NINIOLA, The Queen of Afro House, releases the video for her latest single “Fantasy” featuring Afrobeat icon Femi Kuti.
The clip, shot at the famed New Afrika Shrine in Ikeja, Nigeria, features dancers and vintage fashions inspired by the Kalakuta Queens, the all-female dance group which performed with Femi’s father — and the creator of Afrobeat — Fela Kuti in the 1970s.
“I used to watch videos of Fela Kuti and Femi Kuti, and I loved the music but I also loved the way the dancers moved their waist and hips,” NINIOLA says of the video, which was directed by Nigeria’s Sesan and styled by Niniola and Kanyinsola Onalaja. “I always wanted to do that. It was a childhood dream to record with the legend Femi Kuti. It’s one thing to have that dream, another for it to come to pass and you actually love the record. The vibe was surreal — we were shooting in The Shrine, the home of Afrobeat!”
Fresh off her Grammy-nominated contribution to Beyoncé’s The Lion King: The Gift album and recent co-signs from Timbaland and Drake, NINIOLA premiered “Fantasy” last month on Beats1 with Ebro Darden. The track, which pairs NINIOLA’s seductive vocal notes with a vintage Afrobeat horn arrangement from Femi Kuti and rich musical textures courtesy of Burna Boy producer KEL-P, offers an early taste of NINIOLA’s upcoming sophomore album, set to drop later this year.