The Benin-born singer aims to get some things understood. Since at least his 2025 debut KARNAGE, Benin-born singer Egertton has imagined himself a fire-starter. The project kicked things off with an adroit blend of hip-hop, mara and punk influences that made for a sound he took to calling incantation music. On his new self-titled mixtape, the singer continues to building out his musical identity, placing him at the forefront of a class of artists poised to reshape Afropop. Picking up where he left off on KARNAGE, EGERTTON opens with “IYEME”, addressing critics of his music and further pressing home his intention to reset the Nigerian music industry. If the warnings offered on the opener weren’t enough, he’s again confrontational on cuts like “REBEL” and “GANGSTER”, warning on the latter: “In case a n***a wanna test me/I swear to God, I no go hesitate to shoot.” It’s a motif he returns to time and time again across the project, ultimately softening into a declaration of predestined glory on “CHOSEN 1”. Even the sentimental moments of EGERTTON are rendered with a level of assurance bordering on solipsism. “I be selfish boy/I’m a jealous boy I know,” he admits on “BODY SPARKLE”, before launching an inquiry into the causes of a doomed relationship on “16 MISSED CALLS”. The Hebronola-featuring “ISSOKAYY”, then, plays as the jewel in EGERTTON’s crown, with Egertton the singer accessorising his rage-inspired delivery with a deft R&B texture and communicating a universally relatable longing for companionship.
