AMAKA Opens Up About Going Solo, Thirsting Over Pedro Pascal, & More | Close Friends


Formerly half of the R&B sister duo VanJess, AMAKA, born Jessica Nwokike, is captivating the world with her Kaytranada-produced single “cruisin’,” promising to honor the demise of VanJess by continuing on the legacy they’ve been cultivating since 2009.

Departing on her journey as a solo artist, AMAKA is reintroducing herself to the world, and in some ways, for the very first time. As she gets to know who she is as an artist in this new iteration of her career, she joined us on Close Friends to go a layer beneath the dermis, speaking on inner child healing, confronting fears, and integrating her Nigerian upbringing.

Author: Jazmin Kylene
May 3, 2023
soul
interview
R&B
amaka
close friends

Related Articles

10 Questions With little luna [Q&A]

10 Questions With little luna [Q&A]
November 2, 2026 The natural, flower like energy of little luna’s sound folds easily into this seven track effort, filled with clever writing, shifting melodic settings, it really does feel like a walk through a wondrous garden.
Author: DJ Connor
interview
indie pop
little luna
EP

grentperez on Finding Himself Through Tito g00se and Capturing Love That’s Bigger than Earth [Q&A]
October 30, 2026 We chatted with the artist about “close to you,” how playing the character of Tito g00se has allowed him to feel like his most authentic self, and reflecting on his art (and life) now that his frontal lobe is almost fully developed.
Author: Nicole Oshima
interview
bedroom pop
UMI
grentperez
close to you
g00se
Jahson Paynter Counts The Cost of Love On His Second EP ‘hold me, don’t hold back!’

Jahson Paynter Counts The Cost of Love On His Second EP ‘hold me, don’t hold back!’
October 29, 2026 Moving somewhere in the space of alternative R&B, folk, and textured bedroom pop, this five-track project sits inside the contradictions of loving someone while learning to live more honestly with yourself in the process, and he does it with a voice that’s unguarded from the very first note to the very last.
Author: Matt Keenan
folk
R&B
bedroom pop
EP
hold me don’t hold back!
Jahson Paynter

Listen