In an industry that often mistakes volume for value, it takes a special kind of rebel to whisper and still be heard. As the world continues to be drowned by algorithmic chaos and digitized dopamine, a quiet resistance has been brewing beneath the buzz—a cohort of artists who make music not to go viral but to go inward.
For the fourth edition of The Upper Quintet, we zone in on five voices who are redefining emotional intelligence in sound. They aren’t loud, but they are clear. They are the gentle surge in the current. They are the subtle ones. Meet: The Pneuma, Teledalase, S3kyerewaa, Corby, and Holic—five artists moving on instinct, intent, and soul.
The Pneuma – Ibadan’s Spiritual Son
There’s something sacred about The Pneuma—not just in name, but in delivery. A 400-level law student by day and a sonic healer by night, the Ibadan-based artist has been quietly building a catalogue laced with live instrumentation and existential depth.
His standout single “Blue” isn’t a song—it’s a soft place to land. With his upcoming concert tagged The Pneuma Live (300) coming to Ibadan this September, it’s clear that he’s not performing for virality—he’s performing for presence. In a country where the underground scene often wrestles with chaos or clout, The Pneuma is divine disruption.
Teledalase – Lagos, by Way of Osogbo and the Spirit Realm
It’s hard to box Teledalase. Not because she resists labels, but because she undoes them with grace. A nurse by profession and a griot by instinct, her voice feels like a shrine—a place where the wounded go to remember they are still alive.
Her 2024 debut EP “The Ones Who Didn’t Die, Pt. 1” carried the bloodlines of Lagbaja, Sola Allyson, and a Yoruba mystic auntie you can’t Google. Then came “The Bad Wife Has No Tongue”—a spellbound collection of war chants, love letters, and resignation hymns. Teledalase doesn’t sing about womanhood. She documents it.
And if “Eledumare” on the Anikulapo: Rise of the Spectre soundtrack didn’t haunt you, you didn’t listen right.
S3kyerewaa – Ghana’s Neo-Soul Oracle
Some voices don’t just fill space—they rearrange it. That’s what S3kyerewaa does with every note she releases into the ether. Born in Takoradi but spiritually stationed somewhere between Jill Scott’s living room and Ebo Taylor’s archive, her 2022 double drop “Here I Stand” and “Martyrs” delivered introspection in surround sound.
Her latest release, Streets Say, is what happens when you let grief dance with groove. In a Ghanaian alt-soul space that often gets drowned in amapiano remixes, S3kyerewaa remains a master of restraint, and a faithful steward of sonic honesty. She is Ghana’s neo-soul oracle—reading the streets, one velvet verse at a time.
Corby – Ghana’s Tender Provocateur
Don’t be fooled by the smoothness—Corby is a provocateur. Not in the scandal sense, but in the spiritual sense. The Ghanaian singer/producer thrives in a self-made universe where Afro-R&B, stripped highlife, and whispered affirmations coexist. Tracks like Wide Awake and Gone read like pages from a poet’s dream journal—aching, airy, intimate.
While not much is known about his origin story (which adds to the myth), Corby’s production is deliberate, minimalist, and moving. He’s not trying to take over the airwaves. He’s crafting soundtracks for the spaces in-between—the drive home, the midnight scroll, the sigh before you sleep.
Holic – Lagos’ Melancholy Machine
If Lagos had an emo cousin, it would probably sound like Holic. With tracks like Addicted, Wacko, and Alright, the Nigerian artist leans into a kind of wounded crooning that feels both familiar and foreign. There’s vulnerability, yes—but also a sonic architecture that feels futuristic, even dystopic.
His work recalls early The Weeknd and late Blackmagic, filtered through the voice notes of a lonely Gen Z kid with a cracked iPhone. Still, beneath the haze, Holic carries the ache of someone trying. And sometimes, trying is the truest genre.
This edition of The Upper Quintet doesn’t come with megahits or TikTok trends. What it brings is far more rare: music that sits with you after the echo fades. These five artists—The Pneuma, Teledalase, S3kyerewaa, Corby, Holic—aren’t just making songs; they’re curating emotional landscapes.
So if you’re tired of the noise, pull up a chair. Let them whisper you back to life
