon ...

London, and opened for

Show Dem Camp Show Dem Camp (SDC) is a Nigerian rap duo composed of Wale Davies (Tec) and Olumide Ayeni (Ghost). Personal lives The duo were born in Nigeria but lived and grew up in European cities and the United States before returning to Lagos to pursue a ...

's Palmwine Festival UK show. In 2021, she was on the line-up of

's Palmwine Music Festival London show.

Other brand

In 2024, Tomi started her footwear company known as Guapé.

Artistry

Clash Magazine ''Clash'' is a music and fashion magazine and website based in the United Kingdom. It is published four times a year by Music Republic Ltd, whose predecessor Clash Music Ltd went into liquidation. The magazine won awards including the Best New M ...

'' writer Robin Murray, described her sound as filtering together R&B vocals, trap production, and elements of afrobeats. Robin also opined that Tomi Agape has constructed a sound that is entirely her own.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agape, Tomi Living people 1996 births Nigerian contemporary R&B singers English-language singers from Nigeria Nigerian alté singers Nigerian musicians Nigerian soul musicians