East London six-piece NSG (Nigeria Slash Ghana) forge unsinkable anthems built on faith, companionship and adherence to the hustle. Their spiritually informed Afroswing brings joy to the everyday, direct from a Hackney estate. On 2020’s Roots, the group, representing two of West Africa’s powerhouse nations, declared themselves diasporic vibe controllers. For this, their long-awaited debut album proper, NSG continue to confound the culture. “As much as it’s an insult [in Nigeria] to be labelled one [an area boy], yes, you’ll very much see us in our area, representing,” group member Papii Abz tells Apple Music about the album’s title. “This was one of the few things that we actually all agreed on and it came from someone [on social platform X] trying to diss us. We’ll change what it means to be an area boy. We’re diamonds in the dirt—and if you go into every struggling council estate, you’ll find a gem.” All six members step up to every song on this sprawling debut—blessed with production from talent including JAE5, Diztortion and Supa Dups. This celebratory music connects Nigerian pidgin with amapiano (“NELLA ROSE”), psychedelic-fuelled anthems (“ZOMBIE”) and a reunion with honorary “seventh member” Tion Wayne (“POCKET-WATCHING”). “NSG is bigger than the individual. We all understand that, and it helps us to play our parts,” Abz says. “But sonically, we also understand the main ingredient in our pot is ‘Afro’—music of the motherland. It’s what we’ve all grown up on. The fusion, or other elements, that’s solely down to what we enjoy and decide to experiment with.” Below, Papii Abz shares insight into 10 key tracks. “AREA BOYZ PRAYER” (feat. Seyi Vibez) “This is a heartfelt prayer, so it’s first. The great moments in life—achievements, connections—they start with a prayer. Seyi Vibez has been on our radar for a while, on this track you’ll hear why. He represents Lagos, Nigeria, to the fullest—an area boy through and through. But still very much prayerful with his music.” “TONIGHT” (feat. Libianca & JAE5) “We asked [Ghanaian American singer-songwriter] Amaarae to feature here at first, we just couldn’t get it over the line. At the same time, Libianca expressed that she wanted to work with us in a session with JAE5 and he made it happen. With Libianca, her whole aura when we had the session was amazing. She’s a very spiritual artist and we all connected and channelled that together for this track.” “AZONTO” “We came from the azonto [dance] era, where it was just one of the hottest things. In that sense, this title is misleading, it’s not at all about that. We’re embracing those that came before us, like Fuse ODG. That’s the thing with culture, right? That stuff never dies, that’s why it’s always the backbone for us.” “STEVIE WONDER” (feat. Aitch) “If you’re talking rap here in the UK you have to mention Aitch. We first linked up with him way back, before [his second EP] AitcH20, and he’s always been great vibes. He gave us a golden verse. You wouldn’t expect him on this, but he’s a rapper, a proper rapper, and he can skate on any type of beat.” “1985” (feat. MHD) “The title pays homage to the great Fela Kuti. None of us were alive [in 1985], but we all agree that today we still hold up his message and his ways: we believe in giving power to the people over oppression. [That’s] still relevant today. Since [2022 single] ‘In Da Car’, getting with MHD was a massive co-sign for us—how we launched our sound to the francophone markets. You can consider this track the second part.” “ZOMBIE” “This is that staple NSG, [2019 single] ‘OT Bop’-sound. Man, this bass just hits. It’s produced by [Dutch songwriter and producer] Diztortion, recorded maybe last year, our first time all trying ’shrooms. We were in a village somewhere just outside of Amsterdam. Locked in the studio, off our heads, senses heightened in this deep state, just having fun. You can hear it in the music!” “POCKET-WATCHING” (feat. Tion Wayne) “This was a big experiment. We deliberately wanted to move on from the Afroswing, melodic stuff we’ve done with Tion in the past and hit up a more rap-focused beat.” “LONELY” (feat. Sarkodie) “You won’t believe how long we’ve been sitting on this. For five years—even before [2018 single] ‘Options’. It’s such a timeless track, with a deep message, that we felt that any time would be right. This song couldn’t go on Roots, that had a slightly different energy, it was more about us. We also held it out of respect to Sark’. It’s very special to have him on here. He’s the GOAT for the [Ghanaian] boys in the group, a legend in Africa.” “CORLEONE” (feat. ODUMODUBLVCK & Steel Banglez) “We do a lot with [Nigerian record label] NATIVE Records and we’ve built a great relationship with [co-president] Teezee. In Ghana [in 2021], he introduced us to ODUMODUBLVCK, who is definitely a rapper to watch out for. His sound is proper raw and he’s flagging Abuja and Nigeria hard. That’s why he’s getting the love.” “UNRULY” (with Meekz) “Discovering artists and bringing them to the wider group is something we all do—but I think Mojo introduced us to Meekz. We nearly had him on the remix for ‘OT Bop’. We were close, planned verses from Meekz and K-Trap, but it didn’t happen. With our sound, sometimes we’re seen as a more African or global group, and it can feel like our UK presence is swinging away. We wanted to close this album, swinging it back. We thought: ‘Who can we put on this to bring back that UK feel?’”