Nigerian-born British rapper/singer Darkoo is enjoying success with her latest single “Always” featuring Ghanaian artist Black Sherif.
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Released in February, the song is going strong on TikTok with over 37.5 million views and 1.4 million likes in the past week alone, with around 16,000 users making videos per day. Notably, the track has over 10 million streams across all streaming platforms and has seen a 40% increase in the U.S. over the last seven days.
Many of the TikTok videos using “Always” are based around Black Sherif’s verse and people trying to figure out what he’s saying.
“You’ve been on my mind, I no fit left you now,” he says on the track. “You and I know I deserve some love/On the road like 40 days from now/Steady trapping, wallet chasing now/Told you I’ma make it up to you/I no fit do, so you shouldn’t ask me what it do/You make me sad, I no fit lie you/I thought you was down to roll with the trapper, man.”
20-year-old Darkoo is no stranger to this type of attention. Her biggest solo single “Gangsta” featuring One Acen peaked at No. 22 on the UK Singles Chart in 2019, but in 2021, she appeared on the remix of Tion Wayne and Russ Millions’ No. 1 single “Body” alongside the likes of Fivio Foreign and breakout star, ArrDee. She went on to release her debut EP 2 in 1 months later featuring Tion, Unknown T, Blanco and Gabzy.
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As multidimensional as they come, Darkoo isn’t one to limit herself to one genre. During an interview with NME earlier in March, she talked about her ability to switch between different sounds.
“This year I’m definitely not putting myself in a box,” she said. “I’m definitely still doing the afro stuff and doing the drill stuff, but I’m doing anything that I wake up and decide to do in the studio that I think is a hit. If you’re able to do everything, then do it. I feel like everyone’s different and trying to evolve and do different things.”
She added, “But if you do that thing, and you realise that it’s something that you’re very good at, then I don’t feel like that’s you just trying to be relevant: it’s something that you’re great at.”
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Darkoo also has big ambitions on a global scale, with hopes of reaching Afrobeats star WizKid’s status.
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“If I have 10 years going strong, I’ll be very happy,” she said. “Where I want to be is at WizKid’s level. What he’s doing is amazing, and he’s literally making it easier for us in Afrobeats music to make those moves and make those steps. It is very possible for me to do it. So when I look at my goals, I definitely look to be in someone like WizKid’s position, or even better.”
