It’s been seven years since Joey B dropped Tonga. The sound has shifted, but Joey is more relevant than ever. “I know hit songs are important, but I genuinely want to make music for my fans. When you listen to Lava Feels you’ll see I’m not there for the hits, I’m here for the culture.”

The culture is hip hop. “I’m a rapper before anything else, I’m a wordsmith.The Ghanaian hip hop community is now growing, in fact it’s been growing for some time.” What Joey is referring to is the shift from hiplife, rapping over highlife-flavored beats, to straight trap, pioneered in Ghana by himself and the likes of Pappy Kojo and Sarkodie, and now spreading to the next generation, with acts like Kwesi Arthur, Kofi Mole and La Même Gang.

“Many people are bored at home, not doing anything. My fans are on my neck for real, each and every day, Joey please release something, literally begging me.“ Lava Feels is Joey’s answer to his fans, a collection of unreleased songs, separate from the album he has been working on. “People sleep on albums. Back in the days, you would digest an album, listen to it for months, even years. That’s how albums become classics. And this is what I want to give my fans. I feel like an outcast in this Ghana music industry. Honestly, I do whatever I have to do to make it here, but I aim beyond.”