Cameroon-born, LA-raised Afrofusion artist releases her most personal work yet — a mid-tempo empowerment anthem produced by acclaimed producer Mystro Sugar and mixed by Grammy-nominated mixing engineer Giggz
LOS ANGELES, CA — March 6, 2026 — Nella, the Cameroonian-born, Bamiléké Afrofusion artist raising from Los Angeles and Houston, today announces the release of her new single “LUKAKU,” available now on Spotify, Apple Music, Boomplay, Audiomack, and YouTube.
LUKAKU is Nella’s most fully realized statement to date — a mid-tempo empowerment anthem that flips the Afrobeats tradition of pursuit and longing on its head. Where much of the genre celebrates the chase, LUKAKU is the sound of a woman who has stopped running and stopped waiting. Built on a steady 4/4 groove, syncopated bass, plucked electric guitar, and textured percussion, the production balances dancefloor rhythm with emotional restraint — a minor-key progression that gives the record depth while layered harmonies and polished vocals place it firmly in modern Afrobeats.
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“I no fi chase. I no be Lukaku,” she declares in West African Pidgin — a language spoken across Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana and the diaspora, and one that gives the hook its communal, chantable power. The reference is to the striker known for dribbling defenders: Nella refuses to be dribbled, chased, or played. The song moves between English and Pidgin, and the production — crafted by acclaimed producer Mystro Sugar and mixed by Grammy-nominated engineer Giggz — is globally resonant and unmistakably hers. Sonically, it sits at the intersection of Wizkid’s rhythmic subtlety, the unshakeable cool of early Sade, and the melodic confidence of Tems and Ayra Starr.
LUKAKU offers something genuinely underrepresented in music: a mid-tempo groove that empowers without bitterness, detaches without drama, and lets women walk away without asking to be chased. “Now my feelings stuck on rewind” — not moving forward, not chasing, just pausing. It is the strange peace of not caring enough to fast-forward anymore — emotional intelligence delivered with the vulnerability of Jorja Smith and the cool self-possession of Rihanna’s ANTI era. Produced by acclaimed music producer Mystro Sugar and mixed by Grammy-nominated mixing engineer and producer Giggz, LUKAKU arrives as the emotional centrepiece of a catalog that has amassed over 1.5 million total streams and a devoted global following Nella calls the Moonbeams.
“I gave you all my good years, it blew away to the wind. Now I’m gone. Bye bye.”
— Nella, LUKAKU
The song sits at a specific emotional crossroads in Nella’s discography. Her previous single, No Visa — released October 2025 — is, in chronological terms, its prequel: the release that came before LUKAKU. But as a piece of storytelling, No Visa is the sequel. It depicts a woman who has already done the internal work — who now loves fully and without walls. LUKAKU is the earlier chapter: the reckoning of a woman who once did not love herself, named what she gave away, and chose to reclaim it.
LUKAKU will be released via OneRPM distribution and is accompanied by a content strategy rooted entirely in Nella’s authentic story. Her father dancing to the song became one of the most-shared moments of her release campaign. The “good girl turn bad” origin story behind the song’s key lyric generated the highest saves and shares of any post in her career to date.
ABOUT NELLA
Nella is a Bamiléké Afrofusion artist born in Yaoundé, Cameroon, raised between Los Angeles and Houston. A healthcare provider by training, she is the creator of a sound that belongs to no genre and speaks to everyone who has ever had to choose between who they were told to be and who they actually are.
Her father played guitar; her mother danced. These were not influences — they were architecture. Nella founded her high school’s first Hip-Hop club in California, set music aside to build a career in healthcare, and returned to the studio not as a luxury but as a lifeline. Her catalog moves through English, French, West African Pidgin, and Fèfè, fusing Makossa, Bikutsi, Afrobeats, Amapiano, and R&B into a style that is equally celebration and confession.
Inspired by Tems, Tiwa Savage, Charlotte Dipanda, Beyoncé, and Teyana Taylor, Nella has been featured by Fox 21, GQ South Africa, The Guardian, Soundcity, Chop Daily, and Not Just Okay. With over 1.5 million streams, a growing global audience, and a community of Moonbeams who do not just follow her but claim her — Nella is not a rising artist. She is an arrived one.
STREAM LUKAKU
Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/1srgbcQlCI56byuqb1FphT
Apple Music: music.apple.com/us/artist/nella/1764690030
YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=LpWPlN68DoI
Boomplay: boomplay.com/artists/101354562
Audiomack: audiomack.com/nella-355
FOLLOW NELLA
Instagram: instagram.com/nellaleen_/
TikTok: tiktok.com/@nellaleen — 358.4K followers
YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@nellaleen
Facebook: facebook.com/nellasongbird/
PRESS CONTACT
Kris Noulaheu
Press / PR — Songbirds Media
nellasongbird@gmail.com
© 2026 Nella Music · Songbirds Media · OneRPM Distribution · All Rights Reserved
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