KOKO: OGB and the Future Sound of Emotion

By Joey Akan

There’s a soft heartbeat that opens “KOKO.” A shimmer, a breath, then rhythm slides in. It’s the kind of record that doesn’t rush to impress you it lets you feel its confidence. For Nigerian-born, London-based producer Ogaga John-Owoferia, professionally known as OGB, this isn’t just another single; it’s the sound of a craftsman quietly stepping into his lane.

“KOKO” captures OGB in his early form restless, precise, and already experimenting with how emotion can live inside rhythm. You hear it in the keys, played live and left slightly raw; in the bass, which doesn’t just sit under the mix but breathes through it. He’s not afraid of space or silence. Where many producers drown feeling in plugins, OGB lets air move between notes.

His co-credit with Archie A adds structure, but the record’s heartbeat is unmistakably OGB’s. Every layer feels deliberate, almost cinematic. You can picture him hovering over the console, head tilted, listening for the tiny imperfections that make a song human. Those moments a brushed snare here, a late-landing chord there are the fingerprints of a real musician, not a programmer clicking grids.

What’s striking is how OGB bends Afrobeats into something subtler. He’s part of a generation that grew up on both church bands and SoundCloud, and “KOKO” wears that duality proudly. There’s the familiar bounce of African rhythm, but it’s softened by R&B chords and the emotional tone of Alté. It’s not fusion for show it’s identity rendered in sound.

At times, his restraint almost works against him. The mix is so clean, so carefully layered, that you catch yourself wishing he’d let it spill over, let a bit of grit through. But that control is also his signature; OGB is a perfectionist who understands that feeling can be engineered without being forced.

A fellow producer once described his sound best: “OGB’s beats feel like memories.” That’s his power. He’s not just making records; he’s building recall sounds that linger after the last note fades.

As “KOKO” ends, you’re left with warmth rather than noise. No fireworks, no forced climax, just the quiet satisfaction of a producer in full control of his tools and his truth. In a scene obsessed with hits, OGB reminds us that feeling is still the highest currency.

If this is his opening statement, the future of Afro-fusion is already humming in his key.