Sekou (singer)

Sekou
Birth nameSekou Sylla[1]
BornAshby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
InstrumentVocals

Sekou Sylla is a British singer from Leicestershire. He was nominated for the Brit Award for Rising Star in 2024.

Early life

From Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, he attended Ashby School and Ivanhoe College.[2][3][4]

Career

Described as having a rich and bottom-heavy baritone voice, Sekou was signed to Good Soldier Records at 16 years-old after posting songs of himself singing on platforms such as Tik Tok and SoundCloud.[5][1][6]

In 2022, he played in the BBC Music Introducing tent at the 2022 Glastonbury Festival after being handpicked to play by Arlo Parks. Prior to that he performed at the wedding of Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz. He also supported John Legend on tour that year.[7][6]

His debut EP Out of Mind was released in June 2023, was released when he was 18 years-old. He co-wrote songs on the EP with Dixson as well as working with Sounwave and Al Shux[1][5] His single Better Man and follow-up Time Will Tell, co-written with Theron Thomas, were released in 2023.[8][9] In 2023, he performed on the BBC Two television show Later… with Jools Holland and had his music featured on the television dating show Love Island.[4]

Sekou was nominated for the Brit Award for Rising Star at the 2024 BRIT Awards.[10][11]

In 2024, Sekou performed the theme tune for the BBC One musical drama This Town, created by Steven Knight and set in the West Midlands.[12]

Discography

Extended plays

List of extended plays, with selected details
Title Details
Out of Mind

Singles

List of singles as lead artist, showing year released and album name
Title Year Album
"Better Man" 2023 Out of Mind
"Forgiving Myself"
"Time Will Tell"
"Crying"[13] 2024 Non-album singles
"Let Go of Me Slowly"[14]
"Catching Bodies"[15] 2025 TBA

Guest appearances

List of non-single guest appearances, showing year released, other artists and album name
Title Year Other artists Album Notes
"Longevity"[16] 2024 Skrapz, Potter Payper Reflection Featured artist
"Champagne Problems"[17] Nines, Skrapz Quit While You're Ahead Background vocals
"Limitless"[18] 2025 Central Cee Can't Rush Greatness Background vocals (uncredited)
"Everybody Plays to Win"[19] Kevin Abstract, Ameer Vann, Love Spells Blush Demo Tape Featured artist
"Text Me"[20] Kevin Abstract Blush
"Too Long"[21] Justin Bieber Swag Background vocals

References

  1. ^ a b c Snyder, Taryn (31 July 2023). "10 QUESTIONS WITH SEKOU, AHEAD OF HIS LONDON SHOW THIS EVENING". 10 Magazine. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  2. ^ Garrett, Lee; Hodgkiss, Samuel (21 June 2022). "Teenager from Ashby performing at Glastonbury". Staffordshire-live. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  3. ^ Garrett, Lee (24 April 2023). "Rising singing star Sekou welcomes Ashby homecoming gigs after previous cancellations". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  4. ^ a b Garrett, Lee (18 November 2023). "Ashby rising star Sekou set for BBC Two Later with Jools Holland in TV debut". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  5. ^ a b Soetan, Sope (24 January 2024). "Sekou is the soul star that the UK has been waiting for". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  6. ^ a b Steel, Louise (20 June 2022). "ASHBY TEEN SEKOU PERFORMS FIRST GIG AT GLASTONBURY". Leicester Times. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  7. ^ Garrett, Lee (17 May 2022). "Crazy few months will see rising Leicestershire star perform at Glastonbury and support John Legend". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Rising Vocalist Sekou Debut's His First Single "Better Man"". New Wave Magazine. 5 December 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Next Wave #1145: Sekou". Clash Music. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Sekou nominated for Brits Rising Star award". BBC.co.uk. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  11. ^ "BRIT Awards announce Rising Star shortlist for 2024". NME. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  12. ^ Garrett, Lee (3 March 2024). "Ashby's Sekou to perform theme song for Peaky Blinders creator's new BBC show This Town". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Sekou has released his first single of the year, 'Crying'". Dork. 24 January 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  14. ^ "Sekou unveils new ballad "Let Go Of Me Slowly"". GRM Daily. 12 April 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  15. ^ Taylor, Sam (15 August 2025). "Sekou has shared new single 'Catching Bodies' and an Iggy London-directed video". Dork. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  16. ^ "Reflection - Album by Skrapz". Apple Music. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  17. ^ "Quit While You're Ahead - Album by Nines". Apple Music. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  18. ^ "Can't Rush Greatness - Album by Central Cee". Apple Music. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  19. ^ "Kevin Abstract Drops Surprise 'Blush Demo Tape' Via Discord". Stereogum. 8 June 2025. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  20. ^ "Blush - Album by Kevin Abstract". Apple Music. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  21. ^ "Swag - Album by Justin Bieber". Apple Music. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
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