ProGee Brings Neoteric to Banta: A Fresh Wave of Sound Hits Africa’s Music Scene

By Yinka Olatunbosun

At Pop Central, Africa’s leading destination for pop culture and fresh entertainment, we take pride in being the hub where new voices and big ideas break through. We are no strangers to spotting the next wave of cultural disruptors. On April 22, 2022, our talk programme Banta hosted Nigerian rising star ProGee, who came through to break down the creative process and bold ideas behind his newly released debut EP, Neoteric.

Progee hit the music scene a month ago with “Neoteric”, a fresh-sounding and critically acclaimed EP that debuted at #45 on the worldwide music chart on Apple Music, positioning him as a unique creator with a different approach to music. We brought him to the show to walk us through the creative process behind Neoteric.

The show was anchored by our presenter, Teefah Hassan, and from the jump, the energy was electric. ProGee introduces himself as an artist who refuses to be boxed in, a rapper, a singer, a producer, and above all, a fusion artist. ProGee himself put it simply:

“People ask if I’m a rapper or a singer. My answer is Neoteric. I blend genres into new sounds.”

With Neoteric, he makes a compelling case that he’s not just riding the wave, he’s building it.

Neoteric: A Statement of Sound

The six-track EP is a daring showcase of versatility, marrying Afrobeats, Pop, Hip-Hop, R&B, Amapiano, and raw storytelling into a cohesive experience. On Banta, ProGee explained that the project is less about sticking to formulas and more about experimenting with sounds and moods while still staying true to his originality.

The EP intro opens not with a conventional song but with fans’ voices speaking about ProGee’s music journey. Underneath, a moody beat he co-produced. Progee explained, “I wanted the Intro to feel cinematic. It’s built on ambient hip-hop textures with synth pads and bass drops. It’s not a typical song, more like a spoken-word opener that ushers you into my world.”

On “Intentional”, ProGee explained: “The groove is bright, bouncy, and irresistibly danceable, while the storytelling is playful. This is pure Afro-pop, laced with R&B elements. The guitars shimmer, the percussion bounces, and the backing vocals give it a soulful touch. It’s a love story, but I also wanted it to feel global, the kind of track you dance to without even realising it.”

He broke down the genre blend behind Truth, “‘Truth’ is trap at its core, heavy 808s, hi-hats, and moody synths. I blended it with melodic rap flows. I needed that contrast: the hardness of Trap with the vulnerability of singing. The song itself is a song on the vulnerability of relationships, you can feel it, but in a different way”

Life Anthem and Frazier are different, Progee said. These are the biggest tracks on the EP and the most carefree tracks. He said, “Life Anthem brings Afro-pop together with South African Amapiano. You’ve got the deep Amapiano log drum and bassline, but the melodies are distinctly Afro-pop. The hook is intentionally simple so anyone, anywhere, can sing it instantly. I wanted something memorable, something you can just live to, something that reminds you to enjoy life while you can”.

He added that this is the same for Frazier, but with a little twist. “Frazier is Amapiano, but I went hard with rap bars on it. It’s unusual to hear rap over Amapiano, but that’s what makes it fresh. I treated my verses like punches in a Frazier’s boxing match, quick, sharp, and impactful. The beat keeps you vibing, but the lyrics are where I prove I can spar with the best.”

Closing the project, ProGee dove into Trap once more on “Real Is Razz. “The song layers heavy beats with hard-hitting verses about Nigeria’s social realities. This is hardcore Trap, but I wanted it to do more than just sound hard. It’s my anger, my truth, my reality. It’s Trap, yes, but it’s also Afro-street storytelling, because it comes from my environment,” He explained.

A New Wave on Banta

By the end of the show, one thing was clear: ProGee isn’t here to imitate; he’s here to innovate. The future of music innovation holds a lot more genre experimentation, and he is here to be a key driver in this direction, as he shared with us. The Neoteric EP cements him as part of a fresh wave of African artists expanding the possibilities of Afro-fusion.

As our presenter, Teefah Hassan summed it up: “Neoteric is proof that African music is evolving, and ProGee is one of the acts pushing it forward. His blend of genres is not just versatility, it’s vision.”

Pop Central is proud to have hosted ProGee on Banta, and we can’t wait to see how far this new wave will go.