919 Spotlight: Mannywellz

JANUARY 31, 2023

Born in 1994 of Nigerian parentage, Mannywellz (Emmanuel Ajomale) is a musical artiste based in Maryland. Making music mostly inspired by hip hop, R&B, and Afro elements, Mannywellz makes music for the deep feeling lovers. Coming from a musically inclined family, it’s no surprise that his career took the path it did. His father is Kunle Ajomale, a Nigerian gospel singer and they would perform together sometimes when he was younger. Mannywellz and his family relocated to the USA in 2003 and he became a DACA recipient in 2012 after years of being denied entry to the US. In 2017 the president announced the expiry of the DACA program, recipients planned a protest in Washington DC and Mannywellz participated performing his song American Dream in front of the crowd to kick off the protest. According to Mannywellz, being a DACA recipient is part of his story but not the only thing that defines him. After the protest he went on to collaborate on an album with 53 DACA recipients from 17 different countries. “American Dreamers: Voices of Hope, Music of Freedom” went on to win 3 Grammy awards.

In 2017 he went on tour with Nigerian-American musician Jidenna. His debut album “SoulFro” was released in 2018, he then went on to open a venue for a show with Wale called “Wale & Friends.” In 2020 he released an EP titled “Mirage” featuring collaborations from Tems, VanJess, and Wale. According to Mannywellz it is music from the soul, blending various genres but always with a base of Afro influences using native sounds and instruments such as the talking drum. His most recent EP “Unwanted” 2022 is a beautiful body of work, his powerful voice paired with highlife melodies tells stories of an uncaring lover, lust, and feeling unwanted an immigrant in a foreign country and contains spoken word poem from Morelys Urbano, a Dominican activist at Morgan State University fighting for immigrant and minority rights. Different life experiences allow him to create relatable music with beautiful storytelling that permits him to appeal to audiences and give hope to young immigrants.