“Musical Architect” – Mannywellz is a Nigerian born, Maryland based, independent artist. His music is mainly inspired by his African roots, offering a unique listening experience as he creatively experiments with his sound and goes beyond solely fitting in one ‘genre’.
Mannywellz is singer, songwriter, producer as well as an artist who plays an array of instruments. He is a refreshing up & coming artist; and one who seems to passionately create and remain authentic to the creative process.
So far, Mannywellz has accomplished a lot. From touring with Jidenna to sharing the stage with the likes of Erykah Badu, Tory Lanez, Jaden Smith and many more. He’s done it all, independently – with a pure focus on the artistry.
This is only the beginning for Mannywellz, as there is a lot more in store for him.
Check out our conversation below as we spoke about his upcoming project SoulFro (out January 12th), his start/upbringing with music, and more…
Q: Tell us a little about yourself and when you started making music.
A: I was born into music because of my dad, he’s a performing artist/musician. So I was always around music. Being in a choir when I was super young, to performing with my dad, and then eventually transitioning to creating my own stuff around 15-16.
Q: For someone who hasn’t heard about Mannywellz before. How would you describe your sound to them?
A: I would say that MannyWellz is an artist that just loves music and loves to create anything that sounds good. My end goal is to merge different genres together, to create a fresh, unheard of sound.
Q: Your project Soulfro will be coming out January 12th. What’s the story behind the title?
A: Soulfro is music from the soul with afro elements. It has a lot of afro influences. It’s not afrobeat, it’s not the typical Wizkid or Davido. It’s not that, it’s just different genres with afro elements and it stems from hip hop to R&B, to a little bit of folk, a little bit of jazz. Just like different things that you can definitely hear the afro tone and influence in every record.
Q: What can people expect from the “Soulfro” project as a whole?
A: I mean first of all, good music sonically. I created the record to do two things, make people think and still be able to groove and move. So I think people should expect to ponder the subject title and take their guesses at whatever I’m talking. It’s thought provoking and a bit direct and it’s definitely going to make you groove and vibe as well.
Q: Who are some artists that you’d love to work with?
A: Yeah, I got a few. I would like to work with my favorite ever, Asa, she’s a Nigerian artist based in France at the moment – she makes dope music. I want to work with people in different genres, Kendrick Lamar, Chance the Rapper, Ariana Grande and that pop scene, Tori Kelly. Those are a few names I’d like to do some stuff with. Lauryn Hill – because I love Lauryn Hill as well.
Q: Final Thoughts?
A: I just want people to be open minded when they listen to it (SoulFro) because I believe that it’s really fresh and it’s not something that they necessarily heard before. I want people to not give me boxes because I live to break the boxes like labels and genres and I think Soulfro did a very decent job with doing that – as far as not being able to categorize it because I guess it’s a variety of different things.
Pre-Order “SoulFro”: http://smarturl.it/u42pwe
Mannywellz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mannywellz
Mannywellz Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/mannywellz