Belly Squad

In 2014 the South-East London trio Belly Squad came together when cousins Ty and Ross Jombla, who share West African heritage, teamed with school friend Remmi Maxwell, professionally known as Yung Max, whose father once performed with the roots reggae band Revolutionary Dub Warriors. The name itself stems from the slang expression “hit the belly,” denoting the attainment of widespread success. Early practice took the form of covers of Stormzy and Travis Scott, yet the group’s true emergence arrived in 2016 with their debut original single “Banana,” sparked by a short looping clip that Ty had uploaded and that quickly circulated online.

They developed the fragment into a finished track inside a home-constructed studio alongside local producer G.A., then filmed an economical video to accompany it. The resulting cut, packed with memorable hooks and overt sexual innuendo, spread rapidly across the internet and accumulated millions of views; a slower, dub-oriented remix carrying additional guest appearances soon matched that reach. Both versions appeared on the 2017 Banana EP. Live dates followed across the U.K., culminating in a 2017 slot at London’s Meltdown Festival, programmed by M.I.A. Additional singles, among them “Missing,” continued to surface at a steady pace, many receiving their first exposure on major online channels. Their approach fused the then-rising Afrobeat style with dancehall and rap, producing a narcotic, undulating aesthetic.