Victony

Nigerian vocalist Victony emerged on the early-2020s Afrobeats scene with a versatile, tone-shifting vocal style, swiftly landing one of 2022’s biggest Afrobeats tracks with the infectious “Soweto.”
Born Anthony Ebuka Victor, Nigerian singer Victony grew up in the Orsu region of Imo State, developing a love for hip-hop after listening to artists including Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Keen to make his own way into the genre, Victor began remixing popular rap songs during the late 2010s, publishing lyrically driven covers of songs such as Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” and Tems’ “Try Me” online. His early online buzz began with his 2017 debut mixtape, The Outlaw King, but he soon found his attention shifting away from hip-hop and toward Afrobeats.
Using his wide-ranging vocals to produce slick and rhythmic anthems, Victony moved fully into the genre with debut EP Saturn (2020) and had a breakout single with the Mayorkun collaboration “Holy Father” that quickly topped Nigerian streaming charts in 2021. His successes multiplied as the singer racked up multi-million streaming numbers with each release; in 2022, he landed one of the year’s biggest Afrobeats hits with “Soweto,” a dancefloor-primed anthem that gained over 100 million streams within a year of its release. Spurred on by the track’s success, he issued several high-profile remixes of the track in 2023, counting Rema, Don Toliver, Omah Lay, and Tiimie among his collaborators. ~ David Crone