GHANAIAN RAP ICON M.ANIFEST COLLABORATES WITH RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS BASSIST FLEA AND THE CAVEMEN. ON NEW SINGLE ‘PUFF PUFF’
Award-winning Ghanaian musician and Africa’s most innovative hip-hop artist M.ANIFEST has teamed up with Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and exciting Nigerian highlife fusion band The Cavemen. for his glorious new single titled ‘PUFF PUFF’. The collaboration was born out of a chance conversation between M.anifest and The Cavemen. at his annual music festival Manifestivities in Accra two years ago, and seamlessly evolved over time, with M.anifest and The Cavemen. reconnecting in Lagos to work on the track. M.anifest would then link up with Flea in Los Angeles to bring the track further to life. While bonding over a shared love for jazz music, books, and Tony Allen, Flea offers up an unexpected and yet resounding trumpet solo on ‘Puff Puff’, despite being one of the two best bassists of all time. The result is ‘Puff Puff’, a powerful song that is a melting pot and collision of three diverse musical worlds.
Produced by Budo (Doja Cat, Lil Yachty, Macklemore) and The Cavemen., ‘Puff Puff’ is a feel-good anthem that masterfully fuses hip-hop, jazz, and highlife music together to deliver a true celebration of life and music. At its core, the song is a meditation on life’s challenges and the resilience required to navigate them, with M.anifest offering a raw and honest reflection on the pressures of the quotidien amid a call to keep pushing forward despite life’s difficulties. The Cavemen.’s melodic hook, “puff puff pass, keep the fire burning,” serves as a reminder to persevere, no matter the obstacles. The phrase “puff puff pass,” often associated with sharing, takes on new meaning here as a metaphor for passing on strength, wisdom, and resilience. Flea’s trumpet solo adds a soulful, reflective layer to the track, underscoring the emotional weight of the lyrics, while maintaining the laid-back vibe of the song.
Speaking about the inspiration behind the single and its visuals, M.anifest says ‘Puff Puff’ is “one of the most seamless blends of highlife and hip-hop you’ve ever heard. I really dig how we switch up from the dreamy highlife hook into the pithy verses driven by head banging 808s, and then cap it off with that jazz trumpet solo. It’s one of my favourite-ever collaborations because of how it’s so innovative and unexpected yet still so familiar. The video came out from a fortuitous happenstance where Flea, The Cavemen., and I were all in California at the same time. The song speaks for itself, so we shot easy going visuals where we could amplify the feel of the song through performance. It’s got this free-spirited vibe that flows effortlessly, harmonious yet reflective, set against these warm, natural backdrops. It’s cruising in a vintage car down empty streets, laid back but vibing with the energy of the moment”.
MORE ABOUT M.ANIFEST
M.ANIFEST is a trailblazing Ghanaian rap artist, musician, and producer renowned for his exceptional lyricism, vivid storytelling, and groundbreaking fusion of hip-hop and West African pop music. With over a decade in the game, he has crafted a series of critically acclaimed and transformative works, including five studio albums and three EPs that showcase his deep connection to his African roots while pushing the boundaries of modern hip-hop music – from 2013’s Apae: The Price of Free, to Madina to the Universe from 2021. The grandson of the legendary ethnomusicologist Professor J.H. Nketia, M.anifest brings a unique depth and perspective to his music, using his platform to humanize the African experience and bridge cultural divides through his rich soundscapes as a true innovator.
M.anifest boasts over 50 million global streams, a cult following of over 3.5 million devoted digital fans, and a swarm of accolades, including multiple ‘Best Rapper of the Year’ and ‘Hip-Hop Song of the Year’ awards, an International MIDEM Award. His influence also reaches far beyond the continent, with cross-cultural collaborations with global icons such as Damon Albarn, Erykah Badu, and Burna Boy. His most recent work The E.P.ilogue solidified his reputation as a creative visionary, reimagining the traditional EP format with a bold, genre-defying approach. As he prepares to release his highly anticipated sixth studio album, M.anifest continues to redefine the landscape of African music, cementing his status as one of the continent’s most revered and forward-thinking artists.
