I K 8OY is a Nigerian/British rising star. Although he describes his music as versatile, his musical style fits primarily within the Afrobeat mix genre with melodic rap – otherwise called as Afro-swing or Afro-pop. After starting his musical journey as part of a band back in Nigeria, I K 8OY moved to the UK to study. Once graduated in 2014, he started a corporate job as a network engineer but quickly realised that a career in music was his true calling. Taking musical inspiration from the likes of Lil Wayne, Timaya and Rick Ross he began writing and recording his own music in December 2018. He originally started out within the rap genre but after the Coronavirus lockdown changed his focus onto Afrobeat music ‘as it felt more homely and original’. ‘I like to express myself through my music and I am hoping to use it and motivate people so they believe they can be what they want to be because music is life; you can feel and hear it.’ - I K 8OY