Lotto Boyzz Afrobbean Pitched Up / Sony
It’s been a big year for Lotto Boyzz and their sound. They’re part of a wave that’s been embraced by award bodies, the charts and mainstream listeners. J Hus’s Common Sense was nominated for the Mercury Prize, Yungen and Yxng Bane’s Bestie spent 12 weeks in the top 40, and four out of the five songs nominated for this year’s ‘Best Song’ MOBO Award fall into this category.
But Lotto Boyzz’ ‘sound’ still lacks an official title. Kojo Funds defines it as ‘afro-swing’, while Spotify’s go-to playlist with almost 90,000 followers is titled ‘afro bashment’. So Lotto Boyzz, the Birmingham duo who’ve racked up millions of YouTube views with catchy songs like Hitlist and Bad Gyal, chuck their hat into the ring with their debut EP Afrobbean, which they’ve ambitiously described as “the genre definition”.
Some might argue that it’s just semantics. Either way, it doesn’t take away from the brilliance of their breakthrough project. The tape is short and sweet, featuring five tracks plus a remix of their hit No Don, which shook the clubs up all summer. With Afrobbean, they give us signature auto-tuned melodies and blends of popular Afrobeats, rap and grime while representing their Caribbean heritage (Ash’s family are from Montserrat and Lucas’s from Jamaica). Patois meets pidgin accents and rap meets reggae infusions. That’s Afrobbean.