Ife Ogunjobi Steps Into The Spotlight To Tell Us He's Here
We sit down with composer, producer and trumpet extraordinaire, Ife Ogunjobi, on the eve of his second solo EP's release, Tell Them, I'm Here. As one-fifth of the exceptional Ezra Collective, Ogunjobi continues to move the needle as a soloist with swaths of bold beats and brassy instrumentation.
Ife Ogunjobi in 2025. Image property of Elliot Hensford and TJ Sawyer.
The rise of Ife Ogunjobi has been nothing short of remarkable. His mastery of the trumpet has placed him on the world stage, and as a core member of Ezra Collective, he is one of the UK's most precious musical exports. After taking home the renowned Mercury Prize in 2023 for their album Where I'm Meant To Be, the inimitable Ezra Collective became the first ever jazz act to win the award.
Now with the 2025 BRIT Award for Group of the Year under their belt, it's clear that the quintet, with their colourful and diversified interpretation of jazz, have truly left their mark on contemporary British music forever.
But the success isn't just limited to home soil, and Ife Ogunjobi's accolades also blossom outside of Ezra Collective's enriched world. Ogunjobi has a Grammy to his name for his work on Bob Marley: One Love's soundtrack, and has collaborated with the likes of Wizkid and Burna Boy, as well as homegrown legends like Dave and Jorja Smith. He has touched the iconic stages of Madison Square Garden and Glastonbury, and now stands as a central global figure in the British jazz scene.
However, like his talent, Ogunjobi's sound cannot be contained. This is perfectly depicted in his newest EP, Tell Them, I'm Here, available on vinyl and streaming platforms. Fittingly, Ogunjobi sat down with The Culture Crypt's very own Niall Smith, spinning the vinyl on decks in the heart of Peckham at hi-fi's beloved home, JUMBI, during the exclusive listening session and Q&A.
Following his 2023 offering, Stay True, this new project is a soulfully charged body of work that pays homage to Ogunjobi's Nigerian roots while reaching far beyond traditional genre boundaries. Fusing the highlife percussion of Fuji and the groove of Afrobeats with the freedom of London jazz and the grit of hip-hop, the EP is both rooted in heritage and strikingly forward-thinking.
And here, we catch up with the man himself as he prepares to release his most ambitious project to date.
The Culture Crypt: Let's dive right in and talk about the new EP, Tell Them, I'm Here. How do you feel now that you've announced it?
Ife Ogunjobi: "Yeah, I'm super excited. I feel like this EP is definitely something new, something fresh and really bold. I'm embarking on a new sound and really trying to explore and portray new parts of me. I'm really excited for people to hear that progression, that development, and that growth from the last project."
You've described the project as you just being yourself unapologetically. Creatively, what pushed you towards making something so bold and personal?
"Being an artist and making any sort of art, you have to be true to yourself. I can't live my life trying to make art for someone else or trying to be what everyone else wants me to be. I have to be what I truly feel. So whenever I'm making music, I'm trying to be bold and brave enough to put myself out there into the world.
I'm trying to be honest with my music and to give people an insight into who I am as a person. That honesty resonates with others and empowers them to be themselves in their day-to-day lives. That's kind of how I see it."
How different is your new EP compared to Stay True?
"There are similarities between both, but there's definitely a lot of growth between Stay True and Tell Them, I'm Here. With this new EP, I've portrayed another side of myself that I didn't really put on full display in Stay True. I'm a big lover of Afrobeats and music that you hear more in the club, so with this new EP, there's a lot more of that.
Stay True was more traditional. This one's more modern but also dated. It's almost like this amalgamation of my current influences—everything from Burna Boy and Wizkid to Dave—but fused with old African and Nigerian influences, like King Sunny and Ebenezer Obey. That's kind of me in a nutshell, I listen to loads of different types of music from various time periods.
The title Stay True is also, of course, about staying true to yourself. Naturally, I've changed because I've had two years of growth, but the philosophy of staying true to yourself is still carried on in this next project."
You've performed, toured and worked with big names—what lessons have you applied to your own process from working with them?
"I feel like people are not paying as much attention to how important live performance is. That's one thing I definitely learned from sharing the stage with both Burna Boy and Wizkid—I think they're both incredible live performers.
It's about turning a project that everyone's listened to on Spotify and iTunes into a live performance. What are you bringing to the live show to make it different from what people have already heard online? The art of live music is as important as making music in the studio. I enjoy both equally but in different ways."
How about the EP artwork—what was the inspiration behind having you and a child trumpeter in the same frame?
"A lot of it was to do with growth. It represents the growth from where you started to where you are now. But sometimes, as adults, we need to be more childlike. When kids have an impulse to do something that they want to do, no one's stopping them. Whether it's good or bad, they're naturally fearless because everything in life is for them to learn from.
As adults, we need to adopt that same mindset and be like, regardless of what people are going to say or think, I'm just going to do my thing, my way. That's really important in this era, when everyone's so focused on what everyone else is doing on social media and whatnot, you can lose yourself and forget who you really are as a person. So sometimes we gotta take a step back and be more childlike."
“My life has always been this multicultural mashup… I always like to tap into different genres because it’s who I am as a person. That’s what I was surrounded by, it’s true to who I really am.”
Do you think growing up in such a multicultural city as London helped shape your approach to having a multi-genre EP as well?
"Hundred per cent. Naturally, I was going to school in London, but then, I lived in a Nigerian household. So I'm going out, seeing fish and chips, seeing beans on toast, and then seeing jollof rice and other stuff at home.
In terms of music, at home I listen to Afrobeats and highlife, but when I was growing up, I heard garage, funky house and all that kind of stuff. My life has always been this multicultural mashup.
That's a big reason there are so many genres in my next project, and why I always like to tap into different genres—it's who I am as a person. I've never really locked myself into being one thing. I always drew on different influences, and that's how I grew up. That's what I was surrounded by, it's true to who I really am."
Was Nigerian food any fuel whilst creating this EP?
"No, you can't eat pounded yam and then try and work [chuckles]. You'll go straight to bed. I've done it before. There was one show where I was like, 'It'd be a great idea to go to a Nigerian restaurant right before the show.' I had pounded yam and I was just so slumped before performing. Nigerian food is definitely for post-studio sessions, post-show meals."
You worked with Samm Henshaw in the studio for his feature on "Cali". When making a deeply personal project such as Tell Them, I'm Here, how do collaborations shape your sound without diluting your identity?
"A massive part of it is in who you're collaborating with—that kind of sets the tone. Samm is genuinely my friend, and I'm also a big fan of his music. He's come to my shows before, so naturally, there's a good friendship and relationship there. So, when making a project with a bold title like Tell Them, I'm Here, getting Sam to feature made sense because he's part of my life anyway.
Often with features now, you can make a song with someone and you guys weren't even in the room together. But beautiful things can come from the organic relationships you have with people. When you get in a room with someone and see how you both work, it brings something new.
I feel like Samm and I both brought something new out of each other on that track. A lot of people are saying this is the first time they're hearing Samm Henshaw rap. You wouldn't have listened to that kind of side to him unless we brought each other out of our shells."
Looking ahead, as you're rolling this project out, what are you most excited about?
"There's a lot to look forward to. I've got a live show on 28th November at The Lower Third in Soho—I haven't played a live show in London in about a year, so I'm really looking forward to playing this music live.
There's a feeling like no other you get from doing it: being able to connect with people live. Further down the line, I can't wait to tour with this project and play around Europe and other places. Outside of that, just developing as an artist, making more music.
I'm always making music, and the process of making this project has really opened me up to exploring new pathways and ways of making music in the future. I'm really excited about that new mentality to go forward and make new stuff with different artists."
Purchase Tell Them, I'm Here on vinyl here.