This story is taken from the spring 2026 issue of Dazed, which is on sale internationally now. Order a copy of the magazine here.

All over the world, Gen Zs are transforming rap music. Terminally online Brits have formed the viral UK Ug scene. American rappers like Nettspend and 2slimey have developed a chaotic distortion reflective of information overload online. And Chinese artists like Billionhappy and Sebii have pioneered the Nu China rap scene – in many ways, the country’s first true youth culture movement. Perhaps less documented, however, is how these generational shifts manifest in Nigeria, which houses one of the largest Gen Z populations of all.

Leading the charge is Ikorudu-born, Lagos-based producer-rapper Zaylevelten, whose musical upbringing was skewed between the pervasiveness of online American rap sonics, and the rich spectrum of African dance music that dominated his physical reality. These influences coalesce on recent mixtape then 1t g0t crazy, in which the bouncing basslines of South African gqom are infused with a distortion reminiscent of rage rap 808s and the shuffling rhythms of Nigerian superstar Naira Marley’s street pop are redeployed as a vehicle for hyper-compressed Ug-style rap verses. “My music is the border where hip hop and core Nigerian music meet to procreate the ‘burti’ [vibe],” Zaylevelten tells Dazed. “I mix the influences I get from the Western world with my African roots.” 

This fusion might come naturally to someone of Zaylevelten’s generation, but it marks a radical shift in Nigerian music. Over the last decade, the country has become synonymous with the pop-adjacent Afrobeats sounds of Wizkid and Burna Boy, but Zaylevelten’s globetrotting collision of Playboi Carti-esque rage rap with the distinct lingo and driving clave rhythms of sub-Saharan Africa represents the country’s sonic future. “I used to save up a gigabyte of data to see what was going on in underground scenes worldwide,” Zaylevelten recalls. “I’ve always wanted to do everything different, whether it’s how I talk, sing, rap or dress.”

This is particularly apparent in the heady mix of lingo in which Zaylevelten raps, deftly juggling Nigerian Pidgin (‘burti’), UK (‘calm’) and US (‘peak’) slang with words entirely of his own creation (‘tenski’) in his verses.  “The lingo is just another way to tell us from them,” he tells Dazed. Zaylevelten isn’t just bridging worlds in his music; he’s building his own.

Below, rising Nigerian star Zaylevelten further unpacks the origins of this new sound. 

What’s Ikorodu like? Are there many successful artists from there?

Zaylevelten: It’s calm, not a bad place to live, and nothing really happens over there. I know there are people like Zlatan, Seyi Vibez, Patorankin, and some other people who came out from there, so there are for sure successful people who came out from Ikorodu.

Where did your name come from?

Zaylevelten: ‘Zay’ came from a rapper I used to listen to when I was younger. I just liked the name, so I took it. The ten is a reference to how we call things that we perceive as peak: 10s. I added the ‘level’ in there because I like longer names. My producer friend elemen3 was the first to ever call me tenski, and I liked it so I kept it.

You’ve got a lot of co-signs from the UK scene. Do you have a close relationship with the UK?

Zaylevelten: I think there’s an international movement going on, and we all just love what we have going on in our own territories. My management has an imprint in the UK underground and from there everything has just organically been connected. I hope to further strengthen the connection between us when I eventually go there.

Do you produce your own beats?

Zaylevelten: Yeah, like 70 per cent of my last project was my own production.

Although people didn't believe it before, we’re doing shows with 1000 people in them, and they’re sold out; it’s definitely the right time.

There’s obviously been a lot of successful Afrobeats artists from Nigeria, but less so from the rap lane. Do you think the scene is still waiting for the right moment?

Zaylevelten: The scene is definitely ready now, me and all my guys doing it are ready to take over. Although people didn’t believe it before, we’re doing shows with 1000 people in them and they’re sold out, it’s definitely the right time.

You mentioned there’s a lot of underground rap talent at the moment. Do you think there’s a bit of a movement taking place now?

Zaylevelten: No doubt, there’s so much talent in our scene in Nigeria and not even one per cent has been publicly acknowledged yet. Read this again next year, and you’ll see what I mean.

To learn more about Nigeria’s emerging underground rap scene, check out this article. 

Photographic assistant Theresa Ejembi, styling assistants Lola Amu, Charles Ndiomu and Maia Burt.