Next Wave: How Igwe Aka Found A New Voice In Nigeria

Jesse uli

Origins in America

For much of his career, Igwe Aka was building his name in Sacramento's alternative hip-hop scene. Born in Nigeria and raised in California, his music reflected the experience of growing up between cultures, pairing introspective lyricism with influences drawn from jazz, soul, reggae, and hip-hop. Even as his songs nodded toward his Nigerian upbringing, they largely belonged to the world of American underground rap. 

In a 2018 interview with Submerge Magazine, Aka reflected on arriving in the United States as a child and experiencing racism for the first time after leaving a country where, as he explained, being Black "wasn't an issue." At home, his father led an Igbo ogene band, exposing him to traditional music from an early age, while his older brothers introduced him to rap. Those influences naturally found their way into his music, though they often existed alongside an unmistakably American approach to hip-hop.

His 2024 projectBEFORE THE REIGN still followed that sensibility. Written mostly during a visit back to Nigeria, the seven-track project leaned further into self-reflection than before, with Aka describing it as a "poetry project" of self-expression. The record hinted at a stronger connection to his birthplace, but sonically it remained an extension of the alternative hip-hop he had spent years developing in America.

Returning to His Roots 

His recent music, however, returns to his Igbo roots. On singles like "KAPOW," "EGONOMICS," and "BACKASSI,"  local slang becomes central to the songwriting, and the production draws far more heavily from Nigeria's underground than the American influences that shaped his earlier work.

Speaking with Pigeons & Planes earlier this year, Aka explained that the change to his new direction wasn't something he had suddenly discovered. He said he had spent years teaching himself how to write in Igbo with the same literary depth he approached English lyrics. In many ways, the music simply caught up with a part of his identity that had always been there.

Reflecting on the success of "KAPOW," Aka told Pigeons & Planes that audiences had gradually "trained their ears" to sounds that sit between different musical backgrounds. As Afrobeats became increasingly familiar to American listeners and trap music continued influencing younger audiences in Nigeria, artists like Aka no longer sounded stuck between two scenes but a product of both.

That environment helped "KAPOW" find an audience. The single quickly gained momentum online and introduced Aka to a growing fanbase in Nigeria, where listeners connected not only with the production but also with the cultural references embedded throughout the music. His use of Igbo language, dialect, and local expressions no longer felt like subtle details tucked into the background but rather what drew people to the songs in the first place.

You can also hear that confidence throughout "EGONOMICS." His delivery is more direct, the production is stripped back, and the writing no longer feels interested in translating itself for listeners outside the culture it comes from. Aka refers to this evolving sound as "Wawa music," a nod to the Ndi Wawa cultural subgroup from southeastern Nigeria where his family originates. As he explained to Pigeons & Planes, the term represents more than geography. It reflects a particular dialect, attitude, and way of expressing oneself, qualities that increasingly shape both his music and the identity surrounding it.

What makes the transition compelling is that it doesn’t come across as reinvention. Artists often return to their roots as a way of redefining themselves, but Aka's recent work feels more like an expanded version of ideas that have been present from the beginning. The curiosity that defined his early releases is still there, only now it starts from an unmistakably Nigerian perspective rather than an American one.

Coming Home 

Although Northern California remains home, Aka now spends significant time in Lagos, where he has become an increasingly recognizable presence within the city's underground scene. In his conversation with Pigeons & Planes, he recalled being recognized while running errands, comparing the experience to the local buzz he experienced as a teenager in Sacramento before noting that the reception felt different because "it's African... it's a more familiar type of love."

That familiarity also gives his recent work a stronger sense of place. Community has always been central to Aka's songwriting, whether reflecting on family, friends, or the neighborhoods that shaped him. Perhaps the simplest explanation for this evolution came during that same interview. Reflecting on his return to Nigeria, Aka said, "Music brought me back home."

It's a brief statement, but one that quietly captures the direction of his career. His family left Nigeria in search of opportunity, and he spent years establishing himself in America's underground rap scene. Now, the music that began there has led him back to the place that shaped many of his earliest memories, allowing him to make records that no longer feel divided between two identities.