Afro-fusion singer Jemiriye Adeniji has released Olúróunbí, a single and accompanying music video that revisits a Yoruba folktale about desire, a promise and the consequences of keeping it.
The release combines indigenous Yoruba chants and rhythms with live orchestral instrumentation and contemporary production, according to the singer’s media team. The project was recorded and produced across Paris and the United States, while its video was filmed in Bali, Indonesia.
The team announced 23 October as the release date in a statement supplied to TheNiche. A subsequent statement reported by Sunday Scoop confirmed the release and outlined the story behind the song.
In the version described by Jemiriye’s team, Olúróunbí seeks motherhood, prosperity and status. She makes a bargain with a sacred iroko tree, promising her unborn child in return for the fulfilment of her wishes. Her circumstances change when she is required to honour that promise.
Jemiriye said she first encountered the story’s chants and rhythms as a child. What initially held her attention as music later became a story she understood through the pressures and expectations of adult life.
She described its central concerns as the desire for a better life, the need to prove oneself and the risks of pursuing success without considering its price. Her account connects the new recording to childhood memories rather than presenting the folktale as a newly created story.
The singer also linked the project to the expectations placed on women in competitive professional environments. In the statement reported by Sunday Scoop, she said her experience as a Black woman seeking to overcome barriers had shaped her response to the narrative.
She described pressure to promise too much, take on excessive demands and repeatedly demonstrate personal worth. Those concerns inform her interpretation of Olúróunbí’s bargain and its consequences.
The release brings an indigenous narrative into an international production process. Its Yoruba chants remain part of the musical material, alongside the orchestral elements and contemporary arrangements described in the announcement. The production locations and Bali video shoot were disclosed by her team.
Jemiriye’s current artist website describes her wider practice as combining Yoruba folk music, Afrobeat and jazz. The site also lists cultural residencies, workshops and commissioned compositions among her activities. It presents work with Les Amazones d’Afrique, the all-female collective whose performances centre on gender equality and women’s voices.
The collective appeared in the programme for Chaka Khan’s Meltdown at London’s Southbank Centre in 2024. The venue’s announcement listed Les Amazones d’Afrique among the performers for the festival, which ran from 14 to 23 June.
Jemiriye also performed with the collective at the Belfast International Arts Festival. In a 2024 account published by THISDAY, she discussed its Musow Danse album and the relationship between its music and themes of unity, power and resilience.
For Olúróunbí, the singer’s team has announced plans for listening sessions in Paris, Los Angeles and Lagos. Dates and venues were not included in the statements. The release announcement lists Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and Amazon Music among the platforms carrying the track.
