Mannywellz

Mannywellz fuses melody, raps, syncopation, structured chord progressions, and hip-hop beats into tracks shaped by soul, rap, and pop alongside his West African heritage. The Maryland artist first presented his refined method on the 2014 EP WellZ before issuing his debut album, SoulFro, in 2017. Later wide-ranging projects arrived with Mirage in 2020 and the Mr Oúlala EP in 2023.

Emmanuel Ajomale grew up in Nigeria and relocated to Bowie, Maryland, at age nine as the son of Nigerian gospel singer Kunle Ajomale. A multi-instrumentalist, he later signed to House Studios, which released WellZ in 2014. The full-length SoulFro followed on the same label in 2017, its title drawn from his own label for his singular approach. That same year he toured the U.S. alongside Nigerian-American rapper/singer Jidenna.

The three-track META EP appeared in late 2019 near the time he joined Wale on the single “Love & Loyalty.” Mirage, his second album released in mid-2020, contained the collaboration “Floating” featuring VanJess. He paired with Yinka for the 2021 track “Someone Else,” then put out the standalone single “Di Do/No Closure” before the 2022 EP Unwanted, which included journalist Morelys Urbano’s spoken-word contribution on “Ready or Not.” Don’t Tell Anyone and Mr Oúlala completed his 2023 EP releases.