When 18-year-old Azanti crept into the front-gaze of the Nigerian music scene, in 2020, it was right beside Psycho YP, his longtime mentor and second-half of his professional debut, YP & Azanti Vol 1. The duo drew critical acclaim with their eight-track album that housed hits such as, Caro, Focused and Ji Masun. It ushered in a new era within the African Hip-hop scene, especially as rapper-singer duos are still a rare sight.

Four years later, the plot thickened with both musicians returning to the playing field in YP & Azanti Vol 2, armed with a mature arsenal of melodies that uplifts their legacy as one of Africa’s most breathtaking duos. In their new 10-track sophomore album, the duo tread defiantly across African fusion, moisturising the songs with urban electronic music influences. In standout tracks like the nostalgia-driven African funk-hop, Naija Fun, the horn-driven ‘Somebody’, and the slow-burn, ‘Breathe’, among others, the duo stretch their artistry, with bold, airy programming and relatable hedonistic storytelling.

In a sit-down with Guardian Music, Psycho YP and Azanti take us through their tight-roped relationship, from discovering Azanti, to building their sonic empire, Apex Village, in Abuja, to rubbing minds and making music while being in two different continents; their creative process; and other steps in their journey to becoming a template for non-conforming Hip-hop & RnB collaborations in Africa’s nascent music scene.

What’s the story behind YP & Azanti Vol 2
AZANTI: For YP and Azanti Volume 1, it was more like YP hopping on stuff that was trying to introduce me to the industry. On this one, I think that I am taking more of a backseat for YP and Azanti Volume 2. I am flexing more production types. I am less on the verses and I am doing more hooks. YP has more standout rap verses and performances where he is sounding like a different beast. He is sounding like Jay-z, more mature and steezing. He is flexing more of his rapping as opposed to Volume 1 where we made more RnB and less Hip Hop. This Volume 2 has more room for Hip Hop to cut through.

Did you intend to connect with newer audiences?
Azanti: For YP and Azanti Volume 2, there is definitely a target audience. We know what our audience wants to hear. We have tested the waters with a few other collaboration records, apart from the YP and Azanti series. At this point, it kind of feels like people want to hear us together on the same track. The audience we are trying to settle are people like us, ‘youngins’, ‘shawties’, hustlers, people trying to make money, or get a girl. This new project seems to be more braggadocio, more now-we-made-it type of vibes. We have done YP and Azanti Volume 1 and four years later we are about to drop a Volume 2, and it encompasses the journey, where we are right now and prospects for the future, meanwhile, I am still trying to explain my several love interests that I always tend to have and YP is explaining his bad guy, gangster-esque vibe too. I think it is a very unique synergy of worlds. I am the more vulnerable, emotional character in this play, and YP is almost like a good cop bad cop type of vibe.

How did you both manage creative freedom as a duo?
Azanti: We are very diverse artistes. Compared to YP and Azanti Vol 1, YP didn’t rap as much as he has done now. When I hear a beat, it usually depends on how I hit the track and get on it. Over time, the beat needs to feel almost nostalgic in a sense. It needs to feel intentional. We are really diverse and genre-wise there are no limitations; but I always want to hear vulnerability. I want the listener to feel like we are about to tell a story, and we are being truthful and honest about how we see the world. With beats, it is more about the feeling; I can’t really explain it in genre-terms. But it is deeper than that. I don’t like beats that sound regular.

In this volume, our creative freedom took centre stage. On most of the records I am flexing more on production and I am not really doing too much; I do a hook and YP comes through with his verses on some Jay-Z type of shit. Usually, he is going to want to rap and go crazy on the beat, but sometimes he hears my vibe and decides that he wants to sing. It gives him the leeway to be on his singing shit. YP and Azanti gives YP the leeway to be more vulnerable and have more singing melodies. For me, it is almost like I am experimenting now; because I am trying to test the waters to see how my production enters mainstream on the radio. YP and Azanti just opens up different sides of our creativity.

How did you discover Azanti?
PsychoYP: Azanti and I are not really age mates or former school mates or something like that. I was in the UK pursuing my studies and I had a mutual friend with him. One day, another friend of mine in Abuja who is a mutual friend and we were just chilling one day in my yard and he played me some of his jams. So, I told him to send me more of his jams to listen to. Around the same time, Azanti emailed me and sent me DMs on social media too. His name kept coming up so much and one day, I decided to check him out and I checked his Instagram and found out he had tried to reach me. I went to my email and I checked his jams. I felt he had a great vibe. I honestly don’t know why I pursued the project or even decided to sign him. I just knew I wanted to sign him.

How were you able to start working with him?
PsychoYP: We had this WhatsApp group chat with just me and Azanti and most of the producers from 44db. I put Azanti in the groupchat and the producers would send beats on it and he could record. I already had an understanding of how I worked with the producers. For the first two days, we made a few songs. And then it flowed from there.

Talk to us about the sonic fusions in this record.
Azanti: We are fusion artistes. We are always tethering on the lines of whether it is Hip Hop or Afro RnB. We are not making this project to make all the songs feel the same. All the songs kind of feel vastly different. In YP and Azanti Volume 1, it was an RnB Project, but we touched different sides to it, from trap soul, bashment, highlife, to dancehall and a little bit of Afro. This new project is even more sonically diverse, because now I am in my pop bag and YP is also trying to hit some pop records. We have grown as artistes and our musicality has improved. You are going to hear it. In some songs, we referenced ‘70s vibes, while in some other songs it’s ‘80s and ‘90s vibes.

What’s next for Psycho YP and Azanti?
PsychoYP: Working with Azanti is always a new type of vibe. I can only do so much and I appreciate the ideas he tends to tilt towards. Whenever it is time to work, it’s just a good vibe. I am a very picky individual, so everything you are sending to me has to be fire. There are only so many people that can match my energy. Azanti is one of the few people that I know that can match my work rate. It’s always great to make classics. I would always look back at the series and appreciate it like, ‘We really made this shit!’