SwayveeSwayvee’s journey from Port Harcourt battle rap arenas to Afropop virality was as unexpected as it was intentional. With his laid-back yet precise delivery, the singer, producer and comic nerd speaks to Guardian Music about finding his voice, his TikTok hit Us, his upcoming Persuasion EP, and why he doesn’t need a high-pitched voice to make great music.

One night, when Swayvee,real name Ezekiel Georgewill, had a creative spark to do a song: his friend, who was with him, recorded the melodies that followed.

“I didn’t even want to complete the song; because it was a YouTube beat. However, my producer Zarrthemaker encouraged me and reworked the beat to fit the vocals,” he tells Guardian Music. The fruit of that labour dubbed, Us, has risen to become one of the breakout songs of 2025, with nearly three million song plays on Spotify alone, as well as instant TikTok virality.

From beginning his music career as a battle rapper to bagging a record deal as a singer after a viral freestyle he posted to win his crush’s affection, the Port Harcourt native has enjoyed a graceful come-up within the Afrobeats space since he debuted in 2020.

With a streak of singles including fan-favourites like Fall For You, Para, and the Yarden-owned So Cold, as well as his 2021 extended play Lost Files, Swayvee has continued to carve his musical identity with a breezy soul-leaning pop sound. Interestingly, the tenacious musician also wears multiple hats as a record producer and mixing/mastering engineer, co-engineering a lot of his records including Us.

Catching up with Guardian Music, the singer breaks down his creative artistry, detailing his process behind Us; his life as a music and computer nerd; as well as his come-up journey, influences; forthcoming project; and his grand mission to become a fiery global hit and impact maker, among others.

How’s the music coming these days?
Well, we thank God. Everything is going well.

When was your last recording?
I had a recording session last night.

Tell us how you coined your name, Swayvee.
So many things led to that particular name and it has been like the household name for my career. I’ve had so many journeys where I changed names.

I started my career as a street rap battler. I used to go by the alias Fatal MC. It was strictly battle rap; it was nothing about the singing. I had no idea I was going to do music. For me, it was all about the battle rap culture. Then I got an opportunity, in 2018, where I moved to Lagos and decided to take music professionally. I was going by the name Swayzee, which was a combination of my style of music, Swayve and Z to represent my real name, Ezekiel.

However, along the line, I was facing copyright issues because there was one other Swayzee out there that was affecting my releases; whenever I released music, my music always appeared under his profile, and I always had to go through so many back and forths just to get that sorted out. So, I just had to go for a name change. Then, I decided to make a name to just showcase my style of music—Swayve, and so I got Swayvee. It still rhymed with my former name. I liked it.

What does Swayve as a style of music mean?
Swayve was a term formed by US musician Tory Lanez, whom I really look up to when it comes to music. He defined Swayve artists as people who rap and sing; we have the likes of Bryson Tiller, Drake, and so on. My own style is writing rap lyrics, and then singing it.

How did you pick up an interest in music?
Well, it was actually from a love interest. Actually, I wanted to impress this person, so I made a song as a birthday gift to her and I posted the freestyle on Facebook. A label manager saw the freestyle and that is how I got a record deal. So the record deal was the main reason I picked a professional interest in music because it seemed like I could actually do this full-time. Just like that, I started the whole pursuit of music.

Are you still together with the girl?
No, I’m not again.

Hope she is collecting royalties.
Haha. No, she does not deserve it actually.

Jokes aside, did you actually gatecrash into the singing scene professionally or did you have prior suspicion you could do this at some point?

Before now, I did not really know how to sing; so, it was more of rap. I had to learn how to do it when I got the record deal because it was required of me. Nonetheless, upon trying it I enjoyed singing. I started to practice singing more. So here I am today as a singer.

Tell us about the creative process behind your recent hit, Us.
It was more of a very laid-back process because I was basically vibing when we made that song. I was on a video call with a friend of mine. What I do is that I always just randomly play YouTube beats whenever I’m in the mood to make music; I get my inspiration there.

So, while on this video call with this person and I was playing the YouTube beat, the melodies just came: “It’s You, Me, Us” and that was how it just happened. Then, another person, a friend of mine, who was also beside me was like, “Bro, I hope you are recording this thing.” I was like, “Oh, I am not recording it.” So, he turned on his recorder and he started recording it for me. And that was how the song, US, came about.

After he made that recording on his phone, I was getting pressured to record it professionally. I kept evading it saying, “It’s a YouTube beat. I can’t make this song. I can’t use someone else’s beats.” Then, my producer Zarrthemaker encouraged me saying, “Don’t worry, we can make a new idea, and we can still maintain the vibe and vocals of the song.” So, he made a new beat, and that’s how the song was created.

Are you getting into the headspace of writing music now?
If I say I want to write music, I always find it difficult to finish. So, I’m more of a freestyle person. Every record you hear on my discography is mostly just freestyles. I’m the kind of person that once I hear a beat, I just drop the melodies down. Then when I’m recording, I just start putting words on the spot. Till today, when I’m recording, I don’t go to my notepad to try to write. That’s how I just enjoy making music.

Who are some of your earliest music influences?
Tory Lanez, number one. Then, Runtown, Mr Eazi, and Burna Boy; the three of them influenced my sound. They made me believe that you don’t need a sweet soprano voice to make good music. When I started doing music freshly, I noticed that these guys had something similar to my vocal type. I listen to them to coin my own vibe.

So, what part of your musicality do you feel is your strength?
It’s mainly my flow and rhyme pattern. I have a core pattern that is notable in all my songs. So it’s not about the lyrics for me. I have this kind of rhyme pattern that is multisyllabic, where there’s a rhyme inside of the rhyme; like a line in a line; a line could have multiple rhymes inside to go with the next line that also has multiple rhymes that fits with the first line. It’s quite complicated to explain, but if you listen it’s easy to catch. It makes my music memorable; it also makes it unpredictable, if you’re listening for the first time. So, that’s my strength. I always like to call it the Swayvee bounce; because it comes like a wave and at the same time, it can sweep you off your feet if you’re not careful.

What piques your interests when it comes to collaborations?
I think one of my favourite people that I really like working with is Yarden. We have so many records together because we basically found our sound together. So, with him it’s more of a bread-and-butter type of thing. Whatever song we are on feels so right. And hopefully, we get to do a joint project together. Then SNE from South Africa. We have very good sync. We have a record coming, though. We have other collaborations, as well. Then, I would love to work with Ajebo Hustlers. I feel like we are going to connect on a very good plane and not only because of the PH-to-the-world agenda but because the style just fits. Then, Omah Lay, Victony and Wizard Chan. Internationally, I would like to work with Don Toliver, Tory Lanez, Jorja Smith, Drake.

If you didn’t bag the record deal, what else would you have ventured into?
I was actually a computer science student. I am a core nerd. I was deep into programming, coding and all of that. So, now I feel like that’s where I would have been if I did not do music. I still have that interest in me, and that is why I handle most of my creative direction by myself; because I just like doing nerdy stuff. Sometimes, people see me with my dreadlocks and think that I’m just cool. However, inside me, I’m actually also a nerd.

What is next for Swayvee?
I have got a couple of remixes coming for the song US. The first remix to drop would be the one with Young Stunna from South Africa. Then, after that, I would work on releasing my EP titled, Persuasion. I’ve been singing my gospel since last year.

What are we to expect from Persuasion, and when?
I always don’t like speaking on my timeline for any major projects, so I can’t really tell if it’s coming this year or early next year, but the Persuasion project is a six-track EP with really good features and it is just more about my own thing. I’m persuading people; because the music industry is always about how you have to give the people what they want, but that does not work for me. I’m about giving the people what I really want to give them. So, they have to like what I want. They have to be persuaded by what I want. That’s basically what the Persuasion EP is about.

What are your favourite pastimes?
I enjoy playing video games and watching anime. I also love writing comics. I’m a very big comic fan. I also have my own comic book coming out soon titled, The Bandage Bandits. I also love to travel as well.

What is the first thing you do after making a song?
I listen to the song; because as I make the music I’m mixing and mastering it on the spot and exporting it to my phone. Then, I play the song throughout the day. Once I get tired of listening to the song, then I move to the next song.

Finally, what is the vision for your career?
It is global domination, and not just that kind of global domination where everybody is hearing my songs everywhere; I want to make an impact. I tell everyone, especially my management, that I want to be lit. I like using the word ‘lit’, because I feel like people who are lit can get away with anything. If I suck at acting movies or I’m a terrible actor, I should still get featured in a blockbuster movie just because I’m lit, or if I want to work on big fashion shows, it should not be only because I’m a good model; I might have a very awkward step or something, but because I’m lit, I can be invited to walk on runway shows. That is the kind of success that I’m looking for.