Kemuel Returns Home With Deeply Personal “Borokiri Boy” EP

Port Harcourt artist Kemuel is getting vulnerable. His third EP, Borokiri Boy, takes its name from the neighborhood that shaped him—Borokiri in Rivers State—and delivers nine tracks of raw introspection wrapped in lush Afrobeats, R&B, and electronic soundscapes. What makes this project stand out? Kemuel wrote and produced every single track himself under his production alias Wondah, creating an intensely personal sonic diary that chronicles love’s messiest chapters.

The EP flows like a relationship timeline told in reverse therapy sessions. Opening with “Seki,” Kemuel wrestles with approaching someone new despite poor timing, his vulnerability immediately front and center. But the project doesn’t stay sweet—”Osei Baby” finds him redirecting commitment conversations back to purely physical territory, while “Close 2 U” reveals him caught in cyclical patterns, seeking refuge in someone who actually makes space for him. The back-to-back punch of “YOLO” and “FINI” operates as cautionary tale: the first track encourages living in the moment, the second shows what happens when someone takes that philosophy too literally. “Wound Me” confronts toxic dynamics head-on, and “Pitakwa Girls Riddim” celebrates his hometown’s women with playful energy before the closing “Spirit / Habit” delivers the EP’s thesis statement—he’s not ready for love because he’s still figuring himself out.

“The name Borokiri Boy is very intentional because this project is mostly about me,” Kemuel explains. “It’s made up of a lot of love songs because, honestly, I’m mostly made of love. I wanted the project to feel like a journey. It starts with love, moves through the excitement of it, and slowly arrives at awareness. It’s me realising that as much as I have so much love to give, I also have so much work to do on myself.” The EP closes with a mantra that feels earned rather than aspirational: “E go sup eventually”—everything will work out. Borokiri Boy is available now on all platforms via ONErpm.

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