Your Friday night playlist curated by rising star Konyikeh

Rising star of the UK’s R&B scene, Konyikeh talks to Katharine Spurrier about her debut EP ‘Litany’, performing with Dave and what she’s listening to this Friday night
Erin Corrian-Alexis
Katharine Spurrier28 July 2023

London-born, Essex-based R&B singer Konyikeh is ready for the world to know her. Since finding the spotlight with her opening solo in Dave’s 2022 BRIT Awards rendition of ‘In The Fire’, the 23-year-old has only gone from strength to strength. “It’s all a bit surreal. I couldn’t look back on the performance for months and months and months and months because I can’t look at myself, so it’s only recently that I have seen the performance and I’m like, I really did that. Crazy.”

Releasing her first two singles ‘Sorrow’ and ‘Teenage Dreams’ in April and June respectively, she has now graced us with her debut EP ‘Litany’ which came out on Wednesday. With rich vocals, surging melodies and an impressive depth of lyrical feeling, this debut really exemplifies Konyikeh’s feeling that “in music I can be my most authentic self”. There is no denying this, very honestly she explains that music “is a sort of therapy because these songs I wrote in my bedroom and I didn’t think anyone would hear them, so it was me at my most raw and my most vulnerable.”

While her recent success may not be relatable to the rest of us, her day to day certainly is. ‘Sorrow’, written when she was just 13, starts the EP as it means to go on. “It encapsulates my teenage years and is physical evidence of them”. We can all relate to wondering how we fit in and where we belong, and Konyikeh, through her music, just wants to create something that will resonate.

Being able to perform is a priority for Konyikeh and her plans for the future are to try and do as many live shows as she can. With the release of her EP there is no doubt that there is much more to come, so watch this space. For now, her Friday nights remain nice and simple, “I am either going out or getting ready for a day party”, or sometimes it might be a friend’s “dinner and then maybe a bar like Blues Kitchen to see some live music”. Before she reaches dizzying heights of fame, it seems that at the moment, at least, Konyikeh’s feet are firmly on the ground.

“I am always on the aux, if I could be anything, if I could learn how to DJ I would”, which is convenient, as Konyikeh curates this week’s Friday night playlistFind the full playlist here. 

Latto - Put It On Da Floor Again (feat. Cardi B)

“It is just such a great song. It gets you up and moving, it’s great energy to start the night off with.”

Rema - Charm

“It’s a great afrobeats song. It’s such an earworm of a song, literally you can’t get it out of your head.”

Nines - Calendar

“It is actually a sample of  ‘24/7’ by Meek Mill, which is a sample of ‘Me, Myself and I’ by Beyoncé so it’s like a sample sampling samples but it’s just a great song. It’s a classic and it’s funny as well because he is talking about all the different girls he has and he can’t keep up with them but the melody is actually just so great.”

Byron Messia - Talibans

“This song has a really good hook and when it goes off in the club …it’s just great. That’s all I keep saying but it really is a great song.”

Lola Brooke - Dummy Ummy

“Again, a great energy song where you feel really confident. Like you’re that person and it just goes hard every time. A great rap song. I love female rap, I think it is so sick so yeah, the girls coming out of Brooklyn and Atlanta are just amazing.”

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