Keyah’s Ajò (Extended) is a  Love Letter to Perseverance

By Emmanuel Daraloye

For Temitope Sodiya, better known today as Keyah, music has never been just a pastime. She has been at it since 2013, sharpening her craft under the name Temmy Diya before reemerging with a refined voice and vision. On Ajò (Extended), recorded between September 2023 and February 2025, Keyah steps into the light as an artist who has found both her sound and her calling. The result is a debut that sits at the crossroads of Afro-soul, R&B, and highlife, blending prayer with passion and grit with grace. The EP was released on April 11, 2025.

The opening track, Idunnu, sets the tone with a progressive acoustic guitar that plays for half a minute before Keyah’s voice lifts into a plea for mercy and change. People living every day, forgetting God has the final say, mercy mercy we cry for mercy oh God, she sings. It is both confessional and communal, a reflection on resilience in the face of despair. Later, she urges listeners not to give up even when friends falter or the market dries up. It is a prayer disguised as a ballad, and it shows the spiritual intentionality that threads through her work.

From there, the EP pivots into more intimate territory. Ajojo rides on a juju-highlife groove, light and playful but anchored by sincerity. It is a love confession delivered with the steady warmth of someone who has made up her mind about the future. Her promise is simple: she is all in. That optimism flows naturally into Anytime, where Keyah asks her lover not to shy away from her. Do you feel the rhythm whenever we speak? she wonders, before assuring him that she will be there whenever he needs her. The track is tender, almost conversational, yet it carries the strength of vulnerability.

The fourth track, The Way You Love Me, continues the dialogue of intimacy. Here, she longs for reassurance, marveling that no one has ever expressed love the way her partner does. Nobody tell me that they love me, the way that you say it, she admits. It is a quiet but powerful affirmation, the kind of song that feels less like performance and more like a whispered secret. Surrender follows, an Afrobeat-inflected slow burn where Keyah admits that her heart was once closed but is now wide open. My heart was sealed and locked away, but now love is shining brightly in my eyes because you’re my surrender, she sings. The track is soaked in vulnerability, the kind of honesty that lingers.

Awé deepens the love theme while reaching back to tradition. The song, titled with an old Yoruba way of addressing a young man, leans into the timeless clichés of love, they say love is blind o, but with a freshness that makes it feel lived rather than borrowed. She cannot lie, she insists, she cannot hide. The declaration becomes more than sentiment; it becomes a mantra of devotion.

But Keyah is not all romance. On Bless My Hustle, she taps into the pulse of Nigerian youth culture, turning everyday survival into a chant of possibility. The refrain God bless you, bless your hustle becomes an anthem for a generation that knows too well the grind of making ends meet. The track feels like the heart of the EP, a reminder that faith and perseverance are as necessary as affection.

The magic of Ajò (Extended) lies not only in its rich blend of styles but in the soulful depth Keyah pours into her songwriting. She moves easily between English and Yoruba, between love songs and survival prayers, always rooted in a spirituality that feels organic rather than performative. Her guitar work underpins the arrangements with a sense of intimacy, while her voice carries both fragility and fire.

This is a debut that feels both polished and personal. Keyah does not just sing; she testifies, she confesses, she pleads. Ajò (Extended) EP is a map of where she has been and a glimpse of where she is headed. Afro-soul has found a new vessel, and her name is Keyah.