Fresh off the release of his second EP ‘Grit and Lust’, Zinoleesky is on an expansive media and UK tour and he’s been hard to pin down. But after two weeks of trying, we’re on a call. When I mention that he strikes me as a reserved figure, he laughs. "You're actually good at reading people," he reels off with light-hearted joy that dominates the rest of our conversation as we discuss his meteoric rise to fame.

Born Oniyide Azeez within the hard-knock streets of Agege in Lagos, Zino’s music career sprung to life off a viral freestyle he posted with his friends in February 2019. Within weeks, pictures and videos sprung up on social media of him hanging out with superstars Davido, Kizz Daniel and Naira Marley and he was soon officially announced as a Marlian Music artist. Once signee, he embarked on releasing a stupendous run of critically acclaimed songs including ‘Caro’, ‘Ma Pariwo’ and the self-assured ‘Kilofeshe’, asserting the emergence of a new street-pop prodigy.

He rounded off 2020 with his six-track debut EP ‘Chrome’, which was rare in that it boasted not a single artist collaboration. “The lack of features was intentional. Then, I felt like I had something to prove,” he confesses. However, ‘Chrome’ did birth the lethal artist-producer relationship between Zino and Niphkeys. The pair’s infallible chemistry has produced multiple hit records and enlarged the soundscape of street-pop, with the duo expanding as far as interpolating fuji legend, Malaika on ‘Naira Marley’, and sampling cult hero Asa on ‘Loving You’. “Sometimes it comes from me, but the Asa one came from Niphkeys. I remember when he played the beat, the Asa instrumental was already on it.” He goes on to hum the instrumental over the phone before adding that he recorded the song on a whim, proving that following his gut has always paid off.

With his hybrid fusion of fuji, afro-pop and amapiano, Zino has become a resounding voice of influence among the Nigerian youth, embodying their struggles through his music and soundtracking their parties with his feel-good rhythms. “I come from the street and am influenced by it, but when I look at my music, what I see is authenticity and a genuine piece of art,” he muses. It’s his honest and occasionally lewd storytelling that breathes distinct life into his music and sets him apart. And now a hometown hero with 300 million plays and three Billboard-charting singles under his belt, Zino speaks warmly about Agege. “It feels really exciting because, if I look back at where I came from, I actually know how people feel because I have been in their shoes.”

On ‘Grit and Lust’ the artist is presenting an experimental but grounded version of his sound, retaining his realness in a varied blend of different genres. “The grit stands for the power of me trying to achieve, trying to grow bigger. The lust is me trying to explore new things. It is based on my current situation,” he explains. This time around, Zino has ushered collaborators into his sonic universe for the first time, namely Omah Lay and Ayra Starr. “I dm’ed Omah Lay on Instagram. I am a big fan because his music is different,” he says. The EP has also given rise to his two latest singles, ‘Personal’ and ‘Yan Yan Yan’. In the video for the latter, he’s enjoying the high life surrounded by beautiful women while in the former, he explores the emotional and spiritual struggles of being a rising star in Nigeria.

Now fully embracing creative collaborations, Zino’s just jumped on Adekunle Gold’s new song, ‘Party No Dey Stop’ and joins Feranbanks on ‘Cityboiz’. And as he embarks on his sold out UK tour and works on his highly anticipated debut album, he still manages to stay focussed on simply relishing the things that bring him happiness. While some people on the internet have jokingly labelled him a modern-day Martin Luther King because of the resonance of his lyrics and the weight of his words, I wonder how he really stays motivated. “I just try to stay stress free, and I listen to music.”

Zinoleesky’s EP ‘Grit and Lust’ is out now. Discover it here.