Two of the most influential names on either side of the Afrobeats–dancehall divide are joining forces. Nigerian afropop star Mr Eazi and acclaimed producer Dre Skull have announced a dancehall-driven joint mixtape, Yard & Yanga, due later this year — and they’ve launched the rollout with “Lambo,” a new single featuring dancehall’s reigning icon, Vybz Kartel.
Released via Dre Skull’s Mixpak Records and Mr Eazi’s emPawa Africa, “Lambo” is a hypnotic bashment record built around Eazi’s infectious hook and Kartel’s unmistakable vocals. Stream it here.
A title that bridges two worlds
The project’s name says everything about its intent. “Yard” is a well-known patois term for Jamaica, while “yanga” is Nigerian Pidgin for showing off. Together, Yard & Yanga is pitched as an afro-diasporic celebration — one that spotlights the long-running relationship between West African and Caribbean music, and the many ways the two continue to feed into each other.
That connection isn’t new for Eazi. Dancehall has quietly threaded through his sound since his earliest singles in the early 2010s. In an alternate universe, I would have been an Afro dancehall artist,” he says. “This is dancehall but my own interpretation.”
Years in the making
The mixtape grows out of a longstanding friendship between the two artists. Eazi helped push Afrobeats onto the global stage with hits like “Leg Over” and “Skin Tight,” while Dre Skull sits behind some of modern dancehall’s most celebrated projects, including Vybz Kartel’s Kingston Story (2011) and Popcaan’s Where We Come From (2014) and Forever (2018). The pair have collaborated before, on “Sekkle and Bop” (also featuring Popcaan) and last year’s dancehall-pop single “Dance Pon Me.
For a record like “Lambo,” Kartel was a natural fit. Beyond being dancehall’s most celebrated and popular contemporary artist, he shares deep history with Dre Skull — a partnership stretching back to the now-seminal 2009 single “Yuh Love” and the critically acclaimed Kingston Story.
Kartel is such a generational talent and I had no doubt he would bring a special energy to this record and compliment Eazi’s infectious hook,” Dre Skull says.
The artwork
The single’s cover art comes from U.K.-based illustrator Kione Grandison, whose hand-drawn image draws on both West African and Caribbean folk and street art, tapping into the shared sensibilities that Yard & Yanga is built to celebrate.
“Lambo” is out now. The Yard & Yanga mixtape arrives later this year via Mixpak Records and emPawa Africa.
