Listen to The Face and Reprezent Radio’s Naira Marley special

There’s a lot to talk about when it comes to Naira Marley. While living in Peckham, Marley helped pioneer the blend of Afrobeats, road rap and dancehall which later became known as Afroswing (a claim now backed by J Hus, the genre’s biggest star). After moving to his home country Nigeria, he suddenly shot to fame with his World Cup anthem Issa Goal. Since then, he’s been embroiled in a cyber fraud scandal that’s generating constant headlines and could put him behind bars. Not to be deterred, he’s repeatedly criticised the Nigerian authorities and delivered a series of hits which have won him a legion of fans, who proudly call themselves the Marlians.

Reprezent Radio, the self-proclaimed ​“Sound of Young London”, is a well-respected authority on dancehall, bashment, Afrobeats, Afroswing and every style of UK rap. They’ve also been supporting Marley since the beginning – in fact, they broadcasted his first ever radio appearance. The Face’s music editor Davy Reed and contributor Niyi-Juwon Osiyemi had the pleasure of joining Reprezent hosts Scully and Joe Walker to discuss all things Naira Marley. Listen below.