Kodee: From Hidden Corners of Lagos to the World Stage

Most interviews start with the basics: name, age, hometown. But Kodee’s story asks for something different. Long before the Afrobeats newcomer packed dancefloors with Duro, he was Agboluaje Thompson Fawaz Olaitan, a boy in Festac dreaming big and scribbling lyrics while helping his mum at the market. He once performed under the alias Colourful Boy, but a quiet rebrand to Kodee marked more than a new moniker; it signalled a readiness to step fully into his own sound.

“I started recording at 12 as a hardcore rapper,” he recalls. Olamide and Kizz Daniel were on repeat in his headphones while his neighbourhood—“the trench,” as he affectionately calls it, provided the raw material for his early verses. “Everyone else from my hood gave up on music, but I never did.”

Breakthrough and Buzz

That resolve paid off when Duro arrived. After months offline, Kodee posted a single video and watched the internet catch fire. “Three days later, we had 80,000 TikTok videos,” he says, still sounding faintly amazed. “Two weeks on, it was over a million.” The track shot onto Nigeria’s Top 100, propelling him from promising newcomer to one of the country’s most talked-about young artists. Now signed to Rebirth Music Africa, he continues to scale new heights while staying rooted in his sound.

But this wasn’t luck. Before Duro, Kodee had quietly built what he calls his “Kodeects”, a loyal fan base nurtured since 2019. “Social media pushed my sound to more people,” he says, “but that core audience, I built it myself, brick by brick.”

A Kid with a Dream

His debut EP, A Kid with a Dream—pronounced “Akwad”, he grins, tells the story of resilience and near misses. “I once missed a chance to meet Olamide because I was running errands for my mum,” he recalls. Yet the dream never dimmed. “I’m still that kid aiming to sell out the O2 and Madison Square Garden.”

Of the record’s tracks, Ifeoma is his most personal. “The melody and lyrics have a deep emotional connection for me,” he says. But there’s mischief too: Lacoco came together in an hour of spontaneous studio energy with producer Choke Boy, who also worked on Duro. “We never planned it. He played a beat, and the vibe just came alive.”

Sound and Process

Many hear a Fuji edge in Kodee’s vocals, though he insists it’s instinct rather than design. “It’s just my voice and the vibe of the beat,” he shrugs. His method is simple: melody first, lyrics after. “I record the first melody that comes to mind on my phone, then write and arrange before I step to the mic.”

Working with Choke Boy reinforced his belief in flexibility. “Duro taught me I don’t need to over-prepare. Whatever beat the producer brings, I can make it work. That freedom changed everything.”

Looking Forward

For newcomers, Kodee recommends starting with Ifoma for its heart, then Duro for pure energy. And if he were to DJ his own after-party? “I’d open with Kizz Daniel’s ‘Black Girl Magic’, then drop my own track, Lacoco, so everyone has to move.”

From a boy with a borrowed alias to an artist owning his name and sound, Kodee stands as proof that ambition matched with patience can turn a quiet dream into a nationwide groove. “I’m still that kid with a dream,” he says with a smile. “And there’s so much more to come.”