Maphian ft. Neemoe - Melanin

Maphian teams up with Neemoe for a seductive tune celebrating black women

Maphian is a Nigerian artiste who has been in the industry for about 10 years. Initially working behind the scenes, he has begun to make steady progress as his efforts are slowly gaining traction. The budding star really kicked off his musical journey in 2012, after joining Chocolate City, one of Nigeria’s most renowned record labels and former label home to Nigerian iconic rapper M.I Abaga.

Maphian certainly grasped the opportunity with both hands and worked with various other artistes as a result, all the while honing his craft. He eventually left the illustrious company in 2016, seemingly satisfied with the knowledge he had gained, ready to take on the music industry and make a name for himself. Since then, Maphian has carefully been dropping songs over the years, intentionally not rushing the output and feeding the public bit by bit.

Fast forward to 2021/2022 and Maphian is finally ready to let the public receive a larger chunk of his polished talent and he does so with the highly infectious tune “Melanin.” The track which features another rising artiste in Neemoe, is a celebratory confection about the skin tone of black women. The giddy composition starts off with the slickest of productions, immediately grabbing the attention of any listener.

The singer-songwriter makes a major splash with this release, advocating for skin tone & body positivity through his carefully crafted lyricism that speaks volumes about his respectable character. An emphatic anthem also about female empowerment, “Melanin” dismantles society’s impression of black women, instead it puts them on a pedestal, celebrating them.

The first verse acts like a monologue by Maphian, as he expresses his pertinent feelings for his “melanin clad woman.” Neemoe comes in towards the outro and brings a different dimension to an already classy performance by Maphian. The sultry piece is obviously intended to finally really kick off Maphian’s music career and it surely has all the tools necessary to do so.

With “Melanin,” the self-proclaimed perfectionist pens down his experience with black women, speaking positively about them. The soft and tender melodies on “Melanin” makes it an instant ear-worm. Listeners will find it very easy to sing and groove along to, a major plus for any song. For Maphian, the song reflects his evolving relationship with skin tone, body image and beauty standards. To be in the current sea of voices that are currently promoting body positivity is something that seems really important to him with this piece. “Melanin” is a super-sugary Afro-pop belter from Maphian & Neemoe. The standard has been set and it’s up to Maphian to keep the amazing music coming.

We sat down with Maphian to learn more about his journey as an artiste and the lessons learnt from working with the iconic M.I Abaga