OkayAfrica has returned with a fifth season of Afrobeats Intelligence, its acclaimed music podcast hosted by Joey Akan, with Martell on board as sponsor. The show, which has become essential listening for anyone serious about understanding how Afrobeats works, is back with a lineup that covers the full breadth of the genre and the range of voices that have defined its rise.
Featured guests this season include Shallipopi, Wale, Sarz, Ladipoe, Kcee, Joshua Baraka, BOJ, Aniko, Dr. Sid, Magixx, Tec of Show Dem Camp, and others. Each episode is a sit-down conversation about the music, the industry, and the thinking behind it. No performances, no filler. Just the kind of access and depth that has made the show required listening for anyone who wants to understand Afrobeats not just as a sound but as an industry with its own logic, economy, and culture. Joey Akan has spent five seasons earning the kind of trust that gets people to say things they would not say elsewhere, and it shows in how the conversations unfold.
Joey Akan, speaking ahead of Season 5, described it as the deepest the show has gone, with bigger conversations, sharper stories, and more access to the people building the future of African music globally. That ambition is visible in the guest list. Sarz brings the producer’s perspective on how the sound was built. Wale carries the weight of the diaspora experience. Shallipopi represents the genre’s current energy in full.
Martell’s involvement as a sponsor reflects the brand’s ongoing commitment to the Afrobeats space. The partnership is part of Martell’s broader cultural strategy, built around supporting and celebrating the stories and voices shaping the genre’s global rise. For a show that has documented conversations with Bella Shmurda, Tiwa Savage, Timaya, Ayra Starr, Mr Eazi, and Don Jazzy, having Martell’s backing for Season 5 adds further reach and weight to what OkayAfrica is building with the podcast.
Season 5 is live now on OkayAfrica’s YouTube channel and all major podcast platforms.
