Mannywellz

Combining melody, raps, syncopation, structured chord progressions, and hip-hop beats, Maryland-based Mannywellz creates songs that take influence from soul, rap, and pop as well as his native West Africa. Introducing his sophisticated approach on the EP WellZ in 2014, he released his debut album, SoulFro, in 2017. He followed it with similarly wide-ranging releases including 2020′s Mirage and 2022′s Unwanted EP.
Born and raised in Nigeria before emigrating to Bowie, Maryland at the age of nine, Emmanuel Ajomale is the son of Nigerian gospel singer Kunle Ajomale. A multi-instrumentalist, he eventually signed with House Studios, which issued his debut EP, WellZ, in 2014. Named after his own term for his unique style, the full-length SoulFro followed on the label in 2017. That year, Mannywellz toured the U.S. with Nigerian-American rapper/singer Jidenna.
His three-track EP META saw release in late 2019, around the time he was featured on the Wale single “Love & Loyalty.” Another collaboration, “Floating” featuring VanJess, was included on Mannywellz’s second album, Mirage, which arrived in mid-2020. He teamed up with Yinka for 2021′s “Someone Else” and issued the stand-alone single “Di Do/No Closure” before delivering another EP, Unwanted, in 2022. It included a spoken-word appearance by journalist Morelys Urbano on “Ready or Not.” ~ Marcy Donelson